Warning: Objects in this post may be the only way to successfully live through the NASCAR off-season. For best results, read rearview mirror early and often.
Driver: Kurt Busch Team: No. 2 Penske RacingDodge '08 Final Standing: 18th (-3049) Best Race: Lenox 301 at New Hampshire (1st-place) Worst Race: Ford 400 at Homestead (43rd-place)
Season in a box: The 2008 season started off so well for Kurt at Daytona that casual observers who watched that race and then only stat lines for the rest of the season may have thought the "K Busch" winning all of those races was the older of the Sprint Cup brothers. That wasn't nearly the case, however.
I know, I know, if you're not a Johnson fan you're more than tired of hearing about the exploits of the No. 48 team, and if your name is Carl Edwards (Johnson's nearest competitor in the point standings for the newbies joining us today), you're hoping you can stage the biggest upset in NASCAR history.
Will it happen? Can Edwards overcome Johnson? If I'm placing a bet, I'm not leaning that way, but hey, 400 miles is a long way and a lot can happen. Join us below in the final live blog event of the NASCAR season (sad face) here at FanHouse and tell us what you think. We'll kick it off right about 3:30 PM EST.
As a result, Bowyer, a native of Emporia, Kan., scored his first-career championship in NASCAR's second-tier series by a mere 21 points over the race-winning Edwards after beginning the Ford 300 with a 56-point advantage in the series standings.
Together with Johnny Benson's Craftsman Truck Series championship drive on Friday night, a grand total of 28 points have separated NASCAR's two champions in 2008 from their closest rivals in second place -- Edwards on Saturday night at Ron Hornaday Jr. on Friday night.
That small point difference trend isn't expected to continue with Sunday's Ford 400Sprint Cup season-finale race as Jimmie Johnson has a 141-point lead over Edwards in the top level series. Johnson, however, doesn't have the championship quite in the bag yet because he does have to finish 36th or higher to guarantee the title -- but certainly the drawstring is closing.
Back to Bowyer's title, however, and you're certainly looking at a driver who has had a stressful go of it as he attempted to finish out a virtually impeccable season of Nationwide competition.
After all, Benson won the title -- his second career NASCAR championship to follow up his Nationwide Series title in 1995 -- by just a mere seven points over Ron Hornaday Jr.
By comparison, Carl Edwards trails Jimmie Johnson by 141 points in the Sprint Cup Series standings with the season-finale scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the same Homestead-Miami Speedway Benson scored his huge season win at Friday night. What's also notable is that the Sprint Cup Series had a near-total points reset just ten races ago among the Top 12 drivers.
While I won't profess to have followed the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series as close as I could have -- hey, I went to see the character-rich series when they visited O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis back in July -- I've got to say that Benson's win is one of those "feel good" stories of the year.
Not to slight Hornaday by any margin, but Benson is truly one of the good guys in racing and has always been quite approachable for both fans and media.
Ironically the start of a Sprint Cup Series weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway that's supposed to be the coronation of one of NASCAR's greatest drivers started with a relative unknown taking the race's best starting spot.
Johnson carries a 141-point lead over Carl Edwards with only 400 miles left to go in the 36-race NASCAR season. Should Johnson manage a finish better than 36th Sunday, he'll be the first driver since Cale Yarborugh in 1978 to win three straight championships.
Edwards will start a much improved 4th.
On the outside of the front row and next to Reutimann, Red Bull Racing's Scott Speed will start the No. 83 Toyota after swapping rides this week with teammate Brian Vickers. Vickers, in Speed's normal No. 84, starts 20th.
Cancel any trips you've got scheduled to attend NASCAR's preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway in January 2009. (Yeah, all four of you.)
NASCAR announced Friday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- site of the season-finale events for the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and the Craftsman (soon to be Camping World) Truck Series -- that all testing on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks will be banned in 2009. From the Charlotte Observer:
The suspension of testing, primarily a cost-cutting measure, includes preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway.
Teams still will be allowed to test at NASCAR weekly racing series tracks - such as Hickory Motor Speedway or Concord Motorsport Park in the Charlotte area where most operations are based - and at tracks not affiliated with NASCAR.
The decision, for example, could be a boost to Rockingham Speedway and its new owner, Andy Hillenburg. Hillenburg has built a short-track testing facility adjacent to the one-mile oval that used to host NASCAR events.
I've got to say that NASCAR is making an intelligent decision here to cut travel costs, but if you think for a minute that this move will save team's -- especially ones in the Sprint Cup Series -- extraordinary amounts of money, think again.
Will that be some bad karma for NASCAR's Mr. Incredible? Will Carl Edwards become just the third driver in all of NASCAR's history to overcome a points deficit in the season finale?
I doubt it and probably not. Johnson's gonna win this thing, no matter what Jack Roush says.
Regardless, there's plenty of super fun awesome story lines prepping themselves for Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Can Jeff Gordon remember how to win? Will A.J. Allmendinger get payback from Tony Stewart after last week's shenanigans at Phoenix? Will anyone care that Johnson's three-straight titles are a huge freakin' accomplishment?
Whatever your NASCAR fancy is, we'll be serving it up all afternoon here on the 'House with our final live blog of the NASCAR season Sunday afternoon starting at 3:30pm/EST. Come for the whole thing or stop by for a few minutes to jump in on the good times for all.
Get your email reminder below and we'll see ya Sunday!
Hendrick Motorsports is considering a plan that would put Mark Martin in the No. 5 car he'll take over in 2009 for the final race of this season at Homestead [-Miami] Speedway.
A contingency to the plan is getting Casey Mears, the current driver of the No. 5, into the fourth car at Richard Childress Racing that he will drive next season.
But in order to do that Mears would have to drive the No. 33, not the No. 07 that he is slated for because Clint Bowyer is driving that car in the Chase. Team owner Richard Childress said he is willing to put Mears in the No. 33 unsponsored if necessary.
"He won't go without a ride," Childress said.
Why wait until the last race at Homestead, you might ask? Well according to Newton, Martin is scheduled to drive in his current Dale Earnhardt Inc. part-time gig for the season's third and second to last races in Texas and Phoenix.
I'm not real sure, though, that making such a switch would truly benefit Martin or Mears (if ends up racing for RCR at Homestead).
I can't remember the last year that I was so uninspired by NASCAR's finale race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. I know I'm not alone ... so I thought we could chat about it while we sort of half watching the race today. We can discuss all the ways in which the 2007 NASCAR season and its media coverage sucked and yet ... we've already begun counting down the days 'til we can start it all over again in February.
Want to join us? Meet back here in about an hour for pre-race!
One race to go, one champion to crown.
Carl Edwards
Does NASCAR need a 10-race playoff to make a championship race close and exciting?
Ironically the start of a 
Cancel any trips you've got scheduled to attend NASCAR's preseason testing at 
Jimmie Johnson
ESPN.com's David Newton is reporting the driver who is replacing 
