SPRINT Ford 400
Final
for this game
Ford 400 Preview
Nov 11, 2008 - 7:43 PMNovember 16, 2008
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
The 37th and final race on Sprint Cup circuit
(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
----------------
Greg Biffle
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 16 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $4,826,939
Chase Points: 6,358 (3rd)
Snapped 33-race winless skid by winning at New Hampshire to
start the Chase, then won again at Dover; winning streak ended
with a third at Kansas, then was wrecked by teammate Carl
Edwards at Talladega and finished 24th; remains third in the
standings, 203 points behind Jimmie Johnson after finishing
11th at Phoenix; through first 35 starts has 12 top fives and 17
top 10s; claimed two poles this season at Darlington and Dover;
also has a pair of DNFs on the year, at Darlington and the
second Daytona race; has been in the top-12 in the standings
since the season-opening Daytona 500, where he finished 10th;
finished second in the 2005 series standings, earning six
victories; he is the only driver to win Nationwide and Craftsman
Truck series titles; did not qualify for the Chase last season
and wound up 14th in the standings; finished 13th in this race
last season.
Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
2008 Earnings: $4,376,245
Chase Points: 6,226 (6th)
Finished 12th at Richmond to lock up final Chase berth, then ran
12th at New Hampshire, eighth at Dover and 12th at Kansas; sits
sixth in the standings after running 12th at Phoenix; pulled
off a shocking victory in the Chase opener last season from the
pole en route to finishing a surprising third in the standings
on the strength of five top-10 finishes over the Chase; has one
win on the year, coming at the first Richmond race in May; in 34
starts this season has six top fives and 15 top 10s; has not
earned a pole, but also has no DNFs on the year; is running
double duty this season and currently tops the Nationwide Series
standings by 56 points; finished 39th in this race last year.
Jeff Burton
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 31 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $5,434,198
Chase Points: 6,292 (4th)
Won at Lowe's to jump up to second in the standings, 69 points
behind Jimmie Johnson, but ran 17th at Martinsville and 18th at
Atlanta to fall back to fourth; remains there after a ninth at
Phoenix; opened the Chase by running fourth at New Hampshire,
ninth at Dover, seventh at Kansas and fourth at Talladega; one
of the circuit's most consistent drivers struggled entering the
Chase; ran in the top 15 through the first 17 races, but had an
average finish of 20th over last nine starts before the Chase -
including just two top 10s which came at the Brickyard and
Richmond; won first Bristol race for other victory of the
season; has no poles this season and a pair of DNFs; finished
eighth in last season's standings, one year after placing
seventh; finished in the top 10 in half of the races last
season, including nine top fives; best overall finish was third
in the 2000 standings; ran eighth in this race last season.
Kyle Busch
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 18 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $6,532,620
Chase Points: 6,080 (11th)
Championship hopes evaporated after engine troubles at Kansas
relegated him to a 28th-place finish; blew an engine at Dover
and finished 43rd to fall to last place in the Chase; began the
Chase with a broken sway bar at New Hampshire that dropped him
to a 34th-place finish; first season at Joe Gibbs Racing has
seen him win eight races and post 16 top fives and 20 top 10s;
held on to the top spot for 17 consecutive weeks; win at
Watkins Glen gave him a sweep of the road courses following
victory at Sonoma in June; prior to win at the Glen had
"slumped" with a 15th at the Brickyard and 36th at Pocono; also
ran dead last at the first Pocono race; has wins at Atlanta,
Talladega, Darlington, Dover and the second Daytona race;
runner-up finish at Richmond was marred by a late-race incident
with Dale Earnhardt Jr.; had the dominant car and led the most
laps at the Daytona 500; ran 20th in this race last season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $4,540,920
Chase Points: 6,087 (10th)
The circuit's most popular driver started the Chase by running
fifth at New Hampshire; fell to 24th at Dover and 13th at
Kansas; was collected in the big one at Talladega and wound up
28th; is now 10th after running sixth at Phoenix; has been more
consistent than spectacular with nine top fives and 15 top 10s,
posting just a single DNF and claiming one pole; snapped a
76-race winless stretch by winning first Michigan race on fumes;
in 11 remaining races before the Chase had an average finish of
16 and just two top 10s; was involved in a late-race incident
with Kyle Busch at Richmond while racing for the win and wound
up 15th; was the top finishing Hendrick car at the Daytona 500
with a ninth-place showing; made the move from his father's
Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he won 17 Cup events, to Hendrick
Motorsports; got off to a good start with his new team by
winning the Bud Shootout; finished 36th in this race last
season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 99 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $7,729,975
Chase Points: 6,420 (2nd)
Remains second in the standings after consecutive wins at
Atlanta and Texas, then a fourth at Phoenix; still sits 141
points behind Jimmie Johnson; dropped from the top spot in the
Chase after running second at Kansas; opened the Chase with
thirds at New Hampshire and Dover; caused the big one at
Talladega and finished 29th, then dropped to fourth in the
standings after 33rd-place finish at Lowe's; has 18 top fives
and 26 top 10s; finished second to Johnson at the Brickyard and
has five runner-ups this season; was also second to Kyle Busch
at Darlington, Dover and the second Daytona race; was docked 100
points and fell from the top spot in the standings after being
penalized after his win at Las Vegas; victory at Texas was his
15th career Cup win; qualified for the Chase last year and won
at Dover, but failed post-race inspection and was docked 25
points; penalty dropped him from third to sixth in the standings
and he never recovered, eventually winding up ninth; won the
2007 NASCAR Busch Series championship and is in contention to
win the title again this year; ran fifth here last year.
Jeff Gordon
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 24 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $5,752,284
Chase Points: 6,151 (7th)
Ran 41st at Phoenix, dropping to seventh in the standings; has
yet to win this season but has 12 top-fives and 18 top 10s; has
six DNFs this season after posting just one last year; opened
the 2008 season with a disappointing 39th in the Daytona 500;
only a dominant finish by teammate Jimmie Johnson kept him from
capturing a fifth championship last season; finished with 10
top-10 finishes in the final 11 races - the other finish in that
span was an 11th at Dover; totaled a remarkable 30 top-10
finishes and 21 top fives in 36 races last year; had six
checkered flags last season and 81 career, just two shy of
tying Cale Yarborough for fifth place all-time; ran fourth in
this race last year.
Denny Hamlin
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 11 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $5,386,018
Chase Points: 6,090 (9th)
Spent a night in the hospital after hard crash at Talladega
which relegated him to a 39th-place finish; finished fifth at
Phoenix to move to ninth in the standings; won once this season
at Martinsville in March; through 35 starts has 12 top fives and
18 top 10s along with one pole at the first Richmond race; has
only three DNFs on the year; has been in the top-12 in the
standings since win at first Martinsville race; struggled to a
12th-place finish in the Chase last season with only three
top-10s; in 2006 became the first - and thus far - only rookie
to make the Chase, going on to finish third in the standings;
posted seven top-10s in the 10 races that make up the Chase; ran
third in this race last season.
Kevin Harvick
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 29 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $5,324,193
Chase Points: 6,233 (5th)
Had finished in the top-10 in nine straight races until running
20th at Talladega; finished seventh at Phoenix and is fifth in
the standings; started the Chase by finishing 10th at New
Hampshire, sixth at Dover and sixth at Kansas; posted six top
fives and 17 top 10s this season; has no poles and no DNFs on
the year; entered the top-12 in the standings after Pocono in
the beginning of August; last year finished 10th in the Chase
with four top-10 finishes; in 2006 finished fourth in the Chase
with six top-10 finishes including wins at New Hampshire and
Phoenix; took an early lead in the 2006 Chase after winning at
New Hampshire from the pole, but a 32nd-place finish at Dover
knocked him out of the top spot; ran 19th in this race last
year.
Jimmie Johnson
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 48 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $7,231,750
Chase Points: 6,561 (1st)
Two-time reigning series champion has a 141-point lead atop the
standings after winning at Phoenix; just needs to finish 36th or
better at Homestead to become first driver since Cale Yarborough
to win three straight titles; barely missed out on third
straight win after being passed by Greg Biffle in the closing
laps at New Hampshire, settling for second; followed with fifth
at Dover and a win at Kansas to take over first place in the
Chase; played it safe at Talladega and finished ninth, then ran
sixth at Lowe's and won at Martinsville; entered the Chase with
momentum after winning the past two races at California and
Richmond; also has wins at Phoenix and the Brickyard; in 35
starts has 15 top fives and 22 top 10s to go along with 11 poles
and just a single DNF; battled teammate Jeff Gordon for the top
spot in the Chase early last season, then took off by winning
four straight races over the second half of the Chase; in 2006
he came back from ninth early in the Chase to win the
championship with six top 10s, which included a win at
Martinsville and four second-place finishes; finished fifth in
the 2005 standings and second in 2004, eight points behind Kurt
Busch; ran seventh in this race last year.
Matt Kenseth
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 17 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $5,407,603
Chase Points: 6,091 (8th)
Does not have a win this season but finished fifth at Kansas
after a second at Dover; was collected in the big one at
Talladega and finished 26th, then placed 41st at Lowe's; ran
seventh at Martinsville and fourth at Atlanta; started the
Chase by running 40th at New Hampshire; has nine top fives and
20 top 10s with no poles and one DNF on the year; last season
had a late-Chase surge with a win at the season-ending race at
Homestead, following a third at Phoenix and second at Texas;
finished fourth in the final standings; won the series
championship in 2003 despite capturing only one checkered flag,
prompting NASCAR to change to its current Chase format; is
running this season without long-time crew chief Robbie Reiser,
who has been replaced atop the box by Chip Bolin; won this race
last year.
Tony Stewart
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $6,145,796
Chase Points: 6,059 (12th)
Snapped a 42-race winless streak by winning at Talladega;
followed that up by running 11th at Lowe's and 26th at
Martinsville; dropped to 12th in the standings after finishing
22nd at Phoenix; has 10 top fives and 15 top 10s, along with no
poles and three DNFs on the year; finished fifth at Chicago in
first race since announcing he will leave JGR at the end of the
season to drive for his own Stewart-Haas Racing team next
season; finished second to teammate Kyle Busch at Atlanta, but
was vocal about the poor Goodyear tire quality; suffered a hard
crash at Las Vegas, injured his ankle and finished last; had
another disappointment in the Daytona 500, finishing third
despite having the lead with one lap to go; also clashed with
his team after finishing second to Jimmie Johnson at Richmond;
finished sixth in the Chase last season, one year after not
qualifying; won the 2005 championship for his second career
title; finished 30th in this race last year.
2007 Top 10
-----------
1. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
2. Kurt Busch (2), Dodge
3. Denny Hamlin (11), Chevrolet
4. Jeff Gordon (24), Chevrolet
5. Carl Edwards (99), Ford
6. Martin Truex Jr. (1), Chevrolet
7. Jimmie Johnson (48), Chevrolet
8. Jeff Burton (31), Chevrolet
9. Mark Martin (01), Chevrolet
10. David Ragan (6), Ford
Past Champions
--------------
2007 Matt Kenseth, Ford, 131.888 mph
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
