Celebrations at Homestead put capper on NASCAR '08

Crowning achievements for Johnson, Bowyer, Benson

By NASCAR.COM
November 17, 2008
06:28 PM EST

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A recap of Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway:

Figuratively speaking

4 -- Cale Yarborough's finish in the point standings in 1979, snapping his streak of three consecutive Cup championships. Yarborough finished 226 points behind champion Richard Petty. Darrell Waltrip was second, 11 back, and Bobby Allison was third, 197 behind Petty.

Cup Series

Pit Crew of the Week

No 48. Chevrolet: Who else? Crew chief Chad Knaus called for a two-tire stop and air-pressure adjustment on Lap 200 and the 48 car was first out of the pits, marking a 12-spot improvement. Jimmie Johnson led his first laps of the race and from there coasted to the title.

Tip of the Week

Radiators are often ignored. Yet keeping engines cool and running in the right temperature range is critical to taking the heat off your engine.

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Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Carl Edwards did all he could do, leading the most laps and winning the race. But Jimmie Johnson did enough to secure his third consecutive Cup Series championship. Johnson finished 15th and won the title by 69 points. Edwards conserved fuel for the second time in the past three races to win, his third in the past four races and series-best ninth overall. Two former series champions -- Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth -- finished the season winless. For Gordon, who finished fourth, it was his first winless season since his rookie year in 1993. Tony Stewart finished ninth in his final start in the No. 20 car of Joe Gibbs Racing.
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Qualifying
• David Reutimann earned his first career Cup Series pole and Scott Speed started on the outside of the front row. Carl Edwards started fourth while Jimmie Johnson struggled to a 30th-starting position.
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Also check out ...
• Caraviello: No telling how far Johnson can go
• Gordon ends year winless, vows return to form
• Emotion, frustration in Stewart's Gibbs farewell
• Vickers gets 84 car locked into top 35 in points

Nationwide Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Carl Edwards won the race but Clint Bowyer held on for his first series championship, by 21 points. Joey Logano finished 10th to give the No. 20 car of Joe Gibbs Racing the owners' title.
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Qualifying
• Joey Logano edged Carl Edwards for his third pole in just his 19th career series start. Logano was the only driver to clock in in less than 32 seconds. Clint Bowyer qualified 13th.

Truck Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Johnny Benson and the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team made a couple of pivotal calls late in the race, and they paid off for his first Truck Series championship. Benson finished seventh, one spot ahead of Ron Hornaday, who finished seven points behind Benson in the final standings. Todd Bodine won the race.
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Qualifying
• Mike Skinner edged Colin Braun by .004 seconds for the pole. Ron Hornaday started fourth and Johnny Benson qualified eighth.

Also check out ...
• Menzer: Trucks put on spectacular show in finale

Survey says ...

After Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive Cup championship to match Cale Yarborough's record, NASCAR.COM asked: Will Jimmie Johnson end his career as one of the all-time greats in NASCAR?

Answer	Votes	Pct.

Yes	27,866	68%
No	5,102	12%
To be determined	7,850	19%

Off the Marx

Bill Marx of the Sporting News Wire Service weighs in with his top 10:

Pos.	Driver	Need to know ...

1.	Jimmie Johnson	Is four in a row in his future?
2.	Carl Edwards	What a year. Finishes with 16 Cup and Nationwide wins, second to Kyle Busch's 18. But Carl wins Cup battle 9-8.
3.	Jamie McMurray	Finishes season with three consecutive third-place finishes. He posted all four of his top-fives for 2008 in the final six races.
4.	Greg Biffle	Biffle needs to start 2009 the way he finished 2008.
5.	Kevin Harvick	Harvick finished the season on a roll: 13 top-10s in the final 16 races, including finishing second in the finale.
6.	Kyle Busch	Seems as if he went from wow to where overnight.
7.	Clint Bowyer	Bowyer gets his second consecutive top-five points finish. Now, he needs to turn those top-10 finishes into top-five finishes.
8.	Jeff Burton	Burton goes out quietly but still has his best season since the decade began.
9.	David Ragan	Ragan's fantastic finish served notice that he's Chase material for 2009.
10.	Jeff Gordon	Gordon's winless season obscured a pretty solid season. The two DNFs in the Chase overshadowed his seven top-10s, including four top-fives.