Gordon wins the battle, Johnson hands title to Keselowski at Homestead

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates with a beer in Champions Victory Lane after winning the series championship and finishing in fifteenth place for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2012 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates with a beer in Champions Victory Lane after winning the series championship and finishing in fifteenth place for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2012 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR)

HOMESTEAD Fla. – Jeff Gordon was able to give Hendrick Motorsports its first win at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday; unfortunately it wasn’t the win they came for. While Brad Keselowski celebrated his first Sprint Cup championship and Gordon his race win, Jimmie Johnson stood in the NASCAR garage wondering about what could have been.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup championship was decided with 41 laps to go. The end came when Johnson slowed his Chevy, came to pit road and shortly after was pushed to the garage.

Johnson’s title hopes took a big hit just before that when during a green flag pit stop on lap 213 Johnson’s crew left a lug nut off the right rear tire forcing Johnson to return to pit road. Johnson went a lap down in and fell to 25th spot. The end came shortly after when the rear gear in Johnson’s Chevy failed. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.