Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Johnson came out 23rd and Martin 25th, as the top 20 cars all stayed out. On the restart at Lap 123, the order was Harvick, Hamlin, Burton, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch.

At Lap 134, the halfway point of the race, Harvick led Kurt Busch by 0.323 seconds, with Hamlin third, then Kyle Busch and Burton. Johnson was 18th, Martin 25th.

The following lap, Kurt Busch went out front.

Then it got interesting, with Montoya dumping Stewart on the exit to Turn 4 on Lap 156 and bringing out another yellow and getting Montoya held for two laps.

Hamlin took the lead with a great stop, Busch falling to second, ahead of Burton, Kahne and Jeff Gordon. Johnson came out 14th, two spots ahead of Martin as the green flew on Lap 162.

By Lap 165, Johnson was up to eighth, six spots ahead of Martin.

Up front, Hamlin and Kurt Busch were engaged in a spirited battle for the lead, as Johnson continued to move forward, up to fifth place on Lap 180.

The next time around, it was Busch out front, as he immediately opened up space on Hamlin.

Robby Gordon went around on the backstretch to bring out a yellow on Lap 195. The leaders came in again, with everyone needing to make at least one more stop before the end of the race.

The order this time off was Hamlin, Burton, Kyle and Kurt Busch, and Bowyer, with Johnson ninth and Martin 12th.

Burton got the jump on the restart on Lap 199, as Kyle Busch moved to second, with Kurt third and Hamlin fourth.

On Lap 218, the yellow flew again for debris, wiping out Burton’s 4.370-second lead, as the field came down for what was expected to be the final pit stop of the day.

Off pit road, the order was Kurt and Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Burton and Bowyer. Johnson emerged eighth, 10 spots ahead of Martin. Kurt took just two tires on the stop, a questionable strategy with nearly 50 laps left.

When the green waved on Lap 222, the Gibbs Toyotas of Kyle Busch and Hamlin went straight to the front, as Kurt Busch quickly slipped back. Hamlin took the lead on Lap 223, although Kyle kept tucked close behind.

With 30 laps to go, Hamlin led by 0.998 seconds over Kyle, with Burton third and then Kurt and Harvick. Ten laps later, Hamlin led by 2.312 seconds, the race all but over as long as the track stayed green.

And from there, it was all Hamlin, as he took the checkered flag to end the long season.

FORD 400 RESULTS

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to