The checkered flag waves on the 2009 season Sunday at Homestead- Miami. History will be made as either Jimmie Johnson will become the first NASCAR Cup driver to win four championships in a row, or Mark Martin will become the oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup champion at age 50.
TRACK FACTS
Homestead-Miami made its NASCAR Winston Cup debut on November 14, 1999. A rookie from Indiana named Tony Stewart took the checkered flag, after David Green had started from the pole.
The track is a mile-and-a half oval with progressive banking. In the turns, there’s 18 to 20 degrees, a change made in 2002 from the track’s original 6 degrees. On the straightaways, there’s 4 degrees banking. The front and back stretches both measure 1,760 feet.
The seating capacity for Homestead- Miami is 72,000.
TRACK RECORDS
At the top of the winner’s list is Greg Biffle with 3 at the south Florida track. Tony Stewart has a pair of wins. In 2008, it was Chase runner-up Carl Edwards who rode to victory lane as he came up short in his bid to waylay Jimmie Johnson’s “three-peat” effort.
The fastest race run on the new layout was won by Bobby Labonte. In the 2003 Ford 400, he drove a Joe Gibbs Chevrolet to the checkered flag with a speed of 116.868 miles per hour. Tony Stewart holds the record for the old layout- his time? 2 hours, 51 minutes and 14 seconds, with a speed of 140.335 miles per hour.
On November 14, 2003, Jamie Mc Murray set the qualifying record with a lap of 29.816 seconds, with a speed of 181.111 miles per hour. Former DEI stalwart Steve Park had the record on the old layout of 
156.440 m.p.h. Kurt Busch is the only driver to earn more than one pole at Homestead- he has two pole awards.
The record for cautions is 14, happening in the 2004 Ford 400 won by Greg Biffle. The fewest yellows waved here in the 1999 Pennzoil 400 won by Tony Stewart.
The record for lead changes is 25, set in 2007’s race. In the 2002 Ford 400, there was only 12.
A track record 42 drivers finished the 2002 Ford 400 that Kurt Busch won. 32 finished the 2003 and 2004 races on the other end of the scale.
RACE TIME & SHOW TIMES
SPEED gets race day coverage underway with NASCAR Raceday at 11:30 AM Eastern, 8:30 AM Pacific. John Roberts, Jimmy “Mr. Excitement” Spencer, and Kenny “Herman” Wallace host the show.
Later, it’s ESPN on ABC with NASCAR Countdown. Showtime is 2:30 PM Eastern, 11:30 AM Pacific. Allen Bestwick anchors, alongside Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty and Tim Brewer in the tech studio.
The green flag for Sunday’s race is approximately 3:30 PM Eastern, 12:30 PM Pacific. Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett are trackside with the call. Pit reporters are Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch.
WHO’S GOING TO WIN?
Today, we’re going to do something a little different. I am pleased to announce that for this race, Bump Drafts is employing the services of Roscoe P. Coltrane. No- I’m not talking about the Dukes of Hazzard guy, I am talking about the companion of a message board friend, Nick Shrum. No, I’m talking about THAT kind of companion. You see, Roscoe is a companion of the four-legged variety.
So move over “Punxsutawney Phil,” step aside Duke from the Bush’s Baked Beans commercials. Bump Drafts is going to the dogs. Roscoe says “It’s about time.” (Hey, you gotta have some fun with this once in a while, you know).
So, without further delay, here’s Nick and Roscoe:
This morning I was drinking coffee with my dog Roscoe P. Coletrane and the topic turned to the last race of the season at Homestead. I asked Roscoe who he would pick for the win. He put his head down on his paws and cocked up one eyebrow then the other a few times, slowly slurped a few swallows of coffee before he spoke.
"The way I see it, Jimmie Johnson pretty well has the
Championship in his pocket. All he has to do is finish 25th or better, so I think he will race on the conservative side. Go for the win if the opportunity presents itself, but overall, race safe and maybe shoot for a top five and not risk a major catastrophe. It will be a whole lot more impressive to drive up and get the Cup then it would to walk up."
"Makes sense" I thought and told Roscoe to continue. "Well, Mark Martin will have to run a almost perfect race to get the Cup. I’m not saying he can’t, just saying the odds are against it."
"Okay, so what about Jeff Gordon?"
Roscoe put his paw on the table and said "Hmmmm…..Jeff seems to do good on short runs but if it goes green for a long time, he’ll fade to the back. So he has to hope to be close to the front for a late caution and maybe a green-white-checkered finish."
I decided to throw a curve ball at Roscoe and asked what he thought of Juan Pablo Montoya. Without even blinking, Roscoe said "Juan has a fire in his belly and it ain’t those tacos they were talking about a few weeks ago. And what better way to bust the pinata at the end of the party and get a win at Homestead?"
"Okay Roscoe, where does Kyle Busch fit into all this?"
Another quick slurp of coffee and then he said "Kyle is like the little steel ball in a can of spray paint. Shake it just a little and he will stir things up."
So who does Roscoe P. Coletrane pick to win at Homestead?
Kyle Busch.
PHOTO CREDITS- Jamie Mc Murray by John Harelson/ Getty Images for NASCAR. Kurt Busch and Mark Martin by Sam Greenwood/ Getty Images for NASCAR. “48” car by Jason Smith/ Getty Images for NASCAR.
