Jimmie Johnson finished second at Homestead to win his fifth consecutive Cup Series title.
Johnson wins fifth straight title as Edwards dominates Homestead
HOMESTEAD, Fla.—Finishing one spot behind the dominant race-winning car of Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson claimed his record fifth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship Sunday in what more closely resembled a comedy of errors than the high drama fans had hoped for in the closest Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ever.
Johnson overcame a succession of flawed pit stops to outrun Kevin Harvick (third Sunday) and Denny Hamlin (14th) in the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hamlin entered the race leading the standings by 15 points over Johnson, but an early spin scrubbed speed out of the car and left him fighting traffic, not fighting for the championship.
“It was like, ‘Who’s going to screw up the most?’ ” said Johnson’s team owner, Rick Hendrick, who won his 10th Cup title (five with Johnson, four with Jeff Gordon and one with Terry Labonte).
Edwards, who secured fourth place in the final standings, led 189 of 267 laps in winning his second straight Cup race and the 18th of his career.
Johnson finished 39 points ahead of Hamlin and 41 ahead of Harvick, who rallied from a pit road speeding penalty to run third. Richard Petty Motorsports teammates Aric Almirola and AJ Allmendinger finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Before the race was 25 laps old, Hamlin made a tough job much more difficult. His No. 11 Toyota, which had started the race 37th but had gained 18 positions in the first 23 laps, touched the No. 16 Ford of Greg Biffle as the cars sped through Turn 2 on Lap 24. Hamlin spun through the infield grass and damaged the front splitter.
Though Hamlin’s crew worked valiantly to repair the damage, the incident affected the handling just enough to keep Hamlin from making an aggressive run to the front.
Hamlin’s troubles were compounded when he was trapped a lap down during a cycle of pit stops and had to take a wave-around to the tail end of the lead lap. At that point Hamlin was fighting Harvick for second in the final standings, not for the title.
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(November 21, 2010)
Paul Denton
RACINGHELLONWHEELS
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