HEADING DOWN THE HOMESTEAD STRETCH FIVE BATTLE FOR NASCAR TITLE.Byline: Tim Haddock Staff Writer If Jimmie Johnson This article is about NASCAR driver. For the football player, see Jimmie Johnson (American football). For people named Jimmy Johnson, see Jimmy Johnson (disambiguation). can catch and pass NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Nextel Cup The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is NASCAR's top racing series. It was formerly known as the Strictly Stock Series (1949), Grand National Series (1950-1971), and the Winston Cup Series (1972-2003). Series points leader Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #2 Miller Lite Dodge in Nextel Cup Series and part time in Busch Series driving the #12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge. , it will go down as the greatest comeback in NASCAR history. And if Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is a professional American race car driver. He was born in Vallejo, California, raised in Pittsboro, Indiana, and currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. wins the Cup championship, it will mark the first time in NASCAR history that a driver jumped from third to first on the final race of the season. If Dale Earnhardt This article is about the elder Dale Earnhardt. For his son, see Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. For the racing team he founded, see Dale Earnhardt, Inc.. Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Jr., potty mouth, point penalties, fines and all, passes the three drivers in front of him and takes the title, next year's NASCAR races will probably have to air on pay-per-view because nothing will stop drivers from running their motor mouths. Don't count out Mark Martin, either. He is well within striking distance, although disaster needs to strike the top three today at Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami. It plays host to Ford Championship Weekend, the final races of the season in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series. for Earnhardt or Martin to have a shot at the title. In short, this year's points race is the closest in modern NASCAR history. When the Chase for the Championship started, 10 drivers were bunched together, separated by 45 points. With one race to go, five drivers remain in contention, the top three 21 points apart. Busch, the Chase leader, holds an 82-point edge over Martin, the fifth- place driver. NASCAR's playoff Chase has turned the last 10 races into stock-car tempest. ``Well, that's the focal point focal point n. See focus. , is to be able to balance out the regular stress of the regular season as well as the high-intensity pressure of this playoff atmosphere,'' said Busch, driver of the No. 97 Ford for Roush Racing. ``It's been fun to be part of. It's definitely been a different feeling this week from the previous week and the week leading up to the one that was before that one.'' Only twice since 1975, when the current points system was implemented, has the Cup leader lost the championship on the last race of the season. The first time it happened was in 1979, when Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver. "The King," as he is nicknamed, is most well-known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times (Dale Earnhardt is the only other driver to accomplish this feat),winning a record 200 races stole the Cup championship from Darrell Waltrip at the late Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway located in Ontario, California, was a 2.5-mile race track built similar to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Designed by California born architect Walter Ted Tyler, the track opened in 1970, and was considered state of the art at the time. . The other time it happened was 1992, when Alan Kuliwicki passed Davey Allison in points at Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a superspeedway in Hampton, Georgia, twenty miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5 mile standard oval. . This year tops them all. Johnson, once an unfathomable 247 points out of first, is only 18 behind Busch. Gordon is third, 21 points behind Busch. Earnhardt Jr. is fourth, 72 points out of first, and Martin is fifth, 82 points back. The last time this many drivers had a shot to win the NASCAR Cup championship with one race to go was in 1992, when the top six drivers were separated by 113 points. Kulwicki erased a 278-point deficit with six races to go and came back from fourth place in the standings to win the Cup title. By comparison, Johnson had slipped to ninth place in the standings with eight races to go. This was after leading the Cup standings for eight weeks prior to the start of the NASCAR Chase for the Championship. Kulwicki entered the 1992 season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway second in the Cup standings and 30 points behind Allison. Bill Elliott was 40 points out of first, followed by Harry Gant, Kyle Petty and Mark Martin. Kulwicki caught and passed Allison in points by finishing second in the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kulwicki ended up 10 points ahead of Elliott, who won the Atlanta race. Allison was taken out of contention when he got caught up in an accident with Ernie Irvan, who cut a tire late in the race. Johnson's challenge has been five races in the making. His win at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. last Sunday was his fourth in five races - a remarkable feat at any time during a NASCAR season - and has put him in position to win his first Cup title. ``I think we have to go to Homestead with that same thing in mind, go out to win the race,'' said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorspors. ``Because if you look at the points, Kurt is in the lead, Jeff is right behind us. You're going to have to, you know, finish first or second to win this championship, in my eyes In My Eyes was a Boston straight edge band that spearheaded the 1997 youth crew revival along with Ten Yard Fight, Bane, The Trust, Fastbreak and Floorpunch. The band and its members were a part of the hot bed that was the Boston music scene in the late 90's and early 2000's. .'' Busch jumped out to an early lead in the Chase, winning at New Hampshire International Speedway New Hampshire International Speedway is a 1.058 mile (1703 m) oval track which has hosted NASCAR racing since the 1990s. It is commonly referred to by its location, Loudon. nine weeks ago. It was his only win in the Chase races and pushed him from the middle of the pack to the top of the standings. Busch, looking to win his first Cup championship, built his points lead with consistency. He is the only Cup driver with eight top-10s in the last nine races. But he will need at least a second-place finish today, and that doesn't bode well. Aside from winning the Miami race two years ago, Busch's record at Homestead-Miami Speedway isn't good. He has only one top-10 finish in four races and has finished 19th or worse in three of his four visits to the 1.5-mile oval. Looking at history, the Chase for the Championship is wide open. If Busch adds another poor Miami finish, it will make for an interesting end to the NASCAR season. ``This is what NASCAR wanted with this new Nextel Chase for the Cup,'' Busch said, ``an opportunity for five competitors to come down to the final race and to see who is the best man with the best possible finish winning the championship.'' Tim Haddock, (818) 713-3715 timothy.haddock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) BUSCH (2) Jimmie Johnson, once 247 points out of first, is only 18 behind Nextel Cup leader Kurt Busch. Terry Renna/Associated Press Box: (1) NEXTEL CUP CHASE (2) FORD 400 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion