Kyle Busch

The coronation is scheduled for Sunday. The fireworks are scheduled for Saturday. Jerry Punch will describe the solemn ceremony.  

N eatly crease the wrapping paper at the corners. Scotch Tape the end flaps. Get ready to tie the ribbon and add the fancy bow, probably in the colors of Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet.  

While much of the focus this weekend will be on Jimmie Johnson 's pending fourth straight championship, do not expect to see the No. 48 blowing the doors off the competition like it did at Phoenix. While Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus may say they go for the win at every race track, the Lowe's Chevy will have one of the more conservative setups in South Beach. So if you have already expended your picks this Chase on other drivers besides Johnson, you will not be disappointed.  

A luxury condominium tower on tony Brickell Avenue, overlooking the Miami River, lit by swirling spotlights. A red carpet overrun by starlets and television reporters, all of them dressed in short skirts and stiletto heels, to the point where it's difficult to tell which is which. A fashion show runway jutting into a sparkling swimming pool, ceviche and scallops on the half-shell, Spanish flowing as freely as the vodka and gin.

Juan Pablo, I think he can be star here with his credentials   -Brian France

 

A friend asked me this week if I thought a fourth consecutive title by Jimmie Johnson would be good or bad for NASCAR. "It will be good and bad for NASCAR," I said. Why is it good?  

Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards bounced back from a spin to lead the final NASCAR Nationwide Series practice Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Edwards spun off Turn 4 early in the session but didn't hit anything. Later in the 40-minute practice, Edwards turned a lap of 168.613 mph to move to the top of the chart.  

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will close their 2009 season Saturday with the running of the Ford 300 at the Homestead Miami Speedway. Who's going to be the new series champion is a no brainer. However, one of the more interesting issues pending resolution is who's going to finish fifth in the final championship standings based on a very important reason.  

Roush Fenway Racing's Colin Braun won the pole for Friday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, turning a lap of 168.251 mph in Friday's qualifying session. SS-Green Light Racing's Chad McCumbee (167.577), Kevin Harvick Inc.'s Kevin Harvick (167.561), KHI's Ron Hornaday and Randy Moss Motorsports' Mike Skinner rounded out the top five. Positions six through 10 belonged to Red Horse Racing's Timothy Peters, ThorSport Racing's Matt Crafton, Billy Ballew Motorsports'  

"The closer you get to the equator, the more popular he is, I think." - Ryan Newman, on Juan Pablo Montoya. "It was really tough to have a season that had been really good kind of fall apart on us." --

This is probably the year I crashed the least of any season in NASCAR.   -Kasey Kahne