Ford 400 Fact Sheet

Not that a Carl Edwards victory wouldn’t be really, really, really nice, this being the: Ford 400

At the bottom of the mainland: Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.

How close is it? Not to mimic the late Johnny Carson, but it is so close that a Kleenex stuck in the grill of Edwards’ Ford could give Tony Stewart the championship. It’s so close that a Tweet could make the difference.

How close tangibly? Edwards is up by three points, which means that he’ll lose the championship if Stewart wins the race.

The hunch here: Edwards hangs on by the hair of his recent performances at this track.

The interesting, the ironic or the wacky:

The only time a championship race has been closer with one race remaining occurred in 1979, when Darrell Waltrip led Richard Petty by two points entering the final race in Ontario, Calif. Petty won his seventh championship by 11, finishing fifth to Waltrip’s eighth.

            Edwards edge, three points, is roughly equivalent to eight under the system in use prior to this year.

            Both title contenders have an average finish of 2.0 in the past two races.

Both contenders have won twice at this track, though Stewart’s victories occurred in 1999-2000, when it was configured differently.

Informative, humorous or quotable in some other sense:

“I think there have always been some form of team orders, but my little baby is one year old, and I can order her around all I want, but it does not mean she is going to listen to me.” – Ryan Newman

“I thought what I said was edgy, but I didn’t think it was that edgy.” – Brad Keselowski, who was (secretly/allegedly) fined $25,000 for being critical of NASCAR.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m pulling for Tony Stewart.” – Kurt Busch

“Through all the trying moments, you just get stronger and you learn more.” – Jimmie Johnson