Edwards Dominants in Second Straight NASCAR Victory

Johnson hangs on for 5th straight NASCAR Championship
Written By: Matt "Night" Rider

 MIAMI, FL.- The Ford 400 at Homestead Speedway lived up to it's billing on Sunday afternoon.  Roush Fenway racer Carl Edwards (Pictured Left) gained the lead early and never looked back, scoring his second straight NASCAR victory. The story of the day was Hendrick racer Jimmie Johnson, who took the checkers in second place, en route to his fifth straight NASCAR Championship. Richard Childress Racing ace Kevin Harvick finished the day in third place, ending the Chase in third place, forty-one points behind Johnson, and just two points behind second place Joe Gibbs racer Denny Hamlin (Pictured Right). A great run for Richard Petty Enterprise racer Aric Almirola ended in a fourth place showing. Almirola's Richard Petty Enterprises teammate AJ Allmendinger nabbed a much needed top five finish.
 

Polesitter Kasey Kahne (Pictured Left) had a solid day, coming home in sixth. Kahne will go into surgery at 5:30 AM Tuesday morning to repair his knees. Stewart-Haas teammates Ryan Newman (7th) and Tony Stewart (8th) turned in solid top ten finishes. Roush-Fenway driver Matt Kenseth flirted with the top five all day, ending the season with a nineth place finish. Greg Biffle came back from early contact with Denny Hamlin to take tenth.

Hamlin's day was a battle to say the least. Early on in the race, Hamlin made incidental contact with Biffle, which results in a spin, after taking the green flag in 37th. Kevin Harvick braved a late pit road speeding penalty to take third place in both the race and the points. Hamlin took the checkers in fourteenth place.

The Championship run was not easily to say the least for Johnson (Pictured Right). Johnson battled back from slow pit stops, to take the title, his fifth straight. In comparison to other major professional sports team winning five straight titles, the Yankees and John Force come to mind. The New York Yankees won five Championships in the 1960's, and Force's marvelous run to 10 straight NHRA Championships in the 1990's. Congrats to Jimmie Johnson on his fifth NASCAR Crown. I want to congratulate both the 24 and 48 pit road crews for their will to get Johnson up front all year long. Great Job guys. I can't wait to see what next season brings.

NASCAR Results credited to:
http://www.nascar.com/races/leaderboard/cup/race/

Carl Edwards Picture credited to:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0904/cbk.final.four.celebrity.picks/content.18.html

Denny Hamlin Picture credited to:
http://stockcarracing.automotive.com/49648/scrp-0607-denny-hamlin-biography/index.html

Kasey Kahne Picture credited to:
http://rubbingsracing.com/rubbingsracingWP/2010/10/22/nscs-kasey-kahne-and-red-bull-racing-address-the-media-2/

Jimmie Johnson Picture credited to:
http://www.tailgate365.com/nascar/2009/12/jimmie-johnson-named-ap-athlete-of-the-year/