It's off to sunny South Florida, where champions are crowned. All three titles are on the line...
Brad Keselowski.
Born into a Midwestern family with racing flowing in their veins. Grandfather Ron, a longtime competitor in Cup, ARCA, and USAC Stock Cars in the 60's and 70's. Father Bob, 1989 ARCA Champion and Truck Series stalwart in the 90's. The world got their first taste of Brad in a big way, pulling off an upset victory for Phoenix Racing at Talladega in 2009, much to the chagrin of an airborne Carl Edwards. Despite a Nationwide title in 2010, he could only muster lackluster results in Penske's unloved third Cup car. Nobody knew what to expect when he took over the Blue Deuce last season. As it turned out, he would shatter everyone's expectations that year, and improved on it in a big way this season with 5 victories.
Now he controls his destiny with a 20-point advantage over Jimmie Johnson. "Five-Time" is looking to become "Six-Time", but has a rather tough challenge ahead of him after a tire mishap at Phoenix cost him his 7-point lead. Regardless, if any man is capable of doing it, it's him. A 15th place finish or better at Homestead will secure Brad his first Sprint Cup championship, Roger Penske's first Sprint Cup championship, and Dodge's first Sprint Cup championship since "King Richard" took his Charger to a title in 1975, in what will ironically be the manufacturer's NASCAR swan song.
Meanwhile, defending Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has a pretty comfy points lead going into Homestead, as he seeks a second straight title. Should next year's Sprint Cup Rookie of The Year contender have a mishap, he'll have the RCR duo of Elliott Sadler (20 points behind) and Austin Dillion (25 points behind) ready to pounce.
And in the Trucks, it's a triple-threat showdown. James Buescher, seemingly poised to leave Phoenix with an almost insurmountable lead, had his hopes dashed with just 5 laps to go at the hands of an unreliable Goodyear tire. The Turner Motorsports driver must defend his points lead against two of his hungriest competitors: Red Horse Racing's top thoroughbred Timothy Peters, and "The Kid in Black (and camo)" Ty Dillon of RCR, looking to give the Dillon brothers back-to-back Truck titles. They are 11 and 12 points behind Buescher respectively.