Five to Watch: Miami championship race

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series draws its curtains on the 2018 season Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Four drivers will vie for the series championship, while the rest of the field looks to end their respective seasons on a high note. NASCAR.com's Jessica Ruffin analyzes five key story lines heading into Sunday's finale (3 p.m., NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

PIT MASTERS: In a race where the ending is often contingent on a final pit stop, pit selection is important. Team owner Joe Gibbs knows this -- which is why polesitter Denny Hamlin didn't select the preferred first stall, leaving teammate and Championship 4 driver Kyle Busch to take it with his second-place qualifying effort. The pit selection gives Busch a leg up on the rest of the Championship 4. The quality of Sunday's pit stops is crucial, too -- Joey Logano found this out in 2014 when his title hopes were dashed after a slow stop.

THE SLOWEST OF THE '4:' An eight-time 2018 race winner, Kevin Harvick was considered a title favorite throughout the week. But the No. 4 wasn't dominant on track during practice -- he was 28th on the leaderboard in Saturday's first practice, more than a full second slower than leader Joey Logano. He's also starting further back than the rest of the Championship 4, with his No. 4 Ford lining up 12th Sunday. But if anyone can rally the troops, it's Harvick.

BACK TO BACK: The best way to follow up a championship? Win another one. 2017 Monster Energy Series champion Martin Truex Jr. will look to do just that. It's a feat accomplished by only 10 other drivers in premier series history, the list including David Pearson, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson was the most recent driver to do it, when his No. 48 team won the championship five times in a row from 2006-2010.

UNDERDOG, NO MORE? As the only driver among the Championship 4 who has not won a Monster Energy Series title, Joey Logano was considered a bit of an underdog heading into Miami. But his showing so far this weekend may have stripped the No. 22 Ford of that label. He swept Saturday's practices, ranking first on the leaderboards and 10-lap average charts in both sessions, and qualified fifth. Perhaps his biggest threat this weekend is Martin Truex Jr., who said Thursday that he would "absolutely" move the No. 22 if they were racing for the win.

SPOILER ALERT: The spoiler to the Championship 4 party could reside with Kyle Larson's No. 42 Chevrolet. Even the Championship 4 drivers pinpointed Larson ahead of the weekend, with Kevin Harvick saying that the likelihood of a Championship 4 driver winning the title "depends on if Kyle Larson's car will go in the first 10 laps." Indeed, Larson has been strong at Miami. He's finished the last three races in the top five (even after starting 23rd or worse in two of those events), leading 279 laps in that span.