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Gluck gazes into the future to foretell NASCAR’s Homestead finale – USA TODAY

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USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Gluck breaks down the NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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HOMESTEAD, Fla. — No one knows how the NASCAR championship race is going to turn out, including me.

But I’ve been able to obtain a crystal steering wheel — the NASCAR version of a crystal ball — and the crystal wheel knows all.

So before the green flag waves, before the drivers meeting even takes place, I’m going to share with you what the crystal wheel told me.

USA TODAY

NASCAR’s championship finale boasts captivating storylines

Here’s how the Ford EcoBoost 400 will unfold:

— The morning will start with pessimistic, frantic tweets about the weather on social media. There will be pictures of rain clouds and puddles and rain on windshields. Yes, it will be raining. Don’t worry, the race will still take place on Sunday.

— Gordon will be honored in the drivers meeting and give a gift to each driver, just like Richard Petty did for Gordon and others in the King’s final race. The four-time champion will still be in race mode, so it won’t have hit him yet that it’s really his final start. He’ll stay focused.

— There will be madness surrounding Gordon’s car on pit road during pre-race. After a massive cheer — even louder than the one for Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Gordon will kiss his family and climb into the No. 24 for the final time. The TV cameras will capture every second of this.

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— Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano will trade the lead in the early laps, and Kevin Harvick will quickly work his way from 13th to third. Kyle Busch will run fifth and present himself as Harvick’s biggest competition for the title. Meanwhile, Gordon will fall to 10th — right around where Martin Truex Jr. is running.

— A two-tire pit stop will put Gordon out front with rain approaching, and he’ll still be tops among the Chase drivers when a thunderstorm sweeps through, halting the race for the second time (the first will be just a small shower). With the halfway point reached, NASCAR could call the race and declare Gordon as the champion. But it won’t. The race will resume after a three-hour delay and Gordon will drop to 15th on his older tires.

— Just a few laps after the restart, Busch will hit a wet spot on the track that NASCAR did not detect and he’ll suddenly spin. He’ll lose a lap trying to repair the damage, ruining his championship hopes. On the ensuing pit stops, Truex will lose six spots on a pit stop after getting his car into the top 10.

— Harvick will take the lead on a restart and pull away from the other Chase drivers. As the race stays green until the end — with no debris cautions — Harvick will be passed by race-winner Hamlin and runnerup Brad Keselowski but still claim his second consecutive title. The race will be completed at 11:30 p.m. due to on-and-off rain. Gordon will finish sixth, Truex seventh and Busch eighth after rallying from one lap down.

Don’t like the predictions? Don’t blame me; blame the crystal wheel.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

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