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Tuesday, November 22, 2005
STANDING
Final 2005 standings
NEXTEL CUP
Final 2005 standings
1. Tony Stewart
6,533; previous: 1
2. Greg Biffle
6,498; previous: 4
3. Carl Edwards
6,498; previous: 3
4. Mark Martin
6,428; previous: 5
5. Jimmie Johnson “
6,406; previous: 2
6. Ryan Newman
6,359; previous: 6
7. Matt Kenseth
6,352; previous; 7
8. Rusty Wallace
6,140; previous; 8
9. Jeremy Mayfield
6,073; previous: 10
10. Kurt Busch
5,974; previous: 9
. FORD 400 REVIEW
Can’t catch Tony
Nextel Cup title won via conservative run in finale
Jimmie
Johnson
dropped three
spots to fifth in
the final
standings after a
disappointing
40th-place finish
in the Ford 400.
BUSCH SERIES
Final 2005 standings
1. Martin Truex Jr. ■
4,937; previous: 1
2. Clint Bowyer
4,869; previous; 2
3. Carl Edwards
4,601; previous: 3
4. Reed Sorenson
4,453; previous: 4
5. Denny Hamlin
4,143; previous: 5
6. Paul Menard
4,101; previous: 7
7. Kenny Wallace
4,068; previous: 6
8. David Green
3,908; previous: 8
9. Jason Keller
3,866; previous: 9
10. Greg Biffle
3,865; previous: 11
Martin Truex
Jr. claimed the
Busch
championship
after a seventh-
place finish in
the Ford 300.
nil
Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle
battled at the front of the pack through
most of the Busch Series Ford 300 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. Newman
took the lead with a daring pass three
laps from the finish to claim victory. It
was Newman’s sixth victory in nine
Busch races this season — all of them
\^^oming in his last seven races.
^ CRAFTSMAN TRUCK i
Final 2005 standings
1. Ted Musgrave
3,535; previous; 1
2. Dennis Setzer
3,480; previous: 2
3. Todd Bodine
3,462; previous: 3
4. Ron Hornaday
3,369; previous; 4
5. Mike Skinner
3,273; previous: 5
6. Bobby Hamilton
3,164; previous: 6
7. David Starr
3,148; previous; 7
8. Jack Sprague
3,137; previous; 8
9. Matt Grafton
3,095; previous; 9
10. Johnny Benson —
3,076; previous: 13
Johnny
Benson jumped
three spots to
finish 10th in
the standings
following a
top-three finish
in the Ford 200.
Todd Bodine finished the season with
a flourish, winning three consecutive
races, including Saturday’s 200-mile
truck race at Homestead. He led 74
laps, including the final 18, to take the
victory over Jack Sprague, Johnny
Benson, Mike Bliss and Bill Lester,
whose fifth-place finish tied his
career-best at Kansas earlier this year.
■ HOMESTEAD NOTEBOOK
By RICK MINTER
Cox News Service
Homestead, Fla.
T ony Stewart took a big step
toward putting his tempestu
ous past behind him by keep
ing his cool from Daytona to
Homestead, dominating the circuit
for most of the season and taking
his second Nextel Cup champi
onship with a conservative 15th-
place run in the season finale.
His triumph in frie second year of
NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel
Cup playoff format also has the
NASCAR world looking to the
future — to Stewart’s place in his
tory
His championship makes him
only the second active Cup driver
with multiple titles — Jeff Gordon
is the other — and 14th overall in
NASCAR history Stewart also car
ries an Indy Racing League crown,
four USAC titles and two other
m^or championships in kart rac
ing.
Is the 24-time Cup winner really
one of the sport’s all-time greats?
Mark Martin, who finished sec
ond to Greg Biffle by just inches in
Sunday’s Ford 400 at Homestead-
Miami ^)eedway, answered with
an emphatic “yes.” And he said
that’s true whether Stewart has
two champion’s trophies or none.
“I don’t believe the trophy makes
the man,” said Martin, who fin
ished fourth in the Chase. “Tbny
Stewart, in my eyes, is the greate^
race car driver Fve watched drive in
this era A. J. Foyt mi^t have been
that when I was a little bey, but
'Ibny Stewart is my driving h^.”
Gordon, who finished ninth in
the race and 11th in the points
standings, ^reed that Stewart is a
cut above.
“Tbny Stewart is a great driver.”
Gordon said “He’s capable of mak
ing a race team greater than it is.
He brings a lot to the table and he’s
good at a lot of different types of
race tracks, and [Stewart’s team]
provide good cars and equipment
for him.”
Gordon, who has four champi
onships, also agreed that multiple
titles are an indicator of true great
ness.
“Once you win more than one it
puts you in an elite groim,” Gordon
said “And [Stewart] is capable of.
winning more.”
Gordon also acknowledged that
Stewart is more mature and much
better in his interactions with
peei^, the media and fans than he
was in 2002, when his title run was
dogged by controversy on and off
the track
“He finally started to get it,”
Gordon said. “He’s a lot more
relaxed, and I think that helps him
mentally prepare for a race.”
Stewart said he’s happy with his
accomplishments, much more
proud of this title than the one he
won in 2002, but he hasn’t really
thou^t about his place in history
He does know that he deeply appre
ciates the praise fium his peers.
“That’s a greater reward than
any championship or trophy,”
Stuart said “No matter what hap
pens or how long I race cr don’t
race, everything that happens Sum
here is idng on the cake. Fve done
more in my life to this point than a
NASCAR
Tony Stewart celebrates his second Nextel Cup title.
Since winning the Brickyard 400 on Aug. 7, Stewart held
the top spot in the standings every week but one. He
didn’t win any of the 10 Chase races, but he didn’t need
to in order to claim the championship.
lot of people have. Fve been very
lucky to do the things we’ve done. I
just haven’t looked that far into the
future.”
He and his crew did appear to be
looking ahead in their race strategy
for Sunday’s race. They took the
conservative approach, riding in
mid-pack steering clear of other
drivers and letting fast^ drivers
pass unchallenged His 15th-place
finish safely secured the title by 35
points over Biffle and Carl
Edwards. Biffle is the official run
ner-up because he led Edwards by
two in the tie-breaking category of
race wins.
“We had to play it safe,”
Stewart’s crew chief Greg Zipadelli
said
Said Stewart: “Everybody was
courteous around me, and I was
courteous with everybody”
The results of Sundays race and
the Chase in general should silence
any criticism of the Chase format,
whose critics say the 10-race play
off doesn’t reflert season-long per
formance.
This year, it did without ques-
tioii
Stewart was atop the standings
every week but one since winning
the Brickyard 400 on Aug. 7. His
five race victories were second only
to Biffle’s six. Stewart led the cir
cuit in top-five finishes with 17 and
top-10 finishes with 25, as well as
money won Even before he collects
the ^.8 million that goes to the
champion, he had banked $6.8 mil
lion
His closest chall^iger all season,
dimmie Johnson, entered the final
race second in the standings and
dodged disaster eariy in the race
when Scott Wimmer spun ri^t in
front of him on Lap 15. But his luck
ran out just before the halfway
mark
After moving into the top 10 fix)m
his 32nd starting spot, Johnson
began to slow dramatically before
settling in 28th and at the rear of
the pack Rather than stopping
under green, he stayed on the
track, hoping for a caution flag that
would allow him to replace a ques
tionable tire without losing laps
But on Lap 126, the ri|^t rear
tire blew on his No. 48 Chevrolet,
sending him spinning into the wall.
As he was driving back to the
garage, crew chief Chad Knaus
radioed to his driver, “Great job.
Gcxxl season. Let’s go home.”
RACE STATISTICS
Time of race: 3 hours, 2 minutes, 50 seconds
Margin of victory: 0.017 seconds
Winner’s average speed: 131.431 mph
Caution flags: eight for 37 laps
Lead changes: 21 among 12 drivers
Lap leaders: Carl Edwards, 1; Ryan Newman, 2-16; Jimmy Spencer, 17-
18; Newman, 19-30; Jeff Gordon, 31; Newman, 32-34; Gordon, 35-44;
Denny Hamlin, 45; Edwards, 46-99; Gordon, 100-127; Edwards, 128-
132; Newman, 133-135; Edwards, 136-169; Casey Mears, 170-227;
Mark Martin, 228-229; Greg Biffle, 230; Kevin Harvick, 231; Sterling
Martin, 232-234; Joe Nemechek, 235-236; Mears, 237-253; Dave Blaney,
254-259; Biffle, 260-267.
KEY MOMENTS
IN THE RACE
Lap 26: Tbny Stewart was forced to take eva
sive actioh when rookie Kjde Busch spun
directly in fiunt cf his Chevrdet and the cars
of Jamie McMurray and Mark Martin
Stewart, who was running 13th at the time,
quickly slowed and steered his No. 20 near the
Thm 4 apron to avoid Busch’s crumpled racer.
It was the sole anxious moment of the event for
Stewart, who ran conservatively and teetered
just outside of the top 10 much of the day.
“Obviously with the 5 car spinning right off
the bat, tiiat was a little closer than I wanted,”
Stewart said “It wasn’t exactly what I wanted
to see that eariy in the race. The good thing is
he stayed up by the wall, and we were able to
get by. The hard part was it was coming off the
comer, and we were facing straight into the
sun. When we got through that, you definitdy
felt like you had used up one of your nine lives
right there.”
Lap 126: Less than 12 laps after radioing to
crew chief Chad Knaus that he felt the tire on
his No. 48 going flat, Jimmie Johnson's cham
pionship hopes were dashed when his
Chevrolet slammed the Tbm 3 wall as he was
about to be lapped by teammate Jeff Gordon.
The culprit was a blown right-rear tire,
“I knew there was a problem,” said Johnson,
who started 32nd but climbed to ninth by Lap
91. “[The tire] blew out going down into Thm
3. It just ejq)loded. When I took off on that
restart, I started going backward We were
about three seconds off the pace and had just
pht new tires on.”
Lap 252: Pit strategy played out when the
caution waved for the final time for debris on
the track Stewart, who
was running 15th and in
danger of being lapped,
chose to remain on the
track to gain five bonus
points for leading a lap
The plan was foiled when ,
Dave Blaney also opted to
stay out, Stewart, who
never led, pitted on the
following lap for four
tires. Cari Edwards, who
EDWARDS
led the most laps, took four tires, while his
Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle chose two.
When the race resumed seven laps later, Biffle
lined up fourth, Edwards was 12th and
Stewart was 15th.
Edwards stood by his team’s late-race strat
egy “If we would have taken two tires, we
mi^t have won the race,” Edwards said “But
I believed we could make it back up there. If
we could had gotten another yellow, we would
have aimihilated them.”
Lap 260: Biffle makes the race-winning pass
with a daring three-wide move between Dave
Blaney and Maik Martin to take the lead with
eight laps remaining.
“They were sort of holding me up a bit,”
Biffle said, “so I kind of breathed the throttle
just a little bit, and Blaney slid up and gave me
just enough room to get my car between them.
I actually just drug the brake pedal and never
lifted It was a phenomenal pans. I just did
what I had to do to get by them.”
Lap 267: In the dramatic final-lap duel, Biffle
narrowly edged Roush Racing teammate
Mark Martin to win the Homestead season
finale for the second consecutive seasoa The
victory was bittersweet for Biffle, who finished
tied for second in the Chase with teammate
Edwards, 35 points behind Stewart,
NASCAR
Greg Biffle won the Ford 400 for
his Nextel Cup-leading sixth victory
of the season and a second-place
finish in the Chase.
For second year in a row, Biffle’s
win fails to capture spotlight
By RICK MINTER
Cox News Service
Hranestead, Fla *
F rom a
publicity
stand-
point, Greg
Biffle sure packs
the wrcHig races
to win For the
secOTid axisecu-
tive year he won
the seascor-end-
ing Fcrd 400 at
Homestead- BIFFLE
Miami
^jeedway caJy to see his win over
shadowed by the Chase for the
Nextd Cim ^ lea^ this time he was
in the running fer the title, and he
mi^ have b^ on the Ug stage
afterward if not fer scane loose lug
nuts at Tfexas Motex- %)eedway that
left him 20th after running near the
firxit fex* most that race.
He wound up second in the stand
ings, tied with Roush Racing team
mate Cari Edwards and just 35
pckits bdiind Stewart (Biffle gets
the runner-up spot because he leads
Edwards in race vidcries.)
T was hoping that we wouldn’t
lose by only 35, because then it
would bring that Tfexas thing back in
my head,” Biffle said after beating
Mark Martin to win by .017 seconds,
a margin best measured in inches.
“If it was 50 or more, it would’ve been ’
a moot pcxnt. because it didn’t mat
ter. But I’m so thankful being secend
That’s pretty neat for us.”
Once Jimmie Johnson dropped
out of the race, Edwarda was
Stewart’s dosest challenger. He led
the most laps (94) but finished
fourth, capping off a remaikable first
full seasen in which he won four
races in Nextd Cup and five in
Busdx
“We did almost everything,”
Edwards tdd reperters. “This was a
fun seascai”
And he said hell be back next year
with the same poative attitude. “If
we can maintain the same amount cf
luck, well be all ri^,” he said
“We’re going to have a good time next
year. I can’t wait ”
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Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate for Cox News Service. (800) 255-6734, 'For release the week of November 21, 2005.