NASCAR is Smokin'!

The CHASE for NASCAR'S 2011 Sprint Cup Championship, and Sunday's finale in the Ford 400 at Homestead, Fla., had to be pretty close to what the race gurus envisioned when they came up with The Chase, the 10-race "playoff" as it were, for the coveted NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship trophy -- and the small detail of $5.6 million.

I have said before that I am a Jeff Gordon fan, and firmly entrenched in the Hendrick Motorsports Camp. I did not expect Jimmie Johnson to win another title this year. I was a little disappointed it did not come down to a Johnson-Gordon Chase. I cannot, however, find anything to complain about in this year's CHASE, or Sunday's final race.

The championship came down to Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. Edwards was ahead in points, but Stewart had the tiebreaker by virtue of his wins. Stewart, who counted himself out of the championship hunt earlier in the season, won five of the Chase races, including Sunday's, to take the championship.

Edwards was clearly disappointed, but man enough to congratulate Stewart before he was even out of the car, and plainly state to ESPN post-race commentators that he did, quite simply, get beaten by Stewart. He said he drove hard and did everything he possibly could with his No. 99 car. Stewart just came out and beat him.

It wasn't easy for Stewart, who went to the back of the pack twice, had a big hole in the grill of his Chevy, worked through a rain delay, and made a total of 118 passes for the win.

It was a great season, a great CHASE, and a spectacular finish. NASCAR drivers will take a few weeks off, then get ready for the 2012 season in February.

I am looking forward to that as Kasey Kahne makes the jump to the Hendrick team. Kahne finished for Red Bull in grand style winning two weeks ago. No doubt it gave Rick Hendrick a boost, and a vote of confidence for his decision to sign Kahne for 2012 in 2010. He will take over Mark Martin's No. 5 ride. It should be a fun year.