Denny Hamlin, race car driver. A man barely cracking the top-20. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to rebuild a race car driver’s ACL and get him back on the track in Chase contender form. Denny Hamlin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger faster. 

When the 2010 NASCAR season kicked into gear, speculation and conspiracy theories ran rampant that this would be the year that we saw Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet win his fifth consecutive championship title.

With an unheard of 35^th place finish in Daytona for the No. 48 team, we secretly breathed a sigh of relief that maybe; just maybe, we’d see someone dethrone the Johnson Empire.

Not so fast.

Johnson quickly proved that Daytona was just a fluke by winning three of the next four races.

Sigh, here we go again.

Quietly waiting in the wings was the walking wounded, Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota, ready but unable to make his move.

Hamlin had torn his left ACL on Jan. 22 playing basketball, leaving the driver and his fans unsure of how his injury would affect his performance on the track.

Knowing that this type of injury was one that doctors recommended an immediate surgical intervention, Hamlin opted to wait until the off-season, but with lack-luster results in the first five races, Hamlin’s injured knee proved too problematic and the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota made the decision to have it operated on and during the Sprint Cup’s long Easter bye-week.

Was this to be a new start or would it be the end of any hopes to make the Chase?

Post-surgical time would tell, but Hamlin proved to the world that he wasn’t going down without a fight by winning a rain delayed race in Martinsville that had been postponed until Monday, Mar. 29, the same day that his procedure was scheduled to take place.

Hamlin got behind the wheel for the first time after his surgery in Phoenix on Apr.10.  Despite being in pain and having Casey Mears standing by as his relief driver, he opted not to use him, work through his torment and finish the race in the 30^th position.

Prior to his surgery, Hamlin stated,  “Trust me, when I come back, I’m going to come back strong.”

OK then, prove it!

Hamlin did just that by winning the very next week in Texas and four more times during the regular season. When the Chase started on Sep. 19, Hamlin sat pretty in the no. one position, 33 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson.

We fans know that in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, anything can and will happen.

The No. 11 team maintained a comfortable lead until Kansas and just like that, with seven races left in the Chase, Johnson and his team took the lead by just eight points.

Johnson’s lead grew to 36 points over Hamlin in Fontana; then to 41 in Charlotte, The man dubbed “Superman” was making his triumphant return.

Hamlin’s fight returned once again in Martinsville, where the Virginia native proved that one victory at that track just wasn’t enough. He closed the gap between he and Johnson, trailing the former champ by six measly points.

Talladega gave Johnson a seventh place finish and Hamlin a ninth, increasing Johnson’s lead to 14 points.

Heading into Texas, some would say that even though Johnson’s lead was just 14 points, it was a lead none-the-less.  Chad Knaus would do anything in his power to ensure that his driver would stay ahead of the rest of the pack.

He demonstrated that “anything goes” mentality by dismissing his No. 48 over-the-wall crew after a series of horrific pit stops, replacing them with Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 crew; but it was a little too little too late, the damage had already been done.  Johnson’s loss in track position during the race snatched away his lead, replacing it with a 33-point deficit with just two crucial races to go.

Hamlin started the Chase 33 points ahead of Johnson and has come full circle to maintain that lead once again.

Who will cross the finish line the victor in Homestead? Unlike years past, thankfully we won’t know until the nail-biting, bitter end.

While Hamlin and Johnson are swapping headlines week after week, don’t count out Kevin Harvick, who lies in wait a mere 59 points back.  One thing is guaranteed, it’s going to be one hell of a three-ring circus and undoubtedly the most exciting Chase for the Sprint Cup since it’s introduction in 2004.

So, in the end was Hamlin’s surgery the fix he needed to put him on top? Indeed it was; with a series-best total of eight victories this season and estimated winnings of $5,432,645 so far, after the next two races Hamlin could easily emerge the 2010 Sprint Cup champion and NASCAR’s six million dollar man.

Last weekend, Kyle Busch had an eventful weekend.

Last Friday, Kyle Busch won the Camping World Truck Series race to take over the owner’s points championship standings for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Then on Saturday, Busch finished second to Carl Edwards in the Nationwide Series race, though was unhappy about it as he thought Edwards jumped the start.

“Does it f—- matter?” Busch said afterwards. “Race is over, guy’s in Victory Lane.”

Lastly on Sunday, Busch stirred up controversy again, following repairs that he had to make on pit road after a wreck.

Under caution, Busch sped off pit road to try to beat the pace car and stay on the lead lap. He caught up, but NASCAR penalized him one lap for speeding.

Busch then went on a rant on the radio against NASCAR and showed the officials the middle finger on pit road, which incurred a penalty of two laps for driver misconduct.

“I’m the only one who will stand up to ’em, and they’re gonna show me how far I can stand up,” Busch said on the radio after the penalty. He then added that it was freedom of speech, going against the constitutional rights of everybody.

NASCAR announced on Tuesday they were penalizing Busch $25,000 and putting him on probation till December 31st for “actions dentimental to the sport of stock car racing”.

In all sports, there are teams that you love and then teams you hate. The same theory applies in NASCAR, as there are drivers you love and then those you hate. A simple poll of the fans easily shows that one of the drivers that seems to be on everybody’s list is Kyle Busch. In simply asking a group of fans as to why, you quickly get the sense it has to do with attitude and actions like the above.

“He just gives off this vibe that he is better then everybody else and it’s all about him,” Evan Towle said. “Sort of like a young Tony Stewart used to be. Tony used to get on my nerves when he first started in NASCAR, but now he has matured and I like him.”

“I tend to agree with a lot that the way Kyle Busch acts,” Kyle Sedan said. “Sometimes it’s rather annoying.”

“Arrogant attitude, expects respect on the track but doesn’t give it back, whines about others when he is doing the same thing, fake.” One fan commented.

“His attitude.” Cathy Gamble Costigan simply puts it.

If you take his attitude out of the equation, then a lot of people seem to have respect for him.

“I am, personally, a Tony Stewart fan, but for Kyle, love him or hate him, he is a damn good driver,” Mike Hearty said. “Race wins don’t lie.”

“I do really like his support/involvement and commitment to short-track racing.” Sedan added.

A lot of people have been debating that he needs to change, which has come with mixed reactions.

Towle says, “We don’t need him, as the sport is doing fine without his babyish acts.”

In some ways, there are certain things that Busch has to become better at, such as some of the things that we saw this past weekend.

However overall, the sport needs somebody like Busch. His actions spruce things up and add something different to the sport are needed to invoke discussion and rivalry. If everybody was the same cut, wouldn’t it get boring after awhile?

As Mike Hearty and Kyle Sedan both say, it adds to the sport.

“I personally love Kyle’s attitude myself,” Hearty said. “NASCAR is entertainment and Kyle entertains in any way he can. Each sport needs a stand out person the fans can have a choice to love or hate and he is the one. I do believe, though, when he matures more, his attitude will die down. I think he is young and is a star and living in the moment right now.”

“People either ‘love him’ or ‘love to hate him’,” Sedan says. “So he most definitely adds to the sport, and it is good for it.”

This is something that you always see around the short tracks, as every short track has that one driver that fans would love to see win or lose.

For my local short track, Sunset Speedway, it’s Tom Walters and people take it as “love or hate him, he puts fans in the stands.” There were even some that went as far to say that they were just pure “ABW: Anybody But Walters.” For Walters, it deals with his aggressive on-track style in how he likes to use his bumper.

At the end of the season, yes, he did frustrate some of us through the year, though he made the late model competition interesting this year with debates over some of his moves. Evidence of that can be seen on both Canadian Racing Online (http://www.canadianracingonline.com) and Inside Track Motorsports News’ Pit Board (http://www.insidetracknews.com) where fans have proceeded to debate whether Walters was in the right or the wrong with his moves.

Discussion like that or discussion over Busch’s latest antic on or off the track is what keeps the discussion lively with debate for everybody. It’s also what brings out most fans’ colors, showing what they truly believe in.

If you’re looking back at the NASCAR season, recall that controversy, whether it be Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer’s penalty, or the Jeff-and-Jeff show is what got the fans most riled up in saying what they had to say. Busch is just a piece of that, as there were moments this year when he did certain things that got fans either right angry or happy.

So, the next time you come to the point where you’re wishing that Busch would just go away or that you could wave a magic wand over him to change him, think about the fun discussions you’ve got to have due to him.

NASCAR’s vision for their 2010 Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship has turned into everything they were hoping for when the program began many years ago. As the series heads into the next to the last race of the 2010 season, the current version of the Chase is a three way shoot out heading towards a racing environment where anything can happen. When the checkers falls on Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500, some one’s going to leave the Phoenix International Raceway all smiles and full of confidence and some one’s going to head home wondering if their championship run is now over.

THE STORY BREAKDOWN

There are plenty of story lines to look at heading into Sunday’s race at Phoenix. Many of them are leftovers from last weekend’s wild west show at Texas. But the focal point is, and must be, the Chase. Denny Hamlin goes into the Phoenix race 33 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and 59 ahead of third place Kevin Harvick.

Adding to the intensity of these numbers are the facts that Phoenix is a very challenging, and sometime troublesome, speedway. It’s one mile oval qualifies it for short track status. The fact that it’s virtually flat as a pancake in the turns makes it challenging for the drivers to pull off a clean pass. The Phoenix International Raceway is short track racing on steroids and anything could happen to impact the latest Chase numbers.

Of the three championship contenders, Denny Hamlin’s numbers at this race track could use some work. He’s still searching for his first win in ten previous starts. But he does have five top five finishes, six top tens with an average finish ratio of 11.6.

But it’s this team’s mental focus that is outstanding. When Hamlin crossed under the checkers last Sunday, after winning the Texas race, he came over the radio and said “it’s on.” That’s probably the best two line definition of the 2010 Chase anyone could possibly come up with. Later in the week Hamlin said he would approaching the Phoenix race like he was 33 points down instead of 33 points in the lead.

Then there’s the matter of four time consecutive champion Jimmie Johnson and his highly potent drive for five campaign. When it comes to numbers compiled at Phoenix the #48 team rules the valley of the sun. They’ve won four of their last six races there. Johnson in 14 previous starts has also compiled nine top fives, 12 top fens and has an amazing average finish ratio of 4.9 at this track. If there is a race track on the entire NASCAR schedule where Johnson can make up 33 points and re establish his points lead, then Phoenix is that place.

Don’t expect last Sunday’s surprise crew swap, between the Johnson and Jeff Gordon teams, to be any form of distraction during the Phoenix race. Last Wednesday Chad Knaus, crew chief for the #48 team emphasized that before the decision was made to keep the swap permanent for the final two races of the year everyone involved signed off on it. That included the two drivers, team owner Rick Hendrick and Marshall Carlson, President of Hendrick Motorsports. Next Knaus presented the idea to the pit crew members.”We got the guys together and we discussed it with them and they all bought into it one hundred percent,” Knaus said adding “there’s a lot of positive in it to be honest.”

Kevin Harvick’s numbers at Phoenix includes three wins in 15 starts along with three top five finishes, six top tens along with an average finish ratio of 15.0.

Harvick, however, does have an advantage over his fellow Chase contenders: laps and experience at this race track. With his career stemming from his native Bakersfield-California, Phoenix was a frequent touring point for Harvick. He has raced there in late models, the former NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Series, the NASCAR Winston West Series and of course all three of NASCAR’s national touring series. He’s also considered to be a master of flat track racing.

He will need that experience this Sunday. To coin a phrase from the world of professional poker, Harvick’s Chase aspirations have hit “all in” status. He needs to eradicate a large share of the 59 point lead that Hamlin has on him this Sunday so he can make an all out assault on the title during the final championship weekend.

The truth be known, Harvick probably longs for the days of yesteryear when the old points system was still in place. Under that old system he would be first in the championship standings, 300 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and the official engraver of NASCAR would have received instructions to start placing his name on the champion’s trophy.

What’s the great equalizer here? It could turn out to be qualifying positions and the pit stall selections that come with it.

************

At this point of the week we have already seen the video of the Jeff Gordon-Jeff Burton dust up, from last week’s Texas race, so many times we can practically recite their post fight comments. You can expect to see an encore presentation of that piece of video many more times during the Phoenix weekend. But that’s all you should expect from the moment. It appears that the two drivers have talked it out, they are fine, and we should not be looking for any reason to expect round two.

In fact, on Wednesday night, the incident between these two drivers hit a comical note. Gordon was in Nashville to make a special appearance on the annual Country Music Association’s award show. Country music superstar, and show co-host, Brad Paisley assigned a new nickname to Gordon: “Scrappy.”

************

The other piece of video you will see a lot this weekend will be the sight of the four Richard Petty Motorsports car and equipment haulers sitting in the parking lot of the Texas Motor Speedway where they spent stranded from Sunday night to late Wednesday afternoon. The RPM haulers were joined in the wait by a fifth hauler belonging to Roush Fenway Racing, Inside of that hauler were the eight race cars RPM needed for the Phoenix race. The Petty organization leases their cars from Roush Fenway and their power plants from Roush Yates Engines. The Roush truck driver was under strict orders not to load the race cars into the Petty haulers until he received a call informing him that the RPM check was cleared and fully funded.

This is of course the latest saga in the struggle for RPM financial solvency. It’s also the third race in a row where delivery of race cars and engines were momentarily delayed until the vendor received payment. The funding for the Phoenix cars were expected to be in place my Monday but, for unspecified reasons, that deadline could not be met. It was late Wednesday afternoon before the matter was resolved and the cars were loaded into the four RPM haulers so they could begin the long 18 hour drive from Texas to Phoenix.

*************

The one piece of video that we hope is shown a lot is connected with Ryan Newman’s #39 U.S. Army, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet. This special edition Sprint Cup car has over 500 faces of military veterans incorporated into the paint job in honor of the recently observed Veterans Day. The Newman team will also have a honored guest on pit road with them on Sunday. 85 year old U.S Army and World War Two veteran Luis Rodriquez Jr, from Sahuarita-Arizona will spend Sunday as an honorary member of the Newman team.

************

For those you whose schedules allow you to be home on Monday mornings, then check out the NASCAR edition of “The Price Is Right”. The November 15th episode will feature NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Clint Bowyer and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Austin Dillon. The drivers will be present two NASCAR themed showcases: a North Carolina trip to the Hall Of Fame, a trip to Miami to attend the season ending events for all three of NASCAR’s national touring series and a Chevrolet Impala SS. The show will air on CBS at 11 am eastern time.

************

THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN

To no real surprise the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, WSE, has four time Phoenix winner Jimmie Johnson on top of their of their weekly rankings at 7 to 2 odds. Also, to no surprise, the WSE has Denny Hamlin right behind Johnson at 9 to 2. The recently subdued Kyle Busch is ranked at five to 1. Kevin Harvick, at 10 to 1 odds, could turn out to be a potentially lucrative wager.

In the middle section of this week’s WSE rankings you will find previous Phoenix winners Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon at 12 to 1. At 15 to 1 odds you will find Mark Martin who could turn out to be an interesting long shot bet this week. After a dismal roller coaster of a season, Martin’s team has been in resurgence mode lately. He’s a two time winner at Phoenix and also holds the track records for most top five and most top ten finishes. At 18 to 1 is a trio of drivers that includes race winner Kurt Busch along with Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards.

In the lower tier of this week’s rankings you will find two time Phoenix winner Jeff Burton at 20 to 1 which, like Martin, could make an interesting long shot wager. Also in the 20 to 1 group are Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle. At 25 to 1 is a quartet of drivers featuring Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray and former winner Ryan Newman. The list closes with drivers Martin Truex Jr and Kasey Kahne at 30 to 1 odds.

Now for the disclaimer. NASCAR wants us to remind you that these numbers are for entertainment and informational numbers only. They neither encourage nor condone the placing of wagers on their races.

Instead you may want to consider sending some money to Jimmy Spencer, in care of the SPEED Channel’s “NASCAR Race Hub” program. Spencer has been spending a lot of money on those crying towels he issues here lately.

***********

THE RACE BREAKDOWN

The Kobalt Tools 500K is 312 laps-312 miles-500 kilometers around the Phoenix International Raceway’s one mile oval.

The race has 46 entries. 11 of the entries are on the go or go home list. That means these teams are not guaranteed a starting berth because they are currently outside of NASCAR’s top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to earn a starting berth based on their qualifying speeds.

The defending race champion, from last November, is Jimmie Johnson. Ryan Newman won the spring Phoenix event this past April.

Good track position, established by qualifying, is very important at Phoenix. Ryan Newman holds the track qualifying record, 135.854 MPH, set back in November of 2004. He also holds the track record for winning the most poles at four.

Construction began on the Phoenix International Raceway in 1964. The result was a one mile oval with a connecting 2.5 mile road course.

The late Alan Kulwicki won the first Sprint Cup race at Phoenix in November of 1988. Since that time there has been 28 Sprint Cup races there that has sent 20 different winners to victory lane.

The Phoenix International Raceway is a basically flat track with only 11 degrees of banking in turns one and two and just nine degrees in turns three and four. The front stretch measures 1,179 feet with three degrees banking and the backstretch measures 1,551 feet with nine degrees of banking.

The pit road speed is 45 MPH.

The track presently has grandstand seating for 76,812 fans.

The weather forecast for Sunday race day in Phoenix calls for sunny skies and a daytime high of 71 degrees.

The Kobalt Tools 500K will be broadcast live by the ESPN Network beginning at 2 pm eastern time. The re airs will be Monday morning, 230 am et and again on Wednesday, 12 pm et on SPEED.

Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, got a little bit country at the Country Music Awards this week after his rock and roll weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Gordon’s rocking and rolling with competitor Jeff Burton even made it into the CMA Awards ceremony, thanks to a Gordon spoof of country singer Brad Paisley.

Gordon, a presenter at country music’s most prestigious awards ceremony, took the stage with CMA co-host Carrie Underwood in a big white cowboy hat and scruffy beard, doing his best Brad Paisley imitation. The real Paisley then appeared, in the same garb as Gordon, challenging Gordon to sing to prove that he was an imposter.

Thankfully, especially for all the baseball fans who remember suffering through Gordon’s mangling of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, Gordon declined to share a tune. Instead, Gordon fell right into Paisley’s trap when the country singer told Gordon that he could stay on stage as long as he gave him the keys to the No. 48 race car, his teammate and competitor Jimmie Johnson’s winning machine.

Paisley then did his own imitation of a prize fighter, ribbing Gordon about his fight with Jeff Burton after the latter drove Gordon hard into the wall under caution. Paisley officially dubbed Gordon “ole scrappy” in honor of his Texas duke out of Burton.

Gordon also had some serious business to do at the CMA awards ceremony. He presented the Vocal Duo of the Year award to Sugarland and then talked about a Chevrolet Camaro, signed by NASCAR drivers and all of the country music stars, to be raffled off to benefit The Wounded Warrior Project.

While the country music stars were busily ribbing Gordon about his scuffle on the race track, his crew chief and team were standing proudly by their man, defending his feistiness.

“I’m proud of him for this,” Steve Letarte, Gordon’s crew chief said. “There are a lot of people in the world and in the media that might question his gumption and how hard he wants to be here.”

“I’m just glad to see he’s upset,” Letarte continued. “I like to see his emotion. Our team likes to see his emotion. It’s great.”

“Anytime you see a guy like him that is so clean-cut and does such a great job, when he really shows his emotion, it fires everybody up and everybody knows how much he really cares.”

Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Marshall Carlson was also impressed with the scrappiness of his veteran driver. He attributed his driver’s willingness to mix it up to Gordon’s ramped up physical training plan, which Gordon began as an answer to his chronic back pain.

“I’m real proud of Jeff Gordon,” Carlson said. “He’s confident in his physical capabilities, and so when he got in a situation where he was being pushed around, he’s going to let the guy know that’s not how he wants to be raced.”

While Gordon was rocking and rolling with Burton during the Texas race, his pit crew was rolling their gear over to pit the No. 48 race car. Unlike Gordon, Johnson is still in the Sprint Cup Championship hunt and the enhanced pit stops completed by Gordon’s crew were vital in keeping Johnson within striking distance of the current points leader Denny Hamlin.

This week, Hendrick Motorsports announced that the No. 24 and No. 48 pit crew swap would be permanent, at least for the final two races in the 2010 season. The change accentuated the HMS philosophy that the 2-4-8 team functions as one team that just happens to have two race cars.

“The shop personnel work on both cars in the shop, and the crew will lend another HMS team a hand at the track,” Gordon said. “We want to do everything possible to bring another championship trophy back to Hendrick Motorsports. But I also plan to do everything possible to get another Phoenix trophy for this DuPont team.”

After being a little bit country at the CMA Awards, Gordon will now rock and roll into Phoenix International Raceway to compete in the next to the last race of the season, the Kobalt Tools 500. Gordon came close to victory at the track earlier in the year, when spinning his tires on a green-white-checkered restart cost the four-time champion the race.

“I love the track even though it’s a very challenging one,” Gordon said. “Both ends of the race track are complete opposites and it’s impossible to get both ends to work perfectly.”

“I like that challenge,” Gordon said. “I’ve driven on the track since I was like 18 years old so I always look forward to coming here because it’s a lot of fun to drive.”

Perhaps at the “Jewel of the Desert” as Phoenix International Raceway is nicknamed, Jeff Gordon will finally find that perfect combination of being a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n roll. Better yet, he may just find that elusive first checkered flag as the 2010 season draws to a close.

The AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday saw some twists and turns surrounding the Chase that will lead us into this weekend.

Denny Hamlin took the win with a pass for the lead with 29 laps to go to take over the point standings.

“What a run!” Hamlin said in victory lane. “Just can’t say enough for this whole FedEx team. I told everyone that I’d wait for three to go, and I felt that was the most aggressive I’ve been on a restart all year.”

With the win, Hamlin went from 14 points back to 33 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who finished ninth.

“It was just a long day,” Johnson said afterwards. “We just gave away so much track position at the beginning and it was tough to get back to where we needed to.”

The pit stop issues during the race that lost them that track position promoted an in-race pit crew swap between the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon and Johnson.

“It’s a professional sport, and you see it all the time,” Knaus said after the Texas race, as according to NASCAR.com. “If somebody’s out or somebody’s not getting it done, say in football, you get a different receiver in the game or a different quarterback, or whatever it is.

“Unfortunately, our guys weren’t hitting on all eight cylinders [Sunday], and we had an opportunity with the 24 crashing to bring those guys in. They did a good job. They came in and played relief, and I thought they did a good job [Sunday]. It’s unfortunate. I don’t like doing that stuff, nobody does. But it’s kind of your job.”

“I’m okay with it,” front tire changer Mike Lingerfelt said. “We’re all team players.”

This is a swap that is set to stay in place for the rest of the year as Knaus feels that the No. 24 team is a solid team that will allow him to win the championship for Hendrick Motorsports. It is something that many thought should’ve come sooner via the fact that the No. 48 crew had been struggling all year, specifically in the front tire area.

The last championship contender, Kevin Harvick, finished sixth after battling an ill-handling car and even tapping the wall.

“We had a good car,” Harvick said in the team’s post race report. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think we’d be anywhere in the hunt after practice, and Gil (Martin) and all the guys did a great job getting the car ready. When it got dark, our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet just went really loose, and we hit the wall. The pit crew was awesome today. We gained a ton of positions on pit road. We are still in this thing, and we are definitely looking forward to Phoenix.”

Harvick now went from 38 points behind to 59 points behind the lead.

The Sprint Cup Series now heads to Phoenix International Raceway for the second last event of the schedule.

Out of the three drivers left in the hunt, Johnson has the best average finish of 4.9 in 14 starts. In his 14 starts, he has four wins, nine top fives and 12 top 10s. Johnson has also won the past three fall races. The No. 48 team is also known for coming back from adversity and dominating so a win would not be a surprise.

Hamlin has an second best average finish at 11.6 in 10 starts. In his 10 starts, he has no wins, five top fives and six top 10s. In the past two fall races there, he has finished third and fifth. Despite this, Hamlin is slightly worried as he feels he didn’t get a good test at it in the spring due to his surgery. Also, despite finishing third last fall, he feels they didn’t have the car to earn that finish.

Harvick has the worst average finish of three at 15th in 15 starts. In his 15 starts, he has two wins, three top fives and six top 10s. Harvick has had mixed results at Phoenix in the past as they’ve been all over the place and in his past three starts there, his best finish is 13th.

Based upon this, Johnson should either close up on Hamlin or take back the points lead while Harvick slowly drifts further out of the hunt. Though we all know that anything and everything is possible (Texas proved that) so that’s why these races are run and sometimes, things don’t play out as we expect. These final two races look to be interesting.