November 19, 2007
By Ron Felix

Kenseth's 2nd Win In 2007 * CIA Stock Photo

Matt Kenseth won the Ford 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday but the day belonged to Jimmie Johnson and his crew for winning back-to-back Nextel Cup Championships. Kenseth dominated the race, leading 213 of 267 laps was never seriously challenged -- even when pit stops put him behind, he was able to easily drive back to the front. This is Kenseth's second victory of the 2007 season and the 16th of his 292 race career. Kenseth was languishing in 12th place in the chase until the past four or five weeks. That's when they came alive and Kenseth finished fourth in the Championship point standings. It also was the end of a partnership between Kenseth and his crew chief Robbie Reiser. After working with Kenseth for nine years in the Cup Series, Reiser will move up the ladder in the Roush Fenway organization to become the General Manager.

“I have a great race team. I really feel like I let these guys down. We lost a lot of close races this year, so it feels great to win one and win a close one," said Kenseth, who blew out a rear tire doing burnouts. "I blew the quarter-panel off it, so at least we don’t have to race it again."

Kurt Busch finished second and Denny Hamlin was third.

Jeff Gordon, who trailed Jimmie Johnson by 86 points in the standings going into the race, finished fourth and gained only nine points in an effort to win his fifth Championship. Johnson won four of the last five races to snatch the Championship away from Gordon.

"This year went so much smoother for me," said Johnson. "I got in the right frame of mind, was able to focus on the right things, I had great support from my crew guys, I had great support from a loving wife, and everything came together. We're rockin'."

Nextel Cup Series Champ * CIA Stock Photo

Johnson picked up a check for $6,740,800, not bad for a year's work and that's just the point fund money.

It was the 7th Cup Series Championship for car owner Rick Hendrick.

"To win back-to-back, it's hard to do in this sport," Hendrick said. "We're really excited and hopefully we can carry this momentum into next year. It's been tough, having two drivers battling it out -- it's like having two kids playing ball for a championship. You've got one pitching and one batting -- one of them is going lose."

Carl Edwards brought his Ford home in the fifth spot followed by Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and rookie David Ragan to round out the top ten.

Ricky Rudd, running in his 906th and final race, finished 21st on the day. All the questions centered around his emotions at a time like this.

"Everyone is asking me that, but I guess I’m such a cold-hearted guy because it really didn’t affect me," said Rudd. "Right now it’s probably starting to sink in a little bit that this is the last time I’ll be in Miami in a race car – at least in a Cup car for sure. Who knows what the future holds, but I’ve got no regrets. I’ve enjoyed it for 32 years.

"A lot of people ask me, ‘What’s that special moment? Any special moments that highlight that career?’ And I have to go back and the Brickyard 400 win was a pretty neat deal as an owner and a driver, but, really, I think the bigger picture is all the people I’ve met in the garage over the years and racing against the best drivers in the world. The young guys, the old guys, I’ve seen a lot of guys and a lot of race car drivers and guys that I’ve had a lot of respect for over the years, and I’ve had a chance to race these guys. It’s time to hang it up and call it quits and as far as emotional, not really. I’m glad this chapter is closed to be honest.”

Jeff Gordon set a record along the way also, he finished in the top-ten in 30 of 36 races, a new modern era record.

"If we had performed the last four weeks like we did tonight, it might have been a different outcome," Gordon said. "When those guys (Johnson's team) stepped up and got themselves in position to win races, we just didn't have the whole combination together at the right time. What more can you do than what we did? And yet we got beat. It's going to make us hungrier in the off season, I can tell you that."

Juan Pablo Montoya is the Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Montoya finished his Raybestos Rookie season with one win, three top-five and six top-10 finishes. He was Raybestos Rookie of the Race 16 times in 36 races. Montoya scored a 15th-place finish in tonight’s race.

This is the second Raybestos Rookie of the Year title for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Jamie McMurray claimed top rookie honors in 2003. This is the Fourth Raybestos Rookie of the Year title for Montoya’s primary sponsor, Texaco/Havoline. He joins Davey Allison (1987), Kenny Irwin, Jr. (1998) and Jamie McMurray (2003).

"I think everybody at Ganassi did an amazing job. It’s one of those deals I think it was more for us to lose than to win so I think it came out pretty good," said Montoya about his rookie year. "I think more important we had a race win. I think for the record books and stuff I think it’s pretty good that I won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year.

“I think I’ve been the rookie before in a lot of series but being a rookie with the experience I had it’s very different," Montoya continued. "I had no stock car experience but I think from my open wheel background I raced pretty much about everything you can race. I think it’s pretty cool. I think it’s good for the team. I think it’s something to cheer about in the team. I think more important is how the performance of the team came up through the whole year. Where we started and where we finished is a big difference.”

That concludes the 2007 Nextel Cup Series, the Sprint Cup Series moves to Daytona International Speedway on February 17th, 2008, for the Daytona 500. The Budweiser Shootout will be run on Saturday February 9th, 2008.

NOTEBOOK ITEMS

The win was Fusion’s 13th all-time NNC triumph after debuting at Daytona last year.



For full final race results...     (Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Nextel Cup drivers points...     (Insider Racing News)

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