In February, it all began at Daytona. This weekend, it all ends four hours south in Homestead.
Championship Weekend is fast-approaching, with the Chase for the Sprint Cup set to conclude this Sunday in the Ford Ecoboost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson opened the 2013 season with a win in the Daytona 500, which caused me to wonder if a sixth Cup title was coming to him this year. At that point in time, he was confident that he’d have a strong year. Now, he’s on the cusp of writing his name into the record books once again.
Matt Kenseth (-28 points) and Kevin Harvick (-34 points), his remaining rivals in the championship, have no control over their fates; they can dominate and win on Sunday, but they also need Johnson to collapse.
A lot of things have to happen in order for someone other than Johnson to raise the Cup after 400 miles on Sunday. But it’s not over yet. We’ve been surprised a few times in this Chase. Perhaps, the racing gods have one more in store.
As provided by NASCAR, here are the Homestead-Miami statistics for each of the 13 Chase competitors.
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JIMMIE JOHNSON (Leader – 2,384 Points)
· Four Top-5s, seven Top-10s
· Average Finish: 15.3 in 12 races
· Average Running Position: 13.8, ninth-best
MATT KENSETH (Second, -28 points)
· One win, three Top-5s, five Top-10s
· Average Finish: 17.6 in 13 races
· Average Running Position: 9.3, third-best
KEVIN HARVICK (Third, -34 points)
· Five Top-5s, 10 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 7.9 in 12 races
· Average Running Position: 10.6, fourth-best
KYLE BUSCH (Fourth, -57 points)
· One Top-5, two Top-10s
· Average Finish: 23.1 in eight races
· Average Running Position: 15.8, 15th-best
DALE EARNHARDT JR. (Fifth, -63 points)
· One Top-10
· Average Finish: 22.1 in 13 races
· Average Running Position: 20.8, 22nd-best
JEFF GORDON (Sixth, -80 points)
· One win, seven Top-5s, 11 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 10.6 in 14 races
· Average Running Position: 13.0, seventh-best
GREG BIFFLE (Seventh, -83 points)
· Three wins, four Top-5s, five Top-10s
· Average Finish: 14.4 in 11 races
· Average Running Position: 15.2, 13th-best
CLINT BOWYER (Eighth, -87 points)
· Two Top-5s, four Top-10s
· Average Finish: 12.1 in seven races
· Average Running Position: 12.0, fifth-best
JOEY LOGANO (Ninth, -97 points)
· Average Finish: 24.0 in four races
· Average Running Position: 22.2, 24th-best
KURT BUSCH (10th, -99 points)
· One win, four Top-5s, five Top-10s
· Average Finish: 19.8 in 12 races
· Average Running Position: 23.8, 29th-best
RYAN NEWMAN (11th, -125 points)
· One Top-5, four Top-10s
· Average Finish: 17.0 in 11 races
· Average Running Position: 13.6, eighth-best
KASEY KAHNE (12th, -132 points)
· One Top-5s, four Top-10s
· Average Finish: 15.4 in nine races
· Average Running Position: 12.5, sixth-best
CARL EDWARDS (13th, -134 points)
· Two wins, five Top-5s, seven Top-10s
· Average Finish: 6.0 in nine races
· Series-best Average Running Position of 7.1
*Series-best Driver Rating of 119.0
*Series-high 264 Fastest Laps Run
*Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 162.674 mph
*Series-high 1,881 Laps in the Top 15 (88.0%)