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  HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
Homestead, Florida

Jamie Squire/Getty Images
2007 Dates
Ford 400, November 18
Track Specs
1.5 mile oval
Banking/Turns: 18-20 degrees
Banking/Straightaways: 3 degrees
November 2006 Results
Winner: Greg Biffle
Pole: Kasey Kahne
What to watch for
The season finale in South Florida is a unique stop on the Cup schedule. There are always one or two Chase contenders who are trying their best to play it safe and walk away with a championship. Last year, Jimmie Johnson finished ninth in the race but first in the standings. Two years ago, Tony Stewart cruised to a 15th-place finish in Miami, but no one on the beach was happier than the 2005 champ.

But the majority of teams have been mathematically eliminated from a shot at the title by the time the late November race rolls around. In that case, Homestead presents a perfect opportunity to cap the season with a high-profile win.

No one has been better at ending the year with a victory than Greg Biffle, who has led 173 total laps on his way to the last three Homestead race wins. Biffle's so hot right now, it's tough to pick against an incredible fourth consecutive win in '07.

Stewart is the only other multiple winner in the eight-race history of the event, winning the inaugural run in 1999 and then repeating in 2000. But he has produced only two Top 10 finishes in the six races since his last win.

Miami is a good place for a youngster to make a splash. Last season, rookie Martin Truex Jr. was runner-up, rookie Denny Hamlin finished in third and third-year driver Kasey Kahne led a race-high 90 laps. Casey Mears had a victory in the bag in 2005 until a late caution flag for invisible debris led to a fifth-place finish. And in 2002, a 24-year-old Kurt Busch, in his second season on the circuit, took checkers.

Keep an eye on...
• Clint Bowyer -- This track possesses characteristics that propel Bowyer to good finishes. He started 10th and finished 10th in his lone Cup start. He also recorded runs of 11th last year and eighth in '05 in the Busch events.

• Carl Edwards -- In his three career Homestead starts, Edwards has eighth-, fourth- and 14th-place runs. The 14th came in his 13th career Nextel Cup start.

• Kevin Harvick -- Harvick has four consecutive top 10 runs at Homestead. Since 2003, he has an average finish of 6.25. Scott Wimmer Auditioning for a RCR Busch ride, Wimmer drove to a 12th-place finish last November. He has never finished worse than 13th in four career Cup starts here.


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