Other Scenarios

Kurt Busch (No. 97 Sharpie/IRWIN Ford) will win the championship if he wins the Ford 400. He can also win the championship if he finishes second and earns five bonus points for leading at least one lap.

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) can win the championship if he wins the Ford 400 and leads the most laps (for the maximum 190 points), and Busch finishes second without leading a lap, or finishes third but doesn’t lead the most laps, or finishes fourth or lower. However, if Busch wins the Ford 400 without leading the most laps, and Johnson finishes second, then Johnson would win the championship by two points.

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) can win the championship if he wins the Ford 400 and accrues the maximum 10 bonus points. Busch also must finish third or lower and not lead a lap, or finish fourth or lower and lead a lap, or finish fifth or lower and lead the most laps.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet) can win the championship if he wins the Ford 400 and accrues the maximum 10 bonus points. He also needs Busch to finish 15th or lower and not lead a lap, Johnson to finish 10th or lower and not lead a lap and Gordon to finish ninth or lower and not lead a lap.

Mark Martin (No. 6 Viagra Ford) can win the championship if he wins the Ford 400 and accrues the maximum 10 bonus points. He also needs Busch to finish 19th or lower and not lead a lap, Johnson to finish 13th or lower and not lead a lap and Gordon to finish 12th or lower and not lead a lap. Earnhardt Jr.’s finish wouldn’t matter as long as he doesn’t lead a lap. If Martin wins the race and Earnhardt Jr. finishes second and leads the most laps, the two would be tied and Earnhardt Jr. would win the tiebreaker (number of 2004 wins).

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet) It's a really massive long shot, but if NONE of the Top 5 drivers START Sunday's race, Tony could be Champion. But that's a snowball's chance in Miami!!!

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The National Guard has announced they are sticking with Roush Racings #16 car and Greg Biffle for the 2005 season. It was thought they might pull out of racing after seasons end.

QUALIFYING | TRUCK SERIES
5 Bobby Labonte
4 Jack Sprague
3 Carl Edwards
2 Matt Crafton
1 David Reutimann

QUALIFYING | BUSCH SERIES
5 Kyle Busch
4 Kasey Kahne
3 Paul Menard
2 Martin Truex Jr.
1 Casey Mears

TRACK STATS | HOMESTEAD MIAMI
HOMESTEAD/MIAMI
Distance: 1.5-mile oval
Banking/Turns:18-20 º
Length/Front & backstretches: 1,760 ft.
Miles/laps: 400.5 miles, 267 laps
Up for grabs: The Championship & $5.1 million
Last years winner: Bobby Labonte after Bill Elliott blew a tire on the final lap

Nov 18, 2004

The 2004 prize money will break records with more than $24 million dollars given to the top 25 drivers in the Cup Series. This includes $5.2 million for the champion, and at least $1 million to each of the top 11 drivers.

Jon Wood is going Busch Series racing in 2005. He'll join ST Motorsports and drive with teammates Stacy Compton and Robert Pressley.

Petty Enterprises will begin using motors made by Evernham Motorsports starting with testing for the 2005 season. Kyle Petty said “Evernham Motorsports has really moved into the forefront in regards to Dodge engine development and we’re excited to be part of that. We’ve made some big strides with our chassis and bodies, so this was obviously the next step.”

TESTING | KENTUCKY
On the track this week include Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton, and Bobby Hamilton Jr. believe it or not teams are already gearing up for the 2005 season getting their setups ready.

ON TV

This is it, your final chance to catch all the NASCAR action for 2004.

NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING @ 1:30 p.m. Friday on Speed

CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES RACING @ 3:30 p.m. Friday on Speed

NEXTEL CUP HAPPY HOUR @ 11 a.m. Saturday on Speed

BUSCH SERIES RACING @ 1 p.m. Saturday on NBC

NEXTEL CUP RACING FROM HOMESTEAD/MIAMI Pre-race starts at Noon Sunday on NBC

All times are eastern

Nov 17, 2004

With the Championship Chase the closest in history, NASCAR Chairman Brian France said the same format will return for 2005 possibly with some minor changes. The 10 race playoff comes down to one race this weekend in Miami.

NASCAR and CASCAR (Canada's Stock Car's) have joined forces to increase exposure of the sport up north. Canada's NASCAR fan base is over 6 million strong, and this could open the door to a NASCAR race being held up there in the future.

Boris Said and MB2 Motorsports have announced a deal for 2005 with Centrix Financial as the sponsor. Boris will race a minimum of 10 races kicking off with The Daytona 500.


POINT STANDINGS | BUSCH SERIES
5 David Green
4 Ron Hornaday
3 Greg Biffle
2 Kyle Busch
1 Martin Truex Jr. has already locked up the 2004 championship

Nov 16, 2004

NASCAR has announced new weekend scheduling for the 2005 season. At most tracks there will be one 2 hour practice on Friday's, Qualifying is moved to Saturday, and once qualifying is over the cars will be impounded until race time. This is designed to save teams money, and will cut out final practices. So basically the set up teams qualify, is the same as what they will race on Sunday's.

Also announced yesterday was that NASCAR is allowing teams to test Las Vegas and California from Jan 31 - Feb 3 and it will only count as one test session. This will certain save teams money by making only one trip out west.

Over the weekend some clinching happened. Martin Truex Jr. is this years Busch Series Champion one race early, so no pressure for him going into Miami. Jamie McMurray has locked down the 11th spot in the Cup Series, grabs the million dollar bonus and will join the top 10 on stage in New York City.

POINT STANDINGS | CUP SERIES
5 Mark Martin -82
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. -72
3 Jeff Gordon -21
2 Jimmie Johnson -18
1 Kurt Busch

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