Date: Nov. 17, 2013
Event: Ford EcoBoost 400 (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Champion: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
SHR Finish:
Ryan Newman (Started 15th, Finished 17th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Mark Martin (Started 22nd, Finished 19th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Danica Patrick (Started 24th, Finished 20th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
SHR Points:
Ryan Newman (11th with 2,286 points, 133 out of first)
Danica Patrick (27th with 646 points)
Tony Stewart / Mark Martin (not applicable)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, led the three-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway by finishing 17th in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
The race marked Newman’s last as a member of SHR, as he moves to Richard Childress Racing in 2014. Newman scored eight poles and four wins, including the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 in August 2013, during his five-year tenure at SHR.
Mark Martin, interim driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR as he subbed for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 19th. The race was Martin’s 882nd career Sprint Cup start and his last scheduled Sprint Cup start in a career dating back to April 5, 1981, when Martin made his Sprint Cup debut at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Martin ends his NASCAR career with 1,144 starts across all NASCAR series, with 40 Sprint Cup wins, 49 Nationwide Series wins and seven Camping World Truck Series wins.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 20th. It was Patrick’s 46th career Sprint Cup start and her first at Homestead. Patrick, who competed for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished two spots in the race ahead of Stenhouse, who placed 22nd.
Denny Hamlin won the Ford EcoBoost 400 to score his 23rd career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his second at Homestead.
Matt Kenseth finished .799 of a second behind Hamlin in the runner-up spot, while Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-five. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were eight caution periods for 37 laps, with five drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval.
Newman represented SHR in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and came into the final race of the 10-race Chase in 11th place among the 13 Chase drivers. He ended the season 11th in the standings.
Patrick finished the year 27th in the standings with 646 points. She finished runner-up to Stenhouse in the 2013 Rookie of the Year title.
Stewart, who was sidelined midway through the season with a broken right leg suffered in a sprint car crash Aug. 5, finished 29th with 594 points.
The final Chase standings for the 2013 season:
1. Jimmie Johnson (2,419 points) +/-0 position
2. Matt Kenseth (2,400 points, -19) +/-0
3. Kevin Harvick (2,385 points, -34) +/-0
4. Kyle Busch (2,364 points, -55) +/-0
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,363 points, -56) +/-0
6. Jeff Gordon (2,337 points, -82) +/-0
7. Clint Bowyer (2,336 points, -83) +1
8. Joey Logano (2,323 points, -96) +1
9. Greg Biffle (2,321 points, -98) -2
10. Kurt Busch (2,309 points, -110) +/-0
11. Ryan Newman (2,286 points, -133) +/-0
12. Kasey Kahne (2,283 points, -136) +/-0
13. Carl Edwards (2,282 points, -137) +/-0
This was the sixth Sprint Cup title for Johnson, one shy of the record of seven Sprint Cup championships earned by NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
The 2014 Sprint Cup season kicks off Feb. 14-23 with the traditional Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The 56th Daytona 500, the first point-paying race of the season, is scheduled for Feb. 23 and will be broadcast live on FOX.
