NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford 400 Preview

Laps: 267
Miles: 400.5
Track: 1.5 Mile Oval
Qualifying: Saturday, 2:30pm EST on SPEED
2010 polesitter: Kasey Kahne
2010 winner: Carl Edwards
2010 champion:  Jimmie Johnson

Can you see the Checkered Flag coming off Turn 4? The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is coming to a close. On Sunday evening, NASCAR will crown a new champion and the end of the Jimmie Johnson era have ended. Are you getting excited? As NASCAR fans, we were apart of history. Who knows if a driver winning five in a row will happen again?

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway in Sunny Florida for the Ford 400 on Sunday afternoon. Last year, Kasey Kahne sat on the pole for Red Bull Racing Team after being released from his contract with Richard Petty Motorsports. This would be Kahne’s first pole for the Red Bull Racing Team.  Carl Edwards would dominate the race, leading 190 of 267 laps. The win would be his second consecutive race win of 2010.  Jimmie Johnson would finish second to secure the first come from behind title in his skein of five championships.

Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart are the only drivers mathematically eligible to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. Edwards leads Stewart by three points going into Sunday’s race.  Only one finish guarantees Carl Edwards his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship – a victory in Sunday’s season-finale Ford 400.  Stewart owns the tie-breaker (best finishes), and therefore could tie and win his third series championship.  Edwards’ three-point lead roughly translates to 13 points under the previous points system. That makes it the closest margin between first and second going into the final race in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup history, and third-closest since the inception of the position-based points structure in 1975.

Live coverage of the Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway starts Sunday on ESPN at 2:00pm EST with the NASCAR Countdown. NASCAR is looking to drop the green flag at 3:15pm EST. This one is for all the marbles. Who do you think will be crowned NASCAR’s champion on Sunday night? My prediction is Tony Stewart. Let us know yours!

Entry List:

* Denotes Rookie