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Auto Racing Capsules: Johnson and Martin take title race into finale
Comments 0 | Recommend 0HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Mark Martin has lost to Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart — some of NASCAR's greatest drivers — in his frustrating bid for an elusive championship.
Standing in his way now? Jimmie Johnson, who takes a 108-point lead over Martin into Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Barring a total collapse, Johnson will be the one to send Martin to a fifth runner-up finish in the standings. In doing so, Johnson will become the first driver in NASCAR history to win four consecutive championships.
When Martin gets beat, it's by the very best.
"I don't know how this guy here hasn't won a championship," wondered Rick Hendrick, owner of both Johnson and Martin's teams. "He has raced and finished second to some of the all-time greats when they were in their prime, from Jeff Gordon to Dale Earnhardt. Has anyone (else) ever raced against that many champions in their prime and finished second?
"He would have to be considered one of the all-time greats."
And so begins the debate over where the winner and the loser of this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship will stack up in NASCAR history.
In one corner is Johnson, who has dominated the Cup Series the past four years. He's won 29 races over the past four seasons, including four since the 10-race Chase began in September.
In the other is Martin, the 50-year-old role model to most NASCAR drivers who came back to full-time racing this season when Hendrick offered him one of the best rides in the business.
With five wins in this rejuvenating season, Martin has proved to still be at the top of the game. But as the praise poured in for the sentimental favorite, he downplayed his role in the sport's history.
"My record does not stand up against the greats in this business," he said of 40 victories in 757 starts. "I just want to be a winner. Just a winner, you know? I worked really hard and I try pretty hard to be that."
Understated, as always, and open for debate. He wasn't even finished underselling his accomplishments when Hendrick urged Johnson to speak up and make everyone understand just what Martin means to NASACAR.
"He's too humble of a man, and doesn't understand what he's done in this sport, for this sport, how many young guys have respected what he's done," Johnson said. "Coming up through ASA, everybody knew who Mark Martin was. I aspired at that time to have people speak of me as they did you. When I came to race in the Busch Series at the time, you were wearing us all out week in and week out. That was our chance to race against Mark Martin and to learn something from him.
"... You are one of the greatest. We all think the world of you and respect the hell out of you."
For Johnson, the respect oddly doesn't come as easily.
Although he's certainly been unbeatable the past four years, fans have been slow to embrace the well-spoken, corporate-focused driver from El Cajon, Calif.
Add in that he drives for the best team in NASCAR and has the best crew chief in the business in Chad Knaus, and it's been difficult for Johnson to earn the credit he's due.
"Whether he wins this championship or loses it, we're going to look back 20 or 30 years from now and say, They were incredible, " said former Hendrick teammate Brian Vickers. "I don't know what it is about our sport, but you go watch Tiger Woods play golf or you watch the Yankees win another World Series, and it is just celebrated throughout the industry and an opportunity to see the best at the best and to see the best win multiple times in a row.
"For some reason, when that happens in our industry, everyone asks, What's wrong? I think this is great for our sport. Jimmie is getting ready to win four in a row — there's nothing wrong with that."
He'll do it Sunday simply by finishing 25th or better, regardless of what Martin does. Because he won the pole, if Johnson holds on and leads the first lap, he'll only have to finish 27th or better.
That's an easy day at the office for Johnson, who has used a take-no-prisoners approach to his record-breaking march. Except from a conservative drive earlier this month at high-stakes Talladega, he's been aggressive every week, even after a devastating lap 3 accident at Texas two races ago ate up a chunk of his lead.
He could have nursed his way to the title by playing it safe last week in Phoenix, but instead put on a dominating show to widen the gap and eliminate four-time series champion Jeff Gordon from title contention.
Although Homestead is not a great track for Johnson — his average finish is 13.6 — he's certainly going to try to wrap up his title by embarrassing the competition.
"I've wanted my whole life to be a champion, to compete against the best drivers in the world," Johnson said. "I love my job and I love what I'm doing. Racing's it. It's all I've ever done. I'm glad it's worked out because I don't know what the hell I'd be doing otherwise.
"I'm finally good at it, and I want to keep it up, I want to keep it going."
Notebook: McMurray pleased to reunite with Ganassi
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Jamie McMurray feels right at home at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
He should. He's been there before.
McMurray's ride for Roush Fenway Racing on Sunday will be his last after four years with the team. He signed this week with EGR, where he was reunited with Chip Ganassi, the owner who gave the driver his first Cup ride in 2002.
McMurray expressed no regret about signing with owner Jack Roush after the 2005 season. But he sometimes felt lost in the shuffle as part of the organization's five-car lineup, something he won't have to worry about next season at EGR.
"I remember telling him that day he was making the right decision, when he left us," Ganassi said. "Those were the days when it looked like he needed a big, four-car teams. I hope our team has shown this year maybe you don't need to have all that to do well."
McMurray was hired to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet, a spot left open when Martin Truex Jr. defected to Michael Waltrip Racing. The hiring has long been in the works, and gives one of the last remaining open seats for 2010 to McMurray.
McMurray drove 114 races for Ganassi, but left after the 2005 season to join Roush Fenway Racing. He is losing that ride because Roush must drop one team to meet NASCAR's four-car limit that begins next season.
"You just always think that it is going to be better if you do something different and it isn't always," McMurray said.
McMurray and Matt Kenseth are the only Roush Fenway drivers to win a race this year. Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan are looking for their first victories of 2009, and none of the five drivers qualified for the Chase for the championship.
"When things are going well, things are really good. You have a lot of data, a lot of drivers to learn from," McMurray said. "The down side to that is when things aren't going well, it's a big ship and it takes a long time to get it turned around."
McMurray has three career Cup wins, including his victory at Talladega earlier this month. He set a NASCAR record by winning in his second Cup race while driving for Ganassi in 2002.
He enjoyed his best success with Ganassi, finishing 13th (2003), 11th (2004) and 12th (2005) in his final three seasons with the team. McMurray would have qualified for the Chase for the championship in 2004 and 2005 under the current format. He never finished better than 16th with RFR — he's 22nd this year entering the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
His only teammate in 2010 will be Chase driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Their friendship hit an icy patch earlier this year when Montoya wrecked McMurray in Bristol. McMurray said he's moved on from the incident now that they're both driving under the EGR banner.
Kevin Manion will be McMurray's crew chief.
MAN OF THE MOMENT
Juan Pablo Montoya's best season in NASCAR has made him a bigger hit with the Hispanic community.
"I think it's great to see the Latin community paying attention to what we're doing," he said.
NASCAR's only Colombian star has expanded the sport's popularity outside of the United States. He answers questions from the Hispanic media in Spanish, fans wave Colombian flags in the stands, and south Florida fans have made him the most popular driver this week.
It might be too much attention. Montoya, sixth in the points standings, has been crushed by ticket requests for the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"It's actually a nightmare. It is," he said. "It's so many people. Everybody wants tickets. Everybody wants this, everybody needs this. Everybody is your best friend."
Montoya had plenty of friends Thursday night when more than 700 people attended his fundraising gala in south Florida. He's proud of the increased awareness he's helped bring to NASCAR, but emphasized that's secondary compared to his racing.
"I'm not racing NASCAR to create Hispanic awareness about it, you know," he said. "I race NASCAR because I want to kick everybody's butt."
The former Formula One standout — he also has an Indianapolis 500 win and CART championship on his resume — has done more of that this year than his first two full seasons in Cup racing.
"I want to win races and everything, but the way we ran over the past few years against this year, it's been incredible," he said. "We got to be able to match the performance. I think that's the key thing for the team for the future."
F1 VISITOR
Sebastian Vettel spent time at his first NASCAR weekend listening to racing advice from Juan Pablo Montoya.
No, Vettel isn't plotting a jump from Formula One to NASCAR like the one that Montoya pulled off.
After all, the 22-year-old Vettel is just really getting going in his F1 career. He won the season's final race in Abu Dhabi to finish second in the championship standings in only his first season with Red Bull Racing.
"There's advice about the sport, how things work, what to look out for," Vettel said Saturday. "You can always learn."
Vettel was at Homestead-Miami Speedway and planned to watch part of the Nationwide Series race from the spotter's position.
"I'll get an idea of how things roll over here," he said.
Vettel, who had four wins and four poles this season, is signed with Red Bull Racing through 2011. So a possible defection is still years away.
"I think it's not as easy as saying I'll find a team and I'll find money," he said. "I think it's very difficult here to get accepted and really get into the whole thing. If they don't like you, you come here and you think you are the greatest and best ever, people can prove you wrong very quickly."
HAMLIN SURGERY
Denny Hamlin will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday. He will need about two weeks of recovery.
"When I get out of the car, it really is stiff and the joints really hurt a bunch," Hamlin said. "It's something that needs to be done for the long run."
Hamlin has three wins, qualified for the Chase and is in eighth place this season.
-- Dan Gelston
Volkswagen program head in Homestead
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — The head of Volkswagen's motorsports program is at Homestead-Miami Speedway, fueling speculation that the automaker is interested in joining Toyota as the second foreign manufacturer in NASCAR.
Top NASCAR officials confirmed to The Associated Press that Hans-Joachim Stuck met with the sanctioning body Saturday at the track. The officials requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the meeting.
Volkswagen officials expressed interest in entering a racing series, but indicated they are more inclined to pick a series that showcases technology, according to a person who attended the meeting but also requested anonymity. NASCAR features competition over technology.
A second option for Volkswagen could be the Grand-Am Road Racing Series, which is owned by NASCAR and currently uses foreign engine makers.
Earlier this season, NASCAR chairman Brian France said the sanctioning body is open to accepting new manufacturers into the sport. The only requirement is that manufacturers must have production plants in the U.S.
Volkswagen has a plant under construction in Tennessee, and the facility is scheduled to build midsize sedans in 2011. That coincides with NASCAR's tentative plans to replace carburetors on Sprint Cup Series cars with fuel injection.
NASCAR held a Nov. 3 meeting with representatives from all four current manufacturers, as well as engine builders from five race teams and two independent suppliers to discuss the potential move to fuel injection.
A move to that system apparently interests Volkswagen, whose $1 billion plant in Chattanooga would qualify the German manufacturer to compete in NASCAR.
France opened the door for more foreign participation in June when he admitted the sanctioning body has had continued discussions with interested automakers.
BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz all have manufacturing plants inside the U.S. — the same criteria Toyota met when NASCAR accepted it into NASCAR in 2002.
"We have companies that are interested in particular in developing the North American market as robustly as they can," France said. "And we're all aware that there are lots of foreign manufacturers producing cars here in America. That was part of the rationale that Toyota used.
"We're the pre-eminent place in North America for car manufacturers to build their business with an auto racing group. We remain that and clearly there's some companies that are going to look at opportunities that may not have even been there in the past that could be presented in the future."
Allowing more foreign automakers into the sport could rankle hard-core race fans, who objected to Toyota and think NASCAR should include only American manufacturers. But the decline of the automotive industry has wreaked havoc on racing budgets, and most NASCAR teams either received cutbacks in funding this season or were cut off entirely.
Even deep-pocketed Toyota has had to reduce its spending, and the Japanese automaker is currently not taking on any new factory-supported teams.
-- Jenna Fryer
Nationwide
Busch wins title, Nationwide finale
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kyle Busch only needed the green flag to drop to win his first NASCAR title. His coronation was never in doubt and neither, really, was the outcome of the Nationwide Series finale.
Busch made it a double dose of celebration for Joe Gibbs Racing, wrapping up the series championship before turning a single lap and capping Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway with his ninth trip to Victory Lane.
"It's not easy to win in any division in this sport when you're racing against some of the best," Busch said. "It's a big deal."
Busch held off a hard-charging Carl Edwards to win the 300-mile race, a fitting ending because the two NASCAR stars finished 1-2 in the final standings.
By the numbers, Busch was sensational in NASCAR's second-tier series.
He led a record 2,698 laps, had a record 11 second-place finishes, and finished 210 points ahead of Edwards.
Busch's championship run helped the cocky 24-year-old star get his swagger back and eased the sting from his failure to qualify for the Chase for the championship in the Sprint Cup series.
"It says a lot about the people I'm around," Busch said.
About the only bummer for Busch was missing the latest Denny Hamlin-Brad Keselowski fireworks behind him. Hamlin and Keselowksi wasted little time adding another combustible chapter to a feud that dates back to last season.
The latest run-in came when Hamlin made good on his promise to go after Keselowski as payback for a series of wrecks. Hamlin cashed in when he tapped Keselowski from behind and spun him out on lap 35, though not a serious enough hit to end his day.
The two raced side-by-side or bumper-to-bumper for most of the race, sparking some life into a finale that needed some juice after Busch wrapped up his title at the start.
NASCAR parked Hamlin for a lap for rough driving. Hamlin said crews from the other teams cheered and applauded as he pulled the No. 11 Toyota into pit road.
"I don't really hold any grudges. I'm ready to move on," Keselowski said. "Hell, I've already moved on. Hopefully, he feels the same way."
Well, Keselowski won't forget it quite yet. He quickly added that Hamlin "has a lot of problems on and off the racetrack" and didn't think the JGR driver would feel good about his conduct in the morning.
Hamlin laughed off those comments.
"I feel great right now," he said. "It was well worth it."
Hamlin was cheered by fans who heard his comments over the public address system. His aggressive, self-policing style was a hit with the crowd.
The escalating feud might have one more round in Sunday's Sprint Cup race.
"I challenge anybody to get wrecked as much as we have by one driver to not do anything," Hamlin said. "The weekend ain't over, either."
Keselowski met with top NASCAR officials last week at Phoenix International Raceway after his latest dust up with Hamlin. Contact between the two has led to five Hamlin wrecks dating back to last season, and Hamlin vowed revenge.
"It's tough to have a rivalry with a mid-pack driver," Hamlin said. "I shouldn't be racing him, anyway. ... I just wanted to send a message that I am a man of my word, and my father once told me, if you say you are going to do something, you've got to do it. And he told me I had to do it, so I had to do it."
Busch laughed as he talked his own novel idea about how to handle Keselowski: Get a stock car posse after him in next season's opener.
"What would be even better is if five drivers teamed up next year and knocked him out the first five races so he'd be out of the top 35," Busch said.
Jeff Burton, Joey Logano and Hamlin round out the top five. Keselowski, third in the final standings, was 12th.
Burton, a respected veteran, said Hamlin made the right choice.
"When you constantly get spun out by the same car, there comes a time where you've got to put your foot down and not take it," he said. "And the next time Keselowski thinks about spinning him out, he'll think about it."
Busch became the first Nationwide champ to win the season finale since Sam Ard in 1983.
"It hasn't been done in a long time, so I guess you know how hard it is to do for someone to come out here and win the final race of the year," Busch said.
Busch grabbed the Nationwide championship flag and wildly waved it from the top of his No. 18 Toyota. He high-fived every member of his JGR crew and seemed emotional talking about how much it meant to have his parents and brother at the race.
"It's cool," Busch said. "This win here means a lot for Joe Gibbs Racing."
Busch has 20 wins this season in the Trucks Series, Nationwide and Sprint Cup.
"It was fun to watch and fun to be a part of at the end," Busch said. "I felt like I wasn't the best driver here tonight, but the guys gave me a car capable of winning."
-- Dan Gelston
Late Friday
A twin win for Harvicks in Trucks Series finale
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Kevin and Delana Harvick were an extremely happy couple Friday night.
Kevin Harvick made a late pass to cap a dominating show to win the season-ending Trucks Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and wife Delana clinched the owners' championship when Ron Hornaday Jr. — who had already wrapped up his fourth Trucks title — finished eighth.
"That's the way to put an end to a year, right there!" Harvick shrieked into the radio as he crossed the line.
Kevin Harvick went into the pit after Ryan Sieg went into the wall and brought out a caution flag with seven laps left. Harvick took four tires, exited pit road first and lined up just behind Timothy Peters — who took a risk by staying out — for a green-white-checkered finish.
Harvick passed Peters in the very first turn after the restart and cruised to the win.
"I knew the 17 was a sitting duck there with four tires on our truck," Kevin Harvick said. "So, it was a lot of fun."
And then he and Hornaday went side-by-side after the checkered fell, sending thick plumes of white burnout smoke into the air.
The celebration was on.
"To close out the season like this, it's really what we wanted to do," said Harvick, also the winner last week in Phoenix.
For Hornaday, adding the owners' title for Kevin Harvick Inc. made his championship complete.
"To win the owners' title, you've got to do that," Hornaday said. "It's everything. You can't just win the drivers' title, because it takes a whole team."
Hornaday joined an elite list of drivers who have four national series championships, joining names like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. Jimmie Johnson could get there Sunday, if he wins his fourth straight Chase crown.
History, though, mattered little to Hornaday on Friday night. This one, he said, was for his owner.
"To come here and win them both ... good night all around for KHI," Hornaday said. "Pretty cool."
Matt Crafton finished second, polesitter Colin Braun took third and Peters finished fourth. It was Crafton's fifth runner-up finish of the season.
"We were the bridesmaids a lot this year," Crafton said.
And when it was over, Kyle Busch — who seemed in position to steal the show at times, plus looked poised to take the owner title for Billy Ballew — was steaming mad.
Busch qualified eighth, then had to start at the back of the 36-truck pack because of an engine change.
Ordinarily, that might be devastating. For Busch, who came in with 11 top-5 finishes in 14 Trucks Series starts this season, all the lost ground was made up in about 10 minutes.
Instead, his real trouble came later.
Busch passed 10 trucks on the first lap alone, 18 — half the field — in the first three laps and was 11th by the time the drivers crossed the finish line for the seventh time. By the 25-lap mark, he was fourth, and when the first caution flag came out 18 minutes into the race, Busch was in second place, trailing only Kevin Harvick.
Meanwhile, Hornaday's No. 33 settled in nicely, not far from the lead but well ahead of the pack, teetering around fifth for much of the early going.
At that point, the only drama left was the owners' race. Kevin Harvick Inc. came in with a 60-point lead over Ballew in the owner standings, but thanks to Busch's worst-to-first climb, they were even at the midpoint Friday night.
It didn't stay that way.
Running under green with about 50 laps to go, Busch pitted to repair a blown-out tire — and then got flagged for a rear-tire violation, forcing him to lose even more time by taking a pass-through penalty. It dropped him to 22nd, two laps down and at that point, an owners race that was even a few moments earlier saw KHI holding a 108-point advantage.
Still, there was one challenge left for Harvick, and that came from Peters at the end.
Even Peters didn't seem to mind the outcome too much.
"What a way to end a year," Peters said. "Just awesome to end the year on this note right here. We didn't have anything to lose."
Hornaday finished the season 187 points ahead of Crafton, the third-largest title margin in series history. Jack Sprague won in 1997 by 232 points, two more than Greg Biffle won his Trucks Series title by in 2000.
In the owners race, Delana Harvick's final cushion was 73 points over Ballew.
-- Tim Reynolds
Formula One
Lopez poised to sign with USF1
Argentine driver Jose Maria Lopez says he is poised to sign with the USF1 Formula One team for its inaugural 2010 season, pending completion of a sponsorship package.
Both driver and team said a deal was imminent for him to become the first signed driver for its debut season.
"We verbally agreed a deal that will be completed next week," Lopez said Saturday on his personal Web site after a visit to the team's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.
The 26-year-old Lopez is a former Renault F1 test driver and raced in Europe in Formula 3000 and GP2. He then returned to touring car racing in Argentina, winning the past two TC2000 championships.
"It's a new team, facing this project from scratch, something different to my experience in Renault, where it was a structure with a lot of years of experience in Formula One," Lopez said. "But I have been impressed by the commitment and professionalism with which they are facing this project."
Completion of the deal reportedly hinged on Lopez putting together a sponsorship package variously put at $8 million to $11 million, with most of that now in place.
USF1 team founder Peter Windsor said on the Web site that "we would like to sign the contract as soon as possible" but warned that "things can change very quickly in motorsport.".
"I would be very happy if he raced with us next year," Windsor said. "He's not just another driver on the list. Jose is more than that. He is a driver we are interested in and we want him to be with us.
"He would be a great driver for our team because he brings knowledge and mileage in an F1 car, apart from the extra motivation because he never had the chance to race and show his skill."
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