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Chase ends today
Johnson moving, Edwards struggles at Homestead.
By MIKE HARRIS
Associated Press
HOMESTEAD— Things were definitely looking up for Jimmie Johnson on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he is hoping to put the finishing touches on a record-tying third straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in the season finale.
After a 30th-place qualifying effort Friday, Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was fastest in the first of two practices on the 1.5-mile oval before slipping to fourth in the second and final session.
Series runner-up Carl Edwards was in the opposite situation. Edwards, who trails Johnson by 141 points going into Sunday’s Ford 400, qualified fourth, but had a so-so final day of practice. He was seventh in the opening session, but fell to 23rd in the last hour.
That wasn’t a good omen for Edwards, who has to lead laps and finish at or near the top to have any hope of catching Johnson, who needs to finish only 36th or better to match Cale Yarborough’s 30-year-old record of three straight Cup titles.
“Just the fact that we’re starting in front Jimmie, that’s a small victory for us,” Edwards said after qualifying. “The better chance we can have, the better pit stall selection we can have, the more traffic he’s in, all of those things add up to a better chance for us to make this Cinderella story happen and come back from nowhere and win this.”
After a 30th-place qualifying effort Friday, Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was fastest in the first of two practices on the 1.5-mile oval before slipping to fourth in the second and final session.
Series runner-up Carl Edwards was in the opposite situation. Edwards, who trails Johnson by 141 points going into Sunday’s Ford 400, qualified fourth, but had a so-so final day of practice. He was seventh in the opening session, but fell to 23rd in the last hour.
That wasn’t a good omen for Edwards, who has to lead laps and finish at or near the top to have any hope of catching Johnson, who needs to finish only 36th or better to match Cale Yarborough’s 30-year-old record of three straight Cup titles.
“Just the fact that we’re starting in front Jimmie, that’s a small victory for us,” Edwards said after qualifying. “The better chance we can have, the better pit stall selection we can have, the more traffic he’s in, all of those things add up to a better chance for us to make this Cinderella story happen and come back from nowhere and win this.”
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