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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

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