Two Spots up for Grabs at Phoenix

Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards have clinched their dates into the Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week. That leaves six drivers battling it out for those last two spots. The million dollar question is who will these two be? Here’s who I think we’ll see joining Edwards and Johnson next week at Miami.

Kevin Harvick. Is there a better racer with his back up against the wall than Harvick? Now add to that Harvick’s tremendous record at Phoenix and it’s hard to bet against Happy Harvick on Sunday. In 27 starts at Phoenix, Harvick has taken the checkered flag 8 times. For those keeping score at home, that’s an astonishing 29.6% winning percentage.

Kyle Busch – It’s hard to repeat in just about any sport but it’s even harder for me to bet against Kyle Busch doing it. Kyle is fast approaching superstardom and back to back Championships would vault him into that stratosphere. Although the #18 Joe Gibbs Toyota has only finished first once at Phoenix, he has a very impressive 14 top 10’s in his 22 starts there. He may not win Sunday but he’ll be near the front of the field.

Matt Kenseth – The usual consistent Kenseth is anything but that at Phoenix. He’s had some very ugly finishes here along with several solid top 10’s. He took home the checkered flag back in 2010 driving a Jack Roush owned Ford. That was a long time ago, with a different car. Kenseth is in a dog fight to advance after Sunday.

Denny Hamlin – Hamlin has had some very consistent finishes at Phoenix in the past. His driving style would seem to favor driving on the flat service here. Unfortunately of late his finishes haven’t been something to write home about very often. He finished a very strong 3rd in the earlier race here but finishes of 28th, 19th and 23rd mar in the last 3 years have me worried about his chances.

Joey Logano – Logano has never won here at Phoenix. It sure would be the right time for him to capture his first win here on Sunday. Week after week it seems other drivers race Logano hard. At a track like Phoenix, this can place him at a huge disadvantage. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Logano advance after Sunday’s race but I’d be less shocked if he didn’t.

Kurt Busch – The Steward-Haas driver has been a model of consistency this season. I just think when you get to this stage you need to be contending for wins and I don’t think his cars are quite up to the leval of the Joe Gibbs machines or the Hendrick powered Chevy of Jimmie Johnson. His teammate, Kevin Harvick is the only car out of that stable that has shown the speed to compete with the big boys. I don’t see that trend changing this weekend.

So there you have it. My take on who gets those last two remaining spots.

Thanks for reading. Listen to WTBQ radio on Monday and Friday mornings at 8:45 as I join Frank, Taylor and the Morning Show gang to discuss all the current happenings in NASCAR. You can also follow me on twitter @JimLaplante