Now that Carl Edwards (#60 World Financial Group Ford) has clinched the NASCAR Busch Series driver title,  his team can let out a collective breath and focus on wins in the last two races of the season.

And to start the final sprint, his record at Phoenix International Raceway bodes well.

Edwards won the 2005 fall race from the pole and has four top fives and five top-10 finishes overall in his five races at Phoenix.

The #60 team also has extra motivation. Its leader, crew chief Pierre “PK” Kuettel, is a Phoenix native who would covet a win at his home track. The crew also has to swallow that it likely won’t win the owner championship to go along with Edwards’ driver title.

The #29 Richard Childress Racing team is the frontrunner for the owner crown. So the impetus for wins is paramount to the #60 crew these final two races.

The #29 Holiday Inn Chevy comes to Phoenix leading the owner standings by 113 points over the #20 Chevy of Joe Gibbs Racing. In order to clinch the owner title, the #29, to be driven by Scott Wimmer at Phoenix, needs leave this weekend with a 196-point advantage over the #20 – an 83-point gain.

The split title has happened only once before in NASCAR national series competition – in 2003, Brian Vickers won the driver championship but RCR won the owner title with the driver duo of Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter. Jeff Burton has shared the #29 ride with Wimmer this year.

Either way, the battle between the two teams should be electrifying at Phoenix. The last five races at the one-mile track have been won by Roush Fenway Racing or RCR. Matt Kenseth (#17 Arby’s Ford) is the defending race winner while Clint Bowyer (#2 BB&T Chevy) won last April.

Time Ticking Away For Drivers To Avoid Top 10 Tumble

Following his fifth-place finish at Texas last Saturday, Matt Kenseth was able to slice into the lead held by Mike Wallace (#7 GEICO Chevy) for 10th place in the standings.

Wallace – who finished 21st at Texas dropping 22 points to Kenseth – comes to Phoenix 52 points ahead of the defending race winner.

But Wallace isn’t the only driver in a precarious position with two races to go.

Even with Kenseth on his bumper, Wallace is in a similar stalking role with ninth-place Marcos Ambrose (#59 Kingsford Ford). Ambrose is 37 points ahead of Wallace and has been struggling to hold on to his top-10 standing over the last four races where his average finish has been 28.3.

Despite Ambrose’s slump, Greg Biffle (#16 3M Scotch Tape Ford) is feeling some pressure from the Aussie. Biffle’s eighth-place standing is secure by only 31 points over Ambrose. Biffle, like Kenseth, is a two-time winner at the one-mile track.

Meanwhile, Jason Leffler (#38 Great Clips Toyota), who won the pole at Phoenix for the April 2005 race, is fighting to stave off reigning series champion Kevin Harvick (#21 AutoZone Chevy). Leffler’s hold on third is in jeopardy as fourth-place Harvick trails by just 20 points.

In The Loop: Bowyer, Kenseth Set Up For Duel In the Desert

Brilliant. Dominant. Unstoppable.

Any of the above could be used to describe Clint Bowyer during last April’s NASCAR Busch Series Race at Phoenix International Raceway.

In that event, Bowyer led 120 of the 200 laps and racked up some impressive stats in the process. In spending all 200 laps in the top 15, he earned a Driver Rating of 148.5 (a perfect Driver Rating is 150.0), an Average Running Position of 1.4 and had 52 Fastest Laps Run.

Over his five career-series races at Phoenix, Bowyer has an average Driver Rating of 110.4, an Average Running Position of 9.1 and 125 Fastest Laps Run (more than any other driver). He has also spent 81.2% of the total laps run in the top 15.

But since 2005, no driver has enjoyed more success than Matt Kenseth. Over his last four Phoenix races, he has three top fives, including a win from the Busch Pole at this race last year.

His Loop Data statistics are phenomenal: a Driver Rating of 123.9, an Average Running Position of 4.0, 90 Fastest Laps Run, and has spent 99.3% of the laps the top 15.

Also, watch for series regular Jason Leffler to shine at Phoenix. He finished seventh at this race in 2005 and among the regulars, heads most of the stat lists.

In his four Phoenix races since 2005, Leffler has a Driver Rating of 95.2, an Average Running Position of 12.6, 52 Fastest Laps Run and he has spent 60.4% of the total laps run in the top 15.

Scott Wimmer will try to keep the momentum going for the #29 team as it inches closer to the 2007 owner championship. But Phoenix has presented a speed bump of sorts for Wimmer.

Driving for a different team, he finished 42nd at this race last season. On the bright side, he does have a Phoenix win on his resume (2002). Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin will pilot the #20. Hamlin has two consecutive top-five finishes at Phoenix, and a Phoenix Driver Rating of 98.7.

NBS, Etc.

• Phoenix Homecomings, Part II: Although born near Toronto, Canada, Pierre Kuettel moved to Phoenix shortly thereafter and calls the area home. Other happy Phoenix returns feature J.J. Yeley (#1 Miccosukee Resort Chevy). He has three top-10s in six career series races at his home track and craves a win there. Also, Michael McDowell (#00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota), who made his series debut last week at Texas where he finished 20th, was born in Phoenix. McDowell, 22, is scheduled to race for Michael Waltrip Racing in the final two races of the year. He made his NASCAR debut two weeks ago at Martinsville in the Craftsman Truck Series (30th) and has won four times on the ARCA circuit this season. Additionally, Stephen Leicht spent an abbreviated time as an Arizona resident, living in the city of Ahwatukee, a suburb of Phoenix between the ages of three and five. He began racing go-karts in Arizona before his family made a permanent move to Asheville, N.C.

• Harvick Stands Alone In Second:  Kevin Harvick’s win at Texas last week not only made him the all-time series leader in victories at the track with four, but also moved him out of a second-place tie with Jack Ingram for second on the all-time win list. Harvick’s win gives him 32 in 190 races; Ingram had 31 in 274 events. Mark Martin is the career leader with 47 victories in 224 races. Harvick will join Kyle Busch (#5 Sta-Green/Lowe’s Chevy) with triple-duty driving at Phoenix. Both are entered in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.

• Keselowski Gaining Ground: Brad Keselowski (#88 U.S. NAVY Chevy) is staging a hard charge in the series’ Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. Since joining JR Motorsports in mid-July, Keselowski has gone from fifth place and 66 points behind third place (then Juan Pablo Montoya) to fourth-but more importantly-only one point behind Kyle Krisiloff (#14 Lily/Walgreens Ford) in third. Keselowski has been one of the hottest series regulars in the season’s second half, posting five top 10s and his career-best finish, a sixth-place effort last Saturday at Texas where 17 double-duty drivers were entered.

• Coleman’s JGR Swan Song: Brad Coleman (#18 Carino’s Chevy), the 19-year-old from Houston, Texas who fashioned solid finishes while running a partial 16-race schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing this year, makes his final start for the team before moving to Brewco Motorsports and a full-time ride in 2008.  Coleman claimed his first career pole at Talladega in addition to registering three top fives and five top 10s this year. Coleman will also run a limited NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule next year for Hall of Fame Racing, whose team owner, Tom Garfinkel, is executive vice president of the Phoenix-based Arizona Diamondbacks. The #18 team will also host Steve McCarty (R), who wrote the Steve Miller Band hit “Fly Like an Eagle,” in their pit on Saturday.

• Of Note -- Phoenix: Jason Leffler will have a busy schedule this week at Phoenix, competing in four races in three days. He will run the USAC Midget and Silver Crown races on Thursday night, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night and the Arizona.Travel 200 on Saturday afternoon. … This Veterans Day weekend the #88 U.S. NAVY team will honor the casualties and survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor with a special Pearl Harbor Survivors Association decal on the car. On Dec. 7, 1941, 2,390 U.S. personnel were killed and 1,178 were wounded in the attack. The association was formed in 1958 with the goal to “Remember Pearl Harbor – Keep America Alert.” Also Team Rensi’s cars – the #35 McDonald’s Ford of Bobby Hamilton Jr. and the #25 FreeCreditReport.com Ford of Richard Johns - will adorn a special logo for a non-profit organization, Freedom Is Not Free, aimed at “aiding wounded service members, their families and the families of the fatally wounded.”

The Director’s Take: Phoenix

Phoenix is a track of compromises.

At a track like Hometead, where both ends are equally shaped, teams can pick one setup and put it on the car.

But at a track like Phoenix where the radius of the corner and the banking is different on each end, some teams set the car up to be very good in Turns 1 and 2 – and it is what it is in 3 and 4 – or vice versa. Or, they will compromise and find something that will work on both ends.   

Phoenix almost races like it has a fifth turn due to the dogleg on the backstretch, so the teams will be working on balancing the car to get the driver comfortable.

One of the unique features of racing at Phoenix is the start time. Due to the proximity to sunset, it can be tough for the drivers going into Turn 1. They’ll use either a tinted tear-off on their helmet or they’ll put tape on the inside of the winshield to peel off as the sun sets and the race progresses.

2007 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

Driver                           Points
 1. David Ragan              233
 2. Marcos Ambrose       202
 3. Kyle Krisiloff              180
 4. Brad Keselowski        179
 5. Juan Pablo Montoya   165
 6. Brad Coleman            163
 7. Robert Richardson Jr. 114
 8. Justin Diercks              51

ESPN2

ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series with live racing from Phoenix International Raceway. The telecast of the 200-mile race begins at 4 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.

Dr. Jerry Punch will anchor ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 1989 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake will report from the pits.

Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown. Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion and one of the founding drivers of the NASCAR Busch Series, will join Bestwick in the ESPN Pit Studio along with Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

2007 At-A-Glance: NASCAR Busch Series Leaders After 33 Of 35 Races:

Season Traditional Statistics:      
Driver points – Edwards (4,494#)
Victories – Harvick (6)
Races led – Edwards (20)
Laps led – Ky. Busch (968)
Top-five finishes – Edwards (14)
Top-10 finishes – Edwards, Harvick (14)
Owner points – Richard Childress Racing (#29) - (4,753)
Money Won – Edwards ($1,116,060)
Miles led – Ky. Busch (1,301.08)
Busch Poles – Hamlin (5)
Closest to 10th – M. Wallace 10th (3,188 pts)
11th – Kenseth (- 52)
Consecutive Weeks in Top 10 – Edwards, Harvick (33)

Season Loop Data Statistics:
Driver Rating – Edwards (105.7)
Average Running Position – Edwards (10.0)
Fastest Laps Run – Edwards (529 fastest laps)
Quality Passes – Edwards (964)
Laps In Top 15 – Edwards (5,022 of a possible (6,153)
 
# - clinched driver championship

Showdown Out West Between Dodge, Toyota; Ford Seeks Third Straight Phoenix Fall Win

With two races left in the season, it’s a two-manufacturer race for third in the final Bill France Performance Cup rankings. Dodge has a nine-point led over Toyota for the third-place spot heading to Phoenix.

Dodge has one win at Phoenix – Jamie McMurray’s 2004 victory. Toyota’s first series start at the track was last April when its three drivers placed 10th, 12th and 18th. Dodge had two divers in the top 18 last spring.
Those two manufacturers also have the stout record of Ford has at Phoenix to contend with – six wins in the previous 11 races. Clint Bowyer won last April in a Chevy.

Chevy claimed its series-leading 14th title back in September and Ford has held steady in second for the bulk of the season. Kevin Harvick’s win at Texas Motor Speedway last Saturday was the 20th for Chevy this season, the seventh time in its 26-year NASCAR Busch Series tenure that it has reached the 20-victory plateau.

Pontiac, with 21 wins in the inaugural series season in 1982, is the only other manufacturer to eclipse 20 wins in a season. Chevy holds the record with 24 in 1999.

Manufacturers' Championship
2007 Point Standings
Chevy     229
Ford            192
Dodge         147
Toyota         138

Up Next: Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

The final race of the 2007 season – and the final race for the series sponsor, Anheuser-Busch’s Busch Beer brand after 26 years – takes center stage at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 17. The broadcast will begin at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Carl Edwards will officially be crowned as the 19th – and last – NASCAR Busch Series champion, while the series owner title could still be on the line between the #29 RCR Chevy and the #20 JGR Chevy.

A pair of former series champions holds the win and pole marks at Homestead. Florida native Joe Nemechek, the 1992 series champion, has three wins, while 2000 champ Jeff Green’s two poles are the standard.

Matt Kenseth, whose 23 wins are sixth all-time in series history, is the defending race winner while two-time series champion Kevin Harvick sat on the pole last November.

Fast Facts

The Race: Arizona.Travel 200
The Place:  Phoenix  International Raceway
The Date:  Nov. 10, 20071
The Time: 4:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 4 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1-mile D-shaped oval
Race Purse: $1,408,944
2006 Winner: Matt Kenseth
2006 Pole: Matt Kenseth