NASCAR Sprint Cup Series News & Notes - Homestead-Miami
Week 10: It's Not Over Yet But History Within Johnson's Grasp
Take It To The Bank: Martin Won't Go Down Without A Fight
2009 Season Ends With Flourish In South Florida With Activities Galore
Week 10: Johnson On Brink Of NASCAR History
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Only Mark Martin (No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet)
stands between Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet) and arguably one of
the greatest achievements in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history.
Johnson, following his seventh victory of the 2009 season at Phoenix
International Raceway, carries a 108-point lead into Sunday's Ford 400
season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The lead isn't insurmountable -- Martin still can deny Johnson a record
fourth consecutive championship -- but all the leader has to do is finish
25th or better to lock up the title.
Johnson, seemingly coasting to the championship before a 38th-place finish
at Texas Motor Speedway gave fresh hopes to his pursuers, proved at Phoenix
that his Lone Star State "hiccup" wasn't a momentum buster. He rolled over
the opposition (Martin finished fourth) by leading a whopping 238 of 312
laps to win the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 for the third consecutive
year.
The 34-year-old El Cajon, Calif. competitor also scored his fourth Chase
victory for the third time, prompting team owner Rick Hendrick to remark,
"Chad (Knaus, crew chief) and Jimmie have just been unbelievable. To watch
them, I said this earlier today, I'm just glad I don't have to race against
them."
Ironically, Hendrick does. Martin ranks second in the standings; four-time
champion Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) is third. Gordon will be
eliminated when Johnson signs in for Sunday's race.
Johnson knows there is no certain thing in NASCAR. He's not ready to
celebrate anything.
"We need to show up, blinders on, focused, (in) qualifying trim, get all
that we can," he said. "We just can't coast. We can't chill out. We have to
stay focused and keep our heads down on the job at hand."
Mark Martin's Down But Definitely Not Yet Out
Mark Martin may trail Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson by 108
points entering Sunday's Ford 400 finale but it's not in his DNA to go down
without putting every ounce of his skill and determination into the fight.
And who knows -- witness the recent Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots
game -- what could happen.
If anyone can stage a comeback, it's the veteran Martin who, on nine
occasions, has gained more than 108 points on Johnson. It happened most
recently two weeks ago in Texas, when Martin's fourth-place finish coupled
with Johnson's accident-troubled 38th, resulted in a net gain of 111 points.
Regardless of how matters shake out, "I'm pretty proud of what we've done
this season," said Martin, only the second NASCAR Sprint Cup driver past the
age of 50 to win five times in a season.
Loop Data Says: Johnson Superb, But So Are Chase Rivals
Jimmie Johnson continues to out-do himself.
Two years ago, in 2007, Johnson had a Chase for the ages, winning four
consecutive races during one remarkable stretch. In that Chase, he averaged
a Driver Rating of 114.1.
But one year later, he eclipsed that mark. In 2008, he won three races and
went into the final race with a robust 141-point lead. That Chase, he bested
2007, posting a Driver Rating of 116.2.
Now this year, he's even stronger. Johnson's Driver Rating over the first
nine Chase races is 117.2. If that stays true this weekend at Homestead, it
will be the highest Chase Driver Rating since the inception of Loop Data in
2005.
Statistically, this has been a landmark Chase. Here are a few key Loop Data
categories, and how 2009 compares to past seasons:
Average Running Position: In a testament to how stout this year's Chase
field was, the top two Average Running Position figures since 2005 are from
the 2009 Chase -- and neither are Johnson's. They belong to Mark Martin and
Jeff Gordon. Over the first nine races, Martin has an Average Running
Position of 7.9 and Gordon has an 8.1. The top season-ending Average Running
Position belongs to Tony Stewart, which had an 8.5 in 2005. With solid
Homestead races, both Martin and Gordon can eclipse that mark.
Fastest Laps Run: Like Driver Rating, Johnson's name is peppered all over
this category. Also like the Driver Rating, he has crushed previous
benchmarks in 2009. In the first nine Chase races, Johnson has 547 Fastest
Laps Run. That's the highest number in the past five Chases, by a wide
margin. The previous high for Fastest Laps Run in a Chase was also by
Johnson, last season. In 2008, he had 379. In other words, Johnson has
turned the fastest laps 168 more times in nine races than he did in 10 races
last season.
Laps in the top 15: This is the rare category where Johnson doesn't already
hold the lead. In fact, if the season ended today, his Chase Laps in the Top
15 (2,356) number would rank 21st. A lot of that has to do with his Texas
race, where he ran just two laps among the top 15. The 2009 leader in the
category is Mark Martin, with 2,563. With a strong Homestead race, he can
take the overall lead now held by Johnson's 2006 mark of 2,773. If Martin
runs 210 of Sunday's 267 laps among the top 15, he'll tie Johnson
Top 35 Owner Points Picture
There's one spot up for grabs this week -- 35th place --- and with it goes a
guaranteed starting position in the 2010 Daytona 500.
The No. 34 team owned by Teresa Earnhardt currently ranks 35th with 2,667
points. The only team with a shot at taking the position is the No. 82 of
Dietrich Mateschitz.
Mateschitz and driver Scott Speed, however, trail by 114 points. Speed, who
has a single top five in his rookie season, will at least have to match his
best performance of the year (fifth) to overcome the deficit.
South Florida Activities Send 2009 Out With A Flourish
This will be a busy week leading up to the final weekend of the NASCAR
season with something for everyone -- both fans and media.
Wednesday's activities include a hauler parade through downtown Miami and
South Beach and driver autograph session at Luumis Park. Among drivers
attending will be Kyle Busch, who will wrap up his first NASCAR Nationwide
Series title on Saturday and Ron Hornaday Jr., who captured an unprecedented
fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title last week.
Later that evening, at Jungle Island/South Beach, NASCAR President Mike
Helton will host the Sailfish Cup Awards Gala, a benefit for the NASCAR
Foundation and the Speediatrics unit at Homestead Hospital.
The annual NASCAR Championship Contenders press conference, featuring Jimmie
Johnson and Mark Martin will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Hyatt/Coral
Gables.
The Coke Zero Racefest will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in
Hollywood from 3-11:30 p.m. Thursday, featuring a kids' fun zone, race cars
and other exhibits and appearances by several drivers.
Two charity events, hosted by Juan Pablo Montoya's Formula Smiles Foundation
in Brickell and Operation Helmet benefiting U.S. service personnel in combat
zones in Nikki Beach/South Beach, also take place Thursday night.
Saturday's events include a fishing tournament on the speedway's lake and
enshrinement by Helton of the inaugural class of Ned Jarrett, Bobby Allison
and Jimmie Johnson in Homestead-Miami Speedway's Hall of Champions.
Allison, the 1983 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, will sign autographs
from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Speedway Tower.
The Emmy-nominated host of "Dirty Jobs," Ford spokesperson and grand marshal
Mike Rowe will meet the media at 3 p.m. Saturday.
On The CAM: Rival Crew Chiefs Discuss Driver Therapy On Eve Of Championship
Race
Crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson, who call the shots for drivers
Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin, respectively, were guests on this week's
NASCAR CAM video teleconference. Their drivers will go head-to-head for the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship this Sunday at Homestead-Miami
Speedway.
Q: Mark had said on pit wall after the race (at Phoenix), 'I've gotta dig
deeper.' ... For Alan, can you talk about him saying 'I gotta dig deeper?'
And to Chad, have you had to help exorcise demons out of the mind of your
driver because that's such a big part of it?
Gustafson: "Yeah, I think we all have things that we've got to face and
mental blocks that we've got to get over. I think the one you're referencing
specifically is Talladega, and that was a place where Mark has made it
pretty common knowledge it is not one of his favorite venues, and the racing
does not necessarily suit him.
He took a very positive attitude on it and didn't let it affect him. We've
done everything we could do. We've worked as hard as we can work. He's
driven his tail off every week; the pit crew has practiced and performed
from January of last year or December of last year preparing for this."
Knaus: "I don't know if you'd call them demons, I guess, but Jimmie and I,
we've reached a level in our relationship that we're pretty open with one
another and can communicate very well.
So I think that, you know, if there's something that's weighing heavy on
him, he definitely brings it up and we can discuss it.
It's not like we have to have a formal sit-down or anything like that, that
I've really got to try to talk him off a cliff. It really hasn't been that
way.
We're in communication constantly, whether it's via email, text, phone
conversation. So I think we have our own therapy sessions, just kind of
unwillingly, just kind of flows.
I don't think it's something that's real, real structured or something that
I necessarily have to focus on. But if there were things, you know, we would
talk about them."
Joey Logano Nears Raybestos Rookie Of The Year Title
Points remain to be totaled but Joey Logano (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) is
the prohibitive favorite to claim 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors
with only Sunday's Ford 400 left on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule.
Logano, who grabbed his 25th rookie of the race award at Phoenix, leads
rivals Scott Speed (No. 82 Red Bull Toyota) and Max Papis (No. 13 GEICO
Toyota) by 36 and 88 points, respectively.
Logano won in mid-summer at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The Connecticut native at age 19 years, five months, 29 days would become
the youngest rookie of the year in the history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series. Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&Ms Toyota) was age 20 years, six months, 13
days when he won the title in 2005.
Winning the rookie of the year title is a good indication of things to come.
NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Richard Petty won the award in 1959; David
Pearson was top rookie in 1960.
Since 1979 six Raybestos Rookies of the Year have gone on to win series
titles including seven-time champion and Hall of Fame Inductee Dale
Earnhardt (1979) and Jeff Gordon (1993).
Etc. & Quotable
Carl Edwards, No. 99 AFLAC Ford: "A Roush Fenway car has won (at Homestead)
almost every year that I've been doing this at this level. I have real high
hopes going in there. We're just going to go until the last lap and give it
a hundred percent with guns blazing. We're going for the win. Hopefully
we'll get a shot at it." With three victories, Roush Fenway Racing is
suffering its leanest year since 2001 when the team won just twice. The team
won 11 races a year ago. Roush Fenway drivers have won six of the past seven
races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Homestead-Miami Speedway is the only active NASCAR Sprint Cup track at which
Jeff Gordon has failed to win. Gordon marked Texas Motor Speedway off his
to-do list in the spring leaving just the 1.5-mile South Florida speedway in
the way of a noteworthy sweep. "A win, you know, is huge, especially at
Homestead, because it is the final race. It would be huge for us. We've
never won there before. I think that everybody feels that way," said Gordon.
This week's race marks the eighth consecutive year the season has ended at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. Atlanta Motor Speedway hosted the finale from
1987-2000. In 2001, the finale was held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
because of the 9/11 attacks. From 1974 through 1986, the season ended on the
West Coast at now-shuttered tracks in Ontario and Riverside, Calif. The last
time the season ended on a short track was 1970 at Langley Field Speedway in
Virginia.
NSCS Etc.
Homestead-Miami Milestones
A number of streaks are in jeopardy this week -- none longer than Greg
Biffle's (No. 16 3 M Ford) run of six consecutive seasons with at least one
victory.
Also needing a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway to preserve a streak is Jeff
Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet), who has victories in three
consecutive seasons. A runner-up finish in Sunday's race at Phoenix suggests
the Richard Childress Racing driver might be close.
Winless in 2009 after posting victories a year ago are defending Ford 400
winner Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper
Chevrolet), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet)
and Ryan Newman (No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet).
Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) continues to chase a Coors Light Pole to
extend his consecutive fast qualifying streak to six seasons.
Floridians In The Garage
From David Reutimann's No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota team: driver
David Reutimann (Zephyrhills).
From Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet team:
gas man Preston Cordell (Middleburg), and spotter Joey Meier (Marathon).
From Mark Martin's No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet team: crew chief Alan
Gustafson (Ormond Beach) and transport driver Dean Mozingo (Tampa).
From Casey Mears' No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet team: front tire changer
Ryan Pepe (Orlando).
From Kasey Kahne's No. 9 Budweiser Dodge team: crew chief Kenny Francis
(Jacksonville).
From Greg Biffle's No. 16 3M Ford team: pit support Bobby Bakeeff (Fort
Lauderdale).
From Kyle Busch's No. 18 M&Ms Toyota team: shock specialist Charlie Orr
(Mountverde).
From Elliott Sadler's No. 19 Best Buy Dodge team: mechanic Allen Mincey
(Fort Lauderdale).
From Jeff Burton's No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team: media relations
representative Christine Brownlow (Miami Springs).
From Ryan Newman's No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet team: crew chief Tony
Gibson (Daytona Beach); engine tuner Jay Nolan (Jacksonville); and driver
support Jay Guarneri (Naples).
From Juan Pablo Montoya's No. 42 Target Chevrolet: crew chief Brian Pattie
(Zephyrhills); jack man Mark Jacobs (Fort Walton Beach) and spotter Tab Boyd
(Pensacola).
From AJ Allmendinger's No. 44 Ford Drive One Ford: spotter Shawn Reutimann
(Zephyrhills).
From Scott Speed's No. 82 Red Bull Toyota: mechanic Scott Kilbury (Fort
Lauderdale).
Hendrick Nears Owner Record
Based upon owner championships won, Hendrick Motorsports is the New York
Yankees of NASCAR.
Drivers in Rick Hendrick-owned cars and trucks have won 11 NASCAR national
series titles. Either Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin will add a record 12th
championship on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The record currently is shared by Hendrick and Richard Childress Racing.
Four drivers -- Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte and Jack Sprague --
have won NASCAR national owner championships for Hendrick. Gordon, Johnson
and Labonte won NASCAR Sprint Cup titles. Sprague is a three-time NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series champion.
Rick Hendrick's NASCAR Championships
1995 Jeff Gordon Sprint Cup
1996 Terry Labonte Sprint Cup
1997 Jeff Gordon Sprint Cup
1997 Jack Sprague Camping World Trucks
1998 Jeff Gordon Sprint Cup
1998 Jack Sprague Camping World Trucks
2001 Jeff Gordon Sprint Cup
2002 Jack Sprague Camping World Trucks
2006 Jimmie Johnson Sprint Cup
2007 Jimmie Johnson Sprint Cup
2008 Jimmie Johnson Sprint Cup
2008 Jimmie Johnson Sprint Cup or Mark Martin
Up Next: Champion's Week Comes West, To California And Las Vegas
Champion's Week heads west next month with activities beginning Sunday, Nov.
29 in San Diego where the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion will attend the
NFL game between the hometown Chargers and the visiting Kansas City Chiefs.
On Monday, it's on to Camp Pendleton, the West Coast home of the U.S.
Marines, where the champion will meet with hundreds of service personnel.
SIRIUS-XM personality Mojo Nixon will host the appearance.
Tuesday's activities include an appearance before fans and ticket holders at
Auto Club Speedway and visits to a number of West Coast-produced television
shows.
Then it's on to Las Vegas.
Wednesday's Chasers for Charity and Roast is a first for Champion's Week and
takes place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during afternoon and evening hours.
The awards trail begins in earnest on Thursday, Dec. 3 with such traditional
activities as the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers 2009 Awards ceremony at the
Venetian Hotel.
That's followed by the popular Victory Lap, which begins at 1 p.m. and this
year follows the famous Las Vegas Strip. An additional activity -- After the
Lap Q&A -- will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the Hollywood Theater at the MGM
Grand.
Wynn Las Vegas hosts the traditional Champion's Awards Ceremony beginning at
6 p.m. Friday Dec. 4. Ceremonies will be broadcast live by SPEED 9 p.m.-1
a.m. ET with re-airs at 1-5 a.m. on Dec. 5 and 1-5 p.m. on Dec. 6.
Fast Facts
The Race: Ford 400
The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile banked oval)
The Date: Sunday, Nov. 22
The Time: 3:15 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 400.5 miles/267 laps
TV: ABC, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN and Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128; (WCTH-FM 100.3 local)
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards
2008 Polesitter: Jamie McMurray
Schedule:
Friday: Practice, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Qualifying, 3:10 p.m.
Saturday: Practice, 1:30-2:15 p.m. and 2:50-3:50 p.m.
-credit: nascar
