NASCAR NATION – 11-24

After a Chase full of surprises, from Clint Bowyer’s penalty, to Denny Hamlin’s surge, to the Jeff Gordon-Jeff Burton tussle, the 2010 Sprint Cup Series championship came down to just one race. And in the end, it was no surprise to see the championship trophy sitting atop the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet.
Jimmie Johnson finished second behind race winner Carl Edwards to edge Denny Hamlin in a wild championship hunt to claim his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup Series title. It was Johnson’s first come-from-behind championship run, as he extended his record of most consecutive championships. Team owner Rick Hendrick passed Richard Petty for the most championships all-time as an owner, with ten.
The points lead changed dozens of times throughout the event, as the battle got intriguing before the race even began. Johnson easily out-qualified both Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, grabbing the sixth starting position, as opposed to Harvick’s 28th position, and Hamlin’s dismal 37th starting spot.
Despite the low starting position, Hamlin began to charge through the field early, closing in on the top ten when contact with the No. 16 of Greg Biffle sent Hamlin’s car sliding across the grass. He avoided contact with the inside barrier, but damaged the front fender of his car. He later said that the car was off balance following the incident, and that he lost his speed with the damage.
The other championship contenders certainly weren’t immune to troubles of their own, though. Jimmie Johnson pit crew suffered several mishaps once again, two weeks after Johnson’s original crew was replaced by the over-the-wall crew of Jeff Gordon for the remainder of the season. The No. 48 repeatedly had slow stops due to trouble with tires, losing Johnson several track positions.
Harvick, meanwhile, was running strongly in the top five to make the championship battle a true three-man race. He took the lead after pit stops with 80 laps remaining, but was caught going too fast entering pit road. He was forced to make a pass-thru penalty, dropping him to the tail end of the field and taking him out of contention.
But after all of the hype, and the series of events that led to the final chapter of the 2010 season, it was once again the man in blue and gray lifting the Sprint Cup Series trophy at Homestead. Only this time, he wasn’t quite sure what to say.
“I’m just beside myself right now. Winning four in a row was awesome, but five? I don’t know what to say,” Johnson said. “I think this year we showed what this team is made of,” Johnson said. “At times this season we didn’t have the most speed, but we had the most heart.”
Hamlin was visibly dejected following his title loss after entering the race with a 14-point lead over Johnson.
“We had a great year, we won the most races that we ever won, we contended like we’ve never contended before,” he said. “But circumstances took us out of this one.”
Harvick seemed perfectly content with his third-place finish in the points, following a horrendous 19th-place season in 2009.
“We went down swinging,” he said. “That’s what we came here to do. We did everything we wanted to do except win the race. Great start to build for consistent contending for championships.”
Edwards, meanwhile, led 190 of 267 laps en route to his second consecutive victory. Johnson was second, followed by Harvick in third, Aric Almirola in fourth, and AJ Allmendinger in fifth. Martin Truex Jr. spent much of the day in the top-three, but was hampered by a flat tire. He rebounded late to finish 11th.
Chase for the Sprint Cup Final Standings: 1. Jimmie Johnson (6622 points); 2. Denny Hamlin (-39); 3. Kevin Harvick (-41); 4. Carl Edwards (-229); 5. Matt Kenseth (-328); 6. Greg Biffle (-375); 7. Tony Stewart (-401); 8. Kyle Busch (-440); 9. Jeff Gordon (-446); 10. Clint Bowyer (-467); 11. Kurt Busch (-480); 12. Jeff Burton (-589).
Nationwide Series:
Kyle Busch led 153 of 200 laps to win the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the 2010 Natiownide Series finale. The victory was Busch’s thirteenth Nationwide Series win of 2010, and gave owner Joe Gibbs the 2010 Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship.
Kevin Harvick finished second, while 2010 driver’s champion Brad Keselowski finished third. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fourth to capture the rookie of the year honors, while Trevor Bayne rounded out the top five.
Camping World Truck Series: Busch also won the Camping World Truck Series event Friday evening, edging out Ron Hornaday to capture the owner’s championship for the first time. Johnny Sauter was third, while 2010 driver’s champion Todd Bodine was fourth. Aric Almirola was fifth. Austin Dillon finished 31st to capture rookie of the year honors.
Coming Up: NASCAR Nation will wrap of the 2010 NASCAR season with our annual year-end awards. Just a reminder, the 2011 Daytona 500 is in only 87 days.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com
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