So the big story is Denny vs. Crashalotski in the Nationwide race. That will be the race to watch. As far as the championship, simply check back Monday to verify that JJ indeed finished 25th or better and we'll all join hands and sing Kumbaya.

JPM has the flu.

Weekend on-track schedule:

http://www.nascar.com/races/tune_in/

Repeat: the event to focus on is the PENULTIMATE one, with the blue square. That's where the fireworks will go down. If you only watch one race this weekend, it's the one Crashalotski is in with a competitive car.

That is all.

Can Johnson beat the likes of Tony "the Tiger" Raines, David "the Ronald" Ragan and Michael "the Failed Contraception" Waltrip and secure the all-important twenty-seventh place?

You mean this race is worth watching?

You mean this race is worth watching?

Any thoughts?

http://www.frontstretch.com/mmclaughlin/28283/

Currently...
Our boy is P1 in practice after spinning wildly through turns 3 and 4
Yee frickin HAA...
Jp

Why is that a jinx?

speed embarrassed himself this year , I can't recall a race where he finish in the lead lap not counting restrictor plate races. He wasn't that bad in F1, he should go back and sign with the USF1 team.

AJ and even Hornish have run much much better than speed. I know that they have never been consistently good but on some weekends they have run pretty good at least showing some hope finishing in the lead lap top 15. Speed has been hopeless all season long, he could swap rides with Waltrip and you would never know the difference.

Are we talking about their first year or second year?

first year.. AJ even won one of the dual races for the All start race last year..

What a fantastic finish to the season. Three drivers within seventy points of each other. Any one of them has a realistic chance at the title, the culmination of hard work over a whole year's worth of gruelling races.

Oh, wait. Sorry, I was thinking we were under the old points system. No, The Chase had made it FAR more exciting. The tension is unbearable. Can Johnson beat the likes of Tony "the Tiger" Raines, David "the Ronald" Ragan and Michael "the Failed Contraception" Waltrip and secure the all-important twenty-seventh place?

There's a chance the point race could be exciting. They are in Florida. Lightning has been known to strike out of the clear blue sky down there. For all we know, God could strike down the 48 car before it even rolls out of the pits.

How about 56 points between the top 3? And I believe this happened last year as well - the standings going into the last race would have been closer the old way (Edwards actually ended the year with the most overall points, but of course Johnson would have raced harder at Homestead).

Start and parks add more points for Johnson, unless he outdoes Texas and parks after lap 1 himself.



UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CLASSIC - the OLD way - Driver Points Standings
[after Phoenix, race 35 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #48-Jimmie Johnson(X), 4996
2) #14-Tony Stewart(X), 4983, -13
3) #24-Jeff Gordon(X), 4940, -56
4) #5-Mark Martin(X), 4635, -361
5) #11-Denny Hamlin(X), 4611, -385
6) #2-Kurt Busch(X), 4593, -403
7) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya(X), 4454 -542
8) #16-Greg Biffle(X), 4420, -576
9) #39-Ryan Newman(X), 4353, -643
10) #18-Kyle Busch, 4310, -686
11) #9-Kasey Kahne(X), 4276, -720
12) #17-Matt Kenseth, 4265, -731
13) #99-Carl Edwards(X), 4252, -744
14) #33-Clint Bowyer, 4224, -772
15) #00-David Reutimann, 4103, -893
16) #83-Brian Vickers(X), 4019, -977

Vettel visited JPM at Homestead.

At Montoya's charity gala, the atmosphere was something else entirely. Up on the pool deck, drivers like Gordon, Johnson, Kahne, Max Papis, Jarno Trulli and Reed Sorenson mingled with celebrities who would stop traffic anywhere in Latin America. The guy in the open-collared shirt and sunglasses? A famous singer, a Spanish-speaking motorsports journalist informs you. The tall, wispy woman in the skin-tight black dress? "A runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant," he says. Shakira, the Colombian pop-music starlet, provides a videotaped message. The masters of ceremonies are hosts of television programs on Telemundo and its Spanish-language brethren, Univision.

Like all the other celebrities, Gordon and his wife, Ingrid, make their way down the red carpet, and are stopped often for interviews. The four-time champion has seen Montoya's impact first-hand this week -- he's staying with a friend who has a Colombian co-worker, and there's only one NASCAR driver she knows. It's been something of a gradual transition; just as Montoya has sometimes struggled with the stock car, his fans have struggled to understand the nuances of a sport in which a top-10 finish is considered a good thing. His arrival in 2007 cracked the door, but his success this year flung it wide open.

"I think there are a lot of race fans in South America," Gordon said. "I don't know how much they've been following NASCAR. They've been following Formula One. Now, I think you get a little bit more South American influence with Nelson Piquet and Juan and a few more, and that will only increase the awareness in the Hispanic market."

More than 700 guests attended the gala, which raised money for not only Montoya's nonprofit but a host of other Colombian charities. Even so, it's been a trying week -- Montoya calls Miami races "a nightmare" because of the demands placed upon him, and he's been trying to shake a fever that two days ago was at 101 degrees. "At home feeling like crap," he wrote Thursday on his Twitter page.

But by Friday morning his condition had improved, and he recovered from an early spin in Cup practice to post the second-fastest time of the session. With every lap, he tries to win races and hearts and minds, all at the same time. Now if only he could make the same inroads in his own home.

"My son is actually a huge Kyle Busch fan," he said, referring to 4-year-old Sebastian. "I'm not lying. If you go look by my motor home, I just got an M&Ms hood that I'm going to put in his room. I have to put a Target one up as well."

was he at least able to wreck him completely?

Not at all. Keselowski didn't hit anything--currently runs 13th.

Damn, Brad is living a charmed life. Danny had shot his wad without actually accomplishing much of anything. More hair pulling drama after the race, with Brad implying that Hamlin's personal life is a wreck.

@jmontoya: "saw some guys from my mclaren days here and saw kovalainen here, its kind of funny to see them all out here!!!! "

Did they all come out to see Montoya, or do they have something else to do in Florida right now? McLaren employees had disdain for Montoya near the end of his tenure, so it would be surprising to them come out just to see him.

Did they all come out to see Montoya, or do they have something else to do in Florida right now? McLaren employees had disdain for Montoya near the end of his tenure, so it would be surprising to them come out just to see him.

Did they all come out to see Montoya, or do they have something else to do in Florida right now? McLaren employees had disdain for Montoya near the end of his tenure, so it would be surprising to them come out just to see him.