Homestead, FL\u00a0 NASCAR.COM–Jimmie Johnson’s ninth-place finish was enough for him to win his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship while Denny Hamlin scored his first victory of the season in the Ford EcoBoost 400.<\/p>\n
For Johnson, it is his first championship since 2010. Johnson is now one of three drivers to win at least six titles in NASCAR’s premier series — Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are the others.<\/p>\n
Hamlin’s win came at the end of a tough season, and he has now won a race in all eight seasons that he has been a full-time Sprint Cup driver. The victory was Hamlin’s second at Homestead and the 23rd of his career.<\/p>\n
Pole-sitter Matt Kenseth made a run at Johnson but it wasn’t enough. Kenseth led the most laps in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading 144 circuits. Kenseth finished behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Hamlin, for second place. In the point standings, Kenseth finished 19 points behind Johnson.??<\/p>\n
A restart on Lap 193 was almost costly for Johnson. He had a small amount of damage after an incidental scrape. That dropped him down to 23rd place and seemed to open the door for Kenseth to make a charge at stealing the title. But it was not to be.<\/p>\n
Kevin Harvick also took a run at Johnson, holding the lead with 55 laps to go. He would go on to finish the race in 10th place.<\/p>\n
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who looked strong in the second half of the race, finished in third place.<\/p>\n
In his final race for Michael Waltrip Racing, Martin Truex Jr. finished in fourth place. Truex will drive for Furniture Row Racing next season. His current teammate, Clint Bowyer, rounded out the top five.<\/p>\n
Unofficial Results…<\/p>\n
1 Denny Hamlin 47\/4<\/p>\n
2 Matt Kenseth 44\/2<\/p>\n
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr 42\/1<\/p>\n
4 Martin Truex Jr 40\/0<\/p>\n
5 Clint Bowyer 39\/0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Standings…<\/p>\n
1 Jimmie Johnson leader 0 6<\/p>\n
2 Matt Kenseth -19 0 7<\/p>\n
3 Kevin Harvick -34 0 4<\/p>\n
4 Kyle Busch -55 0 4<\/p>\n
5 Dale Earnhardt Jr -56 0 0<\/p>\n
6 Hendrick MotorsportsJeff Gordon 24 2337 -82 36 1 8 17 5 0<\/p>\n
7 Michael Waltrip RacingClint Bowyer 15 2336 -83 36 0 10 19 2 1<\/p>\n
8 Penske RacingJoey Logano 22 2323 -96 36 1 11 19 3 1<\/p>\n
9 Roush Fenway RacingGreg Biffle 16 2321 -98 36 1 4 13 0 -2<\/p>\n
10 Furniture Row RacingKurt Busch 78 2309 -110 36 0 11 16 2 0<\/p>\n
11 Stewart-Haas RacingRyan Newman 39 2286 -133 36 1 6 18 5 0<\/p>\n
12 Hendrick MotorsportsKasey Kahne 5 2283 -136 36 2 11 14 3 0<\/p>\n
13 Roush Fenway RacingCarl Edwards 99 2282 -137 36 2 9 16 2 0<\/p>\n
14 Penske RacingBrad Keselowski 2 1041 -1378 36 1 9 16 2 0<\/p>\n
15 Earnhardt Ganassi RacingJamie McMurray 1 1007 -1412 36 1 4 9 0 0<\/p>\n
16 Michael Waltrip RacingMartin Truex Jr 56 998 -1421 36 1 7 15 3 0<\/p>\n
17 Richard Childress RacingPaul Menard 27 949 -1470 36 0 3 9 2 0<\/p>\n
18 Richard Petty MotorsportsAric Almirola 43 913 -1506 36 0 1 6 4 2<\/p>\n
19 Roush Fenway RacingRicky Stenhouse Jr 17 909 -1510 36 0 1 3 0 -1<\/p>\n
20 Richard Childress RacingJeff Burton 31 906 -1513 36 0 2 6 2 -1<\/p>\n
21 Earnhardt Ganassi RacingJuan Pablo Montoya 42 894 -1525 36 0 4 8 1 0<\/p>\n
22 Richard Petty MotorsportsMarcos Ambrose 9 872 -1547 36 0 0 6 2 0<\/p>\n
23 Joe Gibbs RacingDenny Hamlin 11 753 -1666 32 1 4 8 8 0<\/p>\n
24 Germain RacingCasey Mears 13 719 -1700 36 0 0 1 3 0<\/p>\n
25 Stewart-Haas RacingMark Martin 14 649 -1770 28 0 1 5 2 1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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