Stewart wins championship, Homestead season finale

In a season finale that more than lived up to the hype, if not exceeded it, Tony Stewart secured his third NASCAR championship in dramatic fashion in the Sprint Cup Series' Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Stewart won his fifth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and season for that matter, in a result that erased his three-point deficit to previous points leader Carl Edwards. The two tied on points with 2403 apiece.

“We said all week, if we won the race, we wouldn't have to worry about Carl,” Stewart said. “If that doesn't go down as one of the best title battles, I don't know what will.”

While Edwards led the most laps, he came up second both in the race and the title standings.

“This night is about Tony Stewart,” a gracious Edwards admitted. “They beat us at the end. He and (crew chief) Darian (Grubb) managed to do a good job with their strategy. That was as hard as I could drive. We'll be just as hard to beat next year.”

The final 37 laps ran without any interruptions, and didn't necessitate a green-white-checkered finish. Concerns either of the two might not make the distance on fuel mileage or that either one's set of tires would fade went out the window, as the two engaged in a pure bout before Stewart seized the lead.

Once Stewart and Edwards had cleared their competitors, it was game on to the finish – but Edwards was never able to overcome a one-second plus deficit.

How they got to that point previously was a matter of two rather distinct drives before they found themselves racing each other.

On lap 18, Stewart pitted to repair damage to a hole in his grill. That dropped him to 40th place, but it was early enough in the race where he didn't lose a lap or have enough time to recover. It was obvious that Stewart's car was strongest in race trim and within 30 laps, he was in the top-20, and by lap 100, he was P6.

Edwards led 87 of the first 109 laps before the race was red flagged for rain. The red flag lasted more than an hour.

In the final stints, Stewart ran a longer second-to-last stint to try and hit a fuel number which would take him to the finish on just one more pit stop. He made his last stop on lap 212, 55 laps from the finish, and lost several seconds running in fuel conservation mode.

Almost immediately thereafter, the last caution flew for a brief rain shower. Edwards pitted after inheriting the lead, and what appeared an apparent short-fill meant he may have been short on fuel. But because the caution lasted for more than 15 laps, the concern was negated.

That left it with Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski 1-2 on track with Stewart restarting third and Edwards fifth, Clint Bowyer sandwiched in-between the title contenders.

Within two laps, Stewart made another three-wide passing maneuver (he'd made a four-wide move earlier in the race) to take the lead past Keselowski and Busch. Edwards was right behind and quickly dispatched of Keselowski.

The non-title contenders out of the way, Stewart and Edwards drove away from the rest of their competitors to the flag. Martin Truex Jr. ended his season on a high note with his best result of the season for Michael Waltrip Racing, in third, and Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon completing the top five.

Stewart's win is monumental for several reasons. He's the first owner/driver champion since the late Alan Kulwicki in 1992, although comparisons between this race and that year's season finale at Atlanta are inevitable. He's now won a title in the Winston Cup, NEXTEL Cup and Sprint Cup eras. And on top of that, he took the win after making a recorded 118 passes in the race.

“It's been a tough summer and fall for us,” Stewart said. “But this team, if there's one thing I learned when we got our opportunity, there is no quit here. Darian and this crew dug deep. This is an awesome night. I've got the best team in the business, to do this for Gene Haas. It takes a lot to do what's been done.”

As to denying Edwards' Roush Fenway Racing squad another couple titles following Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s drivers and the No. 60's owners' titles in the Nationwide Series, Stewart remarked, “Jack got his yesterday so I didn't feel bad taking this one. We've given Carl a rough time, but that was to win this championship. But it shows how classy he is, as he was the first one there, and he said, ‘I hope we're in the same position next year.'”

A gracious Edwards: “It's difficult, but I plan on being here next year. I just got beat by a guy who won half the races in the Chase. I feel like I got better from this. This was very mentally tough. I think I'm fortunate to have gone through it, and it was a good test of me and the team.”