Michael Smith converted a penalty for the only goal of the game, won after Curtis Davies had felled Marvin Johnson in the box and was subsequently sent off.
That victory, which condemned Derby to seventh place in the the table and denied them a place in the play-offs, took Wednesday to 96 points for the campaign. No side has ever reached that number and not been automatically promoted.
“It was about today, not the play-offs. I'm pleased to get 96 points and break all sorts of records,” said boss Darren Moore. “When Hillsborough is like this in full voice there's no place like it.”
Wednesday, who had 33,000 fans crammed into Hillsborough for the final match of the league season, will now face Peterborough in the League One Play-Off semi-finals.