2010 Ford 400: Edwards Wins as Johnson Takes Fifth Title

The final round of the ten-race Chase came at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a 267-lap event that closed the 2010 season. Carl Edwards won the race for Roush Fenway Racing, and Jimmie Johnson finished second, which was enough to claim his fifth straight Drivers' Championship as Edwards crossed the line.

Why was the 2010 finale so tight?

Denny Hamlin led the Drivers' Championship with 6,462 points, with Johnson second on 6,447, only fifteen points behind. Kevin Harvick was third on 6,416 and Edwards fourth on 6,198. Johnson could win the title with a strong finish, but Hamlin, the defending race winner from 2009, was well placed to take the title himself.

A maximum of 195 points was available in the final race, and Hamlin had won the most races of any driver that season, with eight, which helped his title hopes stay alive into the finale. Chevrolet had already clinched the manufacturers' title, entering the race on 255 points, 42 ahead of Toyota on 213, so the drivers' title was the main prize still at stake.

Edwards led the most laps and still had to wait for the final flag to see Johnson's fifth title confirmed.

What happened in practice and qualifying?

Forty-five cars were entered for qualifying, and forty-three of them made the race. Kasey Kahne took his 20th career pole with a time of 30.525 seconds, and Edwards joined him on the front row. McMurray qualified third, Bill Elliott fourth and A. J. Allmendinger fifth, with Johnson, Reutimann, Martin, Ragan and Smith completing the top ten.

Hamlin qualified 37th after he got too close to the wall. Patrick Carpentier and Michael McDowell failed to qualify. Kahne said afterwards that it was by far the best qualifying run since he had joined Red Bull, and he was looking forward to racing with the leaders on Sunday.

In the second practice Kyle Busch was fastest with 31.425 seconds, and Johnson managed only eleventh. By the final practice Burton was quickest at 31.850 seconds, and Johnson described his car as very comfortable. Edwards had led the first session with 30.710 seconds, just 0.134 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch.

How did the opening laps unfold?

The race began at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on ESPN, with dry conditions and an air temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit). Tim Griffin gave the invocation, Bret Michaels sang the national anthem, and Sam Hornish Jr. had to start from the back after switching to his backup car during the pace laps.

Kahne kept the lead into the first corner, but Edwards passed him on the fourth lap. Johnson took fourth on the first laps and moved up to third when he passed Allmendinger on lap 12. Hamlin began 37th and had worked his way to 27th by lap six, which showed how much ground he had to make up.

Reutimann and Kurt Busch hit the wall close to lap 12, and the first caution followed when Reutimann hit the wall again. At the restart on lap 22 Edwards led, ahead of Kahne, Allmendinger and Johnson. Two laps later, Hamlin collided with Greg Biffle as they came out of turn two and spun through the grass on the backstretch. He suffered minor splitter damage, and he later said the car was never the same afterwards.

How did the race shape up through the middle laps?

Harvick rose from 28th to tenth by lap 28, and Martin Truex Jr. climbed from 25th to seventh by lap 34. Hamlin kept working his way forward, and by the time Truex passed Johnson for fourth on the 41st lap, Edwards had built a lead of more than a second over the rest of the field.

By lap 50, only 38 cars were still on the lead lap, which showed how quickly the field had been stretched out. Edwards was in front by lap 54, with Allmendinger, Kahne, Truex and Johnson behind him. Kenseth took tenth on lap 58, and the first green-flag pit stops followed as the leaders began to cycle through their stops.

Edwards and Johnson traded the lead in the pits. Johnson took the lead when Edwards came in for his stop, and Truex inherited it when Johnson pitted the next lap. Truex was 1.2 seconds ahead of Kahne by lap 77, and his advantage grew to 1.5 seconds by the 93rd lap, before a debris caution came out five laps later.

How did the lead change in the second half?

At the restart Truex was first, with Edwards and Kahne behind him. Edwards passed Truex to lead shortly afterwards, and McMurray moved past Truex for second on lap 105. Ragan passed Kahne for tenth eleven laps later.

Edwards led 86 of the first 124 laps before Truex took the lead from him on lap 125. Ambrose spun on lap 135 to bring out the fourth caution, and the lead passed back and forth as the race reached its final third. One lap later Montoya and Logano collided, and Edwards was back in front at the restart on lap 143.

Two laps later Truex reclaimed the lead from Edwards, and by the 158th lap he had a 1.2 second lead over his rival. Six laps later a caution for Kevin Conway brought the field back together, and Edwards was first again on the restart that followed.

What happened in the closing laps?

Stewart moved to sixth on lap 175 after starting 31st, and Harvick later climbed to third. Burton hit the wall during the 183rd lap, and a debris caution on lap 186 gave Harvick the lead under the yellow. Harvick was given a pit road speeding penalty for that, which sent him to the back of the grid for the restart.

Truex led the restart while Edwards was second. A Blaney crash brought the eighth caution, and Edwards was in front again on lap 198, ahead of Kenseth, Truex and Stewart. Gordon's motor let go on the 200th lap, which brought the ninth caution, and Edwards remained out front at the restart.

In the final stages Harvick passed Hamlin for ninth on lap 207, and Kyle Busch claimed third five laps later. Johnson retook third on lap 213 with assistance from Stewart. By the 219th lap Johnson was second, 2.58 seconds behind Edwards, and he kept pressing as Edwards's lead stretched out.

The decisive moment came on lap 243. Harvick and Kyle Busch collided, and Busch's car spun into the wall and caught fire. NASCAR personnel pulled him from the car, and the tenth caution was flown while the wreckage was cleared.

How did the title finish?

On the lap 250 restart Edwards led Johnson, Kenseth and Harvick. Harvick passed Kenseth for third on the next lap, while Hamlin fell to 21st. Edwards continued to open his lead, and by the time he had seven laps to go he had a lead of 1.67 seconds over Johnson.

Edwards's margin over Johnson had shrunk to under a second by lap 254, with Harvick 2.59 seconds further back. Hamlin meanwhile passed Martin for 15th, and Edwards kept stretching his advantage in the final laps.

Edwards took the checkered flag, and as he did, Johnson won his fifth consecutive championship. Edwards's winning margin was 1.608 seconds. Harvick took third, with Almirola and Allmendinger following in fourth and fifth. Behind them came Kahne, Newman, Stewart, Kenseth and Biffle, who completed the top ten. The race had ten cautions and twenty-five lead changes among nine drivers.

What were the final results and race figures?

Johnson finished 39 points ahead of Hamlin in the final standings, with 6,622 points. Harvick was third with 6,581, Edwards fourth with 6,393 and Kenseth fifth with 6,294.

What did the finale mean for the Chase drivers?

The finale settled the Chase with Johnson on top, while Edwards, Harvick and Hamlin were all still in the mix at various points. Hamlin had led the points into the race, but he later blamed an earlier wreck with Biffle for knocking the toe out of his car. The result left him second in the standings.

Hamlin said he had won the most races in the Chase, with eight, and had contended as never before, but circumstances had taken him out of the title. He also said Johnson had not shown the strength he had in past years, which opened the door for the rest of the field.

Harvick took a more positive view. He said the finale was a good place to start building for consistent championship runs in the following year, even though his team had a top three car that the leaders passed on the late restarts.

How did the drivers react?

In victory lane Edwards soaked up the moment before 67,000 spectators. His second win of 2010 followed his victory the previous week at Kobalt Tools 500, and he asked his crew chief, Bob Osbourne, why the car had not been set up that way before.

Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, said Johnson would finally receive the respect he deserved after winning his fifth title in a row. Hamlin, who had led the points before the race, said the car had been lightning fast until the last wreck and that the toe-in had been knocked out when the car hit Biffle.

Harvick said his team had gone down swinging and had been a top three car, but it had been beaten on the late restarts. Kyle Busch and Harvick traded barbs about their crash after the race, with Busch saying Harvick had made a slide job on him earlier in the day.

Chevrolet's 261 points gave it the manufacturers' title, with Toyota 44 back and Ford 85 adrift. Dodge finished fourth on 138 points.