Ford Championship Weekend
The Ford Championship Weekend is the season finale weekend of the three top NASCAR divisions . The Ford Motor Company is the main sponsor of the races this weekend. It takes place at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead , Florida .
The Championship Weekend came about when NASCAR decided in 2002 to hold all of their season finals over one weekend on a racetrack. Previously, only the NASCAR Nationwide Series season ended in Homestead, Miami. The then Winston Cup , now the Sprint Cup, ended its season at the Atlanta Motor Speedway , the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since it was founded in the western USA on routes such as the Phoenix International Raceway , Las Vegas Motor Speedway or California Speedway .
Championship Weekend starts on Friday with the Ford 200 of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, continues on Saturday with the Ford 300 of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and ends with the grand finale of the Chase for the Sprint Cup , the Ford 400 , on Sunday. After each of these races there is a ceremony in which the champion of the respective series is selected. If a driver wins the title in a series before the season finale, such as Matt Kenseth in 2003 in the Winston Cup or Kevin Harvick in 2006 in the Nationwide Series, then there is a short, informal ceremony.
In all races so far but two, the one who was the points leader in a series before the Championship Weekend managed to win the championship. Brendan Gaughan lost his lead in the overall standings when he had to retire early in the 2003 Ford 200 due to an accident. Travis Kvapil won the championship back then. In the 2007 Ford 200, Mike Skinner lost his lead in the overall standings to Ron Hornaday Jr. after tire problems after leading the drivers' standings for most of the season. Ron Hornaday Jr. won the championship.
Ford Championship Weekend Results
Ford 200
| year | Race winner | Truck Series Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | Mike Bliss |
| 2003 | Bobby Hamilton | Travis Kvapil |
| 2004 | Kasey Kahne | Bobby Hamilton |
| 2005 | Todd Bodine | Ted Musgrave |
| 2006 | Mark Martin | Todd Bodine |
| 2007 | Johnny Benson | Ron Hornaday Jr. |
| 2008 | Todd Bodine | Johnny Benson |
| 2009 | Kevin Harvick | Ron Hornaday Jr. |
Ford 300
| year | Race winner | Nationwide Series Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Scott Wimmer | Greg Biffle |
| 2003 | Kasey Kahne | Brian Vickers |
| 2004 | Kevin Harvick | Martin Truex junior |
| 2005 | Ryan Newman | Martin Truex junior |
| 2006 | Matt Kenseth | Kevin Harvick |
| 2007 | Jeff Burton | Carl Edwards |
| 2008 | Carl Edwards | Clint Bowyer |
| 2009 | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch |
Ford 400
| year | Race winner | Sprint Cup Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Kurt Busch | Tony Stewart |
| 2003 | Bobby Labonte | Matt Kenseth |
| 2004 | Greg Biffle | Kurt Busch |
| 2005 | Greg Biffle | Tony Stewart |
| 2006 | Greg Biffle | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2007 | Matt Kenseth | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2008 | Carl Edwards | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2009 | Denny Hamlin | Jimmie Johnson |