Two Rounds Left

With eight races down only two remain in the chase and it’s an all out boxing match between Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth. Johnson came out of his corner strong leading 255 of the 334 laps Sunday on his way to his third win at Texas, and Hendrick’s first on a mile and a half all season (not including the All-Star). Matt Kenseth had another strong day but made a mistake by speeding on pit lane and had to serve a pass through penalty. Kenseth and his team never gave up and were able to salvage a fourth place finish. With Johnsons win and most laps lead bonus points he finds himself leading Kenseth by seven points heading into Phoenix this weekend.

Jeff Gordon who was third in the standings fell to sixth after having a tire failure and contacting the wall. Kevin Harvick moved into third place in the standings but now find himself 40 points back of Johnson. Its now a two horse race for the championship heading into Phoenix

Jimmie Johnson was in this exact position going into Phoenix last season leading by 7 points over Brad Kelesowski, when he suffered a tire failure and made significant contact with the wall; surrendering the points lead and eventually losing the championship. Johnson would appear to be the favorite this weekend with 4 wins and 16 top tens at Phoenix while Matt Kenseth only has 1 win and 9 top tens.  Do they play it safe this weekend at Phoenix with one round left or go for the knockout punch.

-Stephen Appell