Chasing the Chasers after Phoenix: Then there were two

The 2008 NASCAR Chase for the championship has come down to two.

But the guy in second place has a formidable task ahead if he hopes to unseat Jimmie Johnson from the throne.

Heading to the season finale in Homestead, Johnson is firmly in control of his own destiny after another amazing run at Phoenix Sunday. He dominated the race, leading the most laps and scoring his seventh victory of the season. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

1. Jimmie Johnson 6561. Johnson scored the maximum of 195 points in route to his win Sunday. His Chad Knaus led team has this Chase thing figured out. They’re aggressive when they need to be, make smart calls when it matters, and lucky almost all the time. Heading into Homestead, all Johnson has to do is finish 36th or better no matter what Carl Edwards does. But beware, nothing is a sure thing; in 2005 Johnson crashed early in the race at Homestead and finished 40th.

2. Carl Edwards 6420 –141. Edwards started 15th at Phoenix and fought an ill handling racecar throughout the day making a good day from what could have been an awful one. He finished fourth and kept his title hopes alive, barely, but alive nonetheless. There are 10 drivers behind Edwards who would be happy going to Homestead with at least a shot of an upset championship win. No doubt Edwards is and won’t give up until the checkered flag falls next Sunday night.

3. Greg Biffle 6358 –203. Greg Biffle finished 11th Sunday, too far out of the points to have a shot at winning the championship this year. Overall not a bad day considering they had to start at the rear of the field after changing a transmission. Biffle fought back to come home 11th after he took tires at the end to try and make a Johnson type recovery that was not to be. Biffle and his team can be proud of the season they put together and hope for a better championship run next year.

4. Jeff Burton 60 6292 –269. Burton was never competitive Sunday. He fought his way from a lap down and come home 9th. After looking strong as the Chase began, Burton faded at the wrong time to ever have a shot at the title.

5. +2 Kevin Harvick  6233 –328. Sunday’s race at Phoenix was the story of Harvick’s Chase and season. He came home seventh, a decent but average finish. Harvick had an ok season with top-10 finishes, but no wins, and it appears he’ll have an ok finish in the Chase.

6. Clint Bowyer 30 6226 –335. Bowyer came home 12th Sunday and never really seemed in contention. Unless he pulls off some kind of miracle at Homestead there will be no top five finish in the points for Bowyer this year. Bowyer has the talent and the equipment and if he the team could find the right chemistry they could be contenders.

7. –2 Jeff Gordon 6151 –410. After a great run with a second place finish at Texas the week prior Gordon suffered mechanical woes and finished 41st Sunday. He may be able to recover at Homestead and move back up a spot or two in the points, but his quest for a fifth title will have to wait until next year.

8. Matt Kenseth 6091 –470. Kenseth’s role as moving target continued Sunday when he was caught up in a three wide battle and tapped by AJ Allmendinger. Earlier after a rain delay the team noticed a front tire flat and had to come in while the pits were closed to change it. Kenseth went a lap down, never really recovered and suffered the indignity of the hit by Allmendinger late in the race. He finished 15th and will have to look for better days ahead.

9. +3 Denny Hamlin 80 6090 –471. Hamlin had a good day Sunday avoiding trouble and making several strong runs towards the front. He never got there however but finished a very respectable 5th. More importantly he jumped up three spots in the standings and won’t have to worry about finishing the Chase dead last, at least this week. Had he run as well as he did Sunday the entire Chase he may have been a factor all along.

10. +1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. -474. Earnhardt had a decent day Sunday. He looked to threaten Carl Edwards for fourth as the laps wound down but faded and came home sixth. As for his Chase at least he can console himself with the knowledge that he was able to gain a spot in the standings and isn’t at the bottom.

11. -1 Kyle Busch 155 6080 -481. Another decent run Sunday from the team that could have been king when the Chase started. Busch and his team never seemed to find the right setup on the car though and Busch was never in contention for the win. He came home 8th and fell one spot in the standings.

12. -3 Tony Stewart 6059 –502. In his next to last race for Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart seemed to drive like a man possessed and he had a finish to show for it. Stewart came home 22nd, dropped thee spots in the standings and will hope for a strong run next week at Homestead to close out his storied career at Gibbs.