The preparations are all over and soon it will be time for Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick to decide the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship among them.
The points-leading trio and 40 other drivers wrapped up the final two NASCAR practice sessions of the year Saturday in preparation for tomorrow’s season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
And as expected, the cream rose to the top.
Kenseth, who qualified for the pole during Friday’s time trials, was fastest in both practices Saturday, with Johnson second during the final Happy Hour session and Harvick close by in fifth. All three pronounced their teams ready to go for the grand finale of Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead.
“Whenever you run good, whenever the cars are fast and they drive good, then it always makes you feel better about the upcoming race,” said Kenseth, who trails Johnson by 28 points. “Obviously we have the speed , but we have to have the handling and consistency over the long run and have something that will pass and be able to move around the track. The weekend has been good so far.”
Kenseth’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota had a best single lap of 171.980 miles per hour during Happy Hour, while Johnson went 171.647 mph in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Harvick wasn’t far off, going 170.864 mph in the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevy.
Johnson was fastest in consecutive 5-, 10- and 15-lap runs during Happy Hour. He’ll start seventh on Sunday, one position behind Harvick. The five-time champion said he spent the opening Saturday round of practice working mostly on comfort.
“It’s different conditions now than what we’ll have during race time,” said Johnson after the first practice. “So, we’re being smart about our changes. We were here and tested. And we tested at the end of the night when the race will finish. So, I was just out there running around on old tires trying a little comfort in the car and we’re making it more comfortable for the hotter conditions and we’ll see how that transfers to our later practice session. And then we’ll make some smart decisions tonight going into tomorrow’s race.”
“We are pretty close,” added Harvick. “We weren’t when we started, but we are pretty close as we ended that (first) practice and feel pretty comfortable with it.”
Johnson will clinch his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup championship by finishing 23rd without leading any laps, 24th and leading at least one lap or 25th and leading the most laps.
