Homestead: A 1st Time Champion and a host of goodbyes

4 drivers who were Rookie of the Year when they came to NASCAR are battling for their first Championship.

Harvick, the oldest of the chasers, won in 2001
Newman beat out Jimmie Johnson for it in  2002
Denny did it in 2006
Logano, our youngest chase contender, won in 2009

I hope Denny Hamlin wins and but  would be elated if underdog Ryan Newman wins.

Jeff Gordon was our pole-sitter and our contenders started in 4th (Harvick) 8th (Hamlin) 9th (Logano) and 21 (Newman)

We are saying goodbye today to ESPN- this is the last NASCAR event they will cover, as next season NBC and Fox will split the season. Thirteen of NBC's races are on NBCSN, a channel I don't get, so I will miss a third of the season- disappointing.

We also say goodbye to Marcos Ambrose, who returns to Australia, and Steve Letarte, who will move from Junior's crew-chief  to broadcasting next season. Jimmie Fennig is also acting as a crew chief for the last time- he retires at the checkers tonight. Steve Burns, suffering from a cancer relapse, is absent tonight but on everyone's mind.

At the restart on lap 111 we have our chasers as follows:


Harvick is in 2nd place
Denny is in 3rd place
Joey is in 5th place
Ryan- our biggest mover, is up to 8th place

At the restart with 55 laps to go, Denny raced from 2nd to 1st, with Harvick in 3rd, Joey in 6th and Ryan in 11th.

But cautions change things...


In the end, a late caution let Harvick have the lead,  and he won the race and his first Sprint Cup Championship. Newman in second place in the race and the championship was so close and yet so far. Denny placed third with his seventh place finish and Joey Logano was 4th with his finish of sixteenth, after his car slid off the jack, a poor showing not reflective of his year as a whole.

Congratulations Kevin!