Cup Series Notebook... watch for updates all weekend
Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida

• Bud Pole Qualifying: Friday, November 17 (SPEED at 4:00 p.m. AT, 3:00 p.m. ET)
• Practice: Saturday, November 18 (SPEED at 2:00 p.m. AT, 1:00 p.m. ET)
• Final Practice: Saturday, November 18 (SPEED at 3:30 p.m. AT, 2:30 p.m. ET)
• Race: Sunday, November 19 (NBC at 3:00 p.m. AT, 2:00 p.m. ET)

Fast Facts
The Race: Ford 400
The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
The Date: Sunday, Nov. 19
The Time: 2:50 p.m. (ET)
TV: NBC, 2 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1.5-mile oval
Distance: 400 miles (267 laps)
Purse: $5,200,543
2005 Winner: Greg Biffle
2005 Pole: Carl Edwards
Pre-Race On-Track Schedule: Friday—Practice, 11:35 a.m.-1:05 p.m. Qualifying, 3:10 p.m. Saturday—Practice, 1-2 p.m. and 2:35-3:20 p.m.
Click here for the complete pre-race point standings.

Event Stats - underlined when link is activated

Practice Results - click here

Qualifying Order - click here

Qualifying Results - click here

Starting Lineup - click here

Race Results (unofficial) here

Point Standings (post-race, unofficial) here

Johnson Wins First Career Title; Biffle Wins Third Straight Ford 400

Homestead-Miami, Fla. (November 19, 2006) -- Jimmie Johnson brought his championship form to Homestead-Miami Speedway and overcame several setbacks to win the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship before a packed house.

Johnson, yelling over the radio to his very happy crew, managed to keep the Lowe’s Chevrolet in contention all day despite some roadblocks that included a hole in the front valance caused by a piece of debris off Kurt Busch’s wrecked car.

Greg Biffle won the Ford 400 in a Jack Roush Ford, finishing ahead of Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

Kasey Kahne was fourth, Kevin Harvick fifth, Matt Kenseth sixth and Scott Riggs seventh.

Carl Edwards was next and Johnson was ninth.

It was the third time in as many years Biffle won the season finale, but the spotlight belonged to Johnson and his team.

Johnson was considered down and out after faltering in the first two of the final 10 races. He roared back into contention and needed only a 13th place finish Sunday to clinch his first title.

Kenseth wound up second in the Chase and Hamlin was next.

Juan Pablo Montoya, running in his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race, did an outstanding job, running as high as 14th on the lead lap before a spectacular crash ended his debut. Montoya spun battling with Ryan Newman and slammed into the safer barrier. The rear portion of his Dodge erupted in flames but Montoya climbed out unscathed.

His accident set the stage for a shootout with only 20 laps remaining but Casey Mears lost an engine with five laps to go.

The race finished with a green, white, checker but before NASCAR could restart the race, J.J. Yeley, who was trying to stretch his fuel mileage, ran out of gas on the front straightaway and had to be pushed off the track.

Fastest qualifier Kahne took the lead on the opening lap and gave an early indication he might be the car to beat. By halfway, he was still running up front with Kyle Busch and Biffle in hot pursuit.

Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Leader Johnson was steadily making his way back into contention after a piece of debris damaged the front bumper of his Chevrolet. His team taped a hole in the bumper and he was shuffled back to 37th for a restart.

There were three cautions in the first half of the race, two of which involved former champion Busch.

He scraped the wall on the seventh lap and collected Bobby Labonte in the aftermath. Busch's team made repairs and he returned to action but hit the wall again on lap 47 when something broke on his car, scattering debris on the track.

It was likely a piece of debris from Busch’s accident that caused the damage to Johnson’s car. Johnson, however, was back in the thick of things after 100 laps were complete.

Kyle Busch continued his streak of bad luck when he slipped in the first turn and hit the wall on lap 115.

Popular Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leading on the restart and Johnson was up on the wheel coming towards the front in his bid for the championship. By the halfway point, Johnson was once again in position to finish 13th or better, which is where he needed to finish to leave Homestead-Miami Speedway with the coveted NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.


Greg Biffle celebrates his Ford 400 win with a burnout...


Biffle in Victory Lane...


Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson was celebrating the championship (championship gallery will be posted separately)...


American Idol star Taylor Hicks and TV star Patrick Dempsey were both on hand for the season finale at Homestead...


Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Taylor Hicks...


Richard Petty with Taylor Hicks.

Post-Race Notes

• Greg Biffle won the 2006 FORD 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, scoring his 11th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory in his 150th career start.
• Biffle moved into sole possession of 50th on NASCAR’s All-Time win list.
• This is Biffle’s second victory in 2006. He also won at Darlington in May.
• Biffle scored his third straight victory at Homestead.
• Biffle scored his 15th top-10 finish in 2006.
• Biffle’s victory today was the sixth for Ford in 2006.
• Biffle won the race from the 22nd-place starting position, the lowest starting position of a race winner in eight races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Kasey Kahne led five times for 90 of the 268 laps raced, leading the most laps for the fourth time in 2006.
• Race winner Biffle led twice for 47 laps including the final 12 laps in the 2006 FORD 400 at Homestead.
• This was team owner Jack Roush’s 95th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory. It was Roush’s fourth NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory at Homestead.
• Jack Roush Racing has won at least one race each season 1997-2006, 10 consecutive years.
• Jimmie Johnson (ninth) was eighth in points after the first four races in the Chase (after Talladega), then 156 points behind then point leader Jeff Burton. Six races later, Johnson claimed his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship. Johnson gained 212 points during the final six races, the result of five straight finishes of first or second and his ninth–place finish tonight.
• Five of the 10 Chase drivers finished in the top 10 at Homestead.
• Four of The Chase drivers changed points positions at Homestead.
• There were seven changes in the second-place points position in the 10 races during the Chase began at New Hampshire. Five different drivers ranked second during the Chase: Johnson, Hamlin, Gordon, Kenseth and Harvick. Kenseth held the second-place position in the final three races.
• Four of the Chase drivers led at Homestead earning valuable lap leader bonus points.
• Five of the 10 races in the Chase were won by Chase drivers
• Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne each scored two Bud Poles during the Chase, the most among all Chase drivers.
• Kevin Harvick was the only Chase driver to score two victories during the Chase.
• Matt Kenseth scored nine top-15 finishes in the 10 races in The Chase, the only driver to do so.
• Jimmie Johnson scored five top-five finishes in the 10 Chase races, the most among the Chase drivers and scored top-10 finishes in the final six races in the Chase.
• Denny Hamlin was the only Chase driver to score seven top-10 finishes in the 10 races in the Chase.
• Jimmie Johnson was the only driver to lead in eight of the 10 races in the Chase.
• Jimmie Johnson scored 50 lap leader/bonus points in 10 races in the Chase, the most among all drivers.
• Johnson was the only Chase driver to post seven top-10 starts in the 10 races in the Chase
• Tony Stewart finished 11th in the Championship standings and missed the Chase by 16 points.. He ended the 2006 season with a 299-point lead over 12th-place Carl Edwards. This is the first year that Stewart did not finish among the top-10 since 1999.
• Denny Hamlin (third) scored his 20th top-10 finish in 2006. It was his first top-10 finish in two races at Homestead.
• Hamlin was the highest finishing rookie for the 18th time in 2006.
• At least one of the 2006 Raybestos Rookie-of-the Year contenders scored a top-15 finish in all 36 races this season.
• Kasey Kahne (fourth) scored his 19th top-10 finish in 2006. It was his first top-10 finish in three races at Homestead.
• Kevin Harvick (fifth) scored his 20th top-10 finish in 2006. It was his fifth top-10 finish in six races at Homestead.

Qualifying Notes

• Kasey Kahne won the Bud Pole for the Ford 400, lapping Homestead-Miami Speedway in 30.293 seconds at 178.259 mph. Jamie McMurray holds the track-qualifying record of 29.816 seconds, 181.111 mph - set Nov. 14, 2003.
• This is Kahne’s 12th career Bud Pole in 108 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
• This is his sixth Bud Pole and 20th top-10 start in 2006. He tied Kurt Busch for the most Bud Poles this season. Kahne will win the yearly Bud Pole Award based on the tie-breaker of two second-place starts as to Busch’s one.
• This is Kahne’s first Bud Pole and third top-10 start in three races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His starts have all been third or better.
• Kahne became the seventh different Bud Pole winner in eight races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Scott Riggs posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 30.300 seconds, 178.218 mph – and will join Kahne on the front row for the Ford 400. He posted his first start better than 25th in three Homestead races.
• This is the 16th Bud Pole for Dodge in 2006. Chevrolet has 13 Bud Poles and Ford has five. Qualifying was canceled for the first race at Bristol and the second at Atlanta.
• Kyle Busch (third) has started fourth in his only other appearance at Homestead (2005). This is his best start since he won the Bud Pole at Phoenix in April.
• Elliott Sadler (fourth) has posted his first start better than 15th in eight Homestead races.
• Jeff Burton (fifth) has started from the top 10 just one other time in his eight races at Homestead.
• Four of the 10 Chase drivers qualified in the top 10: Kahne, Busch, Burton and Kevin Harvick (seventh). Jeff Gordon (12th), Dale Earnhardt (14th), Jimmie Johnson (15th), Matt Kenseth (19th), Mark Martin (26th) and Denny Hamlin (33rd) are the Chase drivers starting outside the top 10.
• Juan Pablo Montoya (29th) qualified for his career-first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race.
• Bill Elliott used a past champion’s provisional to make the field.
• The 56 drivers that entered the Ford 400 is the largest entry number of drivers to attempt to make a race since Daytona in February (58). Morgan Shepherd withdrew prior to qualifying.
• Thirteen drivers failed to qualify for the Ford 400: Ward Burton, Brandon Whitt, Casey Atwood, Kenny Wallace, Todd Kluever, David Ragan, Michael Waltrip, Mike Skinner, Derrike Cope, Kevin Lepage, Carl Long, Chad Chaffin and Morgan Shepherd.

Who's Hot Heading to Homestead

• Jimmie Johnson is the only Chase driver to post seven top-10 starts in the Chase.
• Jimmie Johnson has scored one victory and four second-place finishes in the last five races in the Chase. Those five top- five finishes are the most by any driver in the Chase.
• Matt Kenseth is the only Chase driver to score eight top-15 finishes in the nine races in the Chase.
• Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to lead in seven of the nine Chase races. Johnson has led 484 laps in the Chase and has earned 45 lap-leader bonus points, both the most among Chase drivers.
• Chase drivers Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin have both scored four straight top-10 finishes.
• Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart are the only drivers to score 15 top-five finishes in the first 35 races of 2006.
• Carl Edwards has scored eight straight top-15 finishes.

Homestead Nuggets

• None of the 10 Chase drivers have scored a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Mark Martin leads all Chase drivers with four top-five finishes in seven starts at Homestead.
• Jeff Gordon has scored six top-10 finishes in seven races at Homestead.
• Five of the 10 Chase drivers posted top-10 finishes at Homestead last November.
• Kasey Kahne has posted top-five starts in both of his races at Homestead. His 3.5 starting average at Homestead is the best of all Chase drivers and best among all drivers with more than one start there.
• Jeff Gordon has scored four straight top-10 finishes at Homestead, the longest current streak.
• Kevin Harvick has posted three straight top-10 finishes at Homestead.
  Milestones
• Matt Kenseth is expected to make his 250th consecutive NASCAR NEXTEL Cup start at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Greg Biffle is expected to make his 150th career start at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Jamie McMurray is expected to make his 150th career start at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
  All-time Standouts
• Twelve drivers have started in all seven races at Homestead.
• Kurt Busch lead all drivers with two Bud Poles at Homestead.
• Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart lead all drivers each with two Homestead victories.
• Mark Martin leads all drivers with four top-five finishes in seven races at Homestead.
• Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with six top-10 finishes in seven races at Homestead.
• Tony Stewart has the best finishing average among the 12 drivers that have competed in all seven races at Homestead. Stewart's 9.25 finishing average at Homestead is the best among all drivers with more than two starts there and ranks third overall.
  Current Standouts
• Ryan Newman leads all drivers with three straight top-five starts at Homestead.
• Kurt Busch has three straight top-10 starts at Homestead.
• Tony Stewart has scored seven straight top-20 finishes at Homestead.
• Kevin Harvick has scored five straight top-20 finishes at Homestead.
• Kenny Wallace has finished 25th or better in all seven of the races at Homestead.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has finished 25th or better in all six of his races at Homestead.
  Starting Up Front Is Important
• Six of the seven races at Homestead have been won from a top-10 starting position.
• All seven of the races at Homestead have been won from a top-15 starting position.
  Owner Wins
• Jack Roush and Joe Gibbs lead all car owners, each with three victories at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ray Evernham has the other Homestead victory.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.

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