
This Sunday the Chase for the 2006 Nextel Cup will cross the finish line. At the end of the day, as long as
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson finishes 12th or better at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he will walk away with his long-awaited championship. According to the guys who crunch the numbers, that's even if
No. 17 Matt Kenseth, who trails Johnson by 63 points, wins the race and leads the most laps.
But
No. 29 Kevin Harvick, third in the
standings going into this weekend's race, will not end the year empty-handed. Harvick's done even better in the
Busch Series. He had that title wrapped up in October. He can just coast through Saturday's Busch race (Ford 300 on TNT at 7 p.m. ET).
No. 11 Denny Hamlin, fourth in Nextel Cup standings, looks good to take home rookie-of-the-year trophy.
Sorry No. 8 fans, at 115 points behind Johnson,
Earnhardt Jr. is a long shot. There's always
next year, Dale. Rounding out Nextel Cup's top 10 are
No. 24 Jeff Gordon,
No. 31 Jeff Burton,
No. 6 Mark Martin,
No. 9 Kasey Kahne and
No. 5 Kyle Busch.
Watch the Ford 400/Nextel Cup Series Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
For the Craftsman Truck Series
championship,
Johnny Benson trails
Todd Bodine by 112 points before Friday's Ford 200 in Miami. Watch that race on Speed Channel at 7:30 p.m. ET
Check the
NASCAR TV schedule for official airing times.