So, the NASCAR season will be over after this race, and we’ll have 12 weeks until the Daytona 500. It looks like Jimmie Johnson has the championship wrapped up, and would have to have a devastating wreck or mechanical failure for Mark Martin to catch him. Homestead-Miami Speedway is one of the newer cookie-cutter tracks that many of the drivers that have come into the series over the past 10 years do well at.

This Week’s Recommendations:

Chaser: Carl Edwards
The championship may be Jimmie’s, but Carl should win this race. Carl has the best average finish at the speedway (6.4) and has finished in the top ten in 4 of his 5 career races here with a win and 3 top fives. On the bad side, Carl has the 8th worst finish over the past 5 races (25.6). Don’t let that scare you though. He knows that this is a track he can win at, and he’s going to want to get that win to carry some momentum into the 2010 season.

Alternate Chaser: Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie is the man. He’s going to win the championship, and he’ll be flying high in this race. Don’t count on him taking it easy in the race and coast to the championship. He’s going to want to win the race so he can celebrate the championship in winners circle.

Kevin Harvick
Kevin has been a non-factor this season with only 8 top ten finishes, but he should be able to get another one at the Homestead-Miami speedway this weekend. He’s averaging a 9.1 place finish and has 6 top tens in 8 career races. Happy Harvick hasn’t been very happy this season, but a top ten finish this weekend should put a smile on his face.

Matt Kenseth
Matt has turned it on lately, averaging a 12.2 place finish over the last 5 races. He hasn’t been too successful at this speedway averaging a 20.6 place finish, but he has done well in recent years. In the 2005 - 2007 seasons he has collected a win, 2 top fives, and 3 top tens in the last 4 here. Look for Matt to contend again this weekend and compete for the win.

Dark horse: Martin Truex Jr.
Martin had a very good run last week and hopes to keep that going. He does have success in Miami with an average finish of 12.5 and 3 top tens in 4 career races. Martin may not contend for the win, but he should be battling for a top ten finish.