As the Chase comes closer to an end, the intensity begins to turn up. It’s almost appropriate that NASCAR this week went out west to the desert because the heat certainly would be on.
Three drivers remain eligible in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup, and the title hunt has become one of the best championship battles in recent memory. Now, with the battle between three drivers, it would take two races to determine one champion. This week, the next-to-last race in the Chase came from the Phoenix International Raceway. On a rather cool afternoon in the desert, 43 drivers would take the green flag in the Kobalt Tools 500.
Carl Edwards brought the field to green and jumped out to a quick advantage. Unfortunately, not much racing happened as on the third lap, Brenden Gaughen blew out a tire entering the second turn, sending him into the outside wall extremely hard. Needless to say, his day ended early as the suspension was broken on the right-front corner.
Shortly after going back to green-flag racing, it was Kurt Busch getting the advantage and getting his first lead of the race. At the same time, the driver heading through the field in a hurry was Denny Hamlin, the points leader. He started in the back of the pack, but was charging into the top-10.
Busch held the lead through lap 26 but Edwards again went on the prowl and retook the lead in a hurry, and soon began pulling away from the field.
The field slowed for the second time on lap 60 when Brad Keselowski blew out his right-front tire, forcing him into the outside wall in turn 1. It gave the pit crews an opportunity to earn their money as most cars came in for new tires, fuel and adjustments. Edwards did not yield as he won the race off pit road, but right behind him was the No. 11 car of Hamlin.
On the restart it was Edwards out front, but one lap later Hamlin got the lead for the first time, and then set forth on trying to finish his plan in making the championship seem out of reach for Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick.
This would begin the first long green-flag run of the afternoon as Hamlin would stay out front as the first round of green-flag pit stops approached.
Unfortunately, that point would never come as NASCAR spotted debris in the racing groove, and thus threw the caution flag.
On the pit stops, it was Edwards again getting the lead off pit road due to his pit stall, but once again on the restart, it was Hamlin again getting the jump as he would again go out front. It would be a long time before any driver had an opportunity to get out front, but the one that finally gave a threat to the lead would be Hamlin’s teammate, Kyle Busch. He would get the lead on lap 171 and held it for a few laps as green-flag stops began.
The lead went through he and Matt Kenseth before it was handed back to Hamlin on lap 174. It would nearly be another entire green-flag run before the caution would fly again.
This time it would be for Robby Gordon who went spinning out of turn 3. This meant more pit stops were on the horizon, and this time it was Kyle getting the lead coming off pit road.
The No. 18 car had the advantage on the restart, but Hamlin was having none of it and got the lead immediately on the restart.
Green-flag racing did not last long as the caution flag flew on lap 235, this time for Travis Kvapil who went spinning coming out of the second turn. That caution would end up being the final one of the day, but also would create a very interesting scenario.
Some of the drivers in the middle of the field came to pit road for fuel, which meant there was a possibility the race could be won in that fashion.
When the field went back to green on lap 239, Hamlin was the driver out front, but at the same time many of the drivers out front were concerned that there was a chance the race could go green the rest of the way.
This meant guys like Hamlin, Busch, Johnson and others would have to wonder if they would make it to the end on the tank of gas they had. One driver that didn’t have to wonder was Harvick as his crew gave him the go-ahead to go all out for the win, should the other guys have issues. Drivers like Johnson and Edwards were told later on to start saving fuel to make it to the checkered flag.
In a way, everyone was in the dark on Hamlin as to what his strategy would be.
Hamlin gave up the lead on lap 266 to Edwards as he began trying to save fuel. But, as the laps wound down, it became clear that Hamlin would end up short.
With 13 laps remaining, Hamlin had to hit pit road, getting one can of fuel and right-side tires. The stop put him one lap down, but he also got two right-side tires, meaning he at least had some fresher tires to get him there.
At the same time, Edwards began going into fuel conservation mode himself as he began slowing his lap times down. Hamlin began running the leader down, but because he was a lap behind. Hamlin needed to get to the leaders and hope that something would get the field jumbled back up.
Hamlin would make the pass on the track to get his lap back, but the problem would be without a caution, he would never get caught up.
As it turned out, his worst-case scenario came true as no caution flew. Meanwhile, out front Edwards put it on cruise control and simply didn’t look back.
Riding a winless streak dating back to Homestead in 2008, Edwards came off the fourth turn and took the checkered flag, winning the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix.
Hamlin would come home in the 12th spot, and he was not happy. On the cool down lap, he was punching the dashboard, throwing his gloves, and probably could have tore the dashboard out if he had the room. After getting out of the car on pit road, he was handed a water bottle that he quickly disposed of by throwing at his door panel.
Hamlin came into Phoenix with a 33-point advantage. Now, he leaves with only a 15-point cushion over Johnson, and only 46 points ahead of Harvick.
What does this all mean?
It means when NASCAR heads into the season finale next week at Homestead, it will be a lap-by-lap battle to get the title. One more race remains in the 2010 season, and it means that every fan planning to attend next Sunday’s race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway will be in for the best, and most intense, championship battles in many years.
It comes down to one more battle on the asphalt. Coverage of next Sunday’s Ford 400 will begin at 12 Noon ET with NASCAR Countdown. Then at 1 p.m. the green flag flies.
All coverage will be on ESPN.
RESULTS: 1-Edwards 2-Newman 3-Logano 4-Biffle 5-Johnson 6-Harvick 7-Kenseth 8-Martin 9-Kurt Busch 10-McMurray
NOTABLE FINISHES: 11-Gordon 12-Hamlin 13-Kyle Busch 14-Earnhardt Jr. 17-Stewart 19-Burton 21-Bowyer
CAUTIONS: 5 for 25 laps. Lap 3-6 (No. 71 accident-T2), 60-65 (N0. 12 accident-T1), 102-105 (Debris), 223-228 (No. 7 spin-T3), 235-239 (No. 38 spin-T2).
LEAD CHANGES: 13 among 6 drivers. Edwards 1-6, Kurt Busch 7-26, Edwards 27-60, Labonte 61-62, Edwards 63-65, Hamlin 66-102, Edwards 103-105, Hamlin 106-170, Kyle Busch 171-172, Kenseth 173, Hamlin 174-224, Kyle Busch 225-228, Hamlin 229-265, Edwards 266-312.
TIME OF RACE: 2 Hrs, 49 Mins, 1 Sec.
AVERAGE SPEED: 110.758 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 4.770 Seconds
2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup: 1. Hamlin, 6462 points; 2. Johnson, -15; 3. Harvick, -46; 4. Edwards, -264; 5. Kenseth, -311; 6. Gordon, -338; 7. Kyle Busch, -347; 8. Biffle, -349; 9. Stewart, -388; 10. Kurt Busch, -429; 11. Bowyer, -434; 12. Burton, -504