Homestead trends and notes
• This is the 36th race of 36 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008 and the 10th and final race of the Chase for the Championship.
• This is the 21st of 21 intermediate-track races in the season.
• This is the 10th time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has competed at Homestead-Miami Speedway since 1999.
• Homestead-Miami Speedway is a 1.5-mile oval with variable banking of 18-20 degrees in the corners.
• There are 46 drivers on the pre-entry list to compete for one of the 43 starting slots in Sunday's 267-lap, 400-mile race. Of those 46, 11 must make Sunday's race based on their qualifying time: AJ Allmendinger, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Tony Raines, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Chad McCumbee, Max Papis, Sam Hornish Jr., Ken Schrader and Joe Nemechek.
• Bill Elliott has access to a past champion's provisional if needed.
• Rumor has it Mark Martin, who was not originally scheduled to race at Homestead, might be racing the No. 84 in a one-race deal, stepping in for Scott Speed. Team Red Bull, however, is denying that's the case.
• These teams are not locked in for next season as owners points change after each race. The top 35 in owners points after Homestead will be guaranteed a starting spot for the first five races of 2009:
31. Dave Blaney/Bill Davis Racing: 2,785 points, 147 ahead of 36th
32. Reed Sorenson/Ganassi Racing: 2,774, +136
33. Scott Riggs/Haas CNC Racing: 2,765, +127
34. Robby Gordon/RGM: 2,685, +47
35. Marcos Ambrose/Waltrip Racing: 2,655, +17
These teams/drivers must qualify this week by speed but are close to the top 35:
36. Mark Martin/Red Bull Racing: 2,638, 17 points out of 35th
37. Sam Hornish/Penske Racing: 2,554, -101
38. AJ Allmendinger/GEM: 2,495, -160
• Jimmie Johnson, the two-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and the winner of the penultimate Chase event at Phoenix, must finish 36th or better Sunday to clinch his third consecutive title. Despite having never won here and often racing conservatively because of championship implications, he has five top-10s in seven starts and has an average finish of 13.4.
• Chevrolet may have won the manufacturer's title with Johnson's win in Phoenix last weekend, but it's the Blue Oval gang of Ford, specifically the Roush Fenway Racing Fords, that rules at HMS. Five of the past six races have been won by RFR drivers, including three in a row by Greg Biffle from 2004 to 2006. The other Roush winners here are Matt Kenseth, the defending event champion, and Kurt Busch, who took the checkered flag when he was still with Jack Roush in 2002.
• He may not have a win here, but Carl Edwards isn't too shabby here, either. He has three top-10s in four starts and an average finish of 7.8. Edwards finished fifth here last year.
• Of the drivers who have raced all nine Cup Series events here, Jeff Gordon has the highest average finish (10.6). Gordon must win this event or he will be shut out of Victory Lane for an entire season for the first time in 14 years. HMS and Texas are the only tracks where he has never earned a Cup victory. Gordon finished fourth here last year and has top-5s in four of the past six races. His seven top-10s here are the most of any driver.
• Another former Roush driver with success here is Mark Martin, who finished ninth here last year and has five top-10s in nine starts.
• Tony Stewart, who won the first two Cup Series races here, has led the most laps at HMS (330). However, in his past three races here, he hasn't led a lap, finished 15th twice and was just 30th last year.
• In the past three races, Matt Kenseth has racked up the most points of any driver (510) with teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards close behind (494 and 467, respectively).
• Of the go-or-go-home drivers with five or more starts here, Ken Schrader has the worst average finish (29.4). The driver in that category with the best average finish is Mark Martin (12.0). The driver with five or more starts guaranteed to make Sunday's field who has the worst average finish is Michael Waltrip (28.6).
There are six previous Homestead winners entered this weekend with nine victories among them:
| Driver | Homestead wins |
| Greg Biffle | 3 (2004-2006) |
| Tony Stewart | 2 (1999, 2000) |
| Kurt Busch | 1 (2002) |
| Bill Elliott | 1 (2001) |
| Matt Kenseth | 1 (2007) |
| Bobby Labonte | 1 (2003) |
| Pos | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
| 1 | Matt Kenseth | Greg Biffle | Greg Biffle | Greg Biffle |
| 2 | Kurt Busch | Martin Truex Jr. | Mark Martin | Jimmie Johnson |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | Denny Hamlin | Matt Kenseth | Jeff Gordon |
| 4 | Jeff Gordon | Kasey Kahne | Carl Edwards | Tony Stewart |
| 5 | Carl Edwards | Kevin Harvick | Casey Mears | Kurt Busch |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | Matt Kenseth | Dave Blaney | Brendan Gaughan |
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | Scott Riggs | Ryan Newman | Jamie McMurray |
| 8 | Jeff Burton | Carl Edwards | Kevin Harvick | Rusty Wallace |
| 9 | Mark Martin | Jimmie Johnson | Jeff Gordon | Ricky Rudd |
| 10 | David Ragan | Clint Bowyer | Jeremy Mayfield | Kevin Harvick |
| 11 | David Stremme | David Stremme | Scott Wimmer | Mark Martin |
| 12 | Dave Blaney | Scott Wimmer | Mike Bliss | Bobby Labonte |
| 13 | Greg Biffle | Joe Nemechek | Rusty Wallace | Scott Wimmer |
| 14 | Jamie McMurray | Jeff Burton | Robby Gordon | Carl Edwards |
| 15 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Tony Stewart | Tony Stewart | Scott Riggs |
| 16 | Casey Mears | Reed Sorenson | Kasey Kahne | Sterling Marlin |
| 17 | Dale Jarrett | Paul Menard | Dale Jarrett | Michael Waltrip |
| 18 | Ryan Newman | Mark Martin | Jamie McMurray | Brian Vickers |
| 19 | Kevin Harvick | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Matt Kenseth |
| 20 | Kyle Busch | Tony Raines | Todd Bodine | John Andretti |
| 21 | Ricky Rudd | Brian Vickers | Kenny Wallace | Bobby Hamilton Jr. |
| 22 | Reed Sorenson | Jeff Green | Ken Schrader | Kenny Wallace |
| 23 | Bobby Labonte | Ryan Newman | Elliott Sadler | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 24 | Kasey Kahne | Jeff Gordon | Joe Nemechek | Dale Jarrett |
| 25 | David Reutimann | Bill Elliott | Jeff Burton | Ken Schrader |
| Pos | Texas 2 | Atlanta 2 | Charlotte 2 | Kansas |
| 1 | Carl Edwards | Carl Edwards | Jeff Burton | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2 | Jeff Gordon | Jimmie Johnson | Kasey Kahne | Carl Edwards |
| 3 | Jamie McMurray | Denny Hamlin | Kurt Busch | Greg Biffle |
| 4 | Clint Bowyer | Matt Kenseth | Kyle Busch | Jeff Gordon |
| 5 | Greg Biffle | Kyle Busch | Jamie McMurray | Matt Kenseth |
| 6 | Kyle Busch | Kurt Busch | Jimmie Johnson | Kevin Harvick |
| 7 | Kevin Harvick | Jamie McMurray | Greg Biffle | Jeff Burton |
| 8 | Martin Truex Jr. | David Ragan | Jeff Gordon | David Ragan |
| 9 | Matt Kenseth | Jeff Gordon | Mark Martin | AJ Allmendinger |
| 10 | David Reutimann | Greg Biffle | David Ragan | Elliott Sadler |
| 11 | David Ragan | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Tony Stewart | Denny Hamlin |
| 12 | Mark Martin | Casey Mears | Clint Bowyer | Clint Bowyer |
| 13 | Jeff Burton | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 14 | Casey Mears | AJ Allmendinger | Martin Truex Jr. | Casey Mears |
| 15 | Jimmie Johnson | Martin Truex Jr. | Reed Sorenson | Brian Vickers |
| 16 | Tony Stewart | Ryan Newman | Denny Hamlin | Ryan Newman |
| 17 | Denny Hamlin | Tony Stewart | Bobby Labonte | Jamie McMurray |
| 18 | Brian Vickers | Jeff Burton | Brian Vickers | Mark Martin |
| 19 | Brad Keselowski | Robby Gordon | Scott Riggs | David Reutimann |
| 20 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Clint Bowyer | Elliott Sadler | Juan Pablo Montoya |
| 21 | Marcos Ambrose | Brian Vickers | Ryan Newman | Kasey Kahne |
| 22 | Paul Menard | Mark Martin | Sam Hornish Jr. | David Gilliland |
| 23 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Travis Kvapil | Regan Smith | Tony Raines |
| 24 | Kasey Kahne | Sam Hornish Jr. | Michael Waltrip | Bobby Labonte |
| 25 | Scott Riggs | Elliott Sadler | David Gilliland | Bill Elliott |
- Jimmie Johnson (6,561 points) won at Phoenix and remains first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Johnson has seven starts here with five top-10s, two top-5s and an average finish of 13.4.
- Carl Edwards (-141) was fourth at Phoenix and remains second in the Cup Series standings. In four starts here, Edwards has three top-10s, two top-5s and an average finish of 7.8.
- Greg Biffle (-203) finished 11th on Sunday and maintains his third-place position in the Cup Series points standings. Biffle has six starts here with three wins and an average finish of 12.7.
- Jeff Burton (-269) was ninth at Phoenix and remains fourth in the Cup Series standings. Burton has nine starts here with four top-10s, three top-5s and an average finish of 13.1.
- Kevin Harvick (-328) was seventh on Sunday and moves up two spots in the Cup Series standings to fifth. Harvick has seven starts here with five top-10s, two top-5s and an average finish of 10.1.
- Clint Bowyer (-335) was 12th at Phoenix and remains sixth in the Cup Series standings. Bowyer has two starts here with finishes of 10th and 39th.
- Jeff Gordon (-410) finished 41st at Phoenix and falls two places in the Cup Series standings to seventh. In nine starts here, Gordon has seven top-10s, four top-5s and an average finish of 10.6.
- Matt Kenseth (-470) was 15th Sunday and remains eighth in the Cup Series standings. Kenseth has eight starts here with three top-10s, two top-5s, a win and an average finish of 20.0.
- Denny Hamlin (-471) was fifth at PIR and moves up three places to ninth in the Cup Series standings. In three starts here, Hamlin has two top-5s and an average finish of 13.0.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-474) was the sixth-place finisher Sunday and moves up one place in the Cup Series standings to 10th. Earnhardt has eight starts here with an average finish of 21.2.
Mark Garrow covers fantasy racing for ESPN.com.
