http://www.motorsport.com/news/series.asp?S=NASCAR-CUP Motorsport.com news coverage http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352683 20 Nov 2009 02:23 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352683:NASCAR-CUP KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 GEORGIA BOOT SILVERADO, RACE WINNER: LAST WEEKEND A DOUBLE CELEBRATION, DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP AND THE WIN, THIS WEEKEND THE OWNER CHAMPIONSHIP AND A WIN: "I just have to thank everybody at KHI. We knew we needed to go out and beat Kyle (Busch). We knew (Ron) Hornaday needed to race safe and do what he needed to do to win the owners championship. Obviously, he won the drivers championship last week. Our goal was to go out and lead the most laps and win the races. They built me trucks and everything I needed to do what I needed to do on ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352678 20 Nov 2009 02:31 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352678:NASCAR-CUP AMBROSE STARTS THIRD ON SUNDAY AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY Today, Marcos Ambrose had an impressive qualifying run posting the third quickest time (31.272 seconds) to pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson (31.049 seconds) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. "We're really pleased as a team with our efforts here today," said Ambrose, JTG-Daugherty Racing driver of the No. 47 Little Debbie0x00ae Chocolate Cupcakes Toyota Camry. "I didn't know how I was going to stack up this weekend. This track was a real challenge for me last ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352659 20 Nov 2009 20:28 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352659:NASCAR-CUP AMBROSE QUALIFIES THIRD FOR SEASON FINALE IN HOMESTEAD Marcos Ambrose has equalled his best qualifying performance of the season and will start from third position in the final race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, after a sensation performance in qualifying today. "We're really pleased as a team with our efforts here today," said Ambrose, "I didn't know how I was going to stack up this weekend. This track was a real challenge for me last season." ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352639 20 Nov 2009 18:08 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352639:NASCAR-CUP Hornish to Start 29th in Season-Finale Race at Homestead HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 20, 2009) - Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, will start the season-finale Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway from the 29th starting position on Sunday. The 34th competitor to make a qualifying attempt, Hornish posted a fast-lap time of 31.617 seconds at a speed of 170.794 miles per hour capturing the 29th starting spot for the No. 77 team. "The Mobil 1 Dodge was pretty good in practice today but was really tight ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352638 20 Nov 2009 18:08 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352638:NASCAR-CUP Keselowski Will Start Sunday's Race from the 27th Position HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 21, 2009) - Brad Keselowski will start Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series season finale event at the Homestead-Miami Speedway from the 27th spot. Keselowski and the No.12 Penske Dodge Charger team had an hour-and-a-half practice session on Friday morning to get their car dialed in. The team was confident they had a strong car and it showed on the speed chart. Keselowski radioed to crew chief Roy McCauley explaining the car was handling just a ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352636 20 Nov 2009 19:05 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352636:NASCAR-CUP SCOTT SPEED, No. 82 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 2nd How do you handle starting next to Jimmie Johnson on Sunday? "Carefully. More than anything I think it was just a product of being able to go out when the sun was going down. Nonetheless its two years in a row that we're on the outside front row here. Eventually, I am going to want to be on the pole. The car is pretty good in race trim. Hopefully, we can work on it. When you start up front in a race like this, especially the way the restarts are working now with the lappers ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352635 20 Nov 2009 19:05 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352635:NASCAR-CUP SCOTT SPEED, No. 82 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 2nd How do you handle starting next to Jimmie Johnson on Sunday? "Carefully. More than anything I think it was just a product of being able to go out when the sun was going down. Nonetheless its two years in a row that we're on the outside front row here. Eventually, I am going to want to be on the pole. The car is pretty good in race trim. Hopefully, we can work on it. When you start up front in a race like ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352634 20 Nov 2009 19:05 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352634:NASCAR-CUP MARCOS AMBROSE, No. 47 Little Debbie Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position: 3rd How was your qualifying run today? "It was great until Scott Speed just bumped me off the front row. We had a chance at our first front row spot and just lost it there on the last couple cars that ran. We're really pleased – it's about a second faster than what I qualified here last year. It's pretty much got the same springs underneath so it just shows you how far I've come as a driver and how far we've come as a team. I really didn't know how ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352632 20 Nov 2009 18:19 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352632:NASCAR-CUP David Gilliland Solid at Homestead -- Qualifies the Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota 17th Homestead, FL -- David Gilliland, driver of the No. 02 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing, qualified 17th this afternoon for Sunday's FORD 400 from Homestead Miami Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing team had over an hour this morning to get the Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota ready for its two fastest laps in Coors Pole Qualifying. They would need every bit of that practice, as David came ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352631 20 Nov 2009 17:44 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352631:NASCAR-CUP JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S IMPALA SS, POLE SITTER: DESCRIBE YOUR EFFORT: "It was really good. Definitely proud of the work today. We didn't start off very good. I know we didn't show well in practice. I made a mistake on the lap I needed to post a good lap and felt like I was going to be competitive. The number Mark (Martin) put up, I didn't know if it was going to reachable. We just needed a good lap, a good clean lap and we got it. I am real proud of this Lowe's team." AS FAR AS YOU, CHAD KNAUS, RON MALEC AND ALL THE GUYS, IS THERE SUCH A ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352630 20 Nov 2009 17:44 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352630:NASCAR-CUP KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Qualified 12th "It was a decent lap. The car was sliding around a little too much. We were the fastest in practice so we couldn't adjust the car that much. We wanted to leave it along and it slid around a little bit too much. We're 40 points behind Jeff Gordon. If we have a good run and he doesn't have the best of days, we could gain 40 points on him and bump us up to third in points. Qualifying is important at all places, but some more so than others. Here, with the multiple grooves, qualifying is ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352629 20 Nov 2009 17:53 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352629:NASCAR-CUP KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR SEASON? "It's been a long season, but yet it's been a successful season for us at Penske Racing. A real good, consistent effort week-in-and-week-out. To have 20 top-10 finishes, that shows that we have that type of consistency to run up front and be contenders for the championship. We were eliminated last week due to the Jimmie Johnson-era that we all live in. To have Mark Martin run second in the championship standings after he's finished second in the standings four times ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352628 20 Nov 2009 17:53 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352628:NASCAR-CUP Elliott Qualifies #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion 9th for Ford 400 The Wood Brothers spent the last two weeks finishing a new car that had been in process for the past couple of months, one that will be run in 2010, and the effort paid off. After posting good consistent lap times in practice, Bill Elliott and the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion followed-up practice with a 9th place qualifying effort and a lap time of 31.42. Co-owner Eddie Wood stated, " We spent the last two races trying new things. Our guys decided to go back to the basics and have done a heck ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352627 20 Nov 2009 17:53 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352627:NASCAR-CUP Jimmie Johnson Wins the Pole for Season Final Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway; Team Chevy Drivers Score Six of Top-10 Starting Positions Homestead, FL - Jimmie Johnson started the final weekend of the season and his quest for a fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) off right by putting his No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS on the pole for the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS). It is Johnson's fourth pole of the year; his second at HMS and the 23rd of his career. Six Team Chevy drivers scored top-10 starting positions in the 43-car field for ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352626 20 Nov 2009 18:32 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352626:NASCAR-CUP JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S IMPALA SS -- POLE WINNER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT THIS IS YOUR FOURTH POLE IN 2009 AND YOUR SECOND POLE AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY AND YOUR 23RD POLE OVERALL. YOU MENTIONED YOU WANTED TO START UP FRONT AND YOU'VE CERTAINLY ACCOMPLISHED THAT. "Yeah I'm definitely excited for the track position and having that first pit stall. One thing that a lot of you (media) might know is how difficult pit road is here when the sun is setting to find your pit box and even see the parameters of your pit box. So there are a lot of ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352625 20 Nov 2009 18:06 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352625:NASCAR-CUP In NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifications at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday afternoon, Jimmie Johnson topped 47 other cars to claim the pole position for the Ford 400 on Sunday. ... Motorsport.com - Joe Jennings http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352624 20 Nov 2009 17:06 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352624:NASCAR-CUP Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352623 20 Nov 2009 17:53 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352623:NASCAR-CUP CHIP GANASSI, TEAM OWNER; JAMIE MCMURRY, DRIVER AND KEVIN "BONO" MANION, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed the announcement of Jamie as driver for 2010, the goal of the team for 2010 and other topics: TELL US ABOUT THE RECENT ANNOUCEMENT THAT JAMIE MCMURRAY WAS RETURNING TO EARNHARDT-GANASSI RACING TO DRIVE THE NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS CHEVROLET. CHIP GANASSI: "You know I think as everybody in the room probably knows, we have first-hand knowledge of Jamie McMurray and the job he can ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352621 20 Nov 2009 17:59 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352621:NASCAR-CUP Track dust Rick Hendrick announced that Jimmie Johnson's contract has been extended through the 2015 season and the contract with Lowe's Companies, Inc. has been continued through 2013. "I am excited to make this announcement and the key to our success is keeping good people together," Hendrick said. "Jimmie (Johnson) and I would like to be able to retire together." Stated Johnson, "I am very excited about the new agreement and for the future." The championship driver has been with Hendrick Motorsports and Lowe's since 2001. Since ... Motorsport.com - Joe Jennings http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352617 20 Nov 2009 15:39 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352617:NASCAR-CUP Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, is in seventh place in the standings heading into this weekend's season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Biffle, who three straight races at Homestead from 2004-06, met with the media following Friday's practice session. "This is definitely a good race track for us. I enjoy this race track. I enjoy racing here. It seems like the track is starting to, obviously, year after year a track starts to lose a little bit of grip and the groove moves around. With our cars, the groove is up top right away. I'm ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352614 20 Nov 2009 15:06 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352614:NASCAR-CUP RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 STEWART-HAAS IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway and discussed looking back on his season, looking ahead to next season, what it will take to knock the No. 48 off their throne and more. HAVE YOU HAD TIME TO LOOK BACK AND SEE HOW THE SEASON WENT? "Yeah, we've had time but honestly we don't take time to really do that because we're so focused on this year and at the same time if you spend time thinking about things we've accomplished I guess we're not thinking about the things we can accomplish. With the ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352612 20 Nov 2009 15:06 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352612:NASCAR-CUP JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT IMPALA SS met with media and discussed the strengths of Rick Hendrick, Jimmie Johnson's success, the Chase format, and more. Q. What is your outlook for the weekend? JEFF GORDON: Outlook is good. We're excited about trying to finish the season out on a positive note, try to get us a win, try to get up as high in the points as we possibly can. Hopefully that means a win and second in the points. That's what our goal is. Till we get out there on the track, we didn't qualify great here the last time we were here, but we ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352610 20 Nov 2009 13:47 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352610:NASCAR-CUP KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger) YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RACE WEEKEND AT HOMESTEAD? "I think we have a good chance to qualify well, race good on Sunday and finish the season strong. A lot of things are going to happen during the off-season. I'm not sure exactly what, so it will be good to finish strong for the team and the guys. Hopefully it carries over to next year." YOU HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CREW CHIEF KENNY FRANCIS. WHAT MAKES HIM SO GOOD? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STRENGTHS THAT HE BRINGS TO THE ... Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352608 20 Nov 2009 13:12 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352608:NASCAR-CUP Motorsport.com http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352607 20 Nov 2009 13:41 EDT http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=352607:NASCAR-CUP MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST IMPALA SS met with media and discussed his successful season, running a full-time schedule, the comfort level in his team and car, and more. THE MODERATOR: Mark Martin, a big race on Sunday. Season finale. You and Jimmie have talked already so much about what could happen. What is your sense this morning as you get ready to get in the car? MARK MARTIN: I really like this racetrack. I love this championship weekend that they've built here through the years. It's a real exciting ... Motorsport.com