Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ final race of the season earlier today at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This made for his fourth win of the 2009 season and moved him up three positions in the final standings for a fifth place ranking in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series points championship.

The pole-sitter, Jimmie Johnson, ended up with a fifth place finish, which was more than enough to secure his fourth consecutive championship in the series. Rookie of the Year honors went to Joey Logano who finished 20th in the standings, after winning one race and having seven top-10 finishes.

Top Finishers in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford 400:

 Pos  No  Driver               Make
   1  11  Denny Hamlin         Toyota
   2  31  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet
   3  29  Kevin Harvick        Chevrolet
   4   2  Kurt Busch           Dodge
   5  48  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet
   6  24  Jeff Gordon          Chevrolet
   7  99  Carl Edwards         Ford
   8  18  Kyle Busch           Toyota
   9   1  Martin Truex Jr.     Chevrolet
  10  44  A.J. Allmendinger    Ford

Top Finishing Teams in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship:

 Pos  Driver               Points  Behind
   1  Jimmie Johnson         6652  Leader
   2  Mark Martin            6511    -141
   3  Jeff Gordon            6473    -179
   4  Kurt Busch             6446    -206
   5  Denny Hamlin           6335    -317
   6  Tony Stewart           6309    -343
   7  Greg Biffle            6292    -360
   8  Juan Montoya           6252    -400
   9  Ryan Newman            6175    -477
  10  Kasey Kahne            6128    -524
  11  Carl Edwards           6118    -534
  12  Brian Vickers          5929    -723
        ^Chase for the Sprint Cup^

  13  Kyle Busch             4457   -2195
  14  Matt Kenseth           4389   -2263
  15  Clint Bowyer           4359   -2293

Related Links:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Series Information, Schedule, Standings, Past Champions, News, Videos

This week’s race at Phoenix International Raceway was won by the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader, Jimmie Johnson. This win helped Johnson to increase his points lead over the next closest competitor, Mark Martin, from 73 to 108 championship points. Just one race remains in the 2009 season.

Second place in today’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 went to Jeff Burton, with Denny Hamlin, and Mark Martin rounding out the top four. Martin Truex Jr., the pole-sitter, finished 5th.

Top Finishers in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil:

 Pos  No  Driver               Make
   1  48  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet
   2  31  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet
   3  11  Denny Hamlin         Toyota
   4   5  Mark Martin          Chevrolet
   5   1  Martin Truex Jr.     Chevrolet
   6   2  Kurt Busch           Dodge
   7  33  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet
   8  42  Juan Montoya         Chevrolet
   9  24  Jeff Gordon          Chevrolet
  10  00  David Reutimann      Toyota

Top Teams in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship:

 Pos  Driver               Points  Behind
   1  Jimmie Johnson         6492  Leader
   2  Mark Martin            6384    -108
   3  Jeff Gordon            6323    -169
   4  Kurt Busch             6281    -211
   5  Tony Stewart           6207    -285
   6  Juan Montoya           6203    -289
   7  Greg Biffle            6171    -321
   8  Denny Hamlin           6140    -352
   9  Ryan Newman            6081    -411
  10  Kasey Kahne            6016    -476
  11  Carl Edwards           5972    -520
  12  Brian Vickers          5826    -666
        ^Chase for the Sprint Cup^

  13  Kyle Busch             4310   -2182
  14  Matt Kenseth           4265   -2227
  15  Clint Bowyer           4224   -2268

Related Links:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Series Information, Schedule, Standings, Past Champions, News, Videos

Kurt Busch won today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. This moved him up two championship positions, placing him 4th in the Chase for the Cup with just two races left to complete in 2009.

The other chase contenders weren’t so lucky however, with many of them finishing at the back of the pack. This included Carl Edwards who finished 39th, the current championship leader Jimmie Johnson who finished 38th, Juan Montoya who finished 37th, and Kasey Kahne who finished 33rd.

Though Johnson’s championship position didn’t change, he did lose a large portion of his lead, which fell to just 73 points after going into the race 184 points ahead of the second place contender, Mark Martin.

Top Finishers in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500:

Pos  No  Driver               Make
  1   2  Kurt Busch           Dodge
  2  11  Denny Hamlin         Toyota
  3  17  Matt Kenseth         Ford
  4   5  Mark Martin          Chevrolet
  5  29  Kevin Harvick        Chevrolet
  6  14  Tony Stewart         Chevrolet
  7  33  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet
  8  16  Greg Biffle          Ford
  9  31  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet
 10  44  A.J. Allmendinger    Ford

Top Teams in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship:

Pos  Driver               Points  Behind
  1  Jimmie Johnson         6297  Leader
  2  Mark Martin            6224     -73
  3  Jeff Gordon            6185    -112
  4  Kurt Busch             6126    -171
  5  Tony Stewart           6119    -178
  6  Juan Montoya           6061    -236
  7  Greg Biffle            6050    -247
  8  Denny Hamlin           5975    -322
  9  Ryan Newman            5973    -324
 10  Kasey Kahne            5898    -399
 11  Carl Edwards           5857    -440
 12  Brian Vickers          5777    -520
       ^Chase for the Sprint Cup^
 13  Kyle Busch             4183   -2114
 14  Matt Kenseth           4151   -2146
 15  Clint Bowyer           4078   -2219

Related Links:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Series Information, Schedule, Standings, Past Champions, News, Videos

This week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. The win went to Jamie McMurray, driver of the #26 Irwin Marathon Saw Blades Ford. Coming up short was Kasey Kahne who finished 2nd, Joey Logano who finished 3rd, and Greg Biffle who finished 4th. Rounding out the top-5 was Jeff Burton.

Championship leader Jimmie Johnson finished in 6th, increasing his lead over Mark Martin to 184 points from his previous 118 point advantage. Martin finished the race in 28th, after a multi-car wreck brought out the yellow flag during the green-white-checkered finish, forcing the race to end and the field to freeze in position.

Top Finishers in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Amp Energy 500:

Pos  No  Driver               Make
  1  26  Jamie McMurray       Ford
  2   9  Kasey Kahne          Dodge
  3  20  Joey Logano (R)      Toyota
  4  16  Greg Biffle          Ford
  5  31  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet
  6  48  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet
  7  55  Michael Waltrip      Toyota
  8  09  Brad Keselowski      Chevrolet
  9  19  Elliott Sadler       Ford
 10 171  Bobby Labonte        Chevrolet

Top Teams in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship:

Pos  Driver               Points  Behind
  1  Jimmie Johnson         6248  Leader
  2  Mark Martin            6064    -184
  3  Jeff Gordon            6056    -192
  4  Juan Montoya           6009    -239
  5  Tony Stewart           5969    -279
  6  Kurt Busch             5936    -312
  7  Greg Biffle            5908    -340
  8  Ryan Newman            5846    -402
  9  Kasey Kahne            5834    -414
 10  Carl Edwards           5811    -437
 11  Denny Hamlin           5800    -448
 12  Brian Vickers          5692    -556
       ^Chase for the Sprint Cup^
 13  Kyle Busch             4043   -2205
 14  Matt Kenseth           3986   -2262
 15  Clint Bowyer           3932   -2316

Related Links:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Series Information, Schedule, Standings, Past Champions, News, Videos