It was a vintage Kenseth race as far as 2003 was concerned � as Matt qualified and raced back in the field for a good part of the early going while incurring some sheet metal damage. But as has been the case so often this season, the racing gods were on Kenseth�s side as a series of cautions occurring green flag stops trapped much of the field a lap down, before Kenseth needed to come in. The final turning point occurred on Lap 253 of the 393-lap event when teammate Mark Martin lost a motor. At that point Kenseth was pulling onto pit road, and in fact broke the plane of the �commitment line� as the caution came out, and Kenseth audibled back onto the frontstretch. The punishment for that infraction was moving back to the end of the longest line, but at that point only nine cars remained on the lead lap � so the penalty kept him behind traffic, but helped ensure the lead lap finish (eventually fourth) needed to clinch the title. Once again, quick thinking kept the #17 ahead in the game.

With his huge win, Kenseth now even gets the mass-appeal usually reserved for racing icons such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, or Tony Stewart. Kenseth�s clinching run even made the front page of the sports section in Milwaukee on Monday morning. It could even be argued that Kenseth is now Wisconsin�s #1 sports figure, it�s not like he will have competition with anyone from the Bucks or Brewers, who both have or are in the process of trading anyone with a pulse who might command more than minimum salary.

Now for the driver recaps�

Bill Elliott � Lost in the Newman euphoria is Elliott�s first win since back-to-back triumphs at Pocono and Indianapolis 15 months ago � which culminates a two-month run in which Elliott has taken a backseat to no one not named Ryan Newman. Still, the retirement talk persists � but there is clearly something left in the tank. Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip were just shells of their former selves when they retired, their time had clearly come. Such is not the case here, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was still a top-tier driver in his final full season at age 49, and others (Harry Gant) have performed well into their 50�s. Let�s hope Awesome Bill is back in 2004.

Jimmie Johnson � A tremendous five week run featuring finishes of third, second, third, second, and now second, which has placed Johnson 38 points ahead of Dale Jr. in the battle for second place. Is it just me, or is JJ the better threat to win a title than teammate Jeff Gordon at this point.

Jeremy Mayfield � Yet another huge day for the Evernham twins with a third place showing. Incredibly, Mayfield is still only 20th in the point standings. Although bad finishes, such as last weeks 43rd in Phoenix definitely contributed.

Ryan Newman � Nets yet another pole and rounds out the top five. But that doesn�t begin to tell the whole story. Newman was bullied around into the wall on a restart by Jeff Gordon, and eventually spun out by the #24. But Newman had the last laugh as he kept his composure while his crew worked out the wrinkles in the #12.

Tony Raines � Isn�t it outstanding when someone outside of the usual suspects does well??? The entire weekend was successful for Raines as he had the best qualifying effort of his career starting 4th. Raines would slowly fall into the clutches of the field, seemingly headed for a typical 20-30 something finish. But Raines hung around and eventually finishes with a career best 6th place finish. Yes he did need a Lucky Dog late, but the #74 had plenty of company a lap down. Amazingly, Raines is 15th in points over the past six weeks � let�s hope Richard Childress gives this guy a ride for �04!!!!!

Jeff Burton � Builds on last weeks 8th place finish with a 7th. Homestead is one of his best tracks, so the #99 looks like a good bet to carry momentum into �04.

Tony Stewart � Typically awful on this track, and struggled for much of this race as well � but came around late to place ninth.

Sterling Marlin � He usually does well here, and even in this awful season comes away rounding out the top ten. Marlin also got good news in the courtroom as a jury quickly dismissed a charge stemming from a promotional outing in Jamacia a couple years back. To recap that fiasco, Marlin and Dale Jr. were captains for a girls tug-of-war on the beach when Marlin grabbed the rope himself. At that point the husband of a member of Junior�s side confronted Marlin, at which point Marlin allegedly shoved him into the surf. �I thought he needed to be cooled off� Marlin told the court. The plantiff contended that he wound up with injuries consistent with a Packer offensive linemen getting leveled by Warren Sapp on an interception return.

Dale Earnhardt Jr � Has an awful record at the Rock, and was two laps down at the end here, but comes away 13th which keeps him in the fight for second.

Ward Burton � Flexed some serious muscle in the early going charging from his 13th starting position to the lead, where he remained for 30 laps before finishing back in 18th. Burton�s a reliable professional driver, and don�t be surprised if he fares better with the #0 than he did in his tenure with Bill Davis Racing.

Jeff Green � Appears to be the frontrunner to drive the #43 next year, which would be good move for the Petty team since Green gives them the best chance for a respectable finish. Green finishes 19th on this particular Sunday.

Jeff Gordon � To the joy of millions, the penalty box was opened up for Gordon after his incident with Newman. More problems followed and the #24 places 22nd, severely hurting Gordon�s chances of finishing in the top five, let alone second.

Brian Vickers � For the second straight week qualifies alongside Ryan Newman, but was not a race factor placing 24th. Once he gets his sealegs, don�t be surprised to see a Cup win out of him next year.

Jamie McMurray � An early wreck did in a radiator and cost him 18 laps, resulting in a 35th place finish. Should still have enough of a cushion to get Rookie of the Year over Greg Biffle.

The Winston Era concludes this Sunday as the tobacco giant ends it�s 30+ year run sponsoring the sport�s top division. In reality, this can be considered a new venue as considerable banking (18-20 degrees) has been added � with the new configuration being met with rave reviews from the drivers. 156 MPH has been the qualifying track record, expect Ryan Newman to earn his 12th pole of the year qualifying well into the 180�s this weekend.

The new layout has been compared to Atlanta, Charlotte, and Kansas. With that in mind you can�t go wrong with Bill Elliott and Bobby LaBonte, who both have done well here in the past. Tony Stewart was the winner of the first two Homestead races in 1999-2000. Kurt Busch won this race from the pole last year but don�t look for brother Kyle. The car he was going to attempt to qualify with (used in the past by Jeff Gordon) didn�t get past tech and was confiscated. What did I say about NASCAR vengeance on Kurt carrying over to Kyle??? Rosch teammates Jeff Burton and Mark Martin each have three top-five in their careers here. This will be Matt Kenseth's last chance for collecting a $350,000-plus bonus for winning (point-leader bonus). Should he not win, the pot is split between the top ten drivers, and Kenseth would get a good chunk out of it. Don't count on Matt taking the checkers however, this is statistically his worst track.

Tremendous point battles in both the Busch and Truck series get resolved this weekend as well. The top four drivers in the truck series are all within 39 points of each other. Included in this group is veteran Ted Musgrave, who disclosed recently that he has been battling cancer this season. His wife has also been battling cancer in recent years. Meanwhile six drivers remain alive for the Busch title, including the likes of Brian Vickers, Scott Riggs, and Bobby Hamilton Jr..