Edwards wins pole for final Nextel race

Carl Edwards has a lot on his mind, including a flood in his motorhome and the approaching Tropical Storm Gamma.

And, most important, the points standings and who has to do what in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway to win the Nextel Cup.

Edwards will have an immediate advantage, starting on the pole thanks to his qualifying lap of 176.051 mph in his Ford Saturday, putting him in position to grab five bonus points for leading a lap right off the bat.

Ryan Newman starts second (176.039) and Kasey Kahne third (175.896). Kyle Busch starts fourth (175.558) in his Chevrolet and Mark Martin fifth (175.273) in his Ford.

Points leader Tony Stewart starts 20th (173.851) in his Chevy, second-place Jimmie Johnson 32nd (172.723) in a Chevy, and Edwards’ Roush Racing teammate, fourth-place Greg Biffle, goes seventh (174.989).

NASCAR Busch Series

Martin Truex overcame a series of setbacks to win his second straight NASCAR Busch Series season title, finishing seventh as Newman won the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Nextel Cup stars Newman and Biffle battled at the front of the pack through most of the season-ending, 200-lap race.

Biffle, who has one victory and eight runner-up finishes this year in the Busch Series, passed Newman for the lead on lap 172 and began to pull away. Biffle was leading by nearly 2 seconds and seemingly on the way to an easy win when Brent Sherman brought out a caution flag on lap 193 when he hit the wall and then lost a wheel.

On the ensuing restart on lap 198, Newman got a great jump, drove to the high side of the banking and raced past Biffle into the lead.

NASCAR Truck Series

Ted Musgrave finished 20th in the rain-postponed Ford 200 at Homestead Miami Speedway and edged Dennis Setzer for his first NASCAR Truck Series championship.

Musgrave, 49, became NASCAR’s oldest champion, claiming the title after finishing second in 2001 and third the last three years.