2011 Ford 400: Stewart Wins a Title Decided on Countback

This was the closing round of the 2011 season, and the thirteenth staging of the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tony Stewart won from 15th on the grid, and his win gave him a third Drivers' Championship after a tiebreak decided by wins, ahead of Carl Edwards in second.

How close was the title fight going into Homestead?

Carl Edwards topped the standings on 2,359 points, three clear of Tony Stewart. The gap between the leaders was the tightest since the Chase started in 2004, so Edwards had to finish ahead of Stewart to take the title outright. A points tie would have gone to Stewart on the countback of wins.

Behind them Kevin Harvick was third with 2,308 points, Brad Keselowski fourth with 2,294 and Jimmie Johnson fifth with 2,291. The final race offered a maximum of 48 points. Chevrolet had already won its 35th Manufacturers' Championship, 50 points ahead of Ford.

The two contenders had very different seasons. Edwards had won only once in 2011, at Kobalt Tools 400 in March, but he had finished no worse than 11th in each of the nine Chase races. Stewart had produced just 11 top-ten finishes in the first 26 races, then won four races during the Chase to move into contention. Stewart had already won titles in 2002 and 2005, while Edwards had never won the championship. Stewart's answer to the pressure was typically blunt: at a press conference he joked that he would wreck a reporter's mother to win a championship. Edwards was just as direct, saying both drivers were used to performing under pressure and that whoever won the race would take the title.

Stewart won the race and the championship on the same afternoon, and the tiebreak that decided it was a count of wins.

How did practice and qualifying set the grid?

Two practice sessions were planned for Friday, but rain washed out that day's schedule, so both moved to Saturday. The first session ran for 90 minutes, while the second was cut to 45. Earnhardt was fastest in the first session at 31.179 seconds, and Edwards led the second at 31.556 seconds.

Qualifying had 48 cars entered, and only 43 were allowed to race. Edwards took pole at 30.775 seconds, his third of the season and tenth of his career. Truex, who had held the top spot until Edwards's lap, started alongside him, 0.116 seconds slower. Kahne took third and Kurt Busch fourth, while Keselowski, Kenseth, Gordon, Biffle, Johnson and Hamlin made up the top ten.

Stewart qualified 15th, and his rivals were not far behind. Earnhardt was 11th, Newman 14th, and Kyle Busch and Harvick were 19th and 21st. Speed, Sorenson, Skinner, Riggs and Enfinger missed the field. Edwards described his pole as a morale boost, but he added that the team still had to run the race.

How did the opening laps unfold?

The field went off shortly after three in the afternoon, Eastern Standard Time, with the coverage carried by ESPN. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden gave the start command, and the crowd greeted them with scattered boos. The temperature was about 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) with a windy breeze.

Edwards led the field into the first corner, while Stewart dove to the inside and raced three-abreast with two other cars. Edwards picked up a bonus point for leading the opening lap, so Stewart needed a result at least four places higher than his rival's unless he led a lap himself. Kurt Busch pulled into the garage early with a broken drive shaft, and he did not return to the track until lap 51.

Stewart's race was difficult from the start. Two extra stops were needed to swap the fencing on his front grille, damage his crew believed came from parts of Kurt Busch's transmission. The first caution, on lap 14 for light rain, saw the leaders pit for right-side tyres. He was sent from eighth to 40th when the race resumed on lap 22, and he began a long climb back through the field.

Edwards's advantage over Truex was reduced by the first caution, and Johnson moved to fourth over the next few laps. Earnhardt challenged Truex for second, briefly taking the position on the 25th lap. A spin by Blaney on lap 35 brought out the second caution, and Montoya had earlier been caught speeding on pit road.

How did the race turn after the rain stoppage?

Rain brought out the fourth caution on lap 109, and officials then red-flagged the race. At that stage Edwards led Stewart by 12 points in the title chase. The stoppage lasted one hour and 14 minutes before the track was judged fit to race, and the yellow flag came back out for the restart.

Stewart had been moving forward throughout. He had climbed from tenth to sixth in the 13 laps after the restart at lap 88, and on the 121st lap he pulled alongside Gordon before taking the lead two laps later. Six laps later Edwards passed Gordon for second, which set up a two-car fight at the front.

The race continued in stages. Trevor Bayne hit the turn four wall on lap 132, and the fifth caution came three laps later. A lug nut problem during a stop dropped Stewart eight positions, and he later fell to ninth when another stop went wrong.

How did the final stint decide the title?

Kenseth passed Burton and Earnhardt for the lead at the restart on lap 161. By lap 165 Stewart had bumped the rear of Edwards's car, which drew a warning from NASCAR officials, but neither driver was forced out of contention.

Once Truex's hold on the position ended on the 174th lap, Kenseth let his Roush teammate Edwards by for the lead. Stewart reached third on lap 176 and passed Kenseth for second four laps later, still 1.449 seconds behind Edwards. On lap 183 he nearly lost his car in turn four, but he kept hold of his place.

Edwards earned another bonus point for leading the most laps, and the second cycle of pit stops began on the 190th lap. Edwards pitted on lap 202, and Stewart inherited the lead, though his crew chief told him to drive conservatively so he could finish with one fewer stop. By the 212th lap, when Stewart came in for fuel and four new tyres, his car had nearly run dry.

A rain shower brought the final caution on lap 214, and the caution lasted 17 laps while officials decided if the track was dry enough. Edwards was back in front, but with seven laps left he was expected to run dry, so he came in for fuel. His advantage over Stewart in the points had fallen to just two points by then.

When the race resumed on lap 231, Kyle Busch and Keselowski were in front, with Stewart third, Bowyer fourth and Edwards fifth. Stewart ran side by side with Busch and Keselowski into turn two to grab the lead, while Edwards went to the inside and reached second on lap 235. The final 37-lap stint was a battle between the two title contenders.

On the final run Stewart ran high on the track and almost slid into the wall. Edwards reeled him in to within eight tenths of a second, but he could not get past. Stewart pulled clear to win, his third triumph at Homestead and his fifth of the season, and his 44th career victory.

What were the final standings and race figures?

Stewart and Edwards both finished the season on 2,403 points, and Stewart took the title on the countback of wins, five to Edwards's one. Harvick finished third in the standings with 2,345 points, and Johnson dropped to sixth with 2,304, his first season outside the top five. Chevrolet ended on 248 points, 53 ahead of Ford, with Toyota third on 187 and Dodge fourth on 162.

What did the drivers say afterwards?

Stewart celebrated in victory lane in front of 73,000 people and collected $341,258 for the win. He said he would have bet against his team if anyone had predicted it would win five races and the title in the Chase. He credited the organisation and its people, saying good cars and equipment were common, but the people made the difference.

Edwards congratulated Stewart and said his own team had pushed him to the end. He added that if he could not win the title he would be the best loser that NASCAR had seen. Crew chief Darian Grubb, who had been told he would be leaving Stewart-Haas before the Chase, later joined Joe Gibbs Racing as Hamlin's crew chief.

Kurt Busch was angry about his early mechanical trouble and gestured rudely at a track official on his way to the garage. His run-in with ESPN reporter Jerry Punch added to the bad day, and NASCAR fined him $50,000 for his conduct. The outburst was captured on a fan's phone and posted online. Penske Racing apologised to Punch and reprimanded Busch, and Busch later said that the loss of his transmission had let his emotions get the better of him.

Observers rushed to call it one of the finest title-deciders NASCAR has staged. Stewart's childhood idol, A. J. Foyt, a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, said Stewart had driven the best race of his life. Darrell Waltrip wrote that Stewart had become a legend on the strength of his third crown. In 2023 NASCAR included it in its list of the 75 greatest races to mark the sport's 75th anniversary.