As you gobble on your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, time to review the final race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Coming into Homestead-Miami Speedway, Carl Edwards (#99 Aflac Ford) led Tony Stewart (#14 Office Depot Chevy) by three points, making it the closest chase race in history. And with Edwards and Stewart being the only two drivers left in contention for the title, it was shaping up to be a race for the history books.
Even before the race was set to begin, though, Tony Stewart would have even more adversity to face. Carl Edwards claimed the pole for the race at Homestead, while Stewart would start 15th.
With Edwards on pole and Martin Truex Jr (#56 NAPA Toyota) starting alongside, the final race in the 2011 season was green. Early on, though, trouble would hit one of the former chasers. Kurt Busch (#22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge) would lose his transmission on the second lap, bringing out the caution. Busch, out of the race, was asked to be interviewed by ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch, but instead gave a profanity-laden statement to Punch, who later gave up on the interview.
Meanwhile, a new kink in this race for the championship was developing. Tony Stewart sat on pit road under caution while his crew attempted to replace the front screen on his grill. The screen had been punctured by a part of Kurt Busch’s transmission, forcing Stewart’s crew to make repairs, and forcing him to restart 40th.
Carl Edwards dominated much of the race, leading a race-high 116 laps. However, Tony Stewart was making progress forward through the field, lap by lap. And after the second caution of the race, Stewart was back up front, battling for the lead.
As the race began to reach its conclusion, Stewart took the lead on a late restart from Brad Keselowski (#2 Miller Lite Dodge) and Kyle Busch (#18 Interstate Battreries Toyota), and never looked back. Stewart took the win in the final race of the Chase, and with Carl Edwards finishing second, the two sat tied on top of the points.
With Edwards and Stewart tied for the championship, the first time ever in Sprint Cup history that this occurred, it came down to a tiebreaker. The driver with the most wins would win the championship, per the NASCAR rulebook. And with this, Tony Stewart was assured his third Sprint Cup Series Championship, and his first as an owner-driver.
By all accounts, the final race of the 2011 chase was the closest and best in Sprint Cup Series history.
Here is a rundown of the finishers of the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
1) 14 Tony Stewart (clinched Sprint Cup Championship)
2) 99 Carl Edwards
3) 56 Martin Truex Jr
4) 17 Matt Kenseth
5) 24 Jeff Gordon
6) 33 Clint Bowyer
7) 4 Kasey Kahne
29 Kevin Harvick
9) 11 Denny Hamlin
10) 31 Jeff Burton
11) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr
12) 39 Ryan Newman
13) 78 Regan Smith
14) 1 Jamie McMurray
15) 43 AJ Allmendinger
16) 27 Paul Menard
17) 83 Brian Vickers
18) 00 David Reutimann
19) 2o Joey Logano
20) 2 Brad Keselowski -1 Lap
21) 71 Mike Bliss -1 Lap
22) 38 Travis Kvapil -1 Lap
23) 18 Kyle Busch -1 Lap
24) 5 Mark Martin -1 Lap
25) 21 Trevor Bayne (Rookie) -1 Lap
26) 13 Casey Mears -1 Lap
27) Bobby Labonte -1 Lap
28) 35 Dave Blaney -2 Laps
29) 32 TJ Bell -2 Laps
30) 36 Geoffrey Bodine -4 Laps
31) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya -6 Laps
32) 48 Jimmie Johnson -6 Laps
33) 34 David Gilliland -22 Laps
34) 22 Kurt Busch -47 Laps
35) 16 Greg Biffle DNF
36) 51 Landon Cassill DNF
37) 84 Cole Whitt (Rookie) DNF
38) 6 David Ragan DNF
39) 9 Marcos Ambrose DNF
40) 87 Joe Nemechek DNF
41) 55 JJ Yeley DNF
42) 30 David Stremme DNF
43) 66 Michael McDowell DNF
Did Not Qualify: 46 Scott Speed, 7 Reed Sorenson, 37 Mike Skinner, 92 Scott Riggs, 93 Grant Enfinger (Rookie)
Of note is that Andy Lally, who formerly drove the number 71 for TRG Motorsports before he left the team before the Homestead race, was locked into winning the Sprint Cup Series rookie of the year title, as he was the only one to compete in enough races to contend for the title.
As we close the 2011 season, we now look forward to the 2012 season. Kansas Speedway will have a new fall date as the track will be repaved after the April race, sending the fall race into late October. Meanwhile, it appears to be the end of the road for Team Red Bull, as without a new influx of money, the team will cease to exist after this year. The same goes for David Ragan and the 6 car for Roush-Fenway Racing. Meanwhile, Brian Vickers and David Reutimann will be looking for work, while Michael Waltrip Racing welcomes Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin into its stable of drivers. And finally, Danica Patrick will race for Stewart-Haas Racing next season in a few races.
The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was one for the history books, but we are all already looking forward to Daytona in February 2012.
