HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- On a Sunday when the sun beat down but provided just the right amount of Florida November warmth, and the sky beckoned the brightest of its blues, driver Jeff Gordon emerged from his hauler precisely at 3:15 p.m. and strode confidently toward pit road.

The command to start the engine in his No. 24 Chevrolet for the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway was still roughly 45 minutes away.

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Gordon was surrounded by his usual handlers and a phalanx of Hendrick Motorsports supporters, plus a few seemingly out-of-place hangers-on -- including one in particular that stood out conspicuously. As Gordon made the final turn toward pit road before disappearing into a sea of well-wishers, race officials and awestruck fans, the misfit, a middle-aged woman, tugged at the left sleeve of his Dupont Chevrolet firesuit and beckoned for an autograph.

She had some nerve. She was wearing a Jimmie Johnson T-shirt, adorned with the No. 48 Lowe's car logo on her back in large and very noticeable numbers.

It was the first of many sights and sounds that jumped out Sunday as the grueling 36-race season came to an end with Johnson edging Gordon for his second consecutive Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.

Wandering pit road and the garage area for the nearly four hours that comprised pre-race, the race itself and post-race offered insight on a day when, as Matt Kenseth dominated to win the race in his No. 17 Ford and nearly all others focused on Jimme and Jeff, there was a whole lot more going on than met most eyes.

Here then, are some general observations from the afternoon and evening:

Lap 1

Sitting on the pole has its advantages. Johnson leads the first lap to gain five valuable bonus points, meaning he now has to finish only 19 spots in front of Gordon instead of 18. In other words, even if Gordon wins the race, all Johnson has to do is finish 19th or better.

Lap 35

With Johnson running fifth and Gordon sixth, Gordon comes on the radio and tells crew chief Steve Letarte, "I'm losing grip."

He was talking about his car on the racetrack, but it is clear he already is also losing grip on any slim chance he may have had to catch Johnson on this final day of the 2007 Chase.

Lap 46

Gordon passes Johnson and moves into sixth place, with Johnson dropping to seventh. There is still a long way to go.

Lap 50

As he prepares to enter the pits, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is whacked from behind by Kyle Busch.

"Kyle was being a jerk early on, running into me, trying to rile me up. I don't know why he spun me out on pit road. I guess he was blinded by the sun -- or else he just can't see at all," Earnhardt said later.

Lap 57

On the restart following his earlier mishap involving Busch and Kevin Harvick, Earnhardt is run over from behind by veteran driver Jeff Burton, who complains that the glare of the sun heading down the frontstretch made it difficult for him to see.

"I got run over by a veteran on a restart. I don't know what in the hell that was," Earnhardt said.

Johnson is back up to eighth shortly thereafter, while Gordon falls off to 11th and now trails by 103 points in the Chase (after beginning the day down 86).

Lap 66

In a scene eerily reminiscent of last year's Homestead race, drivers Ryan Newman and Juan Montoya are dueling for position. Newman runs third and Montoya, a rookie who ran only the season finale last year and was wrecked by Newman at the Miami track, sits in fourth.

There is no such drama this time when Montoya, the former open-wheel star who already has locked up rookie of the year status for 2007 in the Nextel Cup Series, makes a clean pass.

Lap 77

Elliott Sadler slaps the wall, forcing him to head for his pit stall for heavy repairs. It has been a long year for Sadler, whose No. 19 team has not performed up to expectations for Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

"I'm sorry guys," Sadler tells his crew over the radio. "I was just trying too hard. This is not the way I wanted to end the season."

"Let's just ride it out here," replied his crew chief, Rodney Childers, after several crew members take a mallet and a couple of hammers and wide swaths of duct tape to the car.

Lap 80

After making a two-tire pit stop to Johnson's four-tire stop, Gordon moves all the way up to fourth while Johnson falls to 17th. Gordon moves to within 43 points in the Chase. It's as close as he'll get on this day.

Lap 95

The crew is packing up and calling it a season in the pit stall of the No. 36 Toyota owned by Bill Davis Racing and being driven on this day by Johnny Benson. As they fold up the war wagon and pack up all the tools, the crew members' faces are a mixture of relief at the long, mostly frustrating season being over and uncertainty over the future of the BDR operation, which owner Bill Davis has admitted is at least partially for sale.

Lap 118

Johnson has moved up again and passes Gordon for eighth. Letarte talks to Gordon about what he hopes will be the advantages of the sun going down, cooling off the track.

"The harder I get on the right front, the worse it is," Gordon complains over the radio. "Up off the corners, we're good."

A lap later, Gordon adds: "We're real close. I think if we had four [fresh] tires, we'd be a hell of a lot better than we are now."

Lap 132

Both Johnson and Gordon pit. Their stalls are right next to one another, which on the surface might seem strange -- but it is common practice amongst teammates who trust each other more than they trust others even on a night when running into each other could be disastrous for one or the other or both (although no one else is mathematically alive in the Chase).

Gordon beats Johnson out of the pits as Johnson's crew appears to have a little trouble getting left-side tires on. This causes crew chief Chad Knaus to jump down from the pit box to say a few words to the guys that he obviously does not want the rest of the racing world to hear over the radio.

Lap 149

Newman, who has had a hard-luck season, is running fourth when he spins in his No. 12 Dodge. In perhaps the best move of any driver on a day when Kenseth is dominating and the race otherwise is lacking drama, Gordon drives through the cloud of smoke, going high to narrowly miss the spinning Newman..

Meanwhile, back at the Johnson pit stall, Knaus makes what appears to be a quick phone call on his BlackBerry. Is he telling someone to put the champagne on ice for the post-race celebration in South Beach?

Lap 158

Patrick Carpentier's No. 10 Dodge clips the No. 83 Toyota of Brian Vickers in the rear going down the back straightaway, setting off a chain-reaction incident that also ends the night for Johnny Sauter in his No. 70 Chevrolet, covering most of the manufacturers in the series in one swoop.

It's an interesting collection of smoking junk left on the track. Despite several decent runs where late problems not always of his own doing cost him solid finishes, Sauter is out of a ride for next season, his future uncertain. This is not how he wanted this segment of his Cup driving career to end.

Vickers has been the best of competitors running Toyotas in that manufacturer's inaugural Cup season -- but that isn't saying much. They've mostly had a tough year.

Carpentier, meanwhile, is one in a wave of drivers previously committed to careers in open-wheel cars who is attempting to make the transition to stock cars in NASCAR. As with most of the rest of them -- Montoya included, although to a lesser degree -- it is obvious he has much to learn.

Lap 162

The sellout crowd, estimated at 80,000 strong, is on its feet for the restart. Shortly thereafter, Kevin Harvick passes Kenseth for the lead.

Lap 177

Shortly after Gordon passes Martin Truex Jr. to move up to third, Kenseth passes Harvick to retake the lead. Meanwhile, Johnson is up to eighth and his lead over Gordon in the Chase is a solid 68 points. Time is running out.

Lap 194

Sam Hornish Jr., another open-wheel convert, brings out the caution after wrecking in Turn 3.

Lap 243

With 24 laps to go, Gordon heads into the pits ahead of the rest and takes four tires. But it appears to be too late.

Lap 255

Tony Stewart spins and slams into the wall coming out of Turn 3, ending his season -- frustrating except for an impressive stretch in the middle when he won three races -- in a cloud of smoke and uncertainty. This is Stewart's last season in a Chevrolet, as Joe Gibbs Racing will go to Toyotas beginning next season.

"Here," fumes Stewart on the radio, "see if you can fix it now!"

It doesn't look like his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, is very amused.

Lap 257

Photographers, reporters, fans and lots and lots of Hendrick Motorsports employees are beginning to crowd the area in and around Victory Lane, forgetting that Johnson will have to share, at least in a small part, the post-race celebration stage with Kenseth.

But it's really Johnson's night. It's Kenseth who knows his victory will be overshadowed.

Lap 265

Most of the rest of the teams are moving slowly and somewhat sadly toward the garage area. There is nothing more that can be done to enhance their seasons now.

Post-race

Truex comes barreling into the garage area and has to back up his No. 01 Chevrolet in order to get it lined up properly so his crew can get it into the hauler. When he has to put it in reverse, he backs right into the left front of rookie David Ragan's No. 6 Ford.

As fireworks and celebrations explode elsewhere at the track and team owner Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports is being interviewed on the track's giant television screens, Earnhardt pulls his battered red No. 8 Budweiser Chevy into the garage for the last time. He climbs out and takes one slow, wistful walk around it, surveying the considerable damage.

David Stremme, another driver without a Cup home for next season, pulls in next door and hugs one crew member after climbing out. He bumps chests with another, happy with an 11th-place finish. Next season Earnhardt will be driving the No. 88 for Hendrck Motorsports and Stremme will be waiting out what he hopes will be another Cup opportunity while driving in the Busch Series.

One of the first haulers to pull out into the Miami night is the No. 9 of Kasey Kahne, who allegedly grappled with a security guard earlier in the weekend. It seems like the first time all season anything with the struggling Kahne's name on it has been first in the Cup Series.

And just around the corner, a small gathering of about 15 folks who consider themselves family are huddled about Darian Grubb, the outgoing crew chief for the No. 25 Chevy of Casey Mears. After what seem a few serious, somber moments, they break up, slapping backs and hands as they head separate ways, smiling as they go.

The season -- with all its triumphs and defeats, highlights and low lights, uplifting surprises and bitter disappointments -- is over.

"We're a little emotional exactly because of that," Grubb said. "But we're looking forward to heading home and building on what we did this year for next year. We went from 35th to 15th in points. It just shows the character of this team, and I hope in some small part we have had a role in that championship for Hendrick Motorsports with Jimmie and Jeff. Some of the stuff our guys have done have helped out the organization overall. It's just a great place to work. I can't wait to get back and get started for next year.

"There is no forgotten team at Hendrick Motorsports. Mr. Hendrick knows every member of every team -- and if he doesn't he will learn your name and never forget it. I'm going to go home and get some sleep, maybe do a few errands around the house [Monday] and be right back at work on Tuesday. We have another race in 89 days."

For most, that is a rather sobering thought on this night.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.