AutoWeekRacing.com Weekend Wrap-up for November 21, 2010 — SPOILER ALERT

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTOSHOWS   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   MARKETPLACE Sunday, November 21, 2010                  Jimmie Johnson hoists the Sprint Cup championship trophy on Sunday, his fifth-consecutive title in NASCAR's... NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson makes it 5 championships in a row UPDATED -- Carl Edwards dominated Sunday afternoon's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida, but Jimmie Johnson led a lap and finished second to claim his record-setting fifth consecutive Sprint Cup championship. Edwards led 10 times for 190 of the 267 laps, followed home by Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola, A.J. Allmendinger, pole-winner Kasey Kahne,...   NASCAR: Reaction to Jimmie Johnson's fifth straight title NASCAR has never seen a driver win five straight Cup titles--until now. After Jimmie Johnson's second-place finish at Homestead-Miami clinched the 2010 championship, reaction poured in from around the racing world. Here's a recap of the highlights. Jimmie Johnson, on his car's radio...   Kevin Harvick: solid run, aiming higher Kevin Harvick finished third in the race and the final standings. Here is a sampling of his comments afterwards. On his day: “Well, we just had a good car today and we did almost everything that we needed to do. We put ourselves in position to run up front, and we ran up...   Hamlin: Frustrated with finish Toyota driver Denny Hamlin met with the press after the NASCAR finale at Homestead. Here are some of his notable comments. On finishing second to Jimmie Johnson in the final standings: “Obviously I'm disappointed. Our car just wasn't the same. Our car was lightning fast up until...   Mexican team wins Baja 1000 for first time in history For the first time in the race's 43-year history, a Mexican team took top honors at the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 on Nov. 20 after the father-son duo of Gus Vildosola Sr. and Jr. drove their Ford F-150 Trophy Truck into La Paz, Mexico. Twenty-eight-year-old Vildosola Jr. started and finished the race, ...   NASCAR, ESPN to plot ratings improvement This one seems obvious: NASCAR plans to meet with ESPN during the off season to discuss everything from race starting times to promotions in hopes of reversing a precipitous decline in ratings. NASCAR moved to consistent 1 p.m. Eastern starting times this year and shifted many of its broadcasts...   NASCAR: Kyle Busch collects second NASCAR win of the weekend Kyle Busch led 153 of 200 laps on Saturday night at Homestead to win the Ford Nationwide Series 300 and give Joe Gibbs his third consecutive owner's title. It was Busch's record 13th win in 29 Nationwide starts this year, his second this weekend (he won Friday night's Camping World 200), his 24th...   NOTEBOOK: Volkswagen eyes NASCAR; Kahne to have knee surgery, more Volkswagen is poised to explore the possibility of entering NASCAR by the middle of this decade. Matthias Muller, the new CEO of Porsche, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, is interested in opening discussions with NASCAR about entering stock-car racing. A NASCAR official has confirmed that his ...   Formula One: Abu Dhabi season finale draws huge viewership The 2010 Formula One finale in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14 equaled or broke TV viewership records in the big-five European markets, according to figures from Formula One Administration. The La Sexta broadcaster in Spain recorded 7.4 million viewers of the live race coverage, the highest audience...   Formula One: Australian Grand Prix still under threat The premier of the Australian state of Victoria has conceded publicly for the first time that his regional government might not renew its contract to stage the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne when its contract expires in 2014. Losses from the race amounting to as much as approximately...   Formula One: Grand Prix of Rome causes controversy, comes up for vote in Italy The Comune di Roma, the municipal council of the Italian capital, has committed to voting before the end of December on mayor Gianni Alemanno's plan to stage a Formula One Grand Prix on the city's streets starting in 2013. Although Alemanno has signed a contract for the race with F1 boss Bernie...   Alonso on top as Pirelli passes first test Fernando Alonso set the fastest time for Ferrari on the second and final day of the Pirelli test in Abu Dhabi. The two days saw the 12 teams log around 6,835 miles on the Italian company's tires. It's the only chance they will have to try the new rubber before the new cars are launched in...   NHRA: Austin Coil leaves John Force behind Shortly after receiving the Spirit of Ford Award on Saturday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway, NHRA drag racing legend and newly crowned 2010 Funny Car champion John Force confirmed that long-time crew chief Austin Coil has left his Ford team. Coil sent Force a resignation letter on Tuesday,...   NASCAR: Kyle Busch caps truck season with 8th win Kyle Busch overcame a late-race, wall-banging incident with Johnny Sauter and rallied from deep in the pack in the final laps to win Friday night's Ford Camping World Truck Series 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His eighth win in just 16 starts this year wrapped up the owner's title that came with ...   NASCAR: Annett replacing Gaughan in Nationwide Series in 2011 Michael Annett will replace Brendan Gaughan next year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Rusty Wallace Inc. He’ll join Steven Wallace at the Toyota-based organization for the full 35-race schedule. Gaughan ran for Wallace in 2008 and 2009. In 69 starts--with one more coming on... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the AutoWeek Weekend Racing E-mails or to sign up for other AutoWeek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add AutoWeek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.