BUSCH Ford 300
Final
for this game
Ford 300 Preview
Nov 17, 2007 - 11:44 AMNovember 17, 2007
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
Race 35 of 35 on the Busch Series circuit
TV: ESPN2, 4:00 p.m.
Laps: 200
Track length: 1 1/2 miles
Race length: 300 miles
Qualifying record: Casey Mears, Dodge, 177.936 mph, 2004
Race record: Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 132.191 mph, 2001
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $1,191,260
Finished 11th at Texas two weeks ago to clinch the 2007 NASCAR
Busch Series Championship; finished seventh at Phoenix last
week; prior to Texas finished 25th at Memphis following a 33rd
at Lowe's which was his second consecutive DNF; before that was
38th at Kansas, his worst finish of 2007; prior to debacle at
Kansas finished sixth at Dover, his second top 10 in the last 10
races after running second at Richmond; finished 11th at
Bristol and 28th at Michigan following consecutive poor showings
on the road courses where he ran 32nd at Watkins Glen after a
30th at Montreal; has just two top-fives and five top-10s over
last 16 races; despite recent struggles still has a series-best
20 top-10 finishes; has led in the standings for 32 consecutive
weeks, and has been in the top five following the last 61 Busch
races; in 34 starts this season has four wins, trailing only
Kevin Harvick who has six; has posted 14 top-five finishes; ran
second to teammate Matt Kenseth here last year.
Kevin Harvick
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 21 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2007 Earnings: $1,094,570
Reigning series champion finished fifth at Phoenix a week after
winning at Texas, his series-best sixth win of the season;
finished 10th at Lowe's after a 13th at Kansas; did not compete
at Memphis or Dover; was 24th at Richmond, his worst finish of
2007; finished seventh at California after a 16th at Bristol;
has 20 top-10 finishes, the same as Edwards despite nine less
starts; won at Watkins Glen for his third straight victory; also
finished second at Daytona; despite racing in just 25 races,
has a series-best six wins (Daytona, New Hampshire, Chicago,
Montreal, Watkins Glen, Texas); only other finishes out of
top-10 was an 11th at Texas and 12th at Charlotte; finished
sixth here last year.
Jason Leffler
Team: Braun Racing
Car: No. 38 Toyota Camry
2007 Earnings: $1,115,369
Remained third in the standings by running eighth at Phoenix,
following a 12th at Texas; moved up to third after running fifth
at Atlanta; finished 19th at Lowe's and ran 21st at Kansas
after taking 30th at Dover; was 11th at Richmond and 14th at
California; posted a second-place showing at Bristol after
leading a race-high 81 laps; placed 12th at Michigan after
running 27th at Watkins Glen and 26th at Montreal; the two poor
showings on the road courses came after earning his second
career Busch series victory at Indianapolis, which gave Toyota
its first series victory; started the season with four DNFs in
the first six races, but has none since; has been inconsistent
with eight finishes of 30th or worse in 34 races this year;
finished 19th in this race last year.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2007 Earnings: $768,957
Finished 23rd at Phoenix after placing 17th at Texas to remain
fifth in the standings; ran third at Atlanta after a sixth at
Lowe's to break a fifth-place tie with Bobby Hamilton Jr. in the
standings; ran 34th at Kansas following a 32nd at Dover and a
39th at Richmond; finished 10th at California for his second
straight top 10 after a sixth at Bristol; struggled prior to
that with a pair of 21st showings at Michigan and Watkins Glen;
finished fifth at Gateway nine races ago; scored four top five
and eight top-10 finishes in 2007; also finished third at
Talladega; won the pole and finished fifth at Texas; also has
seven finishes of 30th or worse this season; leads the Raybestos
Rookie of the Year standings by 30 points over Marcos Ambrose.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2007 Earnings: $1,101,445
Followed up first career NASCAR Busch Series win at Atlanta by
running 18th at Texas and 12th at Phoenix; also finished 12th at
Lowe's after a 17th at Kansas; ran 10th at Dover, moving past
Harvick in the standings; finished 23rd at Richmond and finished
15th at California; ran third at Bristol; has better finishes
than Edwards in 10 of the last 14 races; has scored the most
points since mid-season point; had consecutive third-place
finishes at both Indianapolis and Gateway; has 12 top-10
finishes in 2007 including his previous career best finish of
second place at the first Nashville race; has also finished 30th
or worse four times this season; finished 12th here last year.
2006 Top 10
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1. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
2. Carl Edwards (60), Ford
3. Paul Menard (11), Chevrolet
4. Denny Hamlin (11), Chevrolet
5. J.J. Yeley (18), Chevrolet
6. Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.(8), Chevrolet
8. Kasey Kahne (9), Dodge
9. Todd Kluever (06), Ford
10. Johnny Sauter (00), Chevrolet
Past Champions
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2006 Matt Kenseth
2005 Ryan Newman
2004 Kevin Harvick
2003 Kasey Kahne
2002 Scott Wimmer
2001 Joe Nemechek
2000 Jeff Gordon
1999 Joe Nemechek
1998 Jeff Burton
1997 Joe Nemechek
1996 Kevin Lepage
1995 Dale Jarrett
