This Is It: Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart Vie For It All

This Is It: Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart Vie For It All

 

All the laps (10,071 so far in 2011), all the miles (13,524.24 of them), all the tracks (22 so far, 23 after this weekend) and all the drivers (81 have started at least one race in 2011) have brought us to this point – a championship showdown that has been whittled down to two drivers and three points going into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ 36th and final race of 2011.

Rarely – as in twice in the past three-plus decades – does the championship battle get closer than this. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Carl Edwards holds a scant three-point advantage over second-place Tony Stewart. Under the previous points system, three points roughly translates to 13 points, making this the third-closest margin between first and second going into the final race since the inception of the position-based points structure in 1975. In 1979, Darrell Waltrip held a two-point advantage over Richard Petty. And in 1990, Dale Earnhardt led by six points over Mark Martin heading into the finale.

A unique situation could unfold in Sunday’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami speedway – a walk-off win.

If Edwards wins on Sunday, he’s the 2011 champion. If Stewart wins, he’s the champion for the third time in his career. For Edwards, he needs only to finish ahead of Stewart to clinch. For Stewart, he needs only to tie Edwards to clinch. (Stewart owns the tie-breaker, with four wins to Edwards’ one).

A closer look at the two contenders going into the final race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™…

 

Carl Edwards

A picture of consistency, Edwards owns series-best numbers in top fives (18) and top 10s (25). But the reason he owns the points lead: his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season. Both Edwards and Stewart have scored the exact same amount of points over the first nine Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races (356), but Edwards holds his three-point edge thanks to the three Chase bonus points he earned for his win at Las Vegas.

If Edwards holds on to his lead, he’ll join Bobby Labonte as the only two drivers to win both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup championships.

History is on his side. There have been only three season-finale comebacks since 1975. In 1979, Petty overcame the aforementioned two-point deficit to overtake Waltrip; in 1992, Alan Kulwicki erased Davey Allison’s 30-point lead in the finale; and last season, Jimmie Johnson trailed Denny Hamlin by 15 points, but came back to win his fifth consecutive championship.

Another reason for optimism: His success rate at Homestead is practically unmatched. He has two wins, four top fives and six top 10s in seven Homestead starts. He owns the top average finish (5.7) and the top Driver Rating (117.5). He hasn’t finished outside the top 10 since his first visit to the track, a 14th-place run in 2004.

An Edwards championship would be the third for Roush Fenway Racing, following its title with Matt Kenseth in 2003 and Kurt Busch in 2004.

 

Tony Stewart

A third championship in 2011 would put Stewart on another NASCAR prominence level, historically speaking. Here are the names of those drivers with three series championships: David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Lee Petty and Darrell Waltrip. All are either in the NASCAR Hall of Fame or will be inducted in January.

Stewart already boasts this unique statistic: He’s the only driver to win a series championship under the Chase (2005) and pre-Chase (2002) formats. Now he looks to add another unique accolade, that of driver-owner champion. The last driver-owner to win a series championship was Alan Kulwicki in 1992.

At Homestead, Stewart has two wins, three top fives and six top 10s in 12 starts. His two wins came in the first two races at Homestead, in 1999 and 2000.

 

End Of An Era: Johnson’s Incredible Reign Comes To An End

 

In 2006, Jimmie Johnson finished outside the top 10 four times during the 10-race Chase. Still, he overcame those stumbles to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

At Phoenix last Sunday, Johnson suffered his fifth finish outside the top 10 in this year’s Chase. That’s an all-time Chase high for the best playoff driver in history and proved too much to overcome. It also signaled the end of an era. Now sitting 68 points out of the lead going into the season finale, Johnson has officially been eliminated from championship contention.

His unprecedented – and unbelievable – streak of five consecutive championships is now over.

During his title-winning dynasty, from 2006-2010, Johnson captured 35 of his 55 career victories. He won in all manners, with his last arguably his most impressive – erasing a 15-point deficit in the final race to overtake Denny Hamlin at Homestead.

So now what? Pride, in the form of a top-five championship finish, is on the line. Since Johnson joined the series fulltime in 2002, he has finished in the top five each season. That streak is teetering. He currently sits fifth in points, but is only two points ahead of sixth-place Matt Kenseth going into Homestead.

 

Champion’s Week Game Of Musical Chairs Ends At Homestead

 

Sunday’s Ford 400 has a singular meaning – the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship – to contenders Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.

For 10 other qualifiers for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™, the season’s 36th race offers different goals: personal and team pride and momentum toward 2012. And not to get lost in the South Florida shuffle, a coveted spot on stage for the Dec. 2 Champion’s Week Awards Banquet at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.

Homestead-Miami Speedway offers a high-speed game of musical chairs for Las Vegas. Twelve have qualified for the Chase but only 10 finalists will get an on-stage invitation. With 10 points spanning positions eight through 11, the VIP list hardly is set.

Denny Hamlin is the “on the bubble” in 10th place but only two points up on Jeff Gordon. Although he’s 25 points further back – the equivalent of about half a race – four-race winner Kyle Busch certainly hasn’t been eliminated.

Hamlin, of course, likely is looking forward. He’s five points behind rivals Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman, who have scored an identical 2,252 points. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 10 points ahead of Hamlin in seventh place.

 

Place In 54th Daytona 500 Race At Stake In Ford 400

 

Three months hence, the green flag waves on the 54th Annual Daytona 500, but the race for a guaranteed starting position in the Great American Race ends this week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final top 35 teams in owners’ championship points will breathe easier during the offseason knowing they’ll participate on 2012’s largest stage.

•           Bob Jenkins’ No. 38 Ford holds the 35th spot entering the season finale having qualified for 32 of the 35 races. Travis Kvapil, who clinched the 2003 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title at Homestead, will be at the controls.

•           Mike Bliss will attempt to preserve Frank Stoddard’s 34th placing. The No. 32 Ford is a comfortable 41 points ahead of Jenkins’ No. 38.

•           Andy Lally, a non-qualifier last week at Phoenix, has the weekend’s toughest task. His No. 71 TRG Ford, owned by Kevin Buckler, is ranked 36th,, 28 points out of the top 35.

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Etc. 

 

At Phoenix, Kasey Kahne became the 18th different winner of 2011, one short of matching the NASCAR Sprint Cup record for different winners in a season. A possible favorite to be No. 19: Greg Biffle, who boasts a series-high three wins at Homestead. … Gordon is among three entered drivers having run all 12 previous races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 1.5-mile speedway is one of just two (Kentucky Speedway) where the four-time champion has yet to score a victory, Gordon’s best performance there being a third in 2004. … Mark Martin’s final start for Hendrick Motorsports will be his 830th, giving him sole possession of fifth on the all-time series starts list. Hendrick Motorsports continues to seek its 200th series victory. … By starting Sunday’s Ford 400, Kurt Busch will become the 48th driver to make 400 series starts. … Jimmie Johnson is without a Coors Light Pole in 2011, endangering a nine-season run of at least one pole extending to the 2002 season. A pole this week would match Buck Baker and Geoffrey Bodine for the series’ 10th-longest streak. … Ryan Newman continues his quest for his 50th career pole, making him the ninth to reach that plateau. … The Ford 400 has been won nine of 12 times from a top-10 starting position and twice from the pole (Bill Elliott 2001, Kurt Busch 2002).