2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season: Johnson's Seventh Title and a Season of Farewells

Jimmie Johnson won the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship at Homestead, his seventh title, a total shared only with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Toyota won the manufacturers' championship, the first time a make other than Chevrolet had done so since 2002. The season began at Daytona with the Sprint Unlimited and ended at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford EcoBoost 400.

Who won the 2016 Sprint Cup championship?

Jimmie Johnson won the 2016 title for Hendrick Motorsports, his seventh championship, a total shared with Petty and Earnhardt. He won his first race at Homestead in that finale, and the title came down to a Chase final that was decided in overtime.

The Chase rounds had new names for 2016.

Johnson's seventh title came at Homestead, and it tied the record set by Petty and Earnhardt in a season of farewells.

What rules changed for the 2016 season?

The biggest change was the charter system, agreed between NASCAR and the Race Team Alliance. Thirty-six teams held charters that guaranteed a place in the field for all 36 races, and the Cup field was cut from 43 cars to 40.

Organisations were also limited to four cars, which ruled out a fifth car for rookie drivers. Non-chartered teams filled the last four places through qualifying, and the points system was revised to pay down to 1 point for 40th place.

Technical changes included digital dashboards in every car, a rear spoiler reduced from 6 inches to 3.5 inches at most tracks, and a front splitter cut from 2 inches to 0.25 inches. The overtime line was also introduced, a new rule for the green-white-checker finish that changed the way restarts were used.

The teams themselves changed as well. Furniture Row Racing moved from Chevrolet to Toyota with a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, while Circle Sport and Leavine Family Racing merged and switched to Chevrolet, forming an alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Premium Motorsports ran a single full-time team, and Front Row Motorsports cut back to two full-time cars.

The calendar was reshaped too. The Easter off-week moved to late March, and the Coke Zero 400 returned to its usual Saturday night date. Michigan and Bristol swapped their August dates to avoid a clash with the Summer Olympics on NBC, and the Watkins Glen race was moved to USA, the first Cup race that network had carried since 1984.

How did the season start at Daytona?

Denny Hamlin won the Sprint Unlimited, his third career win in that event, and Chase Elliott won the Daytona 500 pole at 20 years, 2 months and 17 days, the youngest pole winner in the race's history. Matt Kenseth joined him on the front row.

The Daytona 500 itself ended in a photo finish, with Denny Hamlin beating Martin Truex Jr. to the line. It was the closest margin in the race's history, and it followed a Can-Am Duel in which Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first race and Kyle Busch the second.

Coverage was split between Fox Sports and NBC Sports in the United States, the second year of that deal. In Canada, TSN carried every race, including the Daytona qualifying races and the exhibitions, and most of Latin America was served by Fox Sports.

Which early races set the tone?

Kurt Busch started on pole at Atlanta, but Jimmie Johnson won under caution after a multicar wreck, his 76th career win and a tie with Dale Earnhardt. At Las Vegas Brad Keselowski won in high winds, with a sandstorm hitting the track between laps 202 and 205.

At Phoenix Kevin Harvick won his eighth career race there, beating Carl Edwards by a photo finish. At Fontana Johnson won in overtime, his 77th career win, ahead of Harvick and Denny Hamlin.

Kyle Busch won at Martinsville, his first career win there, and went on to win the Texas race as well, his second straight Cup win. At Bristol Edwards took his first win of the season, and at Richmond he won again with a bump-and-run on the final lap.

Brad Keselowski won the GEICO 500 at Talladega, a race that featured numerous multicar wrecks.

NASCAR also began enforcing lug nuts again at the May Talladega race, after a practice that had been dropped following the 2013 season. A missing or loose lug nut found in post-race inspection brought an automatic penalty and one-race suspensions for the crew chief, tire changer and tire carrier.

How did the mid-season races unfold?

Kyle Busch won at Kansas, his first career win there. At Dover Matt Kenseth won his first race of the season, and Joey Logano won the Charlotte All-Star Race, the exhibition held in May.

Brad Keselowski won his first Daytona race in the Coke Zero 400, after a wreck that brought down Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Casey Mears. At Kentucky Keselowski won again, leading the final 65 laps to hold off Edwards.

Kenseth won at Loudon for his second win of the year, and Kyle Busch won the Indianapolis race for the second straight year. At Pocono, Chris Buescher won in fog, his first career win, and the race was called official after a long red flag.

Which late-season races mattered for the playoffs?

At Watkins Glen Denny Hamlin won despite back pain, while Jeff Gordon made his 800th start. Kevin Harvick won the Bristol night race, his first win at Bristol since 2005, after rain delayed the race.

Kyle Larson won at Michigan for his first Sprint Cup win, and Tony Stewart won at Sonoma, the final win of his career. Martin Truex Jr. won at Darlington, his second win of the year, and Denny Hamlin won at Richmond for his third.

Truex won at Chicagoland for his third win, Harvick won at New Hampshire for his third, and Truex won at Dover for his fourth. Truex had led 141 laps at New Hampshire before Harvick took the lead from Kenseth late in the race, and it was Harvick's first New Hampshire win since 2006. Jimmie Johnson won at Charlotte, his eighth career win there, and advanced to the Round of 8.

How did the departures shape the year?

The season was a farewell for several veterans. Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle ran their final full seasons, and Stewart won three Cup championships in his career. Edwards had 28 race wins and Biffle 19.

Jeff Gordon returned from retirement in the middle of the year to share driving duties with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was sidelined for the rest of the season by concussion symptoms. Gordon's final start came at Martinsville in October, and Alex Bowman shared the car for the final stretch.

Joe Nemechek did not start a Cup race for the first time since his career began in 1993. Michael Waltrip Racing shut down after 2015, while Wood Brothers Racing returned to full-time competition for the first time since 2008 with Ryan Blaney as driver.

Logano, Johnson and Carl Edwards had won their way into the Championship 4 at Homestead, while Kyle Busch made it on points. Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch were eliminated after the Phoenix race. Jeff Gordon's last start came at Martinsville, where he also made his final top 10.

How did the Ford EcoBoost 400 decide the title?

Johnson started from the back of the field at Homestead and won in overtime, taking the lead from Kyle Larson late on. It was his first career win at Homestead and the seventh championship of his career, after a late restart in which Carl Edwards blocked Joey Logano and crashed.

Carl Edwards and Brian Scott made their final Cup starts at Homestead. A caution for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came out during the overtime period,.

Selected 2016 race winners