Jimmie Johnson makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 14, 2010 in Avondale, Arizona.
The cars have changed but the story hasn't.
Only days after Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel snatched the Formula One crown from the clutches of two rivals in the last race in Abu Dhabi, NASCAR heads into its final weekend of 2010 with a trio of drivers vying for glory in the closest championship battle since the Chase for the Cup format began in 2004.
After nine Chase races, Denny Hamlin leads reigning four-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson by 15 points with Kevin Harvick 46 back. The margin between Hamlin and Johnson going into the Miami-Homestead Speedway showdown is three narrower than the 18 points that separated the future four-time champion and Kurt Busch heading into the last stop in 2004.
"This is how it's supposed to work in the Chase, a real shootout at the final race," Hamlin said.
"Over the past four years, we've had scenarios where the 48 [Johnson]was comfortably ahead and didn't need to race for the win at Homestead to win the championship. This year is definitely different and it should make for an exciting race."
While the incredibly complicated NASCAR points system makes laying out complete scenarios difficult at best, it's clear that Hamlin is in the driver's seat.
He can clinch with a win Sunday or with a second place finish in the Ford 400 combined with the most laps led. From there, his No. 11 Toyota only needs to finish within three spots of Johnson and nine of Harvick in most scenarios for him to win the title. None of this takes into account bonus points, which can add 10 markers to a total and tip the scales toward a rival.
Hamlin will hedge his bet in Miami by driving the car he took to his eighth victory of the year two weeks ago in Texas as he looks to fend off Johnson, who has dominated the Chase of late. In the past four years, Johnson has won 12 of 40 Chase starts. The good news for Hamlin is that Johnson hasn't been great at the 1.5-mile high banked oval over his career. The No. 48 Chevy driver has never won there and has posted an average finish of 13th in nine races, whereas Hamlin took the chequered flag in Miami a year ago and has three top-three results in five races.
Coming from behind makes Johnson's job a bit more difficult. If he succeeds, he'll be one of just three drivers in 35 years to wrestle the championship from the points leader in the final race. So far, Richard Petty (1979) and Alan Kulwicki (1992) are the only drivers to do it since 1975 when NASCAR adopted the points system in use today.
"I don't care how I win it - however we win it, that's cool. We've got to go to Homestead and race for it, there's no doubt about it," Johnson said.
"Maybe at Homestead we've been able to protect [in previous Chases] but we certainly know that's not the case this year and I love where we are. I love putting pressure on these guys and in fact I'm glad we cut their lead in half."
Harvick is a long shot at best and essentially needs to have the wheels fall off the front-running pair for the No. 29 Chevy driver to have a shot. While 46 points doesn't sound like much when a race winner gets 185, making up that amount will take a bit of a miracle.
For example, even if Harvick takes the chequered flag, Hamlin would need to cross the line eighth or worse, while Johnson was no better than fifth. Luckily for Harvick, he's been pretty good in Miami, putting up four top-five results in nine starts.
"We have a great race track for us, and we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. There's really nothing else that matters at this point," Harvick said.
"Just throw it all out there, and if it gets rough, it gets rough. If it doesn't, then we just go race and see where it all falls in the end. It's still a no pressure, no lose situation for us, and I like it. We've run well there, and I don't think there is anything that should keep us from doing that this time, either."
After the 26 races that decided the 12 drivers eligible for the 10-race Chase, Harvick was 228 points clear of then-second place driver Kyle Busch. But after the points were reset at 5,000 with 10 point bonuses for races won, he simply hasn't had the same success in the Chase.
Nevertheless, under the old system where all the races counted toward the crown, Harvick would be 295 points ahead of Johnson going to Miami and the title would already be his.
Instead, he's a long shot in a three-way race for the title as he tries to beat Hamlin to a maiden NASCAR title and prevent Johnson from becoming a five-time champion.
While Harvick will be looking for a way to pull a huge upset on the weekend, Hamlin is focussed on climbing into the car and getting racing.
"I still like the idea that we are all going to be racing for the championship on track this weekend-it's really good for this sport and for the fans," he said.
"We want this championship and we want to keep improving and challenging ourselves. I think our potential to be even better is there."