Jimmie Johnson only needs to finish nineteenth to win - can Jeff Gordon possibly pull it off still?

This is it, boys and girls, the end of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Season. The drivers are down in sunny Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This one-and-a-half mile oval sets the scene for the crowning of a Nextel Cup Champion and makes winning it seem sort of secondary. It would be a lot more exciting if things were a little closer in the points race, but that is not to be. Has the chase been boring this year? Yes, but there is nothing NASCAR could have done to prevent that from happening unless it did what we have all accused it of doing at some point and time while we were watching a race— bending the rules to affect the outcome.

If you are a Hendrick fan, then this has been your year. For the rest of us, chances are we are ready for next year and have been since halfway through the season. There will be quite a few changes. We’ll have the Cup’s sponsor name changing from Nextel to Sprint, and more than a few drivers changing their owners and/or numbers. The Car of Tomorrow will officially be ‘the’ car.

So, in this last race of the 2007 NASCAR season, we can hope we will see some exciting racing. So far, however, it is shaping up to be more of the same.

Jimmie Johnson only needs to finish nineteenth or better in order to win the title, regardless of what Jeff Gordon does. That being said, I may as well go ahead and pick Johnson for the win. He really has been a tough one to beat this year, and even when he plays it smart and doesn’t push, he ends up with a win.

Since I have decided to pick a driver who is on a roll for my number one pick, I’ll pick Gregg Biffle for my second choice. He has been on a roll at Homestead, winning the last three races. He knows what it is like to win yet be treated second-best as the Cup series champion gets all the glory.

Kurt Busch has been trying to capture a win in the last few races of this season, but has yet to do so. He and his brother Kyle may be just what we need to have a chance at an exciting race this weekend.

Speaking of exciting, Tony Stewart, where have you been? He has been suspiciously absent from the winner’s circle for quite some time. The end of the season is usually his time to shine, so he could be another one who makes the race on Sunday worth watching.

Yet another driver who likes to stay silent and then make a run at things, Matt Kenseth is among my choices this week. His average finish here is twenty-second but I’m throwing caution to the wind and keeping him in my picks. His longtime crew chief Robbie Reiser will be leaving the team and moving up to take over a GM position with Roush-Fenway, so this would be an excellent way to end their time together.

David Ragan, I picked you at Richmond as a dark horse and you came through for me, and even though I want to do so again, I am just not as positive you can pull it out this time. If you did, there is a good chance you could beat out Juan Pablo Montoya for rookie of the year. I’m going to do it anyway and forgo picking Casey Mears in favor of David and hope he finds that confidence again to run well against the veterans.

Starting Grid