HOMESTEAD, Fla. --- For Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, the mission at Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is simple. All three want to win the Sprint Cup Series championship.
But for the other 40 drivers in the race, there are much different priorities. Many are still looking for their first win of the year. Others are looking for confidence and momentum for the off-season. A few would like to impress potential sponsors and a couple would like to impress a car owner for future work.
No matter the agenda, Sunday's race is the last chance to get it done this year.
The championship is easy. If Johnson starts the race, Gordon is eliminated from contention in the Chase for the Championship. If he finishes in the top 25, Martin is eliminated. Conversely, Martin can't win if he's not in the top eight.
Nobody else is worried about such scenarios. Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Jeff Burton are trying to keep their streaks of at least one win a year alive.
"We were so good last season, but it doesn't really work like that," Edwards said. "You show up at the race track. And first of all you have to be fast enough to win. Otherwise, you can't really plan on winning. If you're fast enough to win, things have to go your way. If they go your way, you might win."
Biffle has won at least one race a year in the previous six seasons. That streak is dangerously close to coming to an end. More concerning is the fact his team seems to have lost its way in the past three months.
He finished 14th last Sunday at Phoenix and isn't confident about this week's race.
"What we got is what we got," he said. "It's been that way all year. There is no light at the end of the tunnel."
Edwards and Biffle both drive for Roush Fenway Racing. That team started the season with victories by Matt Kenseth at the Daytona 500 and a week later at Southern California.
But other than Jamie McMurray's fuel strategy win earlier this month at Talladega, Ala., the Roush Fenway camp has been shut out.
Gordon trails Martin by 61 points, and making a jump in points can be worth about $1 million in bonuses and awards.
At the same time, he's only 42 points ahead of fourth-place Kurt Busch in the points.
Sunday's race marks the final day of work for several people. Drivers Martin Truex Jr. and McMurray will move to new teams. Casey Mears may be making his last start at Richard Childress Racing unless the team can find sponsorship during the off-season.
Reach Don Coble at don.coble@morris.com.
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