Matt Kenseth couldn't gain any ground on Jimmie Johnson at Homestead. Credit: Autostock

Kenseth, Harvick come up short on bid for title

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- An exhausted Robbie Reiser was barely recognizable in the garage at Homestead. Dressed in a T-shirt, he spoke in a whisper, his voice nearly extinguished after 36 grueling races.

His No. 17 Ford team has been one of just two teams -- Kevin Harvick's was the other -- that had managed to hang with Jimmie Johnson's dominant No. 48 Chevrolet in 2006.

Kevin Harvick lost third position in the standings to Denny Hamlin. Credit: Autostock

Nextel Cup Series 2006 Driver Standings Pos. Driver Behind 1. Jimmie Johnson Leader 2. Matt Kenseth -56 3. Denny Hamlin -68 4. Kevin Harvick -78 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -147 6. Jeff Gordon -219 7. Jeff Burton -247 8. Kasey Kahne -292 9. Mark Martin -307 10. Kyle Busch -448 • Complete standings, click here CHASE FOR THE NEXTEL CUP •   Nextel Cup champion's gear •   Complete Chase coverage ChampionJimmie Johnson holds on to win the 2006 Nextel Cup title Top finishersMatt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin talk about their night Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

His driver, Matt Kenseth, wound up a scant 56 points behind Johnson. Kenseth scored 15 top-fives in the season, but Harvick finished fifth on Sunday to match him and Tony Stewart for the series lead.

Kenseth might have been able to beat Johnson for the title, but balky cars down the stretch proved to be the team's downfall. Kenseth ran much better at Homestead -- he finished sixth -- and Reiser was regretful that he hadn't diagnosed the solution sooner.

"[I am] more disgusted with the job I did the last four weeks, it took a toll on me, I guess," Reiser said. "I think the last four races leading up to this, we just didn't have the performance and that was my end of it. I let those guys down."

Kenseth didn't have a finish worse than 23rd in the Chase, but his top-fives -- so plentiful early in the year -- dried up during the final 10 races. Kenseth managed just two during the Chase, while Johnson scored five in a row.

"[Sunday] we ran a lot better," Reiser said. "We probably found a couple things in [Saturday's] practice. We should have went that direction earlier and we didn't. Shame on me."

Kenseth and Reiser carried the Roush Racing banner on what turned out to be a frustrating year for NASCAR's largest organization. Kenseth won four races, including two consecutive in mid-August.

"It was a great season. It was the second-best season out there, I think," Kenseth said. "It was great if you look at it as a whole, we were really competitive almost all year long."

Kenseth only had one DNF, which came at Texas in the spring. Johnson and Kenseth led the series with 31 lead-lap finishes.

"We didn't have a lot of problems and a lot of wrecks," Kenseth said. "It was a great year."

Harvick closes career season with Homestead rally

Kevin Harvick scored top-fives in each of the final three races, including a fifth on Sunday at Homestead, but he ironically lost third place in the standings to Denny Hamlin, who finished third.

Harvick dominated last weekend at Phoenix, but he battled a mediocre car early at Homestead. Crew chief Todd Berrier put four tires on the car on the final stop, and Harvick took off, finishing less than a second behind winner Greg Biffle.

Kevin Harvick earned his 15th top-five of the season at Homestead. Credit: Autostock

Ford 400 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Greg Biffle Ford 2. Martin Truex Jr. Chevy 3. Denny Hamlin Chevy 4. Kasey Kahne Dodge 5. Kevin Harvick Chevy 6. Matt Kenseth Ford 7. Scott Riggs Dodge 8. Carl Edwards Ford 9. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 10. Clint Bowyer Chevy • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Victory LaneGreg Biffle wins the Ford 400 in Homestead Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"As it got dark, our car came back to life," Harvick said. "Those cautions at the end killed us. We were not able to get going there."

He didn't get his sixth victory, but Harvick doubled his career win output in 2006. Like Matt Kenseth, he had just one DNF.

Harvick had a miserable 2005 season in which he failed to score a top-five in the second half. He scored one victory (Bristol) and when crew chief Todd Berrier set a goal of two wins in 2006, it seemed unlikely.

"We wanted to win more than one. To win five, it was more than we expected," Berrier said. "Being a realist, five races in a year is a lot to win. It was pretty crucial for our company to get it turned around. Kevin was wanting to do the right things, and attitude is 80 percent of the battle."

Harvick consistently had the best cars on the flat tracks. According to Berrier, he was the best driver, too. He swept both races at flat-as-a-pancake Phoenix and also scored wins on the mildly banked tracks at Watkins Glen, Richmond and Loudon.

The team received crucial engineering help when Kevin Buskirk came over from Robert Yates Racing early in the year, and the team received a huge psychological boost when Harvick surprisingly signed a long-term extension in the spring to remain with Richard Childress Racing for 2007 and beyond.

"It has been a great year and a lot of fun to be a part of," Harvick said. "Everyone has done a great job and it was a good way to end it. We have to take that step next year and get just a little bit better."

Berrier knows that his team will have to improve its high-banked program in order to be back in the title hunt next season.

"We are going to have to work really hard to even get close," Berrier said. "It is a work in progress and we have got a long way to go, so we have to make as equal or as big a step next year as we did last year."