Drama Surrounds Driver, Owner Rookie Titles In Season’s Final Race

Who said the days of the triple-feature were over? 

Three NASCAR Nationwide Series titles will be decided Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a series first.

For the first time since 2005, the driver championship comes down to the final race of the season. The driver and owner championships could be split for the second consecutive year. And the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race has its own drama.

Clint Bowyer (#2 BB&T Chevy) has held the driver standings lead for the last 29 weeks. He’s got a 56-point advantage over reigning series champion Carl Edwards (#60 Save-A-Lot Ford).

Edwards has waged a spirited comeback from a 207-point deficit eight races ago to move to within 56 points of Bowyer. The margin is the closest since Brian Vickers led David Green (#0 sponsordavis.com Chevy) by 22 points heading to Homestead in 2003.

Edwards has won the last two races and registered top-five finishes in his last eight events to put the final-race pressure on Bowyer.

But regardless of Edwards’ result, if Bowyer finishes eighth or better, he’ll claim his first NASCAR national series championship. He leads the series with 28 top-10 finishes this season.

Edwards may be chasing Bowyer, but Bowyer is immersed in his own hunt to unify the owner championship should he hang on to win the driver crown.

Joey Logano will drive the #20  DLP HDTV Toyota, which has a 28-point lead over the #2 Chevy of Bowyer and Richard Childress Racing. A second-place finish for the #20 regardless of the outcome for the #2 would clinch the first NASCAR Nationwide title for JGR. RCR is chasing its fifth owner championship, which would be a series record.

Bryan Clauson (#40 Fastenal Dodge) has a final chance to overtake Landon Cassill in the rookie of the year race. Cassill isn’t entered at Homestead – Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in the #5 National Guard Chevy – but has a six-point lead over Clauson. That’s Cassill’s biggest advantage of the year.

Wallace Prepares For Place Among NASCAR Nationwide Series Elite

For once, Kenny Wallace (#28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy) may be at a loss for words.

The normally boisterous Wallace was unusually quiet at The Milwaukee Mile this summer when he reflected on his 400th NASCAR Nationwide Series start. He could be even more reserved as he realizes another major milestone in his NASCAR career.

With a start at Homestead, Wallace will surpass Tommy Houston for second on the all-time list with 418 starts. Jason Keller (#27 Kleenex Ford) holds the mark at 456 starts and counting.

“It’s a feather in my cap and I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to race for so long in the Nationwide Series,” Wallace said. “This series has always been there for me. It’s been a wonderful time and I look forward to the next 82 races.”

Wallace has 772 starts across each of NASCAR’s national series, but his NASCAR Nationwide start resumé is the longest.
 
In The Loop: Edwards A Bit Better Than Bowyer At Homestead

Over the last month, Carl Edwards has made things very interesting in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

And the statistics suggest the drama will continue at Homestead.

In winning two of the last three races, Edwards has slashed his championship deficit to 56 points with one race remaining. His statistics at Homestead are phenomenal, and he trumps driver standings leader Clint Bowyer in almost every key category.

Edwards has finished in the top five the last two Homestead races, including a runner-up finish in 2006. Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, he has a Driver Rating of 103.2, an Average Running Position of 8.2, 23 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 87.3%. Those numbers would be even better if not for his 19th-place finish in 2005 where he scored a Driver Rating of 88.6.

Bowyer is solid at Homestead, just not as strong as Edwards. In the last three races there, he has a Driver Rating of 92.3, an Average Running Position of 13.3, two Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 67.0%. 

But Bowyer needs only to look at his lead to feel a bit more comfortable. This season, Edwards has beaten Bowyer by 56 points only twice. He bettered Bowyer by 61 at Michigan and by 80 at Memphis. Edwards won and led the most laps in both those races.

But Bowyer is simultaneously being chased – and chasing. His #2 Chevy is second in the owner championship battle, 28 points behind the #20 Toyota. 

Bowyer has beaten Joey Logano – who will drive the #20 this weekend – by more than 28 points four times this season (Nashville-2, Bristol-2, Kansas and Lowe’s Motor Speedway-2).

Do The Math: Scenarios For NASCAR Nationwide Driver And Owner Championships

What will it take for those involved to claim the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver and owner championships at Homestead?

The following are the clinch scenarios for the final chance at title chases:

Driver Championship

• Bowyer needs to finish eighth or better without leading a lap regardless of what Carl Edwards does.
• Bowyer can finish ninth with one lap led and clinch regardless of what Edwards does.
• Bowyer can finish 11th and lead the most laps and clinch regardless of what Edwards does.
• Edwards needs to finish 24th or better in order to stay in contention until the end of the race assuming Bowyer starts.

Owner Championship

• The #20 can finish second with no laps led and clinch regardless of what the #2 does.
• The #20 can finish third with one lap led and clinch regardless of what the #2 does.
• The #20 can finish fourth and lead the most laps and clinch regardless of what the #2 does.
• The #2 needs to finish 33rd or better in order to stay in contention until the end of the race assuming the #20 starts.

NNS Etc.

• Last Chance For Busch
  
  Saturday’s race is the final chance for Kyle Busch (#18 Line Designs Toyota) to pass Sam Ard for most series wins in a season.
  
  Busch tied Ard’s mark of 10 wins three weeks ago with his victory at Texas Motor Speedway.
  
  Ard set the standard in 35 races in 1983.
  
  
• Back Where He Belongs
  
  This weekend at Homestead, David Green, the 1994 series champion, makes his first appearance in the NASCAR Nationwide Series since June 2007.
  
  Green will drive for Johnny Davis and must qualify the #0 Chevy on time in order to compete in his 387th career start. Green is fourth on the all-time start list and is one of four former series champions entered.
  
  
• Burton Back To Defend
  
  Clint Bowyer may feel like the cavalry has arrived.
  
  Jeff Burton (#21 Prilosec OTC Chevy), last year’s race winner, will drive a third Richard Childress Racing entry at Homestead.
  
  Burton won the 2007 event in the #29 Holiday Inn Chevy; Scott Wimmer will be making his final start for RCR in the #29 this weekend. Both drivers shared the stage with owner Richard Childress last year as NASCAR Nationwide Series owner champion.
  
  
• Catch 22 At Homestead
  
  Michael Annett (#03 Germain Racing Toyota) will attempt to make his series debut for Germain Racing at Homestead. Annett, 22, has eight starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with one top five and two top 10s.
  
  Patrick Sheltra (#Briggs & Case Construction Equipment/Quality Turf Dodge), 22, is also entered. A native of Indiantown, Fla., he made his series debut at Phoenix last week improving to 29th at the finish after starting 36th.

FAST FACTS

The Race: Ford 300
The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
The Date: Saturday, Nov. 15
The Time: 4:30  p.m. ET
The Distance: 300 miles / 200 laps
TV: ESPN 2, 4 p.m. ET
Radio: Sirius NASCAR Radio / MRN
Track Size: 1.5-mile oval
2007 Winner: Jeff Burton
2007 Pole: David Ragan
        
            2008 Standings

1 Clint Bowyer          4,977
2 Carl Edwards         4,921
3 Brad Keselowski    4,624
4 David Ragan          4,431
5 Mike Bliss             4,397
6 Kyle Busch           4,281
7 David Reutimann   4,264
8 Mike Wallace        4,019
9 Jason Leffler         3,926
10 Marcos Ambrose 3,921

Schedule: Friday–Practice 1:15-3 p.m.; Final Practice 6:45-7:25 p.m.; Saturday–Qualifying,  11:35 a.m.