Backstretch Motorsports

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI — Jimmie Johnson has accomplished racing’s version of the hat trick…. three championships in a row.

He did it with a 15th -place finish in southern Florida’s grand finale for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Carl Edwards won the battle, so to speak, but Johnson won the war.

On a day when he only needed a 36th-place finish to clinch his third title in a row, Johnson brought his Lowe’s Chevrolet into the thick of the battle, steadily clicking off position after position in the 267-lap race.

Johnson’s championship run was the first three-peat in NASCAR since Cale Yarborough did it 30 years ago.

While Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus were the men of the hour, hard-charging Edwards, for the second time this season, coaxed extra mileage out of his Ford and hung on to win the race on fuel mileage. However, it was not a fuel mileage fluke. Edwards led the most laps and was clearly the fastest cat on the track all day and into the night.

Trailing Edwards across the finish line were Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Travis Kvapil, Casey Mears, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex, Jr.

The win was Edwards’ ninth of the year and cemented Carl’s position as a serious challenger to Johnson for the championship next year.

A slew of caution flags in the last 100 laps kept the outcome in doubt until the very end, when leader Matt Kenseth ran out of fuel with just a couple laps left. Edwards, as he did once before this season, proved he can be just as smooth letting up on the gas pedal as he is in mashing it down. He backed off just enough to finish in front of the field.

David Reutimann, the first-time pole winner, led a lap at the start before former champion Kenseth passed him.

Beautiful, balmy, South Florida weather welcomed the drivers as they streaked around the Homestead-Miami track at 180 miles an hour. Johnson, who started 30th, charged towards the front right from the git-go. At just 10 laps, he had moved past nine drivers to 21st position.

Edwards, Johnson’s only threat for his third championship in three seasons, moved past Kenseth for the lead on the 13th lap. Edwards was flat-out-all-caution-to-the wind, planning to give it everything he had in the season finale.

Johnson was 18th by Lap 19. He was 17th when Edwards, the leader, pitted on the 51st lap. Harvick led a lap when Edwards pitted. Montoya also led a lap when the field started pitting.

Once the pitting cycle ended, Edwards was back out front and Johnson had gained two spots to 15th.

The top 10 at 60 laps were Edwards, Harvick, David Ragan, Reutimann, Truex, McMurray, Kenseth, Mears, Stewart and Jeff Burton.

Johnson, meanwhile, had moved into 14th spot and was continuing his charge to the front. The first caution of the afternoon waved on the 68th lap when Aric Almirola spun on the frontstretch.

At 90 laps, Edwards was in control, followed by Ragan, Harvick, Reutimann, Stewart, McMurray, Bowyer, Kenseth, Mears and Hamlin. Johnson had worked his way to 11th.

By the halfway point, it was clear Edwards had come to Florida with one thing in mind — winning the race.

It was Edwards, Ragan, Stewart, Hamlin, Reutimann, Harvick, McMurray, Earnhardt, Johnson and Gordon. Johnson had come from 30th to ninth in 134 laps.

NASCAR Race Number 36
Unofficial Race Results for the Ford 400 - Sunday, November 16, 2008
Homestead-Miami Speedway - Homestead, FL - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 267 Laps - 400.5 Miles - Purse: $5,374,166

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 4 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 267 195 10 $371,025 Running 5 157
2 5 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 267 175 5 $273,661 Running 1 1
3 7 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 267 165 $192,375 Running
4 37 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 267 165 5 $191,861 Running 1 16
5 27 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 267 155 $138,350 Running
6 18 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 267 150 $132,516 Running
7 19 28 Travis Kvapil All Sport Ford 267 146 $120,414 Running
8 12 5 Casey Mears Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet 267 142 $98,925 Running
9 13 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 267 143 5 $122,636 Running 1 11
10 10 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 267 134 $107,158 Running
11 43 10 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Dodge 267 130 $75,750 Running
12 15 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft Ford 267 127 $87,245 Running
13 25 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 267 124 $108,341 Running
14 39 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 267 121 $95,258 Running
15 30 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 267 123 5 $123,111 Running 1 6
16 2 83 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 267 115 $79,575 Running
17 11 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Dodge 267 117 5 $99,083 Running 1 2
18 23 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 267 109 $79,225 Running
19 8 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 266 106 $84,975 Running
20 1 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 266 108 5 $77,650 Running 1 1
21 29 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge 266 100 $108,900 Running
22 33 22 Dave Blaney Bad Boy Mowers Toyota 266 97 $86,533 Running
23 31 25 Brad Keselowski GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 266 94 $67,075 Running
24 6 6 David Ragan AAA Ford 266 91 $77,325 Running
25 3 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 266 93 5 $119,341 Running 5 73
26 14 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Dodge 266 85 $90,933 Running
27 34 38 David Gilliland Digital TV Transition Ford 266 82 $80,133 Running
28 24 19 Elliott Sadler Hellmann’s Dodge 266 79 $94,520 Running
29 21 09 Sterling Marlin Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet 266 76 $64,875 Running
30 36 15 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet 266 73 $76,150 Running
31 9 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 266 70 $94,664 Running
32 20 84 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 265 67 $66,725 Running
33 35 43 Bobby Labonte Liberty Medical Dodge 265 64 $100,961 Running
34 26 01 Regan Smith # DEI/The Principal Financial Group Chevrolet 265 61 $74,275 Running
35 40 8 Aric Almirola U.S. ARMY Chevrolet 265 58 $97,783 Running
36 16 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Chevrolet 264 55 $63,400 Running
37 32 70 Tony Raines Haas Automation Chevrolet 264 52 $63,200 Running
38 42 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Toyota 264 49 $72,547 Running
39 28 45 Chad McCumbee Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge 263 46 $62,800 Running
40 17 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 259 43 $107,983 Running
41 22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet 246 40 $70,370 Wheel Bearing
42 41 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie Toyota 222 37 $62,070 Running
43 38 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 207 34 $61,876 Accident
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 80,000 - Carl Edwards won the Ford 400, his 16th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. No one dropped to the rear. Jimmie Johnson won his record-tying third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship.
Failed to Qualify: (3) 96 Ken Schrader, 13 Max Papis, 77 Sam Hornish Jr. #.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 05 Mins, 36 Secs. Average Speed: 129.472 MPH Margin of Victory: 7.548 Seconds
Caution Flags: 7 for 31 laps: Laps: 71-74 (#8 spun frontstretch); 141-146 (Debris); 153-156 (#2 accident turn 2); 169-173 (#47 accident turn 1); 179-182 (#31 accident backstretch); 200-203 (Debris); 208-211 (Debris).
Lead Changes: 15 among 8 drivers: D. Reutimann 1; M. Kenseth 2-12; C. Edwards 13-15; M. Kenseth 16-17; C. Edwards 18-50; K. Harvick 51; J. Montoya 52-53; C. Edwards 54-169; J. Gordon 170-185; M. Kenseth 186-199; C. Edwards 200; J. Johnson 201-206; M. Kenseth 207-244; T. Stewart 245-255; M. Kenseth 256-263; C. Edwards 264-267.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) J. Johnson 6,684;(2) C. Edwards 6,615;(3) G. Biffle 6,467;(4) K. Harvick 6,408;(5) C. Bowyer 6,381;(6) J. Burton 6,335;(7) J. Gordon 6,316;(8) D. Hamlin 6,214;(9) T. Stewart 6,202;(10) Kyle Busch 6,186;(11) M. Kenseth 6,184;(12) D. Earnhardt Jr. 6,127.
Coors Light Pole Award : David Reutimann, #44 (171.636 mph) DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99 EA Sports Move of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Matt Kenseth, #17 (169.747 mph, Lap 213) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Carl Edwards, #99
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Scott Riggs, #66 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99 (-.327 seconds)
Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Regan Smith, #01 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Carl Edwards, #99
USG Improving the Finish : Jeff Gordon, #24 (33 Places) WIX Lap Leader : Jeff Gordon, #24 (16 Laps)
Next Race: Feb. 7, 2009 - Daytona International Speedway