Ford EcoBoost 400
Week 36
By Richard Tix
Phoenix ended without any post race "fights" or even "friendly confrentations" but fans still got the excitement of knock out, playoff, racing. Some still are yelling for the old days, but I just don't see NASCAR flipping a total 180 on there 2014 moves. Especially because it seems like there is still a solid fan base eating it up.
And one thing is for sure, its exciting. Its great hard racing that is putting drivers in an tough place and pushing them to there limits. Isn't that what Championship's are supposed to be? This is what you find out what you are made of and when put in a circumstance you find out how far you would go for a Championship. That's not really debatable. Now, everyone has there opinion past that, which is fine. Not one person is the same. But realize that NASCAR also has that problem when deciding whether to change something or to leave it alone (not everyone is the same, and some need the change).
That's what is great about this sport and about us as individuals, we are all different. It is what makes the NASCAR fan base so fun and interesting. What would we be like if we were all the same, with the same opinions, looking at issues from the same vantage point?
With that, we head to Miami for the last race of the season. It doesn't matter if you like it or not, the four left are the only four with a chance at the title in 2014. No matter how you cut it, NASCAR will have a first time Champion in 2014. Is it a good thing some top contenders fell out and two Cinderellas are left? Is it a bad thing? Truly, no matter your opinion, only time will tell. So, lets sit back for a minute and enjoy the ride. We have plenty of time to be biter, angry, and hateful, why do it now?
As always, thanks for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall ALL SEASON LONG! Its been a fun year. No previews will be up until Daytona in 2015, but I will still keep up with NASCAR offseason news. Plus, as more 2015 Paint Schemes leak I will add them to the page.
That's what is great about this sport and about us as individuals, we are all different. It is what makes the NASCAR fan base so fun and interesting. What would we be like if we were all the same, with the same opinions, looking at issues from the same vantage point?
With that, we head to Miami for the last race of the season. It doesn't matter if you like it or not, the four left are the only four with a chance at the title in 2014. No matter how you cut it, NASCAR will have a first time Champion in 2014. Is it a good thing some top contenders fell out and two Cinderellas are left? Is it a bad thing? Truly, no matter your opinion, only time will tell. So, lets sit back for a minute and enjoy the ride. We have plenty of time to be biter, angry, and hateful, why do it now?
As always, thanks for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall ALL SEASON LONG! Its been a fun year. No previews will be up until Daytona in 2015, but I will still keep up with NASCAR offseason news. Plus, as more 2015 Paint Schemes leak I will add them to the page.
The Good
- Carl Edwards- 10 starts into Carl's Miami career and he has 7 top 10's. 5 top 5's, and 2 wins. In fact, Carl has never finished outside the top 15 in his career (14th and two 12th's). On top of that he has 2 career poles here.
- Kevin Harvick- Happy has a bunch of good tracks at the end of the season where he has proven he can win. Now, that said, he has yet to notch a win at Homestead but in his 13 starts he does have 11 top 10's. He has 5 top 10's in that same time and none of his 13 finishes have been outside the top 20.
- Martin Truex Jr- Bit of a surprising name here, but Martin has run well at Miami over his career. In 2014 he will be challenged a bit more because he is with a new team and they haven't run as well as they did with Kurt Busch in 2013. Truex does have 7 top 10's in 9 career starts here, though.
- Jeff Gordon- Gordon has started every Cup race since NASCAR has come to Homestead in 1999 (15 races). He has 11 top 10's (tied most with Harvick), 7 top 5's (most), and one win (8 current drivers have at least 1 win here).
- Denny Hamlin- The last driver to win in 2013, and the last driver to win at Miami? Yup, Denny Hamlin. He has 2 career wins, 4 top 5's, and 5 top 10's in 9 career starts at Homestead. He made it into the Chase on a long shot, and now has as good of a chance as anyone to win it.
The Middle
- Clint Bowyer- Clint is on the edge of this grouping and the "good" grouping. If this was a normal week (where I spotlight even less drivers) he might not even make the preview. But his last three have been impressive (5th, 2nd, and 6th). His only bad finish and only finish outside of 12th was 39th in 2007.
- Tony Stewart- Smoke has been Boom or Bust at Miami. He has 3 career wins here, but two of those were the first two races here 1999 and 2000. When he isn't top 10 (7 top 10's) he normally finishes 15th or higher.
- Jimmie Johnson- 8 top 10's in 13 career starts at Homestead but he has yet to win here. He does normally finishes well as long as he doesn't have any mechanical problems (or get in a wreak).
The Bad
- Dale Earnhardt Jr- This is based off of full career stats here, since his last three finishes were 3rd, 10th, and 11th. But before that Jr had zero top 10's in 11 starts. The plus side is things are looking up for Jr at Miami.
- Paul Menard- In his 8 career races at Homestead he had zero top 10's. If that wasn't bad enough, Paul only has 1 top 15 in those same 8 races.
- Kyle Busch- Take this how you will, but I am only putting him here since he has been so up and down here in 9 career races. He does have 3 top 10's, but he also finished outside the top 20 4 times (plus 20th once). Id say Miami is a boom or bust track for Rowdy.
- Brian Vickers- 8 Career starts at Miami and Vickers has zero top 10's,zero top 15's, and only three top 20 finishes. Silver lining? His last two finishes were top 20 and they were 2011 and 2009. But that also might mean he has had a lack of track time here.
- Marcus Ambrose- I hate to put Marcus on here in what might be his last NASCAR race (maybe he will come back for some road courses), but in 6 starts he has one top 20. Heck, he only has one to 25 in 6 starts. I will personally miss the Aussie in NASCAR, so good luck on your future Marcus! Hope to see you back some.
Track Stats
- Carl Edwards has the most laps led (560 in 10 career starts).
- Jeff Burton has the most laps completed (3,944) Will get passed this race.
- Gordon and Harvick are tied for most top 10's (11).
- Gordon has the most top 5's (7).
- Stewart and Biffle are tied for the most wins (3).
- Bill Elliott is the only non current driver to have a win here in 2001 (and Bobby Labonte).
- Tony Stewart won the first two races here in 1999 and 2000.
- Greg Biffle won three straight races from 2004-06.
- 38th: The farthest back anyone has started and won. Denny Hamlin 2009.
- A Homestead race hasn't been won from the Pole since 2000 and 2001 (the only two times).
- Manufacture wins: Ford: 7, Chevy: 3, Toyota: 2, Pontiac: 2, and Dodge: 1.
- Most cautions was 14 in 2004 for 79 laps.
Track Articles:
- TV Schedule
- Driver Entry List
- Power Rankings
- Fantasy Preview- TimersSports
- Fantasy NASCAR Early Rankings- TimerSports
Hope you enjoyed the last regular season edition (extended edition) of NASCAR Behind the Wall's Weekly Race previews in 2014. I will still be keeping track of some NASCAR news headlines during the short off season (still feels like a long one) and we will prepare for another great season in 2015. Check back in after the race for a Miami Review and last chance power rankings. The week after I plan on touching an end of season power rankings that will be more of a season long break down of each team and how well they did. As always, thanks for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall!
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