By BRANT JAMES and MIKE READLING
Published November 22, 2004
HOMESTEAD - The wide-open surroundings and teal walls that encompass Homestead-Miami Speedway have a definite South Florida feel. But the 1.5 miles of asphalt and tough 20 degree banking are starting to give the track its reputation.
For the second straight year, tires played a major role in determining the winner of the Ford 400 and they nearly determined the Nextel Cup champion.
Last year, Bill Elliott dominated the season finale only to blow a tire on the final lap and finish eighth. Sunday Ryan Newman popped a tire while leading and hit the wall during the closing laps, allowing Greg Biffle to win. Newman's blowout was the last in a series in Goodyear's bad day at the track.
Most notable was on Lap 125 when Jeff Gordon , one of three drivers in a tight fight for the series title, was forced to pit under green after a washer he picked up on the track cut his left rear tire. Several laps later eventual champion Kurt Busch almost saw his title hopes evaporate when his right front wheel became loose and broke off as he entered pit road.
Busch's car narrowly missed the wall dividing pit road from the track and he drove on a sparking rim to his stall as his tire bounded on the track, causing a caution flag.
At least two teams with a shot at the championship relied on competitors for backup tires.
Terry Labonte , ending his final season as a full-time driver, made several pit stops to change tires, sending barely used scuffs to Jimmie Johnson 's pit. Elliott Sadler did the same for Busch.
NO ROOKIES: Kasey Kahne tried to keep the streak alive but, for the first time since 1998, no rookie won this season. Kahne finished second five times. Despite his 38th-place finish Sunday, Kahne placed 12th in points and easily won rookie of the year.
JUNIOR LEAGUE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered with what he called "an outside chance" of winning the Nextel Cup. He left somewhat dejected and looking for a break.
Earnhardt fought a difficult race car all day and never got close enough to become a true contender in the points battle. Still, he endorsed the new points system and said he looks forward to learning more about next season.
"I like it. I think it's pretty exciting," he said. "When it came down to it any of those guys had a shot at it. I know how it works now and next year we'll know better."
TONGUE LASH: NASCAR president Mike Helton issued a stern warning in the prerace meeting: penalties for offensive language during or after the race would be severe and immediate.
Language has been a sensitive issue in NASCAR since Earnhardt used an expletive in a live postrace television interview after winning Oct.3 at Talladega. He was fined $10,000 and docked 25 points the ensuing week - allowing Busch to assume the points lead.
"Don't let something unnecessary alter your position in the points race," Helton said. "Be mindful of your actions and your vocabulary on and off the racetrack until the race is complete."
Earnhardt's spotter, Steve Hmiel , was suspended for the race after he made what NASCAR declared defamatory remarks about the sanctioning body while spotting for his son, Shane, in a truck race Friday.
DIRTY TALK: Newman was displeased with what he thought was an excessive amount of debris on the track. Five of 14 cautions were thrown for that reason. Two yellow flags were waved when drivers ran over pieces of a finish-line caution signal that was falling apart.
"Before the race even started it looked like they couldn't even blow the debris off of it," he said. "They made mention in the drivers' meeting that they were going to keep everything clean. It's very disappointing, but it's pretty convenient and on par for NASCAR."
SPARK PLUGS: Veteran Danny Culler spotted for Earnhardt. ... Travis Kvapil was evaluated and released from the infield care center after a hard double impact in a Lap 162 crash. ... Tony Stewart was black-flagged while leading on a Lap 169 restart when he failed to maintain a "smooth and consistent speed" and to stop weaving to clear debris from his tires. Stewart served his pass-through penalty on a caution, pitted the next time around and fell to 25th place. Stewart rallied and had a chance to win but finished fourth.
