The Final Lap with Kerry Murphey

RACE RECAP | HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

10 Greg Biffle
9 Matt Kenseth
8 Tony Stewart
7 Ryan Newman
6 Kasey Kahne
5 A.J. Allmendinger
4 Aric Almirola
3 Kevin Harvick finished 3rd in points (-41)
2 Jimmie Johnson is the 2010 Sprint Cup Series Champion

-It’s Johnson’s 5th straight title
-He had to come from behind to win this one
-No driver has ever won 5 straight
-He leads all active drivers with the most championships
-10th championship for Hendrick Motorsports

VICTORY LANE

1 Carl Edwards led the most laps and wins his second race in a row after not winning since 2008.

OTHER STORIES ON THE DAY

-Denny Hamlin went for a wild ride in the backstretch grass after running into Greg Biffle. He later had a tire going down and pitted. Denny finished 14th and 2nd in the point standings (-39)

-Jeff Burton pounded the wall hard, sending him the garage

-Kevin Harvick made his way to the front only to get caught speeding on pit road

-The engine expired on the 24 of Jeff Gordon

-Jimmie Johnson’s pit crew had less than stellar stops all day

-Kevin Harvick dumped Kyle Busch with about 22 laps to go, the 18 caught fire and Kyle is okay

Denny Hamlin, Chase leader heading into the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, clipped Greg Biffle and went for a wild ride.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/nascar/.element/swf/2.2/sect/video/nascar_embed.swf?context=nascar_viral&videoId=cup/2010/11/21/cup_hom_high_one.nascar

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(November 20, 2010)

HOMESTEAD, Fla.—Kyle Busch pulled away from Kevin Harvick during a 23-lap run to the finish to win Saturday’s Ford 300 Nationwide Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Harvick ran second, followed by 2010 series champion Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne.

With his 13th victory in 29 starts this season, Busch extended his single-season win record. The victory was his 43rd in the Nationwide Series, leaving him five behind all-time leader Mark Martin.

Danica Patrick qualified fifth, pitted early and led four laps—her first of the season—by staying out while others pitted under caution on Lap 24. Soon after a restart on Lap 28, however, she dropped back to 21st in the running order. She finished a career-best 19th in her 13th start in the series.

After winning the owners championship in his own No. 18 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday night, Busch secured the Nationwide owners’ title for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday. Stenhouse clinched Raybestos rookie of the year honors.

Notes: Keselowski scored his 26th top-five finish of the year, a single-season record. … The victory was Gibbs’ 49th in the past three seasons. Busch has 31 of those. … Busch led 153 of 200 laps.

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(November 19, 2010)

HOMESTEAD, Fla.—
Kyle Busch ran away from Ron Hornaday Jr. after a restart with four laps left in Friday night’s Ford 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway and won the race by .577 seconds over last year’s series champion.

In winning for the eighth time in 16 starts this season and the 24th time in his career, Busch locked up the owners’ championship for his No. 18 Toyota in his first year as an owner in the series.

“This is so cool, to come out here and win in our last race the way we did,” said Busch, who is still looking for sponsorship to sustain his truck team next year. “(Crew chief) Eric Phillips made some great calls and got my head back in the race.”

Johnny Sauter ran third, followed by 2010 truck series champion Todd Bodine and Aric Almirola, second in the standings this year.

Busch was running in the top five when Sauter’s No. 13 Toyota pinched him into the outside wall on Lap 102 of the 134-lap race. The right front tire on Busch’s Toyota blew shortly thereafter, causing the fourth caution of the race. That turned out to be a minor hurdle between Busch and the victory.

Busch stayed on the lead lap and restarted 21st on Lap 111. By the time John Jackson’s wild slide into the sand barrels protecting the entrance to pit road brought out caution No. 5 on that same lap, Busch was running 14th. NASCAR red-flagged the race while the barrels were replaced.

Hornaday took the lead after a restart on Lap 115 and held it until Elliott Sadler’s spin off Turn 4 caused the sixth and final caution and set up the decisive four-lap run to the finish.

Kevin Harvick, Hornaday’s owner, urged his driver to take the outside on the final restart. Hornaday tried to hold Busch down to the inside, but to no avail. Hornaday said it wouldn’t have mattered which lane he picked.

“No, it didn’t matter—we were just too tight up through the middle, and his truck was free enough where he kept the momentum going,” Hornaday said. “I just wish Johnny had hit him a little harder when he squeezed him against the fence over there, so he didn’t have such a good truck to come back and beat me.”

Just an observation, but have a look at this photo (click to enlarge) and tell us the 2010 championship is not Jimmie Johnson’s. Everything in this sport can be read into and body language is certainly one of them. Jimmie Johnson looks confident, is touching the podium & comfortable around the trophy. While Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are awkwardly standing away from it. What do you think?

Comment below.

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Photo Credit: NASCAR MEDIA