The Chase comes down to 2 races left in the season, and it’s still extremely tight between the top 3 drivers. Denny Hamlin has taken over the points lead over Jimmie Johnson by 33 after Texas. Kevin Harvick sits in third place just 59 points behind the leader, this Championship is still up for grabs with race #9 from Phoenix coming up this weekend.

So how do the top 3 Chase Drivers fair when it comes to Phoenix?

Points leader Denny Hamlin – has five top fives in 10 starts, no wins however

Second place Jimmie Johnson tops them all, with four wins of the last six races there, and has finished in the top five in each of the last eight.

Kevin Harvick – has two Cup wins in 15 starts, one Nationwide win, and four Truck Series wins at the 1 mile flat oval in the desert.

….By the way, the Chase driver leading with 2 races to go has won the Championship every single year

SHOW #135 – We discuss Burton vs. Gordon, Knaus vs. Ford, 24/48 crew swap, Kyle salutes an official, and oh yeah that thing called The Chase. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop

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NOTE: Also HEARD on Stitcher Radio

CREDITS:
Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Paul Northrop
Production: Kerry Murphey
Music: Radium Sound
Voice Over: Thomas Moog

Feud Brewing Atop The Box?

Mike Ford, crew chief of the No. 11 team, had some interesting things to say about No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus’ decision to swap pit crews mid-race at Texas: “I think it was kind of a desperation move. But it’s something that Jimmie [Johnson], Chad and Rick [Hendrick] needed to do if they wanted to win a championship because they just took their team out of it. They removed their team. Their team got them to this point and they pulled them out, so this is more about trying to win a championship for the company and not the team.”

Knaus replaced the usual No. 48 crew with the No. 24 team of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon during Sunday’s race. It was a move that got some attention, to say the least.

On Monday, Hendrick Motorsports announced the switch would extend to the final two races of the season. The 24 and 48 over-the-wall crews will trade teams at Phoenix this weekend and Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks

Harvick and Phoenix Go Way Back

Though Jimmie Johnson owns more Phoenix NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories than any other driver, few have a longer history with the track than Kevin Harvick.

Harvick, who has two NSCS wins and one NASCAR Nationwide wins and four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins at Phoenix, first raced at the one-mile track in a K&N Pro Series West race in 1998. Starting from the pole, Harvick finished second that event.

Johnson Down… For Now

Finally, here’s some good news for Jimmie Johnson: a race at Phoenix is up next.

The one-mile track might be his best. Johnson has won four of the last six races there, and has finished in the top five in each of the last eight. His Driver Rating of 123.7 is by far the best in the series.

But points leader Denny Hamlin and third-place Kevin Harvick are pretty strong there as well. Hamlin has five top fives in 10 starts at Phoenix; Harvick has two victories there in 15 starts.

Both Harvick and Johnson may have a hard time with this stat however, the Chase driver leading with 2 races to go has won the Championship every single year since the Chase began.