NASCAR could not have scripted a better Sprint Cup finale than the one set up after Sunday’s 24th annual Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards ran neck and neck all day and emerged separated by only three points heading into the season finale Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Kasey Kahne, who will run one more race for Red Bull before heading to Hendrick Motorsports to replace Mark Martin in the No. 5, won Sunday’s 24th Annual Kobalt Tools 500 but points leader Carl Edwards finished second and Tony Stewart, who trails Edwards by three points, finished third.
Stewart led the most laps but Edwards’ second-place finish kept the points separation at three, the same as when the two drivers entered the race. With one race left before a champion is named, the other ten drivers who made the championship chase were eliminated from championship contention.
Edwards’ three-point lead roughly translates to 13 points under the previous points system. That makes it the closest margin between first and second going into the final race in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ history, and third-closest since the inception of the position-based points structure in 1975.
Stewart, while meeting with media after the race, was told that this is the third closest championship race going into the final race ever in the history of NASCAR.
“I’m not thinking of that. I'm just thinking of the three points,” Stewart said. “No, we had an awesome day. We came up two spots shy. I don't know how you could have asked for a better day really. I mean, you figure we led the most laps, we were on the same pace we were last week just to have a perfect day. Just fought as hard as we could all day. Got out of balance the second to last stop and just lost that little bit that we needed to stay up there and keep Carl honest.”
Edwards, in his bid for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship can guarantee a series title with a victory in Sunday’s season-finale Ford 400, regardless of where Stewart finishes. Two-time series champion Stewart owns the tie-breaker (best finishes), and therefore could tie and win his third series championship.
“This is strange to say right now,” Edwards said. “We're battling. A zero sum game, one of us going to win, one of us is going to lose. It's neat to me that Tony and the guys on the 14 are running so well, won so many races, performing on a high level. It's going to mean more if we're able to beat them in this championship because of that, to beat Tony and those guys at their peak.
“I know for us I can say completely truthfully this is the best Chase we've ever had. We haven't gone out and got the trophies that we have in other Chases, but we've performed better than we ever have. If they're beating us, they're beating us at our best, and I think that's pretty neat.”
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