Phoenix International Raceway
November 5, 2012
Week of Nov. 5
Two
things are crystal clear. Jimmie Johnson can’t play defense to win a
sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. And Brad Keselowski, the
least-experienced member of this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™
is not about to fold under pressure.
The
pair went door-to-door, trading paint on one late restart, before
Johnson edged Keselowski in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor
Speedway. Johnson made a statement with his second consecutive maximum
point performance but so did Keselowski, who nearly scratched and clawed
his way to a sixth season victory.
The
points remain close: Johnson by seven with two races remaining. The
next race is Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway
where the California driver won Chase races in three consecutive
championship years (2007-2009).
Texas
mathematically eliminated Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. from the
championship hunt. Phoenix will pare the field further.
Zero.
That’s the point separation between NASCAR Nationwide Series
championship rivals Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Elliott Sadler as the pair
enter Saturday’s Great Clips 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Stenhouse recorded his 18th top-five finish of the season in
Texas to overhaul leader Sadler. The reigning series champion holds the
current tie-breaker: six wins to four, with two races remaining.
NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series standings leader James Buescher looks for
redemption in Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150. Buescher failed to qualify
for last year’s race (held in February) – missing the field by
two-hundredths of a second – which may have cost the Texas driver the
championship. Buescher heads to Phoenix with a 15-point advantage over
Ty Dillon. Timothy Peters is third, 25 points off the lead.
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