Jeff Gordon topped the speed chart for NASCAR’s last practice before the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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The championship will go to the highest finisher among the final four of defending series champion Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
The sport also will unite in a final farewell to Gordon, one of its greatest champions.
Nearly lost in what’s become a spectacle is the 267-lap race – and an 80-percent chance of rain and thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.
For what it’s worth, Gordon had the fastest lap among the Championship Four in Saturday’s final practice session as drivers experimented with tires and setups for Sunday’s race.
Harvick proved his first-season success at Stewart-Haas Racing was no fluke, following up with three victories and a whopping 12 runner-up finishes this year. While Harvick was slowest, he was running on older tires most of the race.
With Vallejo native Jeff Gordon sitting to his left, the reigning NASCAR champion didn’t dare play any mind games. Over a period of time you go away whether you want to or not.
He continued: “You know, you’re confident in what you have, but you can’t be confident in the results just for the fact that you just never know what can reach out and grab you”. Despite the major storyline being four drivers having a shot at a championship, there’s really nothing majorly different about the race; there’s still going to be 43 drivers out there, all wanting to win. “There’s pressure because the whole team wants it badly but we know it won’t be easy”. Joey Logano qualified second, and like Hamlin, he admitted the non-playoff drivers are fully aware they will be an undercard compared to the championship contenders.
At the same time, they still have their own self-serving priorities. I think that those comments and suggestions of how you handle your week have just rolled over into things that we’ve done this year, and you just don’t let those types of situations overwhelm you. He also gave Gordon 93 $1 bills to represent his 93 Cup wins. “We do it every single day we’re here, we do it on race day every weekend, and you’ve got to be heightened, but I don’t see it being an issue”. His No. 18 Toyota was third at 176.062.
“Qualifying position doesn’t matter much here”, Busch said. “I’m sure it’s been done in a few sport, but I don’t think it’s ever been done in this sport”.
The Final Four: Martin Truex Jr.
Kevin Harvick: Came to Homestead in 2014 and won the race and the championship.
“We’re not going to react to anything that’s part of the traditional part of hard, aggressive racing”, France said. And that’s the key for Sunday’s race. Garone is alone. I ask how he’d describe Truex to a friend.
Jimmie Johnson won at Texas, becoming the first non-Chase driver to win a race in the Chase.
“I just love this race track”.
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So before the green flag waves, before the drivers meeting even takes place, I’m going to share with you what the crystal wheel told me. Alexander, Trotta and Roberts co-host the hour-long program with analysts McReynolds, Hammond and Dallenbach, who are joined by a rotating team of active drivers and crew chiefs.
