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KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY NEWS AND NOTES - NOVEMBER 17, 2008


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JOHNSON CLAIMS HISTORIC THIRD CONSECUTIVE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES TITLE

Hendrick Motorsports competitor Jimmie Johnson engrained his name in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history books by driving to a 15th-place finish and becoming the second driver in series history to earn three straight championships yesterday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Cale Yarborough was the first driver to earn consecutive championships in 1976, ’77 and ’78. Johnson becomes the eighth driver to earn at least three series championships and joins an elite group that also includes Dale Earnhardt (7), Richard Petty (7), Jeff Gordon (4), David Pearson (3), Lee Petty (3) and Darrell Waltrip (3). Johnson, a 33-year-old from El Cajon, Calif., notched seven wins, 15 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes through 36 races this season. He suffered his only DNF at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., May 12 when his No. 48 Chevrolet lost its engine during the annual 600-mile race at the facility.

Chad Knaus is now the first series crew chief to earn three straight titles. Johnson-Knaus led teams have not finished lower than fifth in the final championship standings in the driver’s seven full-time series seasons dating back to 2002. Roush Racing driver Carl Edwards, who entered the race second in the championship standings and 141 points behind the eventual champion, led the 267-lap Homestead-Miami race five times for a total of 157 circuits before notching his series-leading ninth victory by 7.548 seconds over Richard Childress Racing wheelman Kevin Harvick.

Edwards ended the season with a career-best second-place finish in the championship standings along with a total of 19 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes. He fell 69 points shy of his first title, but won three of the final four races. He closed out his fourth full-time series season with five consecutive top-four finishes. Harvick moved from fifth to fourth in the series standings with his seventh top-five and 19th top-10 finish of the season. He placed in the top-10 in four of the closing five events of the season.

Roush Fenway Racing driver Jamie McMurray, Gordon and Richard Childress Racer Clint Bowyer respectively completed the Homestead-Miami top five. McMurray ended the season 16th in the final series standings. He finished in the top-three in the final three races of the season and earned a total of four top-five and five top-10 finishes in the closing six events of the campaign. Gordon completes the season seventh in the series standings with 13 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes. His 16th full-time Sprint Cup Series campaign marks the first time since 1993 he closes out a season without a win. Bowyer finishes up the season sixth in the series standings with one win, seven top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. He charted two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the final five races of season.

Notable Tony Stewart, the 2002 and 2005 series champion, ended his 10-year Joe Gibbs Racing career with a ninth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway and placed ninth in the championship standings, the second-lowest championship finish of his career. His lowest was 11th in 2006. He will depart the team for the Stewart-Haas team he will partly own beginning with the 2009 season. The final Chase for the Sprint Cup standings for 2008 follow: Johnson (Leader: 6,684 points, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Edwards (Second: -69 points, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Greg Biffle (Third: -217, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Kevin Harvick (Fourth: -276, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Clint Bowyer (Fifth: -303, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Jeff Burton (Sixth: -349, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Jeff Gordon (Sixth: -368, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Denny Hamlin (Seventh: -470, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Tony Stewart (Ninth: -482, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Kyle Busch (10th: -498, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Matt Kenseth (Eighth: -500, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (12th: -557, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports).

BOWYER BRINGS IN FIRST CAREER NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer proved the racing adage “consistency wins championships” to be true Nov. 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway where he earned a fifth-place finish and sealed his first NASCAR Nationwide Series championship by 21 points over Roush Fenway driver and race winner Carl Edwards.

Bowyer closed out the season with a win and a total of 14 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes through 35 races. Bowyer took over a championship lead he would not relinquish on March 22 at Nashville Superspeedway and completed the final five-race stretch of the season with three top-five and four top-10 efforts. He earned his lone win of the season March 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards' seventh victory of the season also represented his 19th top-five and 22nd top-10 performance. He completed an impressive run toward his second consecutive series championship by earning five wins and a total of 10 top-five finishes in the closing 11 races. He trailed Bowyer by 113 points following Race No. 25 at Michigan International Speedway. Bowyer built the lead to 183 points following Race 33 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but was able to hold off Edwards’ late championship charge. Edwards took the Homestead-Miami win by 0.639 of a second over Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch after leading the closing 34 laps.

JR Motorsports driver Brad Keselowski took third and Braun Racing driver Jason Leffler secured fourth. Busch closed out his NASCAR Nationwide Series season sixth in the standings after registering a series-best 10 wins, 18 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes through 30 starts. He snared four wins and a total of six top-five and seven top-10 finishes in his last eight series appearances. Keselowski finishes out the season third in the championship standings with two wins and a total of 11 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. Leffler cracked the top 10 in the final championship standings with a ninth-place showing after grinding out three top-five and 13 top-10 finishes this season.

The top 10 drivers in the final NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship standings this season are: Bowyer (Leader: 5,132 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Edwards (Second: -21, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Brad Keselowski (Third: -338, Chevrolet, Jr. Motorsports); David Ragan (Fourth: -607, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Mike Bliss (Fifth: -614, Chevrolet, Phoenix Racing); Kyle Busch (Sixth: -671, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing/Braun Racing); David Reutimann (Seventh: -744, Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing); Mike Wallace (Eighth: -1,004, Toyota, Germain Racing); Jason Leffler (Ninth: -1,046, Toyota, Braun Racing) and Marcos Ambrose (10th: -1,141, Ford, JTG Daugherty Racing).

BENSON BANGS OUT SEVEN-POINT NCTS CHAMPIONSHIP WIN

Reigning Kentucky Speedway “Built Ford Tough 225 Presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers” champion Johnny Benson used a seventh-place Homestead-Miami Speedway race finish to take his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship by a scant seven-point margin over defending series title holder Ron Hornaday, Jr., who placed eighth in the 25th and final series event of the season.

Benson, who previously announced he was leaving seat in the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing race truck, nailed down five series wins for the second time in the past three seasons and ended the campaign with a total of 14 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. He posted one win and a total of two top-five and four top-10 finishes in the closing five races of the season.

Hornaday’s bid for an all-time series leading fourth championship fell short, but he will walk away from his seventh full-time NCTS season with six wins and a total of 14 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. He kept the pressure on Benson by taking a win and a total of two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the three of the final four races.

Germain Racing driver Todd Bodine took the Homstead-Miami win, rookie Brian Scott nailed down second place, Kevin Harvick generated a third-place finish, Kyle Busch finished fourth and Bobby Hamilton Racing veteran Dennis Setzer claimed fifth.

Bodine ended the season 104 points behind Benson in the standings with six wins, 14 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. He closed the season with six straight top-five and seven straight top-10 finishes.

Scott took his second straight and second career top-five finish and finished in the top 10 in the final four races of the season and five of the closing six events. Harvick earned his second straight top-five series finish and second of the season in his third series start. Busch collected his 10th top-five and 16th top-10 finish in his 18th series start this season. Setzer ends the campaign eighth in the series standings with one win, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. The final NCTS top 10 drivers are: Benson (Leader: 3,725 points, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Hornaday, Jr. (Second: -7 points, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Bodine (Third: -104, Toyota, Germain Racing); Erik Darnell (Fourth: -313, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Matt Crafton (Fifth: -333, Chevrolet, ThorSport Racing); Mike Skinner (Sixth: -362, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Rick Crawford (Seventh: -410, Ford, Circle Bar Racing); Setzer (Eighth: -528, Dodge, Bobby Hamilton Racing); Jack Sprague (Ninth: -600, Toyota, Wyler Racing) and Terry Cook (10th: -653, Toyota, HT Motorsports).