The problem with Junior is partly bad luck and partly the team. Not blaming Hendrick for his struggles but Junior is clearly a #1 driver at any other team save Roush Fenway. At Hendrick he's clearly the #4 so all the good stuff seems to go to Jeff & Jimmie first. He needs to go to a team like RCR where he'll be #1.

I agree that the new tech goes to jimmy, and jeff before junior.

I think that they need to put together a whole new pit crew, and try to forget about this year. I know he can have success with hendrick because of last year.

And don't forget that junior has his own nationwide team, however unlikely he could bump it up to cup level, and stay affiliated with hendrick.

At best it would be a satellite deal like Stewart-Haas, own his own team but still get Hendrick engines.

No holiday for the NASCAR Police today, penalties were handed down from the weekend:
Martin Truex Jr. failed post-race inspection at Texas. Front end too low. Penalties:
Truex Jr. is docked 50 points.
Teresa Earnhardt is docked 50 owner points.
Crew Chief Kevin "Bono" Manion is fined $50,000.
I think this is the 2nd time the 1 car has been penalized this year, hence 50 points and $50K instead of 25 points and $25K.

Nationwide: Kyle failed pre-race inspection, improper weights and equipment. Penalties:
Kyle is docked 25 points.
Crew chief Jason Ratcliff is fined $5000 and is on probation the rest of the year.
Kyle won the race at Texas but the penalty cuts his points lead to 247 over Carl Edwards with 2 to go.
Crew chief Brad Parrott also was fined $5000 for unspecified rules violations on the 09 car.

its probably not likely but you never know

Phoenix qualifying is done, Martin Truex Jr. has won the pole, edging out Kurt Busch. Johnson starts 3rd, Martin 10th. Gordon starts 14th.

Elsewhere, Carquest signed an extension with Hendrick Motorsports to be an associate sponsor for Martin all next season as well as primary sponsor for 8 races. With GoDaddy coming on as primary for 20 races, this means Martin now has primary sponsorship for 28 races so far in 2010.

Well, so much for it being a points race again...Johnson wins yet again, holding off a hard-charging Jeff Burton, who had his best finish of the year in 2nd. Martin finished 4th.

Unofficially, Johnson's points lead is 108 over Martin. Gordon is 169 back, but technically he and everyone else are out.

Everyone now heads to Homestead for Ford Championship Weekend. Here's the title situation for all 3 series, and it's really over:
Cup-Johnson wins his 4th Cup in a row with one of the following:
Finish 25th or better
Finish ahead of Martin
Gordon can only win the Cup is Johnson does not qualify, he's 169 out.

Nationwide-Kyle Busch is up 190 on Edwards, meaning he only needs to start Saturday to win the series title.

Trucks-over. Ron Hornaday Jr. will be the champion.

I was hoping Johnson would run out of gas or something there at the end. Would have made Homestead interesting...

Meh, guess for Martin it still isn't over if Johnson has problems, but looks like he had all his mistake at Texas.

Time to look forward to next year.

That race is exactly what i expected to see from Jimmy.

As much as i hate to see it, he had one of those races of dominance.

Johnson hasn't been the best driver at Homestead though, and the last few years it seems to give the points leader fits. He could shock us all and dominate or it could be another Texas.

Other weekend news:
Bobby Labonte will drive the 71 car next season, his 3rd different ride in 3 years. Sponsorship is in place for roughly half the season right now.
Brad Keselowski was summoned to The Oval Office (NASCAR hauler) before Sunday's race to discuss several things. Mainly an ongoing feud with Denny Hamlin.
Not official yet, but Jamie McMurray is expected to be named driver of the 1 car next season after Homestead.
Rick Hendrick says no Danica deal yet.
A van carrying crew members for Dale Earnhardt Jr. was involved in an accident outside Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday morning. A few members went to the track's infield care center for evaluation but nobody was hurt. Geez, they must be glad this season's about over.

I read something interesting on Facebook - going to homestead without the chase, Johnson would be only leading by 8 points - and over STEWART.

I'd have to do some math but if that's true...

Some news ahead of the weekend:
Love him or hate him, Johnson isn't going anywhere anytime soon. 5-year extension with Hendrick Motorsports signed today that keeps him there through the '15 season. His contract originally was up after next season. Lowe's signed an extension to remain primary sponsor through '13. But no word on crew chief Chad Knaus, who is only signed through next year. Simply means that he's on pace to have 10 Cups and around 90 wins when it's time to talk contract again.
Jamie McMurray was named driver of the 1 car for next year on Wednesday. It looks like he got it because Bobby Labonte signed with TRG Motorsports for next year. McMurray replaces Martin Truex Jr., who is moving to Michael Waltrip Racing. The 1 has Bass Pro Shops sponsorship for roughly 20 races next year. Multiple other sponsors will cover the rest.
One interesting Homestead stat that probably won't help Martin enough: Hendrick drivers have NEVER won there in Cup. The last 5 years and 6 of the last 7 have been won by Roush cars...in fact, only one race there has not been won by a Roush or Joe Gibbs driver (Bill Elliott in '01). And Martin isn't secure in 2nd by any means-he is only 61 points ahead of Gordon.

Edit: Looks like Gordon's not going anywhere yet either. Hendrick says Gordon will drive for him for at least 4 more years, keeping him in the 24 car through 2013, "maybe 2014". They're also negotiationg with DuPont about extending their sponsorship of Gordon, which runs out after next season. Gordon has a lifetime deal with Hendrick. Rick said he tried to do the same with Johnson but "I couldn't borrow enough money to make it work."
Despite making the chase with them this year, Kasey Kahne may leave RPM after the season. He hasn't been happy this season says the company needs to become focused and resolve its lingering issues in the offseason. A move wouldn't happen until January, if it does.

And Johnson got an early jump on his title-clinching efforts today at Homestead. Pole.

This message was edited by DCRage on Nov 20 2009.

And it's all over. For the 4th straight year, Jimmie Johnson is the Sprint Cup Series Champion. The race was won by Denny Hamlin. Jeff Burton finished 2nd with Kurt Busch 3rd. Johnson was 5th, Gordon 6th. Unfortunately Rick Hendrick isn't at the track to celebrate. Had to leave earlier today due to a family emergency. (Update: His niece is hospitalized in critical condition and awaiting a liver transplant)
It's also the end of another era-today was the last time a Waltrip will race full-time in Cup, ending a 36-year run. Mikey goes part-time next year.

The unofficial final points:
Champion-Johnson 6652
2nd-Martin 6511
3rd-Gordon 6473
4th-Kurt Busch 6446
5th-Hamlin 6335
6th-Stewart 6309
7th-Biffle 6292
8th-Montoya 6252
9th-Newman 6175
10th-Kahne 6128
11th-Edwards 6118
12th-Vickers 5929

Rookie Of The Year TBD but it's likely going to be either Joey Logano (20th in points) or Marcos Ambrose (18th).

Edit: Lowe's even had the first commercial ready. It aired during the first post-race commercial break.

2nd edit: Joey Logano is the Rookie Of The Year.

This message was edited by DCRage on Nov 22 2009.

They said Ambrose was a 'sophomore', so he must have been racing for 2 years I'd assume.

Johnson, congratz. 4 in a row, don't think anyone will top that, other than himself next year.

And I believe this one of the only times a team has gone 1-2-3 in the points, Hendrick dominated this year. Shame he wasn't at the track, hope his niece is alright.

I think this was his first full year in Cup, so apparently he made too many starts last year to be eligible. Not sure if the same will apply for Keselowski. But hopefully he'll be good for the series next year, he's already made himself a target and will draw attention of other drivers, and hopefully the fans. That'll be one of the big stories next year along with the Drive For Five and if Junior can bounce back. Now we wait for Champions Week and the rest of the silly season happening, until then...

83 DAYS TO DAYTONA!

Offseason news time!
It's now official...Danica's coming. JR Motorsports & Hendrick FINALLY unveiled her Nationwide team today. She'll debut at the ARCA race in Daytona, her first race is February 6. No word on how many NASCAR races she'll run-she just also signed a 3-year extension with her IRL team. GoDaddy will be the sponsor.

Junior won Most Popular Driver yet again. 7th in a row.

From one Busch to the other? Steve Addington, Kyle's former Cup crew chief, could be going to Kurt's team. Jsyski says the holdup could be Addington wanting 3 years.

Jay Guy has been named crew chief for Brad Keselowski's Cup team next year. Safe to say he'll be the Guy we hear a lot from at times the way Brad drives, haha.

Doug Randolph is Bobby Labonte's new crew chief effective immediately. Randolph moves from RCR to TRG.

Richard Childress Racing pit crew member Donald "D.J." Richardson is recovering in a Massachusetts hospital from severe complications due to the pig flu. he contracted it during Thanksgiving. His condition worsened due to the onset of pneumonia before he went to Health Alliance Hospital in Leominster for evaluation. Doctors quickly admitted Richardson to the hospital's intensive care unit with acute respiratory distress syndrome. No further word on his current condition.