Special Saturday Nationwide version of Running Wide Open today, as we've got a fine little showdown later this afternoon in the season-ending Nationwide race. Sure, Kyle Busch has already locked up the championship, but that's not what everyone wants to see -- we're waiting to see what happens between Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. There's a bit of bad blood between them, as you may have heard. So, hang out here, place your bets, chat about the race. Have at it!

We're inside 48 hours from the final race of the season, and with the drama all but squeezed out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, we're forced to look elsewhere for our storylines of interest.

So thank you, Kasey Kahne, for giftwrapping this one for us. Kahne, as you know, is one of the most talented drivers on the track but one who's often suffered because of equipment that doesn't measure up to his skill level. He's entering the final year of his contract with Richard Petty Motorsports, and after this exchange during Friday's media session, it sure sounds like he'll be joining the coveted free agent class of 2010: 

How much will you try and stay in the loop with RPM management on what's going on?

Kahne: I use to try and stay in the loop and then things don't happen that they say will. At this point, I have one year left (on my RPM contract). I want to do the best job for Richard Petty Motorsports in my final year. It's up to them what happens. They do their thing and I'll do mine. All I can do is make myself better at driving race cars and communicating with Kenny Francis. If I do that, I'll be happy next season.

So you'll try and look elsewhere next year?

Kahne: Yeah.

Regardless of what happens next year, will next year be your last year with RPM?

Kahne: That's hard to say. Come January, I can start looking around; I can talk to other people. I would imagine the Gilletts are going to talk to me at that point. But as of right now, the Gilletts haven't talked to me and I'm just kind of doing my job, doing the best that I can through the end of the season. The ups and downs of the team has made it difficult for me to really say, 'Man, I'm going to be here for 10 more years.' I really don't know what's going to happen. Truthfully, I don't know what's going to happen right now.

Yeah, those don't sound like the words of a guy who's enamored of his current team, do they? If Kasey were to jump ship next year, he'd join the most stocked free-agent class in NASCAR history -- Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch all also have contracts expiring at the end of next year. And while several of those guys won't ever take a sniff at the open market, some will -- and that's going to make 2010 a yearlong Silly Season.

Plenty of NASCAR observers have said they'd love to see what Kahne could do in top-flight equipment. Before long, he might just get his chance.

We're back with a brand-spankin' new Chrome Horn podcast, this time featuring owner Richard Childress. He joins us for a quick visit to talk his team's disappointing seasons, his wine, his history with NASCAR and -- because these things often have a price -- his involvement with the Dial 811 program in connection with Shell to help those of you doing digging and whatnot to avoid hitting gas lines. The Dial 811 logo will adorn Kevin Harvick's ride this weekend, so you can check it out there as well.

As always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on the podcast. Hit me up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com, or feel free to call our direct podcast line at 678-389-9173 and leave a comment or question for use on a future podcast. For now, though, click the little arrow below to play the podcast or right-click the link to download, and hit the iTunes site linked below to subscribe. Enjoy!

The Chrome Horn, episode 28: Richard Childress

Quick-hitter here -- we're going to give something a try that could be a lot of fun, or could crash and burn totally. Or both at once. As you (hopefully) know, we don't shut the doors here when the season ends, and one thing we'll be doing throughout the offseason is our podcasts. We'll have interviews with drivers, owners, media folks and other assorted NASCAR types, and now we're going to try something new -- a call-in segment. Here's the deal: call the Marbles Skype line at 678-389-9173 and leave us a message. You can ask a question, you can make a comment, whatever you like. (Try your best to keep it relatively clean, and remember to identify yourself.) We'll compile the best and respond to them in a special holiday podcast next week. So think up something interesting or clever to say, and you might just find yourself on a podcast. Have at it!

Welcome to The Pace Lap, your catchall preview post! Let's get you started on race weekend with a metric truckload of stats, facts, opinion and innuendo.

The race: Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

The specs: 267 laps at a 1.5-mile track.

The broadcasts: ABC, plus the live chat right here on Yahoo! Sports. 

Defending champ: Carl Edwards, who made a furious charge at Johnson last year but fell short, as everyone else has in the last few years.

The standings leaders: Oh, come on. Jimmie Johnson's first and everybody else is second. That's all you need to know.

The history: The speedway was built in 1993 as a way for the area to help recover from Hurricane Andrew, and has hosted Sprint Cup racing since 1999. (First winner: Tony Stewart.) Also, I wrote this last year at this time, but I like it so I'm rerunning it here:  In marked contrast to the usual prison rec yard décor of most tracks, Homestead features swathes of aqua blue, purple, turquoise, and other art-deco colors plucked straight from South Beach. Unlike South Beach, however, nobody's hanging out the windows of the cars hollering at sexy ladies.

The appropriate video: From 2006 -- Juan Pablo Montoya had spun Ryan Newman, and Newman took his fiery revenge:

Guy with the most to gain: Same story as last week -- Mark Martin has the potential to grab the Sprint Cup, but it's not really likely. Besides him, I'd say the greatest upside belongs to Dale Earnhardt Jr., who could end a wretched season on a high note with a good run this week.

Guys with the most to lose: Jimmie Johnson, of course. He's almost certain to win the Sprint Cup -- emphasis on "almost." Somebody gets stupid at the wrong time, and it's suddenly all over for JJ. That's not really likely to happen, though.

Our pick to win: Martin. I don't think Johnson is going to surrender the Sprint Cup, but I also don't think Martin is going to go quietly. He's one of the best in the sport, and he'll prove it this weekend by making Jimmie sweat just the tiniest bit.

All right, you're up. Who's your pick for this weekend? Go!

A South Beach autograph session for several NASCAR drivers! Above you can see Kyle Busch, Ron Hornaday, Carl Edwards and assorted other NASCAR luminaries ... surely you can come up with a fine caption or two for this. Enjoy!

After the jump, Junior's pit crew takes its sweet time.

Read More »

We're getting within sight of the end of the season, and so it's time to begin our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we'll be counting down each and every car that fell short of the Sprint Cup this year. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Driver: David Stremme

Record: 33 races, no top 10s, average finish 25.0.

Season summary: It wasn't a spectacular return to Sprint Cup for Stremme after a year's absence. Running with Sam Hornish Jr. and Kurt Busch, Stremme had trouble keeping up with the pack, and will finish the season ranked just inside the top 35.

Where it went right: Stremme posted finishes as high as 13th in the first California race and the second Michigan one. And that was really about it, unless you count getting into fights with Robby Gordon or running in that Star Trek car back in the spring.

Where it went wrong: Uh ... pretty much everywhere. He failed to finish six races, and led only 14 laps all seaon. Still, he banked more than $4 million in winnings, so it's not like the season was a total loss.

Prospects for 2010: Who knows? Stremme was bounced from his ride in favor of Brad Keselowski, a move that -- no offense to Stremme -- pretty much everybody would have done. He's been rumored to  head to Front Row Motorsports or Rusty Wallace Racing, but nothing has been confirmed.

Next up: Bobby Labonte

Related Stremme posts from 2009:
The Brad Keselowski era starts early at Penske
What's the best rivalry in NASCAR today? Is there one?

The Sprint Cup championship is all but sewn up for Jimmie Johnson, but there's still an outside chance Mark Martin could win. With a single race left, Mark Martin is 108 points behind Johnson. Using this points system as a guide, we break it down.

If Johnson finishes 25th or better, the Chase is over. Martin can't win even if he finishes first and leads the most laps.

If Johnson finishes 30th, Martin would have to win the race, but he could go without leading the most laps.

And if Johnson utterly bottoms out and finishes 43rd, Martin would have to finish in 7th or better, or 10th or better and lead the most laps. 

So, see? There's still hope for some drama. As Rick Minter notes over at Racin' Today, a driver has made up 108 points on another driver nine timesin NASCAR history, most recently just two weeks ago at Texas.

We're not rooting for anything bad to happen to Johnson ... but man, it'd make for a little more interesting race if it did. 

* - He can't. Sorry to tease.

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and opinion. Get your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• Considering the heat between Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, Denny's got himself an interesting Nationwide sponsor for this coming weekend. [Stock Car Spin]

• Keselowski? He's focused on finishing second in the Nationwide series race, not on Hamlin. Good luck with that. [Scene Daily]

• Could Jamo Trulli be the next F1 driver to challenge NASCAR? He took a run with Michael Waltrip, and that didn't turn him off, so there's hope! [itv.com]

• The five best hunts for the Cup. Some good ones in here. Could Sunday's join the list? [All Left Turns]

• Richard Petty's still The King, and he's still got his subjects lining up to meet him. Probably always will, too. [The State]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is under more scrutiny than anybody in NASCAR, but interestingly, he doesn't run from the spotlight -- he stands up and takes the tough questions, week after week, time after time. USA Today's Nate Ryan has a fine, long Q&A with Junior today in which he puts a bow on his season and starts looking forward to 2010. If you're a Junior fan, this is must-reading. Some of the highlights:

• At the CMAs, he was too nervous to ask Reba McEntire to take a photo with him.

• He doesn't want to get away from racing in the offseason; quite the opposite, he'd rather be racing in December.

• Great quote about how he's getting caught up in so many wrecks because he's back in the pack: "If you hang out with pigs, you're going to get (dirt) on you."

• On running a complete race: "We're to the point now where we show up and we're fast and competitive. In races, we're running good. From now to February, we should have figured out what the hell the other problems are that are keeping us from finishing the deal."

• He laughed off his National Enquirer appearance as a "compliment," but didn't try to track down the "unnamed sources" in the story.

• On 2009: "It's been a real frustrating year, and you've got to give me a little credit, because I've been pretty good about controlling my mouth."

So there you go. Tough year for Junior, but give him credit -- he's facing up to the shortcomings of his car, his team and himself. It'll get very interesting if these problems continue on into next year, won't it?

Earnhardt Jr. strikes a hopeful tone in exclusive Q&A [USA Today]