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| · 2012 Homestead: NASCAR Nationwide Race Results - Smith, Chevrolet Win! (Nov 17, 2012)
· 2012 Homestead: NASCAR Nationwide Qualifying Results - Busch, Toyota Fastest! (Nov 17, 2012)
· 2012 United States GP: Formula One (F1) Qualifying Results - Vettel, Red Bull On Pole! (Nov 17, 2012)
· 2012 United States GP: Formula One (F1) Practice Three Results - Vettel, Red Bull Fastest! (Nov 17, 2012)
· 2012 Homestead: NASCAR Truck Race Results - Gale, Chevrolet Win! (Nov 17, 2012)
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2012 Homestead: NASCAR Sprint Cup Starting Line-Up & Race Preview
By Mike Sulka
You won't watch this race sitting down! On tap today is NASCAR's championship deciding season finale. The contenders are NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Brad Keselowski and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. But before we pick the race winner, let's take a quick look at some track history, and some interesting statistics.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup has been coming annually to Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida since 1999. The 1.5-mile oval has undergone two major re-construction projects since it opened in 1995. Today, the track boasts progressive banking of 18-20 degrees in the corners, while the straights are a mere three degrees.
Since the latest re-configuration in 2003, the Ford teams have dominated at Homestead. Ford power has won the last six of the last eight races, and seven of the last ten.
On top of the Ford contingent is Greg Biffle who has the most all-time wins (3 - 2004,2005,2006). Biffle will be starting 13th today, with his wins coming from the second, seventh, and 22nd starting positions. But, his last five visits to Homestead have resulted in just one top-ten.
Biffle won't be winning today.
Tony Stewart has three wins at Homestead. His first two wins go way back to the first two events in 1999, 2000. After a series of mid-pack finishes, Stewart broke through for victory in 2011.
Sorry Tony Stewart fans, he won't be winning today. He was phenomenal last year, not this year.
Some other interesting notes: Carl Edwards has won twice - 2008 & 2010 - and has finished in the top-ten seven times out of eight visits including a second place result in 2011.
Are you starting to see a trend ?
Over the last five races, Carl Edwards has the best results, bar none.
With that in mind, we are picking Carl Edwards - who also has the right power plant - as our best bet for the win.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series season finale will be dramatic.
As for our championship contenders, they are going to be mid-pack finishers. Jimmie Johnson has an average finish at Homestead of 13th with just four top-five finishes in 11 tries. Brad Keselowski has never finished in the top-ten here in four tries.
Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin will all start at the rear of the field after a practice crash sent them to back-up cars.
Enjoy today's NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale. It should be a great race, and a great fight for a championship right up until the final lap!
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Starting Line Up by Row
Homestead-Miami Speedway
14th Annual Ford EcoBoost 400
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Fri, November 16, 2012 @ 07:36 PM Eastern
Track Race Record: Tony Stewart 11/14/99 02:51:14 140.335
| Row |
Pos |
Car |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
Speed |
| 1 |
1 |
20 |
Joey Logano |
Home Depot/redbeacon.com Toyota |
30.672 |
176.056 |
|
2 |
9 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Black & Decker Ford |
30.797 |
175.342 |
| 2 |
3 |
2 |
Brad Keselowski |
Miller Lite Dodge |
30.841 |
175.092 |
|
4 |
99 |
Carl Edwards |
Fastenal Ford |
30.857 |
175.001 |
| 3 |
5 |
43 |
Aric Almirola |
Smithfield Ford |
30.877 |
174.887 |
|
6 |
15 |
Clint Bowyer |
5-hour Energy Toyota |
30.901 |
174.752 |
| 4 |
7 |
56 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
NAPA Auto Parts Toyota |
30.920 |
174.644 |
|
8 |
18 |
Kyle Busch |
M&M's Toyota |
30.934 |
174.565 |
| 5 |
9 |
55 |
Mark Martin |
Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota |
30.954 |
174.452 |
|
10 |
48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Lowe's Chevrolet |
31.020 |
174.081 |
| 6 |
11 |
17 |
Matt Kenseth |
Best Buy Ford |
31.038 |
173.980 |
|
12 |
5 |
Kasey Kahne |
Farmers Insurance Chevrolet |
31.040 |
173.969 |
| 7 |
13 |
16 |
Greg Biffle |
3M/SP Richards Ford |
31.047 |
173.930 |
|
14 |
1 |
Jamie McMurray |
Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet |
31.069 |
173.807 |
| 8 |
15 |
24 |
Jeff Gordon |
DuPont 20 Years Celebratory Chevrolet |
31.081 |
173.740 |
|
16 |
88 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet |
31.129 |
173.472 |
| 9 |
17 |
22 |
Sam Hornish Jr.(i) |
Shell Pennzoil Dodge |
31.194 |
173.110 |
|
18 |
27 |
Paul Menard |
Menards/Duracell Chevrolet |
31.200 |
173.077 |
| 10 |
19 |
39 |
Ryan Newman |
US ARMY Chevrolet |
31.216 |
172.988 |
|
20 |
21 |
Trevor Bayne(i) |
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford |
31.275 |
172.662 |
| 11 |
21 |
42 |
Juan Pablo Montoya |
Target Chevrolet |
31.279 |
172.640 |
|
22 |
30 |
David Stremme |
Swan Racing Toyota |
31.293 |
172.563 |
| 12 |
23 |
29 |
Kevin Harvick |
Budweiser Chevrolet |
31.296 |
172.546 |
|
24 |
51 |
Regan Smith |
Phoenix Construction Chevrolet |
31.303 |
172.507 |
| 13 |
25 |
98 |
Michael McDowell |
Phil Parsons Racing Ford |
31.309 |
172.474 |
|
26 |
78 |
Kurt Busch |
Furniture Row Chevrolet |
31.347 |
172.265 |
| 14 |
27 |
6 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(i) |
Fifth Third Ford |
31.376 |
172.106 |
|
28 |
13 |
Casey Mears |
GEICO Ford |
31.385 |
172.057 |
| 15 |
29 |
19 |
Mike Bliss(i) |
Plinker Tactical Toyota |
31.417 |
171.881 |
|
30 |
83 |
Landon Cassill |
Burger King Toyota |
31.440 |
171.756 |
| 16 |
31 |
36 |
Dave Blaney |
Florida Lottery Chevrolet |
31.442 |
171.745 |
|
32 |
47 |
Bobby Labonte |
Clorox Toyota |
31.454 |
171.679 |
| 17 |
33 |
31 |
Jeff Burton |
Caterpillar Chevrolet |
31.463 |
171.630 |
34 34 David Ragan Ford 31.472 171.581
PaddockTalk Perspective
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