Ford 300 - Homestead-Miami Speedway

Back to Back for Matt; Harvick Celebrates Title
Matt Kenseth closed out the 25th Anniversary season of the NASCAR Busch Series with a victory in the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was Kenseth’s second consecutive win of the year and his third of the season. Roush Racing teammate Carl Edwards joined Kenseth in a rousing battle for the win during the closing laps of the event which ended under caution due to a spin on the last lap by Jay Sauter. Kevin Harvick, 2006 series champion and race pole sitter, led the field down to the green flag with the first caution of the event coming out on lap 2 after reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Sam Hornish, Jr. tagged the wall. The scariest moment of the race came on lap 45 when Reed Sorenson blew an engine with the oil igniting into a spectacular blaze. Sorenson spun the car into the grass on the backstretch and emerged unscathed. The event was slowed seven times by cautions with a total of 11 drivers swapping the lead 15 times. The top five finishers were Kenseth followed by Edwards, Paul Menard, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley. The Ford 300 was Matt Kenseth’s 21st career NASCAR Busch Series victory. The real story of the evening, however, was the official crowning of series champion Kevin Harvick, who set series records this season for his dominance of the competition. Harvick clinched his second championship with four races remaining - the earliest for any series champion. Harvick’s point margin over runner-up Carl Edwards was a whopping 824, another series record. Kevin Harvick and his Richard Childress-owned team ended the year with nine wins, just one shy of tying the all-time record of 10 set by Sam Ard nearly a quarter of a century ago. Harvick also had 23 top five finishes and 32 top 10s in 35 starts. At this point Harvick has no plans to defend his title next season. The top five in series points for 2006 were Harvick followed by Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley.

Ford 300 Notes

· Race Results · Ford Post-Race Quotes · Rookie Post-Race Quotes · Point Standings · Owner Point Standings · WIX Filters Lap Leader Notes · Starting Lineup · Qualifying Results · Final Practice · Practice 2: Rookie Practice · Practice 1 · Qualifying Order · Entry List · Weekend Schedule · Raybestos Rookie Notes · Sam Hornish Jr. · Juan Pablo Montoya Notes · Erin Crocker Notes · Bobby Labonte · Casey Atwood Notes · Shane Huffman Notes

· Kevin Harvick Notes · Carl Edwards Notes · Clint Bowyer Notes · Denny Hamlin Notes · Kyle Busch Notes · Greg Biffle Notes · Reed Sorenson Notes · Kenny Wallace Notes · Jason Leffler Notes · John Andretti Notes · Stacy Compton Notes · Todd Kluever Notes · Danny O’Quinn, Jr. Notes · Matt Kenseth Notes · Scott Wimmer Notes · Kasey Kahne Notes · Stephen Leicht Notes · Auggie Vidovich Notes · Ron Hornaday Notes · Steve Wallace Notes · Kertus Davis Notes

Harvick Wins First Busch Pole of 2006 in Season's Last Race
What a year this has been for Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Busch Series. The 2006 champion enters the season’s last race with an incredible 844-point lead, a whopping 31 top-ten finishes in 34 events and nine wins. What else was there for Harvick to accomplish? Win a pole. With all that Harvick has achieved this year in three different rides, he did not have a pole position… until now. Harvick won his first Busch Pole of the season on Friday during time trails for the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He qualified in 30.986 seconds, at an average speed of 174.272 mph, to earn the top starting spot. J.J. Yeley will start from the outside pole, followed by Carl Edwards in the third position. Rookie Shane Huffman will roll off fourth while Matt Kenseth starts fifth.