By Keith Waltz The closest championship battle in NASCAR history was decided by a tiebreaker after Tony Stewart outran Carl Edwards to win the Ford 400 on Nov. 20, 2011, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Stewart battled back from adversity early in the race to lead the final 36 laps as he beat Edwards to the checkered flag by 1.306 seconds. Stewart and Edwards ended up tied atop the point standings with the tiebreaker going to Stewart as the highest finishing driver in the season finale. “After the way those first 109 laps went today, I could not be more proud,” Stewart said. “We…

By Jared Turner Kyle Busch won at Homestead for the first time with his memorable championship drive one year ago. He might need a repeat performance in South Florida to repeat as Sprint Cup champion. Of the Championship 4, Carl Edwards has the best resume at Homestead Miami Speedway – where he’s a two-time race winner but hasn’t won since 2010 with Roush Fenway Racing. Joey Logano has only one top-five finish in seven starts at Homestead, but that finish – a fourth – came last season. Fresh off a win at Phoenix, he’s arguably hottest among the Championship 4. It’s hard…

By Jared Turner It’s all come down to this. With 35 races in the books, the curtain will close on the 2016 Sprint Cup Series season Sunday night as four drivers do battle for NASCAR’s biggest prize in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Eliminated from championship contention last weekend at Phoenix were Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. Left standing are Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. While the four finalists all bring clear strengths into the winner-take-all finale, there is not a clear favorite among the group. All four have been dominant at…

By Jared Turner Each of the four championship finalists has been downright brilliant at times this year. So who's the favorite to prevail in Sunday’s winner-take-all finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway? Let’s give the nod to Carl Edwards based on sheer, unbridled desire. No one wants this more than Carl, after losing the 2011 title to Tony Stewart in such heartbreaking fashion – on the basis of a tiebreaker. Then again, of the remaining title contenders, only Joey Logano and Kyle Busch have been part of the Championship 4 before, which could provide at least a psychological advantage. Then again, one could argue…