Nascar 2011

[TheMaster]

Kyle Busch will not run today's Nationwide race or tomorrow's Sprint Cup event. NASCAR has suspended him for the rest of the weekend for his conduct in last night's Truck race.

[TheMaster]

I want to be the first one on here to congratulate both Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards on a great race today. Stewart was the winner and Edwards finished second. Cousin Carl is still three points ahead of Stewart in the points. I think this race is going to define the whole battle for the championship between those two drivers.

The biggest gainers in the Chase standings following this race are Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, who moved up two positions to now 7th and 8th respectively. Kyle Busch did not start the race because he was parked for the weekend by NASCAR, and Michael McDowell drove his car today to a 33rd place finish. Busch is 11th in the points now, and is mathematically eliminated from this year's championship, as is Denny Hamlin (10th) and Ryan Newman (12th). Oh by the way, Stewart is now tied with Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick for the most wins this season, each of them has four.

[TheMaster]

Kasey Kahne has won the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix tonight. The battle for the Sprint Cup is now officially between points leader Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.

[TheMaster]

Congratulations to Johnny Sauter! The Camping World Truck Series race has just ended. The rain came out and NASCAR called the race 15 laps short of the scheduled distance. Sauter won the race after leading the most laps, but big congratulations to the season champion, third-generation driver Austin Dillon! This is the tenth NASCAR national title for the #3. Dillon also joins Dale Earnhardt Jr. on a short list as the only two third-generation national champions in NASCAR history. It was looking iffy in the late stages of the race, but Austin held on to finish tenth and clinch the title. The season may be ending under the red flag, but it's been a great season in the Truck Series.

[TheMaster]

Carl Edwards will start the Ford 400 tomorrow from the pole position and hopes to seal up his first Sprint Cup championship. Tony Stewart will start 15th.

In the meantime, the Nationwide Series season concluded tonight. Reigning series champion Brad Keselowski started on pole and was able to win the race. Edwards finished third and in the process, locked up the owners title for Jack Roush. The night, however, belongs to Ricky Stenhouse Jr., last year's Rookie of the Year. Stenhouse clinched the series championship early after seven cars retired from competition. Stenhouse finished second tonight.

[TheMaster]

And it's SMOKE! Both Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart gave it their best performance tonight. Edwards led the most laps, but it was Stewart at the end. He won the Ford 400 tonight and in doing so clinched his third Sprint Cup Series championship! Stewart is the first driver/owner to win the series title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992. The margin of victory was zero. They ended the season tied, so Stewart won the tiebreaker by virtue of having more wins this year than Edwards. In fact, Stewart won the most races of any of the drivers this season. Final standings:

1) Tony Stewart
2) Carl Edwards
3) Kevin Harvick
4) Matt Kenseth
5) Brad Keselowski
6) Jimmie Johnson
7) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8) Jeff Gordon
9) Denny Hamlin
10) Ryan Newman
11) Kurt Busch
12) Kyle Busch