The 2010 NASCAR Championship has come down to just one race.
The closest-ever Chase for the Sprint Cup will be decided in a 267-lap shootout in Miami with three of NASCAR’s biggest stars – Denny Hamlin (6462 points), Jimmie Johnson (-15) and Kevin Harvick (-46) – separated by a mere handful of points.
Uncertainty is in the air.
When just a week ago it seemed Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford were in the proverbial driver’s seat, calling moves by Johnson’s team “desperate” and claiming to be in the No. 48 team’s collective head, a meltdown in Phoenix and late-race surge by Jimmie Johnson sliced Hamlin’s lead to just 15 points. Now, with momentum seemingly in the four-time defending champion’s corner, Johnson will need to finish just a few spots ahead of Hamlin to come from behind to claim his fifth-straight NASCAR championship.
Hamlin appeared to have the 2010 title all but locked up in Phoenix, but was forced to pit for fuel with just 14-laps remaining and dropped to 19th. While being serviced on pit road, Johnson and Harvick continued to climb upward in the top 10 and, in just moments, Hamlin’s points lead was sliced in half.
Despondent after the race, Hamlin tossed a water bottle like a child and scowled in front of the media. Meanwhile, Johnson and Knaus were beaming post-race, knowing they would enter the final race of the year with a reasonable chance to claim their fifth-straight championship with a come-from-behind surge in the year’s final event.
Often lost in the Hamlin vs. Johnson talk, Harvick claimed sixth in Phoenix and remained the most-consistent driver of the 2010 season. With the sixth-place finish, Harvick posted his seventh-straight top-10-finish and four-straight finishes of sixth or better.
Each driver will have a legitimate shot to win the title in Miami, but Johnson and Harvick must best Hamlin to come from behind to take the crown. And each has a strong history at Homestead-Miami Speedway, adding yet another layer of intrigue to the final-race drama.
Hamlin appears to be the strongest of the three in Miami, having posted three top-three finishes in the last four South Florida events and a win just a year ago. But Harvick appears near equally strong, with three top-five finishes in the last four races on the 1.5-mile track.
And Johnson is the wild card entering the weekend. Having had the last four championships wrapped up coming into the season finale, Johnson has had little incentive to compete for wins in Miami and has posted an average finish of ninth. However, previous to his title run, Johnson posted three-consecutive top-10 finishes at the track from 2002 through 2004, including a second and third-place result.
What does it all mean? It’s simple: The stage is set for perhaps the most-compelling season-ending event in NASCAR’s modern era, as all three drivers sit poised to battle for the 2010 championship in what could be the most-dramatic race in recent memory.
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