NEXTEL Ford 400
Final
for this game
Ford 400 Preview
Nov 18, 2007 - 11:24 AMNovember 18, 2007
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
The 37th and final race on Nextel Cup circuit
(36th points race; 10th of 10 in "Chase for the Championship")
TV: ABC, 3 p.m. EDT
Laps: 267
Track length: 1 1/2 miles
Race length: 400 miles
Qualifying record: Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 181.111 mph, 2003
Race record: Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 140.335 mph, 1999
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Greg Biffle
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 16 Ford Fusion
Points: 3,867 (15th)
Has won the season-ending race here at Homestead the last three
campaigns; he is the only back-to-back winner here since Tony
Stewart won the first two Homestead races; the last driver to
win four consecutive races at a track was Jimmie Johnson who
swept the 2004 and 2005 events at Lowe's Motor Speedway;
struggled through an inconsistent season and missed the Chase
for the second straight season; has posted five top-fives and 11
top-10s, but also has eight finishes of 30th or worse; lone win
of the season came at Kansas in the third race of the Chase;
also finished second to Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards at
Dover the week before Kansas; also finished second last week at
Phoenix.
Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 07 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $4,146,094
Chase Points: 6,331 (3rd)
Remained third in the standings after running 11th at Phoenix,
but was eliminated from title contention; finished 19th the week
prior at Texas; finished sixth at Atlanta after placing ninth
at Martinsville, continuing surprising Chase run; was runner-up
at Charlotte after an 11th at Talladega; followed up his first
career Nextel Cup win at New Hampshire by running 12th at Dover
and second at Kansas; finished 12th at Richmond and ran 20th at
California, following a third at Bristol in three races prior to
the Chase; has 17 top-10 finishes in 35 races this season; has
five top-five finishes, including a fourth on the road course at
Sonoma to go along with his solid showing at Bristol and win at
New Hampshire; has finished 30th or worse just three times -
36th at Las Vegas, 35th at Talladega and 37th at the first race
in New Hampshire; finished 10th at this race last year.
Kyle Busch
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $4,598,968
Chase Points: 6,185 (4th)
Remained fourth in the standings after finishing eighth at
Phoenix, following a fourth at Texas; ran 20th at Atlanta and
placed fourth at Martinsville after a third at Lowe's; was 36th
at Talladega and was run over by Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Kansas
and finished 41st; started Chase with fourth at New Hampshire
and fifth at Dover; ran 20th at Richmond following a third-place
showing at California and a ninth at Bristol; has 20 top-10
finishes in 35 races this season, including 11 top-fives; lone
win of the season came during the first Bristol race - the
inaugural Car of Tomorrow event; will leave Hendrick Motorsports
at the end of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing; ran 38th here
last November.
Jeff Gordon
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $6,967,561
Chase Points: 6,486 (2nd)
All but conceded title to Jimmie Johnson after his teammate's fourth
consecutive win last week at Phoenix; sits 86 points out of the
lead and needs to win the race and hope Johnson finishes 19th or
worse without leading a lap; four times this year Gordon has
out-pointed Johnson by more than 86 points in a race; has seven
consecutive top-10 finishes, but has been unable to keep up with
Johnson's torrid pace; dropped to second in the standings by 30
points behind Johnson with a seventh at Texas; also ran seventh
the week before at Atlanta; finished third at Martinsville
after consecutive wins at Charlotte and Talladega; ran fifth at
Kansas; rebounded from rough stretch leading up to the Chase by
finishing 11th at Dover and second to Bowyer at New Hampshire;
spun with less than two laps remaining at Watkins Glen while
leading, costing him a potential win - still managed to finish
ninth; has six checkered flags this season and 81 career, just
two shy of tying Cale Yarborough for fifth place all-time;
reached a landmark milestone at the first Talladega race,
recording his 77th career victory to pass the late Dale
Earnhardt for sixth all-time; has 10 poles this season - double
that of Ryan Newman who has five; ran 24th here last November.
Jimmie Johnson
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 48 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $7,488,685
Chase Points: 6,572 (1st)
Four straight wins at Phoenix, Texas, Atlanta and Martinsville
moved him to the top of the standings, 86 points ahead of
Gordon; needs to finish 18th or better to clinch second
consecutive title and become first driver to repeat since Gordon
won back-to-back championships in 1997-98; became the first
driver since Gordon in 1998 to win four consecutive races, and
this weekend could be only the third driver ever to win five
consecutive races, joining Richard Petty in 1967 and 1971 as
well as Bobby Allison in 1971; had dropped out of the top spot
in the Chase after finishing second to Gordon at Talladega; was
14th at Lowe's and ran third at Kansas prior to Talladega;
opened the Chase with a 14th at Dover following a sixth at New
Hampshire; earned top seed with consecutive wins at Richmond and
California; defending series champion suffered through an
up-and-down season before the Chase, finishing 39th at the
Brickyard after a fiery crash on the heels of a 37th at Chicago;
has also posted victories this season at Las Vegas, and the
first races at Atlanta, Martinsville and Richmond; was ninth at
this race last year.
Matt Kenseth
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 17 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $6,125,688
Chase Points: 6,103 (6th)
Continued late-Chase surge with a third at Phoenix after
finishing second to Johnson at Texas; ran fourth at Atlanta and
fifth at Martinsville to halt early surprising Chase struggles;
was 34th at Lowe's which followed back-to-back 35th-place
finishes at Dover and Kansas; ran 26th at Talladega to all but
end title hopes; ran seventh at New Hampshire; did not close the
regular season strong with a 14th at Richmond after a seventh
at California - a week after crashing and finishing 39th at
Bristol; ran fourth at Michigan in the rain delayed race; posted
fourth straight top-10 finish by placing 10th at the Brickyard;
ran 34th and 42nd, respectively, prior to the four straight
top-10 results; captured his only victory of the season in the
campaign's second race at California; has 12 top-five finishes
and 21 top-10s this season; ran sixth here last season.
Tony Stewart
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $6,284,090
Chase Points: 6,169 (5th)
Titles hopes officially dashed despite finishing fourth at
Phoenix, following an 11th at Texas; dropped to fifth in the
standings by running 30th at Atlanta after a 13th at
Martinsville, following a seventh at Lowe's; finished 39th at
Kansas after placing eighth at Talladega; had moved within two
points of the lead with a ninth at Dover after placing third at
New Hampshire; finished second at Richmond to enter the Chase on
a hot streak; pre-Chase surge included fourth at Bristol as
well as running 10th at Michigan on the heels of winning at
Watkins Glen - his third win; captured back-to-back victories at
Chicagoland and at the Brickyard while placing sixth at Pocono;
finished 38th at Daytona prior to his win at Chicago after an
early-race crash with teammate Denny Hamlin; finished 15th at
this race last year.
2006 Top 10
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1. Greg Biffle (16), Ford
2. Martin Truex Jr. (1), Chevrolet
3. Denny Hamlin (11), Chevrolet
4. Kasey Kahne (9), Dodge
5. Kevin Harvick (29), Chevrolet
6. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
7. Scott Riggs (10), Dodge
8. Carl Edwards (99), Ford
9. Jimmie Johnson (48), Chevrolet
10. Clint Bowyer (07), Chevrolet
Past Champions
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2006 Greg Biffle, Ford, 125.375 mph
2005 Greg Biffle, Ford, 131.431 mph
2004 Greg Biffle, Ford, 105.623 mph
2003 Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 116.868 mph
2002 Kurt Busch, Ford, 116.462 mph
2001 Bill Elliott, Dodge, 117.449 mph
2000 Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 127.480 mph
1999 Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 140.335 mph
