HOMESTEAD — Carl Edwards approached and leaned into Tony Stewart's cockpit. The flag proclaiming Stewart the Sprint Cup champion fluttered and smacked Edwards on the back as he offered his congratulations.
Bidding for his first Cup title, Edwards' view of Stewart's bumper did not change over the final 37 laps of the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Though Edwards led the most laps Sunday in a second-place finish (26th top 10 in 2011), all he could manage was a tie atop the points standing. Stewart claimed the crown by virtue of his five race victories to Edwards' one.
"I'd compete with him in just about anything else to break that tie if we could set up something," Edwards joked. "I'm not just saying this because I didn't win the thing, but I think we could run this race 10 times and it's a 50-50 deal."
Edwards was the epitome of a gracious loser. He probably became the first and last NASCAR driver to quote a turn-of-the-century English poet while rationalizing the improbable outcome.
"[Rudyard] Kipling's poem, I can't remember the title of it, but it says you have to meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same," Edwards said. "That's the truth. There's nothing saying this loss here tonight won't spur a chain of events that could lead to some serious success in the future. You guys are looking at someone who is not going to miss out on that.
"I'm very aware time is a funny thing. You can't go back and change anything, but you can sure as hell change what's going to happen. I will be better."
Edwards already is pretty good. He didn't finish worse than 11th in any of the 10 Chase races and ran second in each of the last three. His average Chase finish of 4.9 any other year would have been good enough for the championship.
"I drove to the edge and beyond, and that is all I had," Edwards said. "Truly, we've never run any better than this. There's no reason we shouldn't start next season as tough or tougher."
Fans let first lady hear it
Maybe they were just upset about having to wait in long lines to pass through metal detectors before entering Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. Whatever the reason, spectators treated first lady Michelle Obama to boos before she gave the "Gentleman, start your engines order."
Obama and second lady Dr. Jill Biden served as grand marshals, on hand to bring awareness for their Joining Forces initiative, which supports military families. They received a more cordial reception during a brief appearance at the drivers' meeting.
"NASCAR has just been amazing in terms of its support, not just today, but every day of military families," Obama said. "What Joining Forces is trying to do is rally the country to make sure these families feel the same kind of support from this country they've given us."
Johnson can't finish
Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson fell five laps short of completing the race. He had engine trouble and required a carburetor change. The 32nd place left him outside of the top five (sixth) in the points standings for the first time in his career.
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