NASCAR Sprint Cup At Homestead: Carl Edwards Vs. Tony Stewart Is Like 'Super Bowl'

Today's race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway is like a game seven in the World Series or a Super Bowl for NASCAR. It's the drama of the Carl Edwards vs. Tony Stewart showdown and everyone knows that this final race of the year is going to provide the sort of year-end finale that everyone from the corporate big-wigs to the fans along the field to viewers at home have been hoping for all season.

"Carl Edwards vs. Tony Stewart in what amounts to a winner-take-all blitzkrieg is more like a World Series Game 7 in extra innings, a Super Bowl headed to overtime, or maybe a championship fight entering the last round with scorecards even," writes Greg Cote of the Miami Herald. "It is that close. You aren’t hoping for a dramatic finish; you have drama from the start. This sport and South Florida have themselves a grand finale that actually is."

No matter what happens, Jimmie Johnson is going to be replaced as the Sprint Cup champion and that in itself provides enough drama. Add to it to the three point lead by Edwards over Stewart -- basically nothing -- and you have a race today that truly means everything for both drivers. It's the blank slate of a football overtime that gives either player an equal chance of winning. It doesn't get much better than that.