Posted on by Holly Cain

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Sitting outside along the shore of the speedway’s infield lake and enjoying some down time with friends and extended family, Sherry Pollex was smiling and laughing Friday afternoon. Martin Truex Jr. was just inside their adjacent motorhome dressed in his racing suit having a small plate of a late healthy lunch and glancing at a NASCAR practice session on the television.

Truex is one of four drivers eligible to win NASCAR’s coveted Sprint Cup Series championship in Sunday’s Ford 400, starting 11th here at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He is the bona fide high-achieving underdog having earned a shot at the title against retiring four-time champion Jeff Gordon, reigning Cup champ Kevin Harvick and another possible first-time Cup titlist Kyle Busch.

For a couple on the verge of the highest-profile racing weekend of their lives, Pollex and Truex were remarkably calm and relaxed, their dog sweetly splitting time between the two. Pollex laying comfortably on a couch while Truex leaned back in a chair.

Pollex had just gone through chemotherapy for ovarian cancer on Monday — she gets the extreme treatment every 21 days — and conceded she was tired and not feeling 100 percent even if she looked it. But she is also the kind of person who shall never give cancer an edge — in its effect on her mojo or her natural all-American good looks.

“We keep our lives really normal,” Pollex said as Truex grinned proudly from the chair next to her. “My doctor will say, ‘I know you, you just had chemotherapy but you’re going to the race track and going to talk to everyone.’ And I just say, ‘of course I am.’

“It’s not my weekend, it’s not about me having cancer. It’s about him and the first opportunity in his life to have the biggest weekend of his career and win a championship. We’re going to focus on that. We don’t even talk about cancer at all.”

Truex is her greatest supporter and for this special championship weekend, she is eager to return the favor again.  It’s actually a remarkably well-working, mutually beneficial support system.

Truex is on the verge of his greatest career achievement and despite the rough treatment and tough diagnosis eager to suck the liveliness out of her, Pollex is eager and enthusiastic to enjoy this special situation — a lesson in living the day.

No matter what happens in NASCAR’s big finale, they are both huge winners.

“I think it’s definitely easier when your team is running good,” Truex said of his Denver-based Furniture Row Racing operation. “I have 100 percent confidence in my team and every time I come to the race track it’s stress free. I know we’re going to run well. The stuff I do away from the track really has no bearing.

“It’s real easy to put on your helmet, focus on your driving. You know what you have to do. The stuff away from the track really has no bearing at all on how we run. At least for me, when I get to the track, I focus on that. Even with everything we’ve had going on, it really hasn’t changed the way I race.”

Even if it has greatly changed his life.

“It is a new perspective,” Truex said with a slight smile and sweet glance at Pollex. “I realize there’s no reason to worry about this stuff (with Pollex) because it’s something you can’t control. It’s easy to separate the two. In a lot of ways, having the distractions away from the track keeps your mind off racing and allows you to focus on it when you’re back.”

Truex has certainly channeled his worry and energy this season. His Chevrolet has eight top-fives and 22 top-10s through 35 races. He won at Pocono Raceway in June and it has been a career year by all judgments whether Truex leaves South Florida with a big new trophy or not.

But interestingly, instead of using the most heart-wrenching of circumstance as a crutch, Truex has used it to inspire and achieve. Instead of being distracted and deterred, he has used his situation and Pollex’s illness to succeed and to live.

No matter what happens in the NASCAR season-finale, Truex and Pollex are the big winners.

Posted on by Holly Cain

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — As Carli Lloyd sat for an interview behind the XFINITY stage set-up just outside the Homestead-Miami Speedway Saturday morning, a long, committed and excited line of assorted people waited for her autograph, a chance to meet one of the United States’ all-time most accomplished soccer players.


Joking a bit about the extreme South Florida humidity, Lloyd, 33, was gracious and truly as interested in learning about NASCAR as sharing her incredible personal story as one of the world’s greatest soccer players.


“When the World Cup finished, my agent busy with a lot of requests, and my first big-time commercial was with XFINITY, and I thought it was so well done and I really enjoyed it,” Lloyd said. “That was the start of the partnership between us. And then this came up and I was thrilled. I said I’d love to do this.


“What’s great about what happened from the World Cup is I’ve gotten to get out of the bubble of just soccer and gotten to experience so many different things, meet different people and go to different events. When would I have ever gotten the chance to see something like this?”


Lloyd was surprised at the number of people waiting on the other side of our interview area for a chance to meet her and get an autograph.


Minutes earlier, she played a little soccer with current XFINITY Series championship leader Chris Buescher — part lesson, part shootout. In the end, Buescher beat her 4-1 — kicking shots into a much larger goal.


“It was really cool chatting with him about his preparation and how he trains and then kick it around with him,” Lloyd said. “The first shot he used his toe and I was like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to use the inside of your foot.’ Then he started killing it. I was thinking, ‘I shouldn’t have given him any pointers.’


“I said, ‘Have you ever kicked a soccer ball?’ He said, ‘Yeah, when I was four.’ “


Lloyd said she mostly enjoyed the opportunity to talk with Buescher, who leads defending XFINITY Series champ Chase Elliott by 18 points entering Saturday’s season finale.


“You don’t realize how cool these races are until you actually come and see these things, see the pits, how fast they change tires, see the drivers and their training and preparation,” Lloyd said. “They are really fit and it takes a lot to drive the car around the track, you don’t just hop in and go. It’s been really cool, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be here.


“Just doing our Q&A, it’s really fascinating to see the parallels, even though they are different sports. The mental aspect of his sport … if he switches off, something terrible could happen on the track. It’s the same thing with us. If you’re not mentally prepared, you could risk being injured on the field.”


After finishing up her time at NASCAR’s season finale — she was Saturday’s official starter, as well — Lloyd and her team will return to the field for four more matches as part of the World Cup-winning team’s U.S. Tour. Then in 2016 it’s time to start preparing for the Olympics — the nation solidly behind them


“We’re in November and the World Cup happened in July and people are still wanting to come see us and I think that speaks volumes,” Lloyd said. “If something isn’t going to be around and popular, it fizzles out in a month or so. That’s not happening and that’s a really good sign.


“It’s really cool people are here in their uniforms and want autographs on their soccer balls. I think it’s great. I’m enjoying being able to do different things and be a part of this.


“I think we captivated a nation and inspired not only young girls, but boys and even adults. That’s just what it’s all about. I want people to hear my story, the ups and downs. You can’t pick things out of successful moments and get better. The moments people don’t see, what they don’t realize is it takes a lot of hard work, ups and downs and obstacles to get to this point. That’s the message I’m trying to get out.”

Posted on by Staff Report

As Jeff Gordon‘s full-time Sprint Cup Series career comes to a close on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, tributes have been pouring in for the Hendrick Motorsports driver via #24Ever. Here are some of the best across NASCAR Nation.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Full race lineup

Weather played a role in Saturday’s XFINITY Series qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway, canceling the final round and handing the pole to second round leader Kyle Busch. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver wheeled his No. 54 Toyota at 168.140 mph to earn his fifth pole of the season. 


The middle round of qualifying became a race against weather for drivers, as rain drops decorated the windshields toward the end of the session. Qualifying was ultimately called at the end of the second session.



Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate and Busch’s JGR teammate Daniel Suarez earned the outside pole position, piloting his No. 18 Toyota at 168.046 mph for the front row spot.

Richard Childress Racing‘s Austin Dillon (167.266 mph) and Brian Scott (167.219 mph) earned the third and fourth starting spots, respectively. Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five with a fast lap of 167.110 mph in his No. 22 Ford.

Points leader and title contender Chris Buescher earned an 11th-place starting position, while fellow championship-contending driver Chase Elliott qualified 13th.

The XFINITY Series is back on track for the Ford EcoBoost 300 (2:45 p.m. ET, NBC/Live Extra/MRN/SiriusXM).

Posted on by Staff Report

Final practice recap | RELATED: Full practice results

Joey Logano (175.404 mph) topped the board in the final NASCAR Sprint Cup practice of the season before Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 50-minute session marked the last on-track time before Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBC/Live Extra, MRN, SiriusXM).

The Team Penske driver scored a front row starting spot in qualifying for Sunday’s race and has six wins on the season. He also secured the best five-lap average.

Kasey Kahne came in second in the session (175.080 mph). Kahne is trying to avoid his first winless season since 2010.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (175.035 mph), Carl Edwards (174.571 mph) and Kurt Busch (174.560 mph) rounded out the top five.

Jeff Gordon led the way for the Championship 4 drivers, finishing the session ninth (173.321 mph). The four-time champion held the best 10-lap average at 169.489 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was 10th (173.232 mph), Kyle Busch was 17th (171.418 mph) and Kevin Harvick was 26th (169.972 mph). Harvick, the defending champion and race winner, opened the session on scuff tires for his initial run and reported near the end of the session that he thought the right front tire may be going soft. The top finisher in Sunday’s race among the Championship 4 drivers will be crowned the 2015 Sprint Cup champion.

David Ragan suffered a flat left-rear tire 10 minutes into practice.

Saturday’s final practice was the lone practice to go the scheduled length as weather did not interrupt the team’s on-track time.

Practice 1 recap | RELATED: Full practice results

Kyle Larson emerged with the fastest speed in the first of two Sprint Cup Series practices on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway after the session started late and ended early because of rain.



The Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver’s best speed of 176.010 mph edged defending series champion and one of four remaining Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers in Kevin Harvick, who pulled in second at 175.194 mph clip.



Carl Edwards (174.374 mph), Greg Biffle (174.126 mph) and Joey Logano (174.081 mph) rounded out the top five.



Kyle Busch was the only other Chase driver in the top 10, placing ninth overall with a speed of 173.399 mph. Jeff Gordon was 15th at 172.337 mph and Martin Truex Jr. was 19th at 171.816 mph.



Casey Mears and AJ Allmendinger both ran into issues in the session, each spinning with Allmendinger’s No. 47 Chevrolet taking heavy right-side damage.

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Play Fantasy Live now

It’s all down to this. Championships on the line both on the track and in Fantasy Live. Time to do what it takes to grab the title.



Sure, the Championship 4 drivers have plenty on the line this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) but that doesn’t mean that there are not other worthwhile plays to fill out your lineup in Fantasy Live. Make sure to set your lineup by using the information below to guide your picks. All stats listed — place differential, fastest laps run and laps led – are Homestead-Miami Speedway specific and categories used in Fantasy Live scoring.



Last week, the data showed that Kevin Harvick was a great play for Phoenix and while he did not win, he did have the most laps led and a runner-up finish. We also recommended Aric Almirola as a sleeper pick and his top 10 proved that to be a solid selection.


Good luck this weekend!

Laps led, since 2005

1. Carl Edwards, 560

2. Matt Kenseth, 449
t-3. Jeff Gordon, 237

t-3. Kyle Busch, 237

Fastest laps run, since 2005

1. Carl Edwards, 267
2. Jeff Gordon, 170
3. Martin Truex Jr., 168

Place differential, 2014 fall race

1. Ryan Newman, +19
2. Cole Whitt, +16
t-3. Danica Patrick, +14
t-3. Jamie McMurray, +14

t-3. Kyle Larson, +14

Sleeper picks

Kasey Kahne: Since his first start at Homestead in 2004, Kahne has collected 10 straight top 25s there. He also has back-to-back 13th-or-better finishes in his last two starts. Owning an average finish of 14.9, Kahne has also led 107 laps, has four top 10s and an average running position of 12.6 (eighth-best). The Hendrick Motorsports driver’s value is undoubtedly there for his asking price. 



Ryan Newman: Newman remains a feature sleeper play at Homestead. Over the past three races, the Richard Childress Racing driver is averaging 44.0 fantasy points per race, good for 10th among active NASCAR competitors. Coming off a career-best second-place finish at Homestead in 2014, Newman will be looking to improve that. He has two top fives and five top 10s in 13 starts at Miami.

Value picks

Ty Dillon: Dillon also comes with risk due to his part-time Cup eligibility, so he carries a bit of a gamble. In his four Cup races this season, Dillon has improved in each race by at least two spots with finishes of 28th, 26th, 18th and a season best 14th at Michigan. He owns a season place differential of +7 and an average finish of 21.5. The value is “must have” at Dillon’s asking price for Homestead. 



Justin Allgaier: Fresh off a 17th-place finish at Phoenix, Allgaier makes a stout value play for Homestead this weekend. In his one career race at Homestead in 2014, he started 14th and finished 15th. The HScott Motorsports driver ranks a remarkable 20th among NASCAR drivers in fantasy points averaged over his last three races with 17.4 per race.

Posted on by Staff Report

Going into the final race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, members of the NASCAR.com editorial team make predictions for who will win the 2015 Sprint Cup Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Ford EcoBoost 400 3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).

 

Zack Albert
Jeff Gordon: One last dose of No. 24 magic? With Hendrick Motorsports devoting all possible resources to sending the legendary driver off in championship style, Gordon is not only a sentimental pick, but a well-reasoned one for a fifth title in his career finale.

 

Holly Cain
Jeff Gordon: While Gordon would be the overwhelming sentimental pick, this is one of the toughest championship battles to decide. All four drivers have hugely emotional backstories. These four make this one of toughest title picks ever so I’ll take the sentimental option and go Gordon.

 

Kenny Bruce
Jeff Gordon: Sure it would be a great story, but Gordon’s shown the speed here this weekend to make contending for the championship more than just a fantasy. 

 

Pat DeCola
Kevin Harvick: Miami is Harvick’s race (and title) to lose. With seven straight top-10 finishes at the track we know he’s going to be at the front of the pack — and, more importantly, in front of Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr.


RJ Kraft
Martin Truex Jr.: The clock will not strike midnight on this Cinderella story. The 78 team has been strong at intermediate tracks all year and Homestead is statistically Truex’s best track. The single-car Furniture Row Racing team and Truex will have a crowning moment on Sunday.


George Winkler
Jeff Gordon: This is one of those times when you don’t look at the stats and you pick with your gut. After all, who wants to be the guy who goes against Gordon and watches sadly as the legend walks off into the sunset with his fifth career Sprint Cup Series championship? Don’t be that guy.

 

Taylor Starer
Kevin Harvick: My heart is telling me to choose Jeff Gordon as the 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion, but my head is telling me Harvick. The reigning champ is comfortable heading into the final race of the season and has proven to be as cool as a cucumber under Chase pressure.

 

Brad Norman
Martin Truex Jr.: The spotlight (rightfully) is on Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, but Truex loves Miami and he’s been sneaky fast on intermediates all year. I predict he gets a break — broken part for a competitor? slow late pit stop? — and stealthily assumes the lead, then powers his way to a victory … and a championship.

 

Jessica Ruffin
Jeff Gordon: While his cars may not have possessed the speed of Kevin Harvick‘s or reached Victory Lane as many times as Kyle Busch this season, Gordon has one major component on his side; momentum. The four-time champion will close out his career with a bang on Sunday with a fifth and final championship.

 

Kathy Sheldon
Kyle Busch: Pressure and equipment will be the two biggest factors on Sunday, but sheer will is right up there. Kyle Busch has seen his career flash before his eyes this year; race pressure pales in comparison. He fought hard to get back in the car, in Victory Lane and now in the Chase Championship 4. And Joe Gibbs Racing cars still have plenty of power.

 

Maggie MacKenzie
Kevin Harvick: Harvick is thirsty to defend his championship title and with an impressive 12 top 10s in 14 starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the wheelman for the No. 4 races hard here. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver is also coming off a run with back-to-back top-three results at Texas and Phoenix so despite having the worst qualifying seed out of the Championship 4, “Happy” will find a way to get out front — and stay there.

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Full results | Final standings 


HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Three contenders with outside chances at winning the season-long NASCAR XFINITY Series fight had their brush with taking the trophy away from eventual champ Chris Buescher. Unfortunately, the trio had another brush — with the Homestead-Miami Speedway wall during Saturday’s season finale.

The latter brushes aside, title hopefuls Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott and Regan Smith finished seventh, eighth and ninth respectfully, coming up short in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 300. The results — combined with Buescher’s 11th-place effort Saturday — left Elliott second (15 points back), Dillon third (-18) and Smith fourth (-22) in the final standings.

All three emerged from scraped Chevrolets with wishes of what might’ve been. Elliott came closest, but was unable to take a repeat XFINITY championship with him as he moves to the Sprint Cup Series next year as Jeff Gordon‘s replacement with Hendrick Motorsports.

Elliott ranked either second or third for the majority of the season, closing the year with seven consecutive top-10 finishes. The 19-year-old notched one win (in September at Richmond), but said those opportunities were fleeting over the course of the 33-race season.

“Yeah, chalk it up to we got beat and didn’t win enough races. That’s the bottom line,” said Elliott, who won three times as a championship-winning rookie in 2014. “… The most important thing in this sport is being able to win and give yourself chances to win a race every weekend. We race from February to November, and we didn’t give ourselves enough chances. I didn’t do a good enough job to put ourselves in position to go and try to win races.

“That’s the most important thing, and like I said, that’s what I chalk it up to is just not being in contention enough.”

Dillon led the standings for the majority of the spring and soldiered ahead after a midseason crew chief change. His biggest lament came in October at Dover International Speedway, where a blown tire and slap of the outside wall with his Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet left him with a costly 28th-place finish.

Dillon righted the ship slightly, closing out the year with five straight top-10 finishes to take third place away from Smith down the stretch.

“It’s a good year,” Dillon said. “It’s always a good thing to be disappointed with not winning the championship but having an opportunity, I feel like. Just proud of my guys’ effort. We really turned it around the second half of the year and were a championship team. If Dover wouldn’t have happened, there’s always ifs and buts, but if Dover wouldn’t have happened, we would’ve probably would’ve won this championship by about 15 points. So, I’m proud of what we did in the second half. …

“We’ll be back next year and we won’t be sitting here third in points. Hopefully, we’ll be lifting that trophy.”

Smith had the best closing kick of the four title hopefuls, coming in the face of job uncertainty as his three-year tenure at JR Motorsports drew to a close. The 32-year-old veteran won twice, with his first victory of the season at Mid-Ohio touching off a streak of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes to round out the year.

The steady streak didn’t unseat any of the three drivers ahead of him, but Smith said he hoped it was enough to draw interest from a prospective team owner for 2016.

“I’m glad we were in the conversation,” Smith said of his title campaign. “There’s a couple points in the air that probably shouldn’t have been and probably really weren’t just because of common mistakes or other people’s mistakes on the race track. So that’s good. I’m frustrated today. I guess that’s the only thing you focus on is how your night went tonight and we really struggled. …

“We’ll see how things play out for next year. I know what I’m capable of in a race car and I’ve still got some championships left in me, and we need to go get one.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

Race day info
What: 17th annual Ford EcoBoost 400.
When: Sunday, Nov. 22
Where: Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1.5-mile oval in Homestead, Florida | Learn more about the track
Green flag time: 3:15 p.m. ET (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Forecast: Cloudy, high of 82 degrees, 80 percent chance of rain and possible thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service
National anthem: Zachary Levi, actor (“Chuck,” “Heroes Reborn”)
Grand marshal: Hoda Kotb, co-host of NBC’s “Today.”
Distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.
Pit road speed: 45 mph.
Caution car speed: 55 mph.
Competition caution: At or around Lap 25
 
On the front row
1. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (176.655 mph)
2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford (176.263 mph)
 
RELATED: See the full lineup | See all 43 cars
 
Fastest in practice
First practice: Carl Edwards, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (175.143 mph). | Results
Second practice: Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (176.010 mph). | Results
Final practice: Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford (175.404 mph). | Results
 
Key story lines
1. Truex Jr. and Sherry Pollex already winners | Read more
2. Homestead could be ‘fairy-tale’ ending for Gordon | Read more
3. Harvick focused on title — not verbal jabs | Read more
4. Kyle Busch signs contract extension with JGR | Read more

 
Former winners in the field
Greg Biffle (3), Tony Stewart (3), Carl Edwards (2), Denny Hamlin (2), Kurt Busch (1), Jeff Gordon (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Matt Kenseth (1).
 
RELATED: How NASCAR crowns its champion | Title-clinching scenarios

They said it: Championship 4 final practice edition
Kyle Busch: “Really pleased with it — it’s definitely one of the best race cars I’ve had here for sure. It does the things that I think that it needs to do so hopefully I’m right and hopefully we’ve got a good race car for tomorrow.”
 
Jeff Gordon: “The very first run that final practice was great. I felt really good about it. We’ve got a few things on the longer run that I felt like we can work on. The second run was so-so. The track definitely lost some grip. I think we have a good indication what the track conditions are going to be like in the race, so that is all really valuable information that we can put into our database and make adjustments and hopefully good decisions for (Sunday).”
 
Rodney Childers, crew chief for Kevin Harvick: “The car seems to have had pretty good speed. Definitely a lot better than what we were here last year. The guys did a good job. Kevin learned a lot running the top up against the wall. I feel like we got a lot of good information with those long runs. We will make a few adjustments for the race to try to keep the car tightened up and hopefully be good.”
 
Martin Truex Jr.: “We haven’t made any gains on it. It’s been a frustrating day. We have been struggling with the car and we really haven’t hit on anything that helped it. So we are going to go in there and work on it right now and hopefully come up with something for (Sunday).”

Posted on by Zack Albert

RELATED: Standings going into final race

 

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Sunday’s NASCAR finale has four drivers vying for the championship in what NASCAR officials like to refer to as a Game 7 moment. There have already been plenty of pivotal points during this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs, but what if Sunday’s showdown is shortened into a Game 5 1/2 moment?

The threat of a damp forecast at Homestead-Miami Speedway has raised plenty of questions about how a potentially rain-altered Ford EcoBoost 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) could play out, especially with so much on the line in the season-ending race. The National Weather Service rates the chances of precipitation on Sunday at 60 percent, with thunderstorms especially likely in the morning.

The possibilities come on the heels of the championship field being settled in a rain-abbreviated race the previous weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. The stakes will be even higher Sunday, but the procedures for declaring a race official will remain the same.

“It’s not a new rule. It’s not something different,” said three-time series champion Tony Stewart. “Is it ideal, no. Is it OK, yes. I mean, we don’t have a choice. We can’t control the weather. It’s not ideal by any means. I don’t think anybody wants to have that scenario and have to race in that scenario, but as well, at the same time, we’ve all raced under those circumstances, and if it has to end that way, that’s the way it’ll end.”

NASCAR has maintained long-standing procedures that a race becomes officials once it passes the halfway point, but the sanctioning body has also historically made every effort to run its races on the scheduled date. Advancements in technology have helped competition officials make more informed decisions about the weather, but the considerations — for fans, teams and broadcast partners — make those decisions even more critical, especially when the outcome of the race or the season-long championship weighs in the balance.

To help combat the effects of rain this weekend, NASCAR can employ 17 Air Titan track dryers, 12 conventional jet dryers, and four vacuum trucks — an armada that NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France touted as a record number of resources. But France also mentioned in his State of the Sport address on Friday that watching the skies and planning for inclement weather was a necessary angle for teams to work around.

“We’re looking at everything,” France said. “Our view now is that like a lot of things that aren’t necessarily perfect, so to speak, that’s part of the game. That’s part of racing that it’s part of the strategy. You saw that last week in Phoenix. That you have to anticipate weather as being a factor in deciding things, as unfortunate as that is. Hopefully it won’t be a factor on Sunday.”

Carl Edwards was among the unfortunate ones last weekend, missing out on his Championship 4 bid by just five points when rain escalated with 93 laps remaining. Edwards told his crew “they can’t let it end like this” over the team radio as the race went to red-flag conditions, but NASCAR officials did, leaving Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. to join Jeff Gordon among the final quartet.

Busch was among those on the plus side of the rain at Phoenix, a situation he wouldn’t mind being in Sunday if circumstances cut things short.

“I think it would be very unfortunate, you know, but it is what it is,” Busch said. “I mean, the rules have been the way the rules are for a long, long time and everybody ridicules NASCAR for changing the rules whenever they want, and this time they’re sticking to it. Like Jeff said earlier, I hope I’m the guy leading when it’s raining, and if it’s raining we’re going to be doing a heck of a rain dance.”