NASCAR: Edwards wins 2010 Ford 400; Johnson claims championship

Monday, November 22, 2010 Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2010 Ford 400 held yesterday at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Jimmie Johnson claimed the championship after finishing second — his fifth championship in a row. Throughout the course of the race there were 10 cautions and 25 lead changes among 9 different drivers.

Afterward, Edwards commented, "To finish like this is unreal. It’s just these guys didn’t give up. It’s just a great way to end the season."

Kevin Harvick came in third for Richard Childress Racing, and Aric Almirola finished fourth, after starting 24th. Almirola's teammate A. J. Allmendinger finished 5th in front of Kasey Kahne. Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart finished behind Kahne in 7th and 8th. Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle rounded out the top ten finishers in the race.

In the Drivers' championship, Johnson claimed his fifth consecutive championship, after being in second prior to the race. Denny Hamlin followed, 39 behind Johnson, and three ahead of Harvick in third. Edwards was scored fourth, Kenseth took fifth , Biffle was sixth, and Stewart was seventh, after finishing eighth. Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer was ninth and tenth.

Showing his excitement, Johnson said, "I can’t believe this! It’s unbelievable. You guys are the best. I can’t thank you enough," on his radio. Chevrolet won the Maunfacturers' championship with 261 points, while Toyota followed with 217.

Afterward, Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus commented, "I think finally, finally after pulling this off Jimmie will get the respect that he deserves. Knowing what we had to do — come down here and beat them — and we beat them."

"I’m disappointed," Hamlin said afterward. "Our car was lightning fast until that last wreck. When we hit the 16 (Biffle) that knocked the toe-in out. It wasn’t as fast after that. It’s just circumstances but we had a great year. We won the most races (8) and we contended like we have never contended before but circumstances took us out of this one. I don’t think the 48 (Johnson) showed the strength this year like they did in the past and that opened the door for the rest of us."

Next, third place finisher, Harvick commented, "We went down swinging and that is what we came here to do. Those guys outran us on that last restart there. All in all I’m proud of all my guys. We did everything we wanted to do today but win the race. This is a great spot to start building for consistent championship runs next year. We had a top three car but they got by us on the restarts. All in all, it was a good day. What can you do?"

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Sister links

2010 Ford 400

Sources

"No. 5 For Johnson!" — inracingnews.com, November 21, 2010
"NASCAR Teams" — Jayski.com, November 21, 2010
"Manufacturer standings" — Fox Sports, November 22, 2010
"Drivers' standings" — Nascar.Com, November 21, 2010
"The Ford 400 Race Results" — Fox Sports, November 21, 2010
"Johnson wins fifth championship" — Nascar.Com, November 21, 2010

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