This weekend, NASCAR will be at the Kansas Speedway, including a Sprint Cup race. Of course, Roush Fenway will be there, and it will be representing Boston in the Midwest.

All cars owned by Roush Fenway will have “B-Strong” decals on them to show support. Moreover, a more tangible effort will be made, too, as team owner Jack Roush had pledged $100 to The One Fund Boston for every lap lead during the Sprint Cup Race by a Roush Fenway car. In addition, representatives from Roush Fenway will be handing out B-Strong stickers to fans in attendance.

“When events occur such as what happened earlier this week in Boston, it is our nature to be overwhelmed with a variety of emotions,” Roush said in a news release. “To have to withstand an act of such senselessness and cowardice against innocent people is disheartening to us all. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as well as the entire city of Boston.

“As Americans we can all be proud of the way the city of Boston — and the entire nation — has banded together in the wake of this tragedy.  We are proud of our Boston connections and feel privileged to be able to play a very small part in supporting the ‘B-Strong’ effort.”

More information on The One Fund Boston can be found at OneFundBoston.org.

Stenhouse became the sixth driver to win consecutive championships in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. He finished sixth Saturday in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, edging Elliott Sadler for the title.

“A lot of people put a lot of effort into this and I’m just the lucky guy who gets to drive it,” said Stenhouse, who is replacing Matt Kenseth in the Sprint Cup Series next season at Roush Fenway Racing.

Stenhouse finished his final Nationwide season with six wins.

About the only drama in the finale was whether he would play it safe. He did, but not without a few close calls. His spotter even had to remind him several times over the final 10 laps to avoid potential pitfalls.

Stenhouse eventually obliged, but only after he held the push-to-talk button down on his steering wheel to drown out all the chatter in his helmet.

“I don’t ride around,” Stenhouse said. “That’s not how we got in this position.”

Regan Smith won the 300-mile race, his first victory in 103 Nationwide starts. He was making his first start since 2007, and he’s going to race for the championship next season for JR Motorsports. This was his debut race with that team, which is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and had not won a race since 2010.

“These guys worked hard all year long, and we’re going to do the same next year and contend for a championship,” Smith said. “That’s our plan. Hopefully, tonight was part of a statement right there.”

Kyle Busch was second, followed by Brendan Gaughan, Sam Hornish Jr. and Austin Dillon. Danica Patrick was 19th in her final Nationwide race before moving to the Sprint Cup Series full time. She finished 10th in points, becoming the highest-finishing female driver in the history of NASCAR’s three national series. The previous record was held by Sara Christian, who finished 13th in 1949 in the Cup series.

Busch dominated the race early, but couldn’t get past Smith in the closing laps.

A year after winning 18 races across NASCAR’s three national series, Busch went winless in Nationwide and Trucks in 2012. He was 0 for 22 in Nationwide, finishing winless for the first time since his 2003 debut year.

In Sprint Cup, Busch has just one victory headed into Sunday’s season finale.

“I think it’s been well documented that this has been the absolute worst year of my career, bar none, whether it was racing ASA cars or late models or Legends cars or even being here in the big three,” Busch said. “It’s a huge disappointment. … I can’t seem to put it all together when it matters, and you have to in this sport, otherwise you’ll be kind of shown the door.”

Smith did some smoky burnouts, then headed to Victory Lane. Joey Logano also celebrated after clinching the series owners title for Joe Gibbs Racing. It was the fourth owners title for the former Washington Redskins football coach, who matched the previous series record held by Richard Childress.

Stenhouse and his crew, though, enjoyed a more significant moment.

Stenhouse became the first since Martin Truex Jr. in 2005 to win back-to-back titles in the developmental series. Sam Ard (1983-84), Larry Pearson (1986-87), Randy LaJoie (1996-97) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998-98) also accomplished the feat.

Stenhouse started the finale fourth and had a 20-point lead over Elliott. He needed to finish 16th or better to clinch another trophy.

The lead would have been considerably tighter had Sadler not wrecked last week at Phoenix.

But Sadler triggered a three-car accident that brought the race to a halt and essentially ruined his championship hopes. It was reminiscent of last year, when Sadler also finished second to Stenhouse after some late-season setbacks.

“It’s way more disappointing this year because we had control of the points the whole entire season,” Sadler said. “We raced as hard as we could every weekend, but we came up short. Didn’t take but a few races to put us behind. … Second is not what we wanted, but we ran competitive all year long.”

Matt Kenseth Racing Roush Fenway’s No.17 NESN Ford Fusion This Sunday at NH Motor Speedway

July 12, 2012 –- NESN, New England's most watched sports network, announced today that Roush Fenway Racing's Matt Kenseth, who currently sits atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup leaderboard, will race the No.17 NESN Ford Fusion this Sunday at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kenseth, the 2012 Daytona 500 winner, is the second consecutive Daytona 500 winner to drive a NESN-branded Ford at NHMS. Roush Fenway's Trevor Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner, drove the No.16 Ford Mustang in the Nationwide New England 200 last July.

Roush Fenway’s No.17 NESN Ford celebrates Fenway Sports Group's family of iconic sports franchises. FSG, which owns 50 percent of Roush Fenway Racing, also owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, Liverpool Football Club and 80 percent of NESN, all of which are represented on the No.17 Ford.

"Piloting the NESN colors at New Hampshire with the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool logos on the car is really cool," said Kenseth. "Through our Fenway connections we have a lot of fans up in the New England area and hopefully we'll have a strong run and put on a good show for them this weekend."

The Boston Red Sox are celebrating 100 Years of Fenway Park this season and Kenseth's Ford Fusion features the team's "100 Years" logo on the trunk lid as well as the Red Sox twin hanging socks logo on the rear quarter panels.

Liverpool Football Club, the world's most historic soccer club, is also represented on the rear sides of the car to promote their upcoming North American tour that begins next week. LFC will call Boston their home for the next two weeks and train at Harvard University. The tour will include three matches including one at historic Fenway Park against AS Roma on Wednesday, July 25.

NESN recently launched NESN National on Verizon FiOS TV's Ultimate HD tier across the country. NESN National is the national television service of NESN distributed to fans outside New England. The Verizon FiOS launch is NESN National's biggest launch to date, making the network available 40 DMA's in 17 states and Washington D.C.

About NESN                                                                                            

NESN has consistently been one of the top-rated regional sports networks in the country with award-winning Red Sox and Bruins coverage. The network is delivered to over 4 million homes throughout the six-state New England region and an additional 4.4 million homes nationally as NESN National. NESN.com, the network's online sports news service, is one of the most visited regional sports network websites in the country. NESN also produces a number of distinctive programs under its umbrella Original NESN Entertainment (ONE). NESN is owned by Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Boston Red Sox) and the Boston Bruins.

About Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing is the winningest team in NASCAR history, fielding multiple teams in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series with championship drivers Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne. Celebrating 25 winning years in 2012, Roush Fenway is the leader in NASCAR marketing solutions, pioneering its exclusive Roush Fenway OnTrack sponsorship measurement services, motorsport’s first team-focused TV show and its award-winning social marketing channel RickyvsTrevor.com. Visit www.RoushFenway.com, circle on Google+ at +Roush Fenway Racing, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/roushfenway and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway. For sponsorship inquiries call John Bauersfeld at 704.720.4621

Roush Fenway driver Trevor Bayne will be at Fenway Park on Tuesday night to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Although he may not throw as fast as he drives, fans will get to see Bayne throw out the first pitch for his first time.

“I’m pumped that my first pitch is coming at a Red Sox game,” said Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner. “I grew up as a huge baseball fan and it is an honor to have this opportunity. Fenway Park is one of the most historic landmarks in all of sports and I am glad to be a part of the action.”

Tuesday night’s game is scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m.

At FSM, Hockenjos will be responsible for selling integrated scholarships and marketing partnerships across Fenway Sports Group's portfolio of properties with a focal point on Liverpool, the Red Sox, Roush Fenway Racing/LRMR Marketing and Branding, and NESN. Executive Vice President of Sales, Frank Huckabone, will oversee Hockenjos' work.

The 25-year veteran is familiar with sales. Before joining FSM, Hockenjos led the Business Development and Sports Sales divisions for NCC Media, a company owned jointly by Time Warner, Cox Communications and Comcast that represents cable ad sales. While at NCC Media, he helped secure national representation for regional sports networks, such as SportsNet NY and Sportstime Ohio, and agreements with DirecTV and Dish Network.

FSM President Sam Kennedy spoke highly of Hockenjos and on behalf of the company, says he is excited for what is to come.

"Joe brings a wealth of sales experience, a proven track record of delivering value for some of the most respected brands in professional and college sports, and a keen understanding of broadcast and new media sponsorships," Kennedy said. "We look forward to having Joe join the FSM family and helping us drive revenue for our blue chip properties and clients."

Hockenjos expressed a sense of gratitude for this opportunity and seems energetic about his new position with the company.

"It's truly a privilege to join one of the world's preeminent sports sponsorship sales organizations," said Hockenjos. "I look forward to working alongside Frank and the rest of the team to help generate sales for FSM's impressive client roster of elite international brands."

Matt Kenseth won his second Daytona 500 on Monday night, capping off a wild weekend and start to the NASCAR season.

Kenseth won the 500 nearly 35 hours after the race's original start time, due to a number of weather and track-related delays. The most memorable delay was certainly when fellow driver Juan Pablo Montoya hit a safety truck on the track, setting off a massive explosion and fire.

The win puts Kenseth in first place in the NASCAR standings, a spot he hopes to be in come season's end. Kenseth touched upon the achievement of winning another 500, the lure of Roush Fenway Racing and he looked ahead at what's next on the NASCAR schedule.

Check out the video above to hear all of Kenseth's thoughts on the wild win in Daytona.

When it was all over, Matt Kenseth was the only sure thing.

It wasn't even close.

Kenseth capped a crazy 36 hours for NASCAR by winning the first postponed Daytona 500 in 54 editions of the marquee event. He held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle over a two-lap overtime finish in a race that was scheduled to begin Sunday afternoon but ended in the early morning hours Tuesday.

"We had a really fast car and have fast cars in the past, and I figured out a way to mess it up," Kenseth said. "I am glad it all worked out."

It did for Kenseth, who picked up a second Daytona 500 title to go with his 2009 victory at the end of a wild SpeedWeeks. All three of NASCAR's national series races went to overtime, with unknown winners picking up the victories in the Nationwide and Truck Series.

In the end, the Daytona 500 will be remembered not for the actual racing, but all the fluke things that plagued it from start to finish.

Rain at Daytona International Speedway first forced NASCAR to push the race to Monday afternoon, then Monday night for the first-ever 500 in primetime television. Then a freak accident caused a massive fuel fire that stopped the race for two hours as safety workers used Tide laundry detergent to clean up the track.

"The thing that comes into my mind is NASCAR just can't catch a break," Earnhardt said. "We're trying to deliver, and we just have some unfortunate things happen such as the rain delay, potholes in the track a couple of years ago. We're a good sport, and we're trying to give a good product."

Kenseth and Biffle took over the lead following the stoppage with 40 laps to go, caused by the fire that began when something broke on Juan Pablo Montoya's car. He was driving alone under caution, spun hard into a safety truck, and the collision caused an instant explosion.

"About the time you think you've seen about everything, you see something like this," NASCAR president Mike Helton said.

Jet fuel — the safety truck held 200 gallons of kerosene — poured down the surface of Turn 3 at Daytona International Speedway after the accident, creating a fiery lasting image of NASCAR's biggest race of the year.

"I've hit a lot of things – but a jet dryer?" said Montoya, who added he felt a vibration in his car before the accident. "It just felt really strange, and as I was talking on the radio, the car just turned right."

Journeyman driver Dave Blaney was leading at that time because he had not pitted, and all the drivers surrounded him as they lingered outside their parked cars during the clean-up. It looked a little bit like a party — and Brad Keselowski nearly tripled his number of Twitter followers by live tweeting during the break — as everyone discussed just what had happened to derail the race.

And the bad luck continued after the race ended when teams were stranded in Daytona another night: bad weather in North Carolina closed the airports at home.

"Now believe it or not I can't go home," fourth-place finisher Denny Hamlin posted on Twitter. "Fogged in. Yet another night in Daytona."

He had it better than driver Landon Cassill — his rental car was towed from Daytona International Speedway property sometime during the race.

Yup, it was that kind of race.

When racing resumed after a 2-hour stoppage for a freaky fuel fire, it was obvious it was Kenseth's to lose.

Biffle was the only driver who could mount a challenge as the Fords were the class of the field. Carl Edwards, another Roush driver, started from the pole and finished eighth.

"The Roush cars are really strong; they showed that all week," Earnhardt said.

The racing was aggressive at the drop of the green flag, and the first accident occurred on just the second lap, when Elliott Sadler ran into the back of Jimmie Johnson as they drafted around the track.

The contact sent Johnson into the wall, and as the five-time NASCAR champion slid back down across the track, he was hit hard in the door by David Ragan. The accident collected six cars total, including defending Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and Danica Patrick.

"I'm just really, really bummed to start the season this way," Johnson said. "To work as hard as everyone did at Hendrick Motorsports to get this Lowe's Chevrolet and to have it barely complete two-and-a-half miles of green flag racing is pretty sad. We'll just go on and go to Phoenix and set our marks on winning that race."

He may go to Phoenix without any points: NASCAR is expected to penalize crew chief Chad Knaus this week for failing the first inspection of SpeedWeeks. Knaus could be facing both a suspension and a loss of a points.

It took about an hour for Patrick's Stewart-Haas Racing crew to get her back on the track, and she returned 62 laps behind the leader.

The race settled down after that, and the push for the $200,000 leader bonus at the halfway mark didn't spark too much excitement. Two-time NASCAR champion Terry Labonte had been running second and presumably in position to make a move for the cash, but he was spun by Marcos Ambrose.

"Awe, man! Who would turn the Ice Man around?" Earnhardt shouted on his team radio.

After a brief caution, the leaders had a 10-lap sprint to the halfway point, and Martin Truex Jr. used a big push from Denny Hamlin to slide by Greg Biffle on the deciding lap. Although he was told over his team radio to "go get the other half," history didn't bode well for Truex: the last leader at the halfway point to win the Daytona 500 was Davey Allison in 1992.

Click here to see Juan Pablo Montoya's fiery crash >>

NASCAR's biggest event of the year is now scheduled to get under way Monday night at 7 p.m., a day after the much-anticipated season-opening stock car race was postponed by rain for the first time in its 54-year history.

The 500-mile race initially was rescheduled for noon Monday, but NASCAR president Mike Helton announced the change because it was still raining at Daytona International Speedway in the morning.

Carl Edwards, runner-up to Tony Stewart in last year's championship race, will start from the pole. Former IndyCar star Patrick will make her Daytona 500 debut.

"I know a lot of race fans are disappointed and a lot of people at home on TV, but we just hope they tune in," driver Greg Biffle said.

NASCAR officials spent more than four hours Sunday waiting for a window to dry the famed track, but it never came. When the latest storm cell passed over the speedway around 5 p.m., they had little choice but to call it a day.

The delay was a huge disappointment.

With several intriguing story lines on tap, NASCAR was hoping to capitalize on the success of last season's down-to-the-wire championship race between Edwards and Tony Stewart.

The most significant of them all could be Patrick. The Daytona 500 is the first of 10 scheduled Sprint Cup Series events for Patrick, who left IndyCar behind for a full-time move to NASCAR. She will race for the Nationwide Series championship driving for JR Motorsports.

Stewart, the three-time and defending series champion, is trying to snap a 0-for-13 losing streak in the Daytona 500. His 17 victories at Daytona include everything but the 500, ranking him second on the all-time list behind Dale Earnhardt's 34 wins. Stewart will start third when the green flag drops.

And there's Earnhardt Jr., the 2004 Daytona 500 champion. He takes a 129-race losing streak into the event. His last victory was in 2008, his first season with powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports.

Now, it's all on hold. And it could play out in time slots normally occupied for daytime soap operas.

"This is one of the toughest things for us drivers," said Edwards, who will start on the pole. "It's now who can really stay focused. That's not just the drivers, that's the pit crews, the crew chiefs, everyone, the officials. But I think we'll be just fine."

But Monday might be another test for both drivers and fans.

The forecast calls for more rain, and officials are prepared to wait all day and into the night to avoid a Tuesday race, which would strain teams that must get to Phoenix for next week's race.

Eight previous Daytona 500s have endured rain delays, the latest in 2009. But never before had storms forced NASCAR's premier event to be moved.

"I think that's a pretty good record for NASCAR," Edwards said. "They've been living right to have 53 of these and never have one postponed. That's pretty spectacular. … I think NASCAR, they're doing the right thing, you know, not dragging this out."

Noontime showers sent fans scattering for cover and leaving everyone in wait-and-see mode. Puddles of water formed in parts of the infield, and many fans got drenched as they tried to make the best of a less-than-ideal situation.

Drivers retreated to their motorhomes, relaxing while keeping an eye on developments. Edwards, Brad Keselowski and others took naps. Former Daytona 500 winners Jamie McMurray and Trevor Bayne did in-studio interviews with Fox. Another previous race winner, Ryan Newman, played with his daughter in the motorhome lot.

"I guess I'm gonna have to win the first Monday Daytona 500," Biffle said.

The last shortened Daytona 500 was Matt Kenseth's victory three years ago, when rain stopped the event 48 laps from the finish. He was declared the winner while the cars were parked on pit road.

The 2010 race had more than two hours in delays as NASCAR twice stopped the event to fix a pothole in the surface. McMurray held off Earnhardt Jr. to win that race.

This time around, drivers didn't even get in their cars.

"I didn't know when to eat. I didn't know when to rest. I didn't know what to do," Bobby Labonte said. "I never took my uniform off. I took a nap. I think we cleaned out the refrigerator snacking on things."

Now, NASCAR must deal with the downside of moving its biggest race. Ratings and attendance will suffer, falling short of what the series expected.

Fans surely will have complaints, too.

Daytona president Joie Chitwood said he understood fans were frustrated about the scheduling change that pushed the race back one week later than usual.

NASCAR and the track made the decision to move the start of the season to address an awkward early off weekend and to avoid potential conflicts with the Super Bowl.

Had the race been run on its traditional Sunday, it would have been completed under a bright, blue sky.

"I'm sure I'm going to have some customers tell me about the date change and the challenges that we have with it," Chitwood said. "But I think weather is unpredictable. I think based on the NASCAR schedule, the TV schedule on whole, this was the right move for the industry. We'll continue to work with the last weekend of February.

"It's unfortunate that this had to happen the first year after we made that change. I'm sure I'll be talking to a number of customers in the next weeks ahead about that situation."

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be participating in his first ever Dayton 500 over the weekend and is sure excited about the opportunity.

Stenhouse called into NESN Daily to talk about the race and how he expects to fair over the weekend. He also talked about good friend Carl Edwards and his difficult finish to the 2011 racing season.

Check out the video above to see Randy Scott's entire interview with the Roush Fenway driver.

Carl Edwards is one of the most popular racers in NASCAR history even though he has never won a Sprint Cup Series Championship before. In his nine year racing career, he has 19 careers wins in the Sprint Cup Series and finished second in the standings in 2011. He also has top-five finishes in the final standings in three of the last four seasons.

Jimmie Johnson also has a legitimate chance of winning the Sprint Cup Series. After winning five straight from 2006-2010, Johnson finished in sixth place in 2011. Maybe falling that far off the lead will motivate him to have a better 2012 campaign?

Back in 2003, Matt Kenseth won his only Sprint Cup Series title. His next highest finish came back in 2006, when he was second behind Johnson. Kenseth won three races in 2011 and finished fourth in the standings. Maybe he has what it takes to outrace the other drivers?

After winning it all in 2011, Tony Stewart now has three Sprint Cup Series wins to his name. His other two came in 2002 and 2005. At 40 years old, Stewart may not have enough left in his tank to pull off another victory.

And of course no one can forget about Danica Patrick. Patrick is the most successful female driver in the auto-racing world. She won an IndyCar Series race back in 2005 and finished third in the Indianapolis 500 in 2009, which is the highest finish by a woman in the races history. Could she be first at the end of her first season in the Sprint Cup Series?

Other racers, such as Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch are always looking to win, but do they have what it takes?

Who Will Win the Sprint Cup Series Championship?

Carl Edwards, who finished second in the Sprint Cup point standings to Tony Stewart last year, set the pace for the field, covering the 2.5-mile oval track in 46.216 seconds to earn the pole position.

Roush teammate Greg Biffle finished second on Sunday, registering a qualifying time of 46.371.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who will be making his first career Daytona 500 start, qualified eighth, and former Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth qualified 16th. Defending champion Trevor Bayne, who runs for Roush Fenway in the Nationwide Series, qualified ninth, just behind Stenhouse.

"The team did great today," team co-owner Jack Roush said. "Doug Yates and the guys in the engine shop did a nice job. [RFR general manager] Robbie Reiser and the folks in the chassis and body shops built nice cars that the teams prepared well. We worked all winter getting ready for this. It's just the beginning. We hope we can put it together for the Twins and for the [Daytona] 500 next Sunday…at least we have a week to celebrate this pole."

This marks the first time that Roush Fenway has swept the front row at Daytona 500 qualifying. Biffle did earn pole honors for the team back in 2004, though.

Bottom photo via Action Sports Photography

The team announced that it wants its fans to use a new hashtag when tweeting about the group this season. The creation of the #RFR25 tag is a way for the team to better incorporate its fans during the celebratory year.

This announcement comes only a few days after Roush Fenway Racing revealed the team would be launching a page on Google Plus. Fans will be able to use the Google Plus page to ask questions that will be answered by Roush Fenway Racing drivers on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.

The racing group is also scheduling hangouts with defending Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne and team owner Jack Roush on Sunday, Feb. 26 and a Daytona 500 recap with NASCAR champion Greg Biffle on Feb. 27.

Edwards was part of her sports-themed week and did a very good job, considering he is a NASCAR driver and not a talk-show host by trade.

"It was an honor to co-host the show," Edwards said in a release. "Kelly was a lot of fun and the audience was incredible. Kate Beckinsale, Laura Prepon and Tanya Zuckerbrot were great guests.

Edwards also made stops at Fox and Friends and The Wall Street Journal.

Check out some of Edwards' appearance in the video below.

The driver will be helping out Kelly Ripa on Live With Kelly, sitting in Regis Philbin's old seat to co-host the show, according to Yahoo.

Edwards isn't the only athlete to be plucked for the daytime talk show, as Regie Bush, Boomer Esiason and Jesse Palmer are also expected to co-host.

Edwards is scheduled to join Kelly for the Jan. 10 show.

Stewart went into the race trailing Edwards by three points but confident and cocky that he'd be the winner at race's end. He vowed to drive with nothing to lose, and he did just that.

Early damage to the front of his Chevrolet dropped him to 40th in the field. But Stewart plowed his way back to the front, using aggressive three and four-wide passes to get back into contention.

He then benefited from pit strategy by crew chief Darian Grubb and a brief rain shower that allowed Stewart to save gas as the cars ticked off laps under yellow. He passed three cars on the restart with 37 laps to go, and Edwards finished a helpless second.

"This night is about Tony Stewart," Edwards said. "Those guys rose to the occasion."

They actually finished tied in the final standings, but Stewart won the title on the tiebreaker. He had five wins this season — all in the Chase — to Edwards' one.

"That's all I got," Edwards said. "That's as hard as I can drive. … I wish so bad we had that trophy, but it just wasn't meant to be tonight."

Stewart became the first owner/driver to win the championship since Alan Kulwicki, and the driver to end Jimmie Johnson's record five-year title run.

Stenhouse clinched the title 30 laps into the 300-mile race when six cars officially dropped out at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Stenhouse was running fourth when NASCAR officials announced his title.

Stenhouse started the race with a comfortable 41-point lead over Elliott Sadler. They were the only drivers still eligible for the title. Stenhouse needed to finish 37th or better to secure his first championship.

His guaranteed finishing spot kept improving as "start and park" cars headed to the garage. Morgan Shepherd, Fain Skinner, Scott Speed and Matt Carter all drove just a few laps before calling it quits. Chase Miller and Scott Riggs followed them a few laps later.

Edwards has tuned it all out, and on Saturday, he did his talking on the track.

Edwards won the pole for Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where the Sprint Cup Series championship will be decided. Edwards goes into the race with a three-point lead over Stewart, who qualified 15th. One of the two will bring an official end to Jimmie Johnson's record five-year run.

Edwards is seeking his first Cup title. Stewart, a two-time champion, is trying to become the first owner/driver to win the title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992.

"We were just hoping to start in front of Tony somewhere and preferably the top-five. The pole is a gift," Edwards said.

Edwards turned a lap at 175.467 mph in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Stewart qualified at 173.332 mph for Stewart-Haas Racing.

"I'm excited about it," Stewart said. "I'm not known to be much of a qualifier, so 15th, I'm pretty content."

Edwards has done a good job of tuning out Stewart's constant verbal jabs over the last month. After winning four races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, Stewart's confidence grew and he's tried a variety of one-liners and verbal jabs to get inside Edwards' head.

Although Edwards seemed to have grown weary of the gamesmanship in a joint news conference Thursday, he's yet to fold to the pressure.

He's got a great history at Homestead and that's helped him stay relaxed. Edwards is a two-time winner at Homestead, is the defending race winner and has 5.7 average finish in seven races.

With Carl Edwards sitting in first place in the Sprint Cup by three points and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the owner of a commanding 41-point lead in the Nationwide Series, Roush Fenway has a chance to win both championships.

"2011 has been one of our best years ever," team co-owner Jack Roush said. "We have had great technical support from Ford. [General manager] Robbie [Reiser] and [lead engineer] Chip Bolin have done a nice job marshaling the engineering as well as the manufacturing to make nice cars. The drivers have done a good job and the crew chiefs have done a great job."

In addition, Roush Fenway trails by just a single point in the Nationwide Series owner's championship, adding to a potentially impressive week.

Based on Edwards' past success at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the site of this weekend's races, Roush is hopeful that will help Edwards fend off Tony Stewart, who is in second place.

"When I was looking at Tony winning two races recently and the momentum he had I felt that three points didn't make any difference at all," Roush said. "But with one race in front of us going into Homestead and with as good as Carl has been there, I would take the three points and feel like Carl has got the advantage."

Roush Fenway has a chance to win its sixth and seventh NASCAR championships. The Nationwide Series race is on Saturday, Nov. 19, and the Sprint Cup race will be held on Sunday, Nov. 20.

Chase leader Carl Edwards and second-place driver Tony Stewart are separated from a mere three points as they prepare to conclude the postseason in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

A week ago Stewart, who has won four of the nine Chase races, began playing mind games with Edwards, who has never won a title.

Stewart started yapping almost from the moment he popped out of his car at Texas Motor Speedway.

"It's theirs to lose now," Stewart said, adding that he had an edge on Edwards by virtue of winning Cup championships in 2002 and 2005. "It's definitely an advantage. But I'm not going to tell you why, because that's what I'm going to take the next two weeks with me. [If] we win this thing, I'll tell you what the advantage is and why.

"But there's an advantage."

Edwards' camp has been mostly quiet, knowing better than to try to trade barbs with one of the sport's all-time great trash-talkers. The driver of the Roush Fenway Racing No. 99 Aflac Ford probably hasn't forgotten his win at Homestead last year, and has no plans on seeing the Chase lead change hands on the final day for the second straight year.

Who will win the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship?

Stewart dominated the race, leading 160 of the 312 laps, but had to pit for gas with 18 laps remaining. He then had to work his way back to the front, and used a late pass of Jeff Burton to finish third, right behind Edwards.

The points margin didn't change, and Edwards goes into next weekend's season finale leading Stewart by three points. Edwards is going for his first Sprint Cup championship, while Stewart is a two-time champion.

"We're going to make him sweat it out," Stewart said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's a dead heat going in there. I'm pumped. I wish I was going to Homestead tomorrow."

So did Edwards, a two-time Homestead winner.

"This is going to be a battle. I truly believe it's going to be a good race," Edwards said. "That place is magical for us. I really enjoy going there.

"I hope it comes down to the fastest guy winning the race."

It's the closest title race since NASCAR implemented the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in 2004.

Five-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson finished 14th and was officially eliminated from title contention.

"It's been one hell of a run," he posted on Twitter shortly after the race.

Kahne, meanwhile, won for the first time since Atlanta in 2009, and it comes in his next-to-last race with Red Bull Racing. He's moving to Hendrick Motorsports next season, and Red Bull is pulling out of NASCAR.

Burton finished fourth and was followed by Ryan Newman.

AJ Allmendinger was sixth, and David Reutimann, told two weeks ago he was losing his job at Michael Waltrip Racing, was seventh.

Marcos Ambrose finished eighth and was followed by Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer.

Kyle Busch, racing again after NASCAR parked him at Texas last weekend for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr., worked his way up to third before his engine failed. He finished 36th.

"It's just devastating," Busch said. "To go through turmoil like this, all you can do is group together and pull through it and try to persevere and move on."

Busch, who started the Chase tied with Kevin Harvick as the top seed, will almost certainly finish 12th in the final standings and won't be included in the season-ending awards ceremony held in his hometown, Las Vegas.

His older brother, Kurt, didn't fare any better at Phoenix. He ran out of gas while leading and wound up 22nd.

The race was also marked by another incident between Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth, who tangled two races ago at Martinsville. Kenseth said Vickers intentionally wrecked him, but Vickers denied it.

"If he wants to doubt us, that's fine," Vickers said. "He wrecked me at Martinsville, he got wrecked here, but it actually wasn't (payback). I'm not saying I wasn't going to pay him back, but I'm just saying that wasn't it."