Biffle wins race, Johnson takes title
Greg Biffle continued his streak of Homestead victories by winning the NASCAR Nextel Cup season finale, but all eyes were on Jimmie Johnson as he clinched the Cup with ninth place
Johnson's Chase for the Cup rivals were given a glimmer of hope when he pitted to check for possible radiator damage after collecting debris from the second of Kurt Busch's early accidents.
But the Hendrick Chevrolet was only superficially affected, and within 40 laps Johnson had recovered from the tail of the field to the 12th position that would guarantee the title.
Thereafter he remained in the lower part of the top ten for most of the distance, which was more than sufficient.
"This has been a long race - I'm glad it's over," said Johnson's team boss Rick Hendrick. "Just like all year, they've been perfect."
None of the Chase contenders could make a serious bid for the race victory. Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch battled for the lead initially, although Busch would fall back and eventually crash out.
Alternate strategies allowed Dale Earnhardt Jr, Martin Truex Jr and Elliott Sadler to enjoy periods in the lead before Kahne returned to the front following pitstops on lap 206.
This time Kahne was unable to pull away, and he soon came under pressure from Biffle, who took the lead on lap 215 and never looked back.
He was briefly headed by JJ Yeley at a late restart - Yeley having stayed out as the leaders pitted and consequently gained track position, although this proved to be a mixed blessing as he ran out of fuel in the closing laps and had to retire.
By that time Biffle had already repassed Yeley and pulled away. An eleventh hour caution (caused by Casey Mears' engine failure) led to a one-lap showdown, but Biffle handled the situation calmly and resisted Truex and Denny Hamlin's last-gasp charges.
"This Ford Fusion race car is just so awesome," said Biffle. "It's the same car that's won here three years in a row. These fans down here at the Miami-Homestead race track are just something else. Really, it's just a flawless night."
Juan Pablo Montoya made a promising NASCAR Nextel Cup debut. He rose as high as 13th in the race, going wheel to wheel with established stars like Tony Stewart along the way.
However, Montoya did not reach the chequered flag, as contact with 14 laps to go sent him into the Turn 1 wall at high speed. Despite a dramatic-looking fuel fire, Montoya quickly climbed out of the car without injury.
Results
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Greg Biffle Ford 268 2. Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 268 3. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 268 4. Kasey Kahne Dodge 268 5. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 268 6. Matt Kenseth Ford 268 7. Scott Riggs Dodge 268 8. Carl Edwards Ford 268 9. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 268 10. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 268 11. David Stremme Dodge 268 12. Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 268 13. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 268 14. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 268 15. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 268 16. Reed Sorenson Dodge 268 17. Paul Menard Chevrolet 268 18. Mark Martin Ford 268 19. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 268 20. Tony Raines Chevrolet 268 21. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 267 22. Jeff Green Chevrolet 267 23. Ryan Newman Dodge 267 24. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 267 25. Bill Elliott Chevrolet 267 26. Dave Blaney Dodge 266 27. Travis Kvapil Chevrolet 266 28. Kyle Petty Dodge 266 29. Ken Schrader Ford 266 30. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 265 31. Dale Jarrett Ford 265 32. Casey Mears Dodge 261 33. David Gilliland Ford 257 34. Juan Montoya Dodge 251 35. Jamie McMurray Ford 250 36. Elliott Sadler Dodge 230 37. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 213 38. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 206 39. Mike Bliss Dodge 201 40. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 187 41. Bobby Labonte Dodge 83 42. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 78 43. Kurt Busch Dodge 9
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments