After 18 major-league seasons, Mike Mussina announced his retirement Thursday. A 270-game winner with the Yankees and Orioles, the 40-year old right hander ranks 32nd on baseball's career win list.
By JENNA FRYER
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Nothing could stop Jimmie Johnson's drive into the NASCAR record books. Not even a final, furious push by Carl Edwards.
Edwards led a race-high 157 laps, ran out of gas as he crossed the finish line, but still won Sunday's season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His series-high ninth win of the year wasn't enough to wrest away the Sprint Cup title.
Johnson locked up his third consecutive championship with a solid 15th-place run, beating Edwards by 69 points to join Cale Yarborough as the only drivers in NASCAR history to win three straight titles.
"It's the ultimate reward. We worked so hard to put ourselves in this position," Johnson said. "It's just total teamwork and dedication. There were times this year when things were dark, but we buckled down and got to work and that's what it was really all about."
Johnson wins record-tying 3rd Cup title....
By MIKE HARRIS
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Carl Edwards won the season-ending Ford 300 on Saturday night, but came up 21 points short in his attempt to overtake Clint Bowyer for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.
All Bowyer had to do to keep Edwards from winning a second straight title in the second-tier series was finish in the top eight. He did that easily, taking fifth to stay on top of the standings, right where he has been most of the year despite winning only one of 35 races.
"We've been consistent," Bowyer said after climbing out of his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. "We did the things it takes to win championships. I want to thank Richard for giving me the opportunity."
Edwards wrested the lead from Kyle Busch late in the race and stayed out front to the end of the 200-lap event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He earned his seventh Nationwide victory and kept Busch from recording a record 11th series win.
Edwards wins race; Bowyer takes title....
By MIKE HARRIS
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — A two-tire stop and a late decision to stay on track during a caution period were just enough to give Johnny Benson the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title by seven points over Ron Hornaday on Friday night in a race that went to overtime.
Todd Bodine won the Ford 200, but all eyes were on the championship contenders as Hornaday tried desperately to make up ground after falling behind in the pits during the final caution at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Benson, who came into the race with a three-point lead, finished seventh, one position ahead of Hornaday after the dramatic green-white-checker finish.
"Tonight was tough," Benson said. "Tonight was about (crew chief) Trip Bruce and making the calls he did. ... Trip said early on we might not be the fastest, but it was going to be the smartest one that won it. And that's what it came down to — Trip's calls."
Benson wins title; Bodine takes race....
By JENNA FRYER
MIAMI (AP) — Teresa Earnhardt and Chip Ganassi will combine their slumping race teams next season, an effort to stabilize their organizations in a tough economic time, The Associated Press has learned.
The combined team will be called Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and will field cars for Martin Truex, Aric Almirola, Juan Pablo Montoya and a driver yet to be named, two people familiar with the decision told the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal has yet to be announced.
Both organizations have struggled to secure sponsorship this season, forcing the teams to pool resources.
Truex and Almirola will come from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated; only Truex's car has full sponsorship for next season.
Montoya has half a season of sponsorship, and Ganassi's flagship No. 41 has full sponsorship but no driver.
DEI fields Chevrolets, and Ganassi has a Dodge contract. Details of a manufacturer switch still are being worked out as the team is expected to use General Motors.
Sources: DEI, Ganassi to combine teams....
By JENNA FRYER
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Just when Carl Edwards seemed to have Jimmie Johnson on the ropes, the two-time defending NASCAR champion delivered the knockout punch.
Johnson moved inches away from his record-tying third consecutive Cup championship with a dominating victory Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, where he led a race-high 217 of the 313 laps to deflate Edwards' title hopes.
Johnson heads into next week's season finale up 141 points over Edwards and needs only to finish 35th or better to join Cale Yarborough (1976-78) as the only drivers in NASCAR history to win three straight Cup titles.
"This is what I've worked my whole life for," Johnson said in Victory Lane.
The win was his third straight at Phoenix, and had Edwards on the edge of conceding after his own fourth-place finish.
"It's still possible," Edwards sighed. "It's not probable."
No, it's not. Not with the way Johnson is running.
Johnson closes in on record-tying 3rd title....
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Dale Earnhardt Inc. have entered discussions that could lead to a merger between the two organizations, foxsports.com reported Tuesday.
Such a union would bring together the Nos. 41 and 42 cars of Ganassi and the Nos. 1 and No. 8 cars of DEI, according to the report.
Juan Pablo Montoya drives the No. 42 car, but Ganassi has not named a driver for the No. 41 Target car. Martin Truex Jr. is the driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops car, and Aric Almirola drives the No. 8, which has not named a sponsor for next year.
One of Montoya's current sponsors, Texaco Havoline, will not return to the car next year, but Ganassi has a partial sponsorship locked in with Wrigley's for the No. 42.
In a conference call with the media Tuesday afternoon, Montoya said he was unaware of the merger talks.
"I'll tell you, I haven't really talked to Chip too much the last few days," Montoya said. "I haven't even asked him who's driving the other car (No. 41). Right now, our focus is trying to make sure we run better. At the end of the day, it's very important to make sure we've got a good teammate.
Ganassi, DEI in merger talks....
By MIKE HARRIS
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Carl Edwards won for the second straight week, squeezing a victory out of his last tank of gas. And this time Jimmie Johnson ran out of magic.
The combination of the win by Edwards and a 15th-place finish by Johnson in Sunday's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway moved the race winner within 106 points of NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Johnson with just two races remaining.
Although Edwards dominated most of the race, leading 199 of the first 264 laps on the 1.5-mile oval, it was a daring call by crew chief Bob Osborne that got Edwards this win after several other drivers used two-tire strategies to get ahead of him near the finish.
"Oh yeah," Edwards screamed as he crossed the finish line. "I did it. Fuel mileage. Great job."
Edwards wins second straight race....
Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sports Network) - Felipe Massa did everything in his power to claim the Formula One World Championship by winning Sunday's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, but with a twist of luck and the slightest bit of margin, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton earned the 2008 Formula One World Championship with a fifth-place finish at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace at Interlagos.
Hamilton was on the verge of losing the title to Massa as he was running sixth on the final lap, but the McLaren driver passed Toyota's Timo Glock and grabbed the coveted fifth spot as he entered the last corner.
Hamilton, 23, becomes the youngest driver to win a World Championship in F1 history and the first Briton to take the title since Damon Hill in 1996. He also becomes the 30th different driver to win a title on the racing circuit.
Massa wins Brazilian GP, while Hamilton clinches F1 title....
