Edwards’ gamble tightens Chase battle

Jimmie Johnson, owner of the last two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship trophies and the presumed owner of the 2008 edition, suffered his worst finish of Chase for the Sprint Cup competition Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Fortunately for Carl Edwards – Johnson’s nearest rival – that poor finish coincided with a second-straight Edwards victory.

Unfortunately for Edwards though, Johnson’s poor 15th-place finish would have been a respectable finish for most competitors.

The gap between the two vying for the title tightened from 183 points to 106 points, or just enough to leave Johnson on pins and needles for this weekend’s race at Phoenix International Raceway. In reality, all Johnson needs to do is finish seventh or better in the final two races of the NASCAR season and the championship is his, even if Edwards wins both races and solves world hunger simultaneously.

Presuming Johnson is the championship winner though, with hundreds of miles left to go in the season would be like etching in the New England Patriots Super Bowl XXII trophy – and you know how that one turned out.

Johnson looks to be in the driver’s seat for another title, but there are too many things that could happen for Edwards, or even Greg Biffle in third place, to be completely ruled out.
 
Dale Earnhardt Inc., Chip Ganassi Racing Talk Merger

Merging with other teams as well as selling off assets to larger investors has had plenty of air time in the 2008 NASCAR season, as race teams look to secure more financing for their racing endeavors.

The latest rumor along those lines pits Dale Earnhardt Inc. – the team started by Dale Earnhardt prior to his death in 2001 – and Chip Ganassi Racing together in a potential combination of racing forces, according to online reports from ESPN and FoxSports.

The two biggest names that could be affected by this merger are CGR’s Juan Pablo Montoya and DEI’s Martin Truex Jr.

Both teams, as well as many facets of NASCAR, are being hit hard by the economic downturn and are having trouble securing sponsorship for each car it wants to run in 2009. DEI paraded four teams in 2008 but has only locked up one full-time sponsor for 2009, and the situation looks similar at Ganassi Racing.

Needless to say, both teams are starting to get a little anxious about their racing futures.

Dropping the Green Flag: Phoenix

Race: Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500k
When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday (TV coverage at 3 p.m.)
TV/Radio: ABC/105.1 FM
Location: Phoenix Int’l Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.
Distance: 312 laps/312 miles (500km)
Track Layout: 1-mile D-shaped oval
2007 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Miller’s Preview
Johnson showed a chink in his armor last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway after missing the handling setup early in the race. A lack of caution kept him from making up any ground, and relegated him to a 15th-place finish.

I see Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus feeling a little bit more pressure to perform this weekend at PIR, but I still expect Edwards to make a tighter chase for the championship, mainly because he’s the hottest driver in NASCAR right now.

Miller’s Pick: Carl Edwards