NASCAR Weekend Preview

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup heads to Phoenix International Raceway this week, for Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Presented By Pennzoil the ninth event in the Chase. That will be the capper of a national series tripleheader weekend at the 1-mile track.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will roll on to Phoenix International Raceway for the Lucas Oil 150 this Friday night. Phoenix is the site of the series’ first race in 1995. Mike Skinner won the inaugural event and again the following year. Other former winners expected to compete include Ron Hornaday Jr., Kevin Harvick, David Starr, Todd Bodine, and Kyle Busch. Hornaday’s Clinch Scenarios Become Clearer. Hornaday is on the verge of history, as he attempts to become the first ever four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.

Here’s his clinch scenario: To clinch at Phoenix, Ron Hornaday needs to lead by 195 points after the race. If Hornaday wins at Phoenix, he'll clinch no matter what any other driver does. To clinch at Homestead, Hornaday needs to average a 22nd place finish over the final two races, or 23rd and lead at least one lap in each of the final two races, or 25th and lead the most laps in each of the final two races. If he does that, he'll clinch no matter what any other driver does.

Busch And Ballew Continue To Close In On Owner’s Title
With Kyle Busch’s win at Texas, his fifth in as many starts, Billy Ballew and the No. 51 team cut even further into the lead of DeLana Harvick and the No. 33 team of Ron Horanday Jr. in the battle for the owner’s title. Ballew is 75 points behind Harvick as they head into the penultimate race of the season. Should Ballew win the title, it would mark the first time in the series’ 15-year history that the owner’s championship did not belong to the driver champion team.

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Kyle’s Party Could Start Early. He’s been waiting for this moment since he made his first NASCAR national series start on Aug. 3, 2001 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Saturday at Phoenix, Kyle Busch could lay claim to his first national series title. To clinch the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship at Phoenix, Busch needs to lead by 195 points after the race. To guarantee that, he needs to place at least 15th, or 16th with at least one lap led, or 18th and the most laps led. His lead entering Phoenix is 272 over second-place Carl Edwards. However, these scenarios could change due to an infraction on the No. 18 Toyota discovered Friday during pre-race inspection at Texas (weight issues). The penalty won’t be released until Tuesday at the earliest. Check back for updated information. If he’s not able to clinch at Phoenix, again prior to any penalty announcement, his clinch at Homestead-Miami would entail an average finish of 34th over the final two races, or a 36th place finish and a lap led in each of the final two races, or a 38th place finish and the most laps led in each of the final two races. If he does that, he'll clinch no matter what any other driver does.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
The Chase, Week 9. Jimmie Johnson’s chances of a record fourth-straight championship absorbed a body blow at Texas – but by no means was it a knockout. An early-race crash led to a 38th-place finish for Johnson and a seemingly safe lead in the points is down to 73 over second-place Mark Martin, with two races remaining on the schedule. The largest deficit ever overcome with two races remaining is 85 points. In 1992, Alan Kulwicki leapfrogged two drivers – Bill Elliott and Davey Allison – with two races to go to win the championship.

As the season comes to a close, the championship picture starts to come into focus. To clinch at Homestead, two races away, Johnson needs to average a fourth-place finish over the final two races, or fifth and a lap led in each of the final two races, or sixth and the most laps led in each of the final two races. If he does that, he'll clinch no matter what any other driver does. He can mathematically clinch at Phoenix, though the task is a tough one. To clinch Sunday, Johnson needs to leave Phoenix with a 195-point lead over second place. Currently up 73 points, he’ll need to gain 122 points in Sunday’s race.

His suddenly precarious lead aside, Johnson has to like the fact that he’ll be in Phoenix this week. He has won three of the last four PIR races. Johnson won the fall race at Phoenix in 2007, then swept last year’s two races. Johnson also has the top pre-race Driver Rating at Phoenix – by a wide margin. His 120.0 rating is 17.6 points ahead of second-best Kurt Busch’s 102.4.