Local Look: Homestead

Events: Ford 200, Ford 300, Ford 400

Local papers covering: Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal

Fans roll in to see the finale

The deal: Cammy Clark of the Miami Herald says two motor homes, a 45-foot American Heritage and a 40-foot American Eagle, pulled up to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday morning.

"My husband thinks you have to get here Sunday for next Sunday's race," said Donna Niethammer, a NASCAR fan for 25 years. "The campground doesn't open until Wednesday, but the track people were real nice and let us park over here in the parking lot behind the office.''

Traveling with the Niethammers of Evansville, Ind., was Harry Claiborne of Knoxville, Ind., and some of his friends. They all drove to South Florida to be part of the Ford Championship weekend that starts Thursday with practice for the Craftsman Truck series and ends Sunday with the crowning of the first Nextel Cup champion.

Kurt Busch

Why we care: Speedway president Curtis Gray said the excitement surrounding the finale of the first 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup has already begun.

And Gray couldn't be more excited that the championship has come down to a battle of Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin. The five are separated by 82 points, making it the closest points race entering a season finale in the modern era of NASCAR.

"Pretty cool, pretty close stuff," Gray said. "This is how it's supposed to end. We talked months ago that we felt like we'd be disappointed if it only came down to three guys; we've always hoped for four, five or six."

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Johnson amazing self, competitors

The deal: Godwin Kelly of the Daytona Beach News-Journal says competitors marvel at the tenacity of driver Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus, who were written off early in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

When the Chase began, Johnson quickly dropped in the top 10. The low point came four races into the playoff when he was ninth in the standings, 247 points from the leader.

Then the light came on.

"When we've got to play defense, we have trouble," Johnson told the paper. "If we show up and you stack the odds against us, things happen for us.

"I don't know what it is, but we always do better. We don't have anything to lose at this point. They're letting us back into this and we're going to do all we can to win another race in Homestead."

Jimmie Johnson

Why we care: The week after crashing in the Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway and finishing 32nd, Johnson came alive.

He scored three consecutive wins at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway and charged back up the Chase standings.

Johnson scored his fourth win in his last five starts at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. Now he's only 18 points behind leader Kurt Busch.

Johnson's streak, coming in the pressure-packed environment of the Chase, has been unbelievable.

"It's definitely impressive," Busch said of Johnson's performance. "It's something that is a feat within itself. He's got eight wins now and compare it to my career wins, 11, it's phenomenal just to do that in one year."

"It's his (Busch) to lose," Roush told the paper. "He's still got 18 points, but the No. 48 (Johnson) has just been super the last handful of races. We've got to step it up a little."

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City within a city races to life around Homestead

The deal: Sarah Talalay of the Orlando Sentinel says somehow, in the mad bustle that was Homestead-Miami Speedway on Wednesday, everyone knew his job.

Scaffolding was being installed for the NBC cameras that will broadcast NASCAR's Busch and Nextel Cup series finales Saturday and Sunday to viewers in more than 150 countries. Hundreds of tires were inflated. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series vehicles were getting technical inspections within hours of their 11 a.m. arrival in a convoy of 45 transporters.

Food-service workers prepared trays of deviled eggs for the well-heeled patrons of the hospitality areas and suites, including the dozen new ones installed at Turn 4, at NASCAR's Ford Championship Weekend, which officially kicked off Wednesday with Craftsman and Busch practice and qualifying.

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Why we care: It's a city that will host more than 65,000 race fans Sunday -- the Ford 400 has been sold out for nearly a month -- for the historic ending of the 2004 season. The inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup wraps up Sunday with five drivers still in contention for the title.

While some of the work began last week, Wednesday was when it was clear NASCAR was making Homestead home. After the Craftsman Truck Series transporters came the 56 vehicles carrying the Busch Series teams -- in order of points standing on the circuit -- navigating the tunnel into the track's infield, squeezing into their designated spots for unloading.

The 270 motor homes for the drivers and team owners lined up along the infield lake. Outside the speedway gates, the RVs carrying race fans finally began entering the official parking lot, even those who had arrived as early as Sunday and had to make do with temporary parking.

"This morning when we opened at 9 a.m., it was like the Oklahoma Land Rush," said Al Garcia, the speedway's vice president of operations.

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Despite status, Junior still humble

The deal: Cammy Clark of the Miami Herald says Dale Earnhardt Jr. arrived in downtown Miami by boat a few weeks back to promote NASCAR's season-ending Ford Championship Weekend. Professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan was already talking to fans on the stage at Bayside Marketplace.

Earnhardt, who is genuinely shy, sheepishly waved to the cheering crowd and took his cue to stand next to the big guy with the bandanna around his long blond hair.

"There's people I'm huge fans of and want to meet," Earnhardt said during an interview an hour later. "But when I got around Hulk Hogan, I was very nervous."

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Why we care: Earnhardt knows he's the most popular driver in NASCAR. The sea of red in the stands and the No. 8 flags, for his No. 8 Budweiser Chevy, that are waving on the RVs at track campsites are hard clues to miss.

But Earnhardt remains remarkably humble, and sincerely does not fully comprehend the magnitude of his stardom.

If he could win a few championships -- he has an outside shot to win his first Sunday at the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- the country boy from North Carolina could become as big-time as perhaps even Shaq.

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