Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch by Bennett Raglin/ WireImage.com
NASCAR's "regular season" ended Sunday, and the 12-man field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup is set. The 10-race postseason begins with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Sunday, Sept. 14, 2 pm/ET, ABC).
The dozen drivers in contention for the 2008 title are: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth. The Chasers will present a special "Top 12" on Late Show With David Letterman on Tuesday (Sept. 9, 11:35 pm/ET, CBS).
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Jimmie Johnson by Ida Mae Astute/ABC
By winning the last four NASCAR Nextel Cup races, Jimmie Johnson has placed his fortunes squarely in his own hands. All he needs to do Sunday is finish 18th or better at the season-ending race at Homestead, Florida (Nov. 18, 3:45 pm/ET, ABC), and he gets to drink in a Nextel Cup title for the second year in a row. If he finishes 19th and leads just one lap during the race, it also won’t matter what Jeff Gordon, second in the Cup standings, does.Which is not to belittle what Gordon has already done. A top-10 finish at Homestead would be Gordon’s 30th — out of 36 races — for the season, a mark of consistency unseen since Dale Jarrett scored 29 top 10s (out of 34 races) in 1999.Gordon and Johnson’s tug-of-war through the Chase for the Nextel Cup has been remarkable, the first time since the Chase began in 2004 that the main title contenders were teammates and buddies. "We’re good friends and get along great as teammates, but we’ve always been trying t...
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This just in from "Life Imitates Art" Magazine: The O.C.'s Kirsten, Kelly Rowan, is engaged to Canadian billionaire David Thomson.... TV Guide cover boy Jeff Gordon and wife Ingrid Vandebosch on Wednesday welcomed a daughter named Ella Sofia.... Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon is expecting twins this fall with her husband Michael, says People. The NYPD Blue alumna has a 15-year-old son from a previous marriage.
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Jimmie Johnson has his eyes on another prize.
BREAKING NEWS! Michael Waltrip apologizes for cheating, and his role in one of the sport's biggest scandals. See FoxNews.com for details.
NASCAR driver Jeff Burton isn't known for overstatement, so it's noteworthy when he says, "I've never been part of a season that's had this many changes at once." As the 2007 Nextel Cup season gets under way at the Daytona 500, America's premier auto series faces major twists and turns on and off the track. Here's your guide to the new season.
1) The Chase Gets an OverhaulThe Chase for the Championship has been significantly tweaked, placing a greater emphasis on winning races. Nextel Cup drivers now earn five extra points for each victory, and 12 cars — two more than in the past — can qualify for the postseason Chase, with their poi
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