NASCAR Ford 400: Drivers Who Could Play Spoiler to Carl Edwards

The final race of the NASCAR season is about to get underway, and points leader Carl Edwards has a great chance to win it all after taking two of the last three races at Homestead. If Edwards or Tony Stewart (just three points behind in the Sprint Cup standings) doesn’t take the checkered flag in the Ford 400, though, one of these trio could be the reason why:

Kevin Harvick

The third driver in a two-man race at the top of the Sprint Cup standings. Kevin Harvick has been good without being quite good enough this season. A win in the season finale would be his first since taking the checkered flag at Richmond in September.

Harvick has been outstanding at Homestead, finishing in the top three in each of his last three races here. Don’t expect a drop-off this afternoon.

Kasey Kahne

The winner last week at Phoenix, Kahne has momentum on his side after an outstanding performance in recent weeks. Ironically, he’s outperformed many drivers who are in the Chase despite not having started high enough in the standings to be part of that competition himself.

Stewart has won back-to-back races twice during the Chase, so it wouldn’t be entirely unbelievable for Kahne to pull off the same feat.

Jimmie Johnson

Eliminated from contention after five consecutive Sprint Cup wins, Johnson will still be a dangerous challenger this afternoon. A win to close the season would offer a measure of redemption for the end of his dominating championship run.

At the very least, a strong performance today would help Johnson vault over Brad Keselowski for fourth place in the final standings,