Stewart wins finale to take NASCAR title

Tony Stewart held off Carl Edwards for the last 37 laps to win the season-ending Ford 400 and capture the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) season championship. After a restart following a rain delay, Stewart stayed in front of his fellow American on the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval for his 44th career NASCAR victory to finish tied in season points with Edwards over the 36-race season. Stewart won the title on a tie-breaker by having won more races than Edwards over the season, having won three of the final four races and five of the last 10 on the schedule while Edwards had taken only one checkered flag in 2011. "If this doesn't go down as one of the greatest championship battles in history, I don't know what will," Stewart said. It was Stewart's third career NASCAR season championship following titles in 2002 and 2005 and it came despite Stewart, a former IndyCar racer, having a hole poked in the front screen of his Chevrolet early in the race. Stewart went to the pits for repairs during the first caution period of the race, fell to 40th but climbed his way back for the victory, much like he spent the last months of the season chasing down Edwards on the points list. "Those guys rose to the occasion and they beat us fair and square," Edwards said. "That is all I had. That's as hard as I can drive."