After a season’s worth of laps, it all comes down to a November afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway and this question: Can reigning and two-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevrolet) make history?
He heads into Sunday’s season-finale Ford 400 as the leader in the 2008 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Second-place Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford), the only driver who can catch Johnson, trails by 141 points.
If Johnson does win the 2008 title, he’ll join one of the sport’s greats Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win three consecutive series championships. He also can accomplish the feat on the 30th anniversary of Yarborough’s last title (1976-78).
Also notable: If Johnson does take the title, it will be Hendrick Motorsports’ eighth driver championship and 11th owner championship across NASCAR’s three national series. The latter would tie Richard Childress Racing for the most national series titles.
“I really think where we are in points is going to allow me to go to Homestead and take a little pressure off my brain this week,” Johnson said. “We can just go down and relax and get in the car and set it up, just do what we know how to do.”
Here’s what he must do to clinch his third consecutive series title finish 36th or better on Sunday.
Over the past nine Chase races, Johnson has three wins, six top fives, eight top 10s, an average finish of 4.7 and a Chase-high Driver Rating of 118.7.
Edwards has had an excellent Chase as well, winning two races and racking up seven top fives, an average finish of 8.8 and a Driver Rating of 113.2.
He’ll need a lot of help to catch Johnson, but there is some precedence at Homestead-Miami. Edwards gained 127 points on Johnson during the 2005 season finale there. He finished fourth while Johnson finished 40th. If Edwards had won that race, he would have gained 147 points six more than his current deficit to Johnson heading into Ford Championship Weekend.
“It’s possible, not real probable,” Edwards said, “but I guarantee that’s not going to change the way we do business. We’re going to go to Homestead with everything we’ve got. We’ll be aggressive and try to win the race.”
Roush Fenway Racing Leads The Way At Homestead-Miami Speedway
Roush Fenway Racing usually excels at 1.5-mile tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, and Homestead-Miami Speedway is no exception.
In fact, Roush Fenway drivers have won five of the six previous series events there.
And Carl Edwards, the closest challenger to Chase leader and defending two-time champion Jimmie Johnson, is among those Roush Fenway drivers who sport good statistics at the South Florida track.
He and three teammates Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford), Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford) and second-year driver David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Ford) all rank within the top 10 of pre-race Driver Rating for Homestead-Miami.
Kenseth, the defending champion of Sunday’s Ford 400, is second with a Driver Rating of 115.6 behind leader Martin Truex Jr.‘s (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet) 116.1.
He has one win, two top fives and three top 10s in eight career starts there, and heads to South Florida as the eighth-place driver in the Chase.
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