Sunday, November 18 Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida

Matt Kenseth crosses the finish line to win the Ford 400.

Kenseth Win Finale; Johnson Wins Second Title

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 18, 2007) – Matt Kenseth spoiled Jimmie Johnson's bid for his fifth consecutive victory, but the defending NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion rolled home seventh on Sunday to capture his second championship on a memorable day at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kenseth's win, for example, was somewhat of a going-away present for longtime crew chief Robbie Reiser, who becomes General Manager of Roush-Fenway Racing's five-car stable next season. It capped a season in which Kenseth made the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship and fell out of sight after the first five of the 10-race season showdown. He roared back to post five consecutive top-five finishes, including Sunday's hard-earned win over the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The race was also the last for one of NASCAR's grittiest competitors, Ricky Rudd, who had 906 starts in his career, including Sunday's race. In a touch of irony, Rudd started his final race in a car owned by Robert Yates, one of the sport's long-standing, successful car owners, who has turned the reigns to Robert Yates Racing over to his son, Doug.

Fans will remember this one also as the race four-time champion Jeff Gordon established a new NASCAR record with 30 top-10 finishes in a season. Gordon finished fourth in Sunday's run, 77 points behind his teammate Johnson in the championship chase.

Rick Hendrick had a memorable day as well. The popular owner was beaming from ear to ear after his cars finished 1-2 in the championship. First-place point fund money is more than $6 million dollars. It was the seventh car owner championship for Hendrick.

Trailing Kenseth across the finish line were Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Gordon, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex, Jr., Johnson, Jeff Burton, veteran Mark Martin and rookie David Ragan.

Both Busch and Burton rallied back from problems to finish in the top 10. Former champion Tony Stewart, who challenged for most of the day, lost control of his Chevy with 14 laps to go and slammed the outside wall to bring out the day's seventh and final caution flag.

Truex, who ran strong and led the race at one time, became a casualty of pit crew strategy on the final stop. His team put on two tires instead of four hoping to help Truex with track position. It might have had it not been for the final caution. Once the race was resumed, drivers who had changed four tires zipped past Truex like he was standing still.

Johnson charged away when the green flag waved and battled Ryan Newman until he led a lap for the five bonus points going to every driver leading a lap. He quickly backed off a little and settled in for his championship chase.

Jeff Burton brushed the wall after just six laps, which cost him a lap when he pitted.

Dale Earnhardt's day, his last as a driver for his late father's Dale Earnhardt, Inc, team, was a dismal one. Dale, Jr., misjudged his speed coming into the pits, slid off in the grass and was spun by Kyle Busch when he pulled back on track at the pit entrance.

Things went from bad top worse for Dale, Jr., on a later restart when Jeff Burton hit the No. 8 from the rear, sending it into the outside wall on the front straightaway.

Kenseth, one of the hottest drivers in the season's last five events, was a contender from the beginning, swapping the lead with Kurt Busch and Newman. Newman lost a lot of track position when he spun on lap 149.

Kenseth continued to flex his speed at the halfway point while Johnson settled in back in the ninth position. Denny Hamlin showed some speed at this point in the race and Martin Truex, Jr. was running in the top five.

Gordon had moved into the top five but didn't appear to be a threat to win the race. Johnson, at this point, seemed to be biding time, logging laps and trying to stay out of trouble.

Complete Race Results and Point Standings in the Event Stats section below...

Checkered Flag Fast Facts

• Matt Kenseth won the Ford 400, his 16th victory in 292 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
• Jimmie Johnson won the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Championship by a margin of 77 points over Jeff Gordon.
• This is Kenseth’s second victory and 22nd top-10 finish in 2007.
• This is his Kenseth’s first victory and third top-10 finish in eight races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Kurt Busch (second) posted his third top-10 finish in seven races at Homestead.
• Denny Hamlin (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Homestead.
• David Ragan (10th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year Award.
• Seven of the Chase drivers posted top-10 finishes.

Jimmie Johnson carries his "Back2Back" championship flag around the speedway. Click on the photo for Championship Team Fast Facts & Fotos.

Broadcast Times*

Practice: Friday, November 16 (SPEED at 12:30 p.m./AT)

Qualifying: Friday, November 16 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 4 p.m./AT)

Practice: Saturday, November 17 (SPEED at 12 p.m./AT)

Final Practice: Saturday, November 17 (ESPN2 at 4 p.m./AT)

Wind Tunnel Special Edition: Sunday, November 18 (12:30 p.m./AT)

RaceDay: Sunday, November 18 (SPEED at 1:30 p.m./AT)

Countdown to Green: Sunday, November 18 (ABC & TSN-HD at 4 p.m./AT)

Race: Sunday, November 18 (ABC & TSN-HD at 4:45 p.m./AT)

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET...

Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Entry List

Starting Lineup

Race Results

Point Standings


Points leader Jimmie Johnson (right) talks to crew chief Chad Knaus before qualifying Friday - in which they won their fourth Bud Pole on the season. Complete lineup [here].

Qualifying Notes

• Jimmie Johnson won the Bud Pole for the Ford 400 with a lap of 30.545 seconds, 176.788 mph.
• This is his 13th Bud Pole in 219 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races.
• This is his fourth Bud Pole and 26th top-10 start in 2007, including nine of the 10 Chase races.
• This is Johnson’s first Bud Pole and second top-10 start in seven races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• The Bud Pole winner has led at least one lap in 34 of the 35 races this year. The only pole winner who has not led a lap in the given race was JJ Yeley at the second Michigan race.
• The pole winner has led the most laps seven times this season. If Jimmie Johnson does lead one lap, he needs only to finish 19th or better to guarantee the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship
• Ryan Newman posted the second-fastest qualifying time. It is his 16th top-10 start of the season and his fourth in six races at Homestead.
• Kasey Kahne (third) posted his 20th top-10 start of 2007.
• Sterling Marlin (16th) was the fastest of the drivers required to make the field on time.
• David Ragan (seventh) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
• Seven of the 12 Chase drivers qualified in the top-10: Johnson, Matt Kenseth (fourth), Kurt Busch (fifth), Kevin Harvick (eighth), Jeff Burton (ninth) and Carl Edwards (10th).
• Driver's that failed to qualify for the Ford 400 included AJ Allmendinger, John Andretti, Joe Nemechek, Michael Waltrip, Todd Bodine and Burney Lamar.

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Ford 400
The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
The Track: 1.5-mile oval
The Distance: 400 miles, 267 laps
The Purse: $5,310,336
2006 Winner: Greg Biffle
2006 Pole: Kasey Kahne
Pre-Race Schedule (local/ET time): Friday—Practice, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Qualifying, 3:10 p.m. Saturday—Practice, 11-11:50 a.m. and 2:50-3:50 p.m.
Season To-Date Results & Point Standings: click here

Track Map



Keys to Winning...

• “The key to Homestead is to have a car that will run well in the middle and on top. It seems like the grooves move up with the extra banking, as the track gets older it will keep moving higher and higher. So you have to have a car that will still roll around the middle and be able to get under people and finish the pass.” - Matt Kenseth
• “Homestead is a unique track on its own because it’s got its own combination in the banking. You can run high and you can run low there also, as much as you can run all over the race track. It’s also been a fuel-mileage race the past couple years. Those are the key things you have to look at when you go there.” - Robbie Reiser

Green Flag Notes...
Click on the picture above to read the transcript of a press conference held Thursday featuring championship contenders Jimmie Johnson (left), Rick Hendrick (center, team owner for Johnson and Gordon), and Jeff Gordon (right).

• Heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, one thing is clear – Hendrick Motorsports will win its seventh NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship. What is yet to be decided is which driver will win the title – Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) or Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet). The Hendrick Motorsports teammates are the only two of the 12 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers mathematically eligible to win the 2007 title. Johnson holds an 86-point lead over Gordon after rattling off four consecutive victories. While the deficit is not ideal for Gordon, the margin is not insurmountable. Four times this season, Gordon has “out-pointed” Johnson by 87 points or more – Daytona 500 (88 points), Texas in April (121), Pocono in June (153) and Indianapolis (119).
  
  Johnson needs an 18th-place finish or higher, regardless of where Gordon finishes, to clinch the title. If he leads a lap, he needs a 19th-place finish and if he leads the most laps, he can finish 21st. On the other end of the spectrum, if Gordon finishes 15th or worse, Johnson clinches. Gordon has had limited success at Homestead. In eight races he has three top fives and six top 10s. However, Homestead is one of two active tracks at which Gordon has yet to win. Johnson has two top fives and four top 10s in six Homestead races. He has finished below 18th in his two other starts.
• In just his sixth season in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson is hitting milestones not seen since Jeff Gordon in 1998. Ironically, 1998 also was Gordon’s sixth fulltime season. Johnson’s win at Phoenix was his fourth in a row, and 10th this year – both marks unseen since Gordon’s ’98 season. Gordon won 13 races that year en route to his second consecutive title, and third overall. If Johnson wins the championship this year, he’ll be the first driver since then to win back-to-back titles. His current four-race win streak ties a modern era record last achieved by Gordon in ’98 (Pocono, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen and Michigan). The feat has been accomplished seven times since 1972, when the schedule was shortened from 48 to 31 races. If Johnson wins the Ford 400 on Sunday, he would be the first driver to win five straight races since Richard Petty in 1971.
• Recently dubbed “Mr. Martinsville” by teammate Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson has shown he is more like NASCAR’s version of “Mr. October.” In each of the four years of the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Johnson and his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team have repeatedly stepped up their performance, in spite of the additional pressure and scrutiny. In 39 Chase races, Johnson has 11 wins – a 28% winning percentage. In the other 179 races Johnson has started in his career, he has won only 12% (22). Johnson has also been the runner-up in six Chase races, meaning that he has finished in the top two in a resounding 44% of all Chase races. Nobody else comes close to matching Johnson’s Chase dominance. Greg Biffle (No. 16 Dish Network Ford) is second with four Chase wins in 39 races. Johnson has four Chase wins in his last four Chase starts. Biffle, however, has the advantage heading into Homestead. He has won the past three races at the track, averaging a Driver Rating of 126.1. Biffle has momentum heading into this weekend after finishing second to Johnson at Phoenix.
• Although 10 of the 12 Chase drivers are out of title contention, all will have something to race for this weekend – each of the top 12 positions can change hands following Sunday’s race. Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet) has the most to gain. Hamlin is currently 12th, but can climb as high as seventh. The top 10 drivers will participate in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Awards Ceremony at the Waldorf=Astoria on Nov. 30.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet) will be making his 291st – and final – start for Dale Earnhardt Inc. this Sunday. Earnhardt Jr. is moving to Hendrick Motorsports after eight full-time seasons with the team his father built. Earnhardt Jr. has won 17 races for DEI.
• Dave Blaney (No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota) is on the cusp of locking his Bill Davis Racing entry into the first five races of the 2008 season. The No. 22 Toyota, owned by Bill Davis, is currently 35th in the owner’s point standings and holds the final guaranteed spot in the field. If Blaney finishes 34th or better in the Ford 400 on Sunday, he will guarantee at least a 35th-place finish for the season in the owner’s points. The top 35 teams in owner’s points get automatic starting spots each week. The top 35 cars at the end of the 2007 season have guaranteed spots in the first five races of the 2008 season. After five races, the locked-in positions revert to 2008 points. The No. 21 Motorcraft Genuine Parts Ford, owned by Glen Wood looks to be on the short end of the stick. Driver Bill Elliott has to finish second at Homestead to have a chance of moving into the top 35.
• Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge) holds a 21-point lead over David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Ford) with one race left in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. Montoya has led the standings a majority of the season. His win at Infineon Raceway helped give him a lead that Ragan has been unable to catch. Ragan had pulled within 14 points following the LifeLock 400 at Kansas Speedway, but Montoya was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in four of the following six races to secure his lead. Montoya has been the top rookie in 16 of the 35 races this season. Paul Menard (No. 15 Menards Chevrolet) is third, 45 points behind Montoya, David Reutimann (No. 00 Burger King Toyota) is fourth, 64 points back and AJ Allmendinger (No. 84 Red Bull Toyota) is fifth, 74 points out of first.
• The dominance of Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon has helped lead Chevrolet to a Modern Era record for wins in a season. Johnson’s Phoenix win gave Chevrolet its 26th win in 2007, breaking the tie it held with Buick, which had 25 wins in 1982. Chevrolet has already locked up its record 31st Manufacturers’ Championship. Ford is second with 15 championships. Ford has the edge at Homestead-Miami Speedway with four wins, including Biffle’s three in a row. Dodge and Chevrolet each have one. Pontiac won the first two races at the track.

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