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Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson all found Victory Lane in different ways at Phoenix.

Phoenix brings two of the three title battles closer

Edwards closes on Bowyer in N'wide; Trucks deadlocked

By NASCAR.COM
November 10, 2008
04:18 PM EST

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A recap of the NASCAR tripleheader from Phoenix:

Figuratively speaking

3 -- Johnny Benson's point lead on Ron Hornaday heading to the Truck Series season finale at Homestead. This is the closest battle with one race to go in Truck Series history. The previous record was in 1998 when Hornaday led Jack Sprague by 13 points. Sprague won the race, but Hornaday finished second and won the title by three points.

Cup Series

Pit Crew of the Week

No 48. Chevrolet: Who else? Crew chief Chad Knaus called for a two-tire stop and air-pressure adjustment on Lap 200 and the 48 car was first out of the pits, marking a 12-spot improvement. Jimmie Johnson led his first laps of the race and from there coasted to the title.

Tip of the Week

Radiators are often ignored. Yet keeping engines cool and running in the right temperature range is critical to taking the heat off your engine.

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Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson played his own version of Catch Me If You Can on Sunday -- and nobody could -- in the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 and in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Though it took a green-white-checkered-flag finish to decide the race, the outcome was hardly in doubt, as Johnson dominated, leading 217 of 313 laps. Kurt Busch finished second, .295 seconds behind the two-time defending Cup champion.
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Qualifying
• For the fifth time in nine Chase for the Sprint Cup races, Jimmie Johnson will start from the pole. This time, with the sun in his eyes in the first corner, Johnson claimed the top starting spot the old fashioned way -- he earned it with a lap of 134.725 mph at Phoenix International Raceway, good enough to edge Jamie McMurray (134.625 mph) for the pole.
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Also check out ...
• Busch has high praise for Johnson
• McMurray tops off good week finishing third
• Caraviello: One celebration leads to another

Nationwide Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Carl Edwards got the win in Saturday's Hefty Odor Block 200 at Phoenix International Raceway -- and championship leader Clint Bowyer got the save. Second in the standings, Edwards trimmed Bowyer's lead from 91 points to 56, on a day that could have been much worse for Bowyer, who was involved in a crash on Lap 79.
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Qualifying
• Carl Edwards helped himself in his quest for a second consecutive Nationwide Series title with a fast lap of 132.543 mph to start on the outside of Row 1 next to polesitter Denny Hamlin (132.915 mph) in Saturday's race at Phoenix. Point leader Clint Bowyer struggled with his lap and will start 12th.

Truck Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Kevin Harvick held off hard-charging Kyle Busch to win Friday night's Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway, as title contenders Ron Hornaday and Johnny Benson struggled to wreck-plagued finishes that left them three points apart with one race left.
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Qualifying
• Ron Hornaday can knock five points of Johnny Benson's six-point lead if he leads a lap and that became a lot easier after Hornaday won the pole for Friday's Truck race at Phoenix. Hornaday's lap of 131.776 mph was just enough to keep Kyle Busch off the pole. Point leader Johnny Benson will start 14th.

Survey says ...

Following Jimmie Johnson's seventh victory of the season at Phoenix, NASCAR.COM asked: How will Jimmie Johnson close out the season at Homestead?

Answer	Votes	Pct.

Top-five	10,073	34%
Top-10	9,802	33%
Win	4,343	14%
DNF, lose Cup	4,060	14%
Barely win Cup	1,698	6%

Off the Marx

Bill Marx of the Sporting News Wire Service weighs in with his top 10:

Pos.	Driver	Need to know ...

1.	Jimmie Johnson	Now, it is over -- for sure.
2.	Carl Edwards	A valiant effort, but it wasn't meant to be.
3.	Greg Biffle	Just misses his seventh top-10 of the Chase with an 11th-place finish.
4.	Jeff Burton	Steady Jeff gets his 18th top-10, tying last year's effort.
5.	Kyle Busch	Another top-10 for Busch. Remember when it was, "Another win for Busch?"
6.	Jamie McMurray	What got into Jamie? He gets his second consecutive third-place finish and third top-five in five races -- his only top-fives of the season.
7.	David Ragan	Gets his fifth top-10 in the past seven races. His other finishes are 13th and 11th.
8.	Kevin Harvick	Harvick finishes seventh for the third time in four weeks. It's also his sixth top-10 of the Chase.
9.	Clint Bowyer	Remember when Bowyer was racking up 12th-place finishes left and right? Well, he got another one Sunday to give him five in the past 10 races.
10.	Denny Hamlin	Hamlin's third top-five in four weeks ties his career high for top-fives (12) and top-10s (18) with one race to go.