When it comes to contending for a championship, the race to a title is never over until the last game or second ticks off the clock. That fact was proven last week at Texas, but that was last week. The focus turned to the Phoenix International Raceway this week as the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 would be the ninth race out of ten in the NASCAR Chase for the Cup.
It would be Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch on the front row, and right at the green flag Busch got a big jump, getting the lead in the dog leg entering turn three. Busch was out to prove he was still in contention to finish high in the Chase, having moved up to fourth with his win last week.
He would show that he would be tough as he would lead the first 56 laps, but while he was battling lapped traffic, the driver who had lost the most points last week was coming hard. Jimmie Johnson was out to make up for his troubles at Texas, and started by getting the lead on lap 57. That would prove to be pivotal as in approximately 15 laps it would be time for pit stops.
On pit road, Busch had a slightly better stop than Johnson, reclaiming the lead on lap 74. Unfortunately, Johnson would not be denied as Johnson got back out front on lap 90.
The race’s first caution did not come until lap 115, which was for debris in turn 2. The round of pit stops did not change much as Johnson held the top spot, this time with teammate Mark Martin coming out second.
The restart came on lap 119, but just as quickly the field was slowed for a caution. This time, behind the leaders, the field stacked up on the restart. Several cars suffered damage, most notably Michael Waltrip. Other drivers involved were Brad Keselowski, David Ragan and Robby Gordon.
No drivers came to pit road, and right at the restart, Johnson got the jump a second time on the field, and began asserting himself as the car to beat. Johnson at one point stretched his lead out to nearly three second, but it was soon erased as the race’s third caution flew on lap 163, again for debris.
Pit stops would not change much as it was Johnson once again taking the top spot. He opted for the outside lane on the restart on lap 166, but once again very little racing ensued as the field was brought to a halt for another big wreck.
This time, it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. getting loose at the bottom of the track, spinning and collecting many good cars, including Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth.
The wreck took a while to clean up with oil and coolant on the track but the field was brought back to green on lap 177. Johnson yet again got a great jump on the field and quickly moved out front.
At this point Johnson soon put himself in another time zone as he began pulling away from second-place running Denny Hamlin. He had built up as much as a five-second advantage with still one pit stop to go.
That stop for Johnson came on lap 243 as he and Hamlin came in at the same time. Johnson had a solid stop, but Hamlin was just a bit quicker on his. Johnson would still hold the lead, but his large gap was down to less than one second with 74 laps remaining.
Hamlin would close to within a bumper of Johnson, but soon Hamlin would be challenged by a hard-charging Jeff Burton. Burton would get around the FedEx Toyota on lap 289, but by that time Johnson began pulling away once again.
No matter what anyone tried all race long, the No. 48 was the dominant car. Much like last season, Johnson had a rough race at Texas, came back and put his car out front. He led the most laps and was the class of the field. Johnson came out of the fourth turn to win his fourth race in the Chase, taking the checkered flag in the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
With the victory, Johnson’s lead in the points increased to 108 over Martin. Although it is not a big lead, it will come down to Homestead to make the championship official. Third-place Jeff Gordon will be officially eliminated from winning the title once Johnson takes the green flag.
In order for Johnson to clinch a fourth-straight title, he must finish 25th or better next week at Homestead. That sounds like an easy run for the No. 48 team, but last year they had a mediocre car at best, qualifying 30th and finishing 15th, just enough to get the title.
If Martin were to capitalize on troubles by that team, he must have a perfect race. Johnson will have to have trouble that cannot be recovered from in order for Martin to have a chance. Martin must win the race, lead the most laps and have Johnson finish 26th or worse to win his first title.
It comes down to one race, and it will take a miracle for Johnson to not etch his own chapter in NASCAR history.
Coverage of the final race for the Sprint Cup Series, the Ford 400, will be on ABC starting at 2:30 with NASCAR Countdown.
RESULTS: 1-Johnson 2-Burton 3-Hamlin 4-Martin 5-Truex 6-Kurt Busch 7-Bowyer 8-Montoya 9-Gordon 10-Reutimann
NOTABLE FINISHES: 12-Kyle Busch 14-Biffle 15-Kahne 16-Edwards 18-Kenseth 20-Newman 25-Stewart 35-Earnhardt Jr. 38-Vickers
CAUTIONS: Four for 23 laps. Lap 115-119 (debris-T2), 120-127 (multi car wreck-FS), 163-166 (debris-T1), 169-177(multi car wreck)
LEADERS: Nine lead changes among four drivers. Truex POLE, Kurt Busch 1-56, Johnson 57-72, Newman 73, Kurt Busch 74-89, Johnson 90-242, Kenseth 243-247, Johnson 248-312
RACE TIME: 2 hours 49 minutes 29 seconds
AVERAGE SPEED: 110.478 mph
CHASE STANDINGS: 1-Johnson, 6492 points 2-Martin, -108 3-Gordon, -169 4-Kurt Busch, -211 5-Stewart, -285 6-Montoya, -289 7-Biffle, -321 8-Hamlin, -352 9-Newman, -411 10-Kahne, -476 11-Edwards, -520 12-Vickers, -666