In case anyone has been wondering why there haven’t been any posts in almost a month, I just wanted to give an update. I returned from my vacation last weekend, and since, I’ve just been trying to get myself caught up on everything.

But, I will have some recap posts coming soon, handing out some end of season awards and looking back on some of the season’s best and worst, and I’ll also look ahead to the 2008 season, which will be here before we know it.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and hope your holiday season continues to be good to you and yours.

- Eddie G.

I’m leaving today to go visit family, so I likely won’t be providing qualifying updates on Friday as I usually have over the last several weeks, and as for race updates on Sunday, I’m taking a laptop, and I plan to have internet, but I’m not sure as of yet if I’ll have the chance to make race updates.

But, I will post when I can. So, don’t miss me too much!

Jimmie Johnson not only retains the top spot in the updated Chase driver rankings, but he tightens his hold on the spot after winning his fourth straight race.

With a comfortable lead going into Sunday’s season finale in sunny South Florida, the #48 is on the verge of wrapping up his second straight NEXTEL Cup championship.

It’s all down to he and Jeff Gordon, as everyone else is mathematically eliminated.

I’ll have my final Chase driver rankings early next week, along with some driver awards.

Now, on to this week’s terrific twelve!

1. Jimmie Johnson (1): Johnson kept his amazing run going on Sunday, winning the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International for his fourth win in a row and 10^th of the season. He’s taken control of the Chase by winning the last two races at tracks he’d never previously won at, and with the season finale at Homestead coming up, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him wrap up the title with a fifth straight win.

2. Jeff Gordon (2): After seeing his good buddy win a fourth straight race and take an 86-point lead with one race to go, Gordon all but conceded the championship, even though it’s not over by any means.

But, he needs a lot of good fortune on Sunday at Homestead, and he’ll also need his car to drive better than it has in the last few races. While he’s kept up his run of top-ten finishes (3^rd, 7^th, 7^th, 10^th), he’s seen his championship hopes dwindle because the car hasn’t been up to par with Johnson’s.

Still, no matter what happens on Sunday, it’s been a great season for the #24.

3. Clint Bowyer (3): Bowyer has hung steady here for quite a while, and unless he finishes at the bottom on Sunday, this is where he’ll finish in the final standings. His finish of 11^th at Phoenix officially ended his championship hopes, but it’s been a breakout season for Bowyer, who will be a name to watch for seasons to come.

4. Kyle Busch (4): Busch scored his sixth top-ten in nine Chase races with a finish of 8^th on Sunday, and remains 4^th in the standings entering the season finale, which will be his last race as a member of Hendrick Motorsports. As he gets ready to hop in a Gibbs car in 2008, he can look back on his time in the #5 pretty fondly, as he’s developed into one of the series’ top drivers in a few short seasons. At only 22, he has a bright, bright future ahead of him, and will have many more chances at a title.

5. Tony Stewart (6): Stewart finished 4^th on Sunday, his first top-ten since Charlotte in October, and his first top-five finish since the first race of the Chase, at Loudon.

6. Matt Kenseth (8): Kenseth has really had it going lately, finishing 5^th, 4^th, 2^nd, and 3^rd to move from 12^th to 6^th in the Chase standings. He’s no doubt ruing that bad streak that cost him any shot at the title, but he will be able to go into next season with positive momentum.

7. Jeff Burton (7): Burton’s solid run continued on Sunday, as he finished 9^th. That’s his fourth top-10 in the last five races, during which he’s finished no worse than 12^th. He’s out of the championship hunt, but he’s shown that he’s still got plenty left, and you can expect to see him contending for a spot in the Chase again next season.

8. Kevin Harvick (9): Harvick finished 6^th on Sunday, his fourth top-ten of the Chase, and second in a row.

I keep getting his number of top-10s wrong, as he said first that he had none (when he had one - 6^th at the LifeLock 400 at Kansas), then two (when he had three), and now, I finally have it right. My apologies to the Harvick fans out there.

9. Carl Edwards (5): Edwards led the first 84 laps before surrendering the lead to Martin Truex, Jr., and then, his chances for a great day were ended only 25 laps later when his engine blew up, and his day was over. It was a disastrous result for Edwards, who dropped from 5^th to 9^th in the standings, and has to avoid trouble on Sunday to finish inside the top ten, which would earn him a trip to the awards celebration in New York.

10. Kurt Busch (10): Busch finished 12^th on Sunday, just missing out on his third straight top-10. He’s holding on to that 10^th spot, 47 points ahead of Martin Truex, Jr.

11. Martin Truex, Jr. (11): Truex has raced well lately, and he led 72 laps on Sunday before giving up the lead to Johnson with less than 25 laps to go. His finish of 7^th followed a solid finish of 3^rd at Texas, and gives him hope of sneaking into the top 10.

12. Denny Hamlin (12): Hamlin has basically been a forgotten man in the Chase, and finds himself at the bottom with a race to go. He finished 16^th on Sunday, and is now 599 points behind Johnson, and 83 points behind Kurt Busch.

So, is there really any argument now?

Since the start of the Chase (and before), many have said that no matter what happens, Jeff Gordon deserves the championship because he’s been the most consistent driver in the series all season long.

But, after Jimmie Johnson expanded his lead to 86 points after his fourth straight win, capturing Sunday’s Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix, his hopes for a fifth series title look bleak.

It’s impossible to say that Gordon isn’t deserving, because he has statistically had one of the best seasons in series history, and with a top-10 finish at Homestead, will have an astounding 30 top-10 finishes. That’s the kind of consistency that any driver would love to have, and, in many years, would be more than enough to win the championship.

But, it may prove to not be enough, as Johnson’s 10 victories are the most in the series since 1998, when a still-young Gordon won 13 races and ran away with his third championship by 364 points over Mark Martin.

And, he is the first driver since Gordon in 1998 to win four races in a row (Gordon did it at Pocono, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, and Michigan).

Even if Johnson somehow loses the championship on Sunday, while Gordon could rightfully and deservedly celebrate the title, you’d have to feel bad for Johnson, who has soundly whipped everyone lately, including his teammate and friend.

There wouldn’t be any discussion about who, if anyone, was more deserving of the championship, if Gordon’s car hadn’t decided to start turning on him in the last few races.

While Johnson has raced towards wins, Gordon has had to battle just to finish well, with an ill-handling car and one issue after another that has rendered him anything but a serious contender towards the end as of late.

And, as unfortunate as it is, he’ll have to settle for second-best if a miracle doesn’t happen on Sunday. It’s not out of the question, but in the previous three years, the champion has finished no worse than 15th (Tony Stewart, 2005). In 2003, the last year before the Chase, that year’s series champion, Matt Kenseth, finished 43rd at Homestead, but he had already wrapped up the title in the previous race, at Rockingham.

But, no matter what happens, both deserve immense praise for how well they’ve raced this season, and even though only one can lift the trophy, neither one has a reason to hang their heads.

When you’re hot, you’re hot.

Jimmie Johnson got hot at the right time last year, and he’s gotten hot at the right time this year. And, by winning his fourth race in a row, Johnson is close to wrapping up his second championship in a row.

Johnson made another late pass, as he has did in the previous three races, to overtake Martin Truex, Jr. for the lead, and from there, it was smooth sailing for the #48, as he crossed the line first at Phoenix International Raceway to become the first driver since 1998 to win 10 races in a season. The guy who did that was his teammate Jeff Gordon, with whom he’s been locked in a fierce battle for the championship.

And, that battle has severely tilted in Johnson’s favor in the last four races, which has seen him go from being 68 points behind to being 86 points ahead with one race to go.

Gordon finished 10th for his 29th top-10 finish of the season, topping the mark that he set in that 13-win, 28 top-ten finish 1998 championship season. But, his eighth top-10 in the Chase was not good enough to keep him from falling further behind.

While Johnson was solidly in contention for most of the day, Gordon had to work hard just to give himself the opportunity for a good day. But, good wasn’t good enough, as has been the case in the last four weeks. While Gordon was worrying about holding off Kurt Busch at one point and Kevin Harvick at another, or trying to make one adjustment or another on his pit stops, Johnson was busy chasing a lead that he was inevitably going to get.

That’s been the difference in the last few weeks, and if Johnson can stay out of trouble next Sunday at Homestead, that’ll be the difference in the #48 in successfully defending his title.

It’s not over yet, but it’s safe to say that Johnson has one hand on the trophy, and as long as his lucky streak doesn’t run out at the worst time, he’ll have two next Sunday evening.

Carl Edwards won the pole for Sunday’s Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix with a lap of 132.773 mph, just edging out Martin Truex, Jr.’s 132.758.

Jeff Gordon, who won the spring race, and could use a win this time around now that he trails Jimmie Johnson by 30 points, will start third.

In the spring race, Gordon started and won from the pole, while Johnson started fifth and finished fourth. That same result would make for a tie atop the standings going into next week’s final race at Homestead.

As for the new points leader, Johnson will start sixth in his bid to win his fourth race in a row.

The top five is rounded out by J.J. Yeley and Johnny Sauter, both looking for their second top-five finishes of the season.

Behind Johnson, Greg Biffle, Tony Raines, Kurt Busch, and Kasey Kahne round out the top 10.

As for the Chasers outside of the top 10, Jeff Burton will start 12th, Denny Hamlin 15th, Matt Kenseth 18th, Clint Bowyer 20th, Tony Stewart 21st, and Kyle Busch will start 40th.

Only six drivers are still mathematically in the running for the championship, but we all know that it’s all but down to the two Hendrick cars, though Bowyer isn’t out of it just yet.

Sam Hornish, Jr., one day after his full-time move to NASCAR was announced, finally qualified for his first NEXTEL Cup race on his seventh try, and will start 26th. He’ll start one place ahead of Jacques Villenueve, and two places behind Patrick Carpentier, two of the other open-wheelers making the jump to stock-car racing.

They’re one of the stories to follow this weekend, but everyone’s eyes will be on the race for the championship, where Gordon will look to at least cut into the deficit that he now faces, while Johnson will look to extend his lead and move one step closer to his second straight championship.

Apparently tired of being the best in the IRL, Sam Hornish, Jr. is becoming the latest open-wheel star to take on the new challenge of stock-car racing, as the three-time IRL champ is becoming the newest member of the Penske NEXTEL (or Sprint, rather) Cup team, joining up with Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.

Hornish will be the new driver of the #77 car, with Mobil 1 as the sponsor. With him making the full-time switch to NASCAR’s top flight, that means the last two Indy 500 champs are going to be racing together in stock cars next season, with 2007 champ Dario Franchitti driving for Ganassi Racing.

Hornish’s move for NASCAR was more of a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if.’ He raced in two Busch races last season, and has driven in seven Busch races this season. He’s also tried to qualify for six NEXTEL Cup races, but hasn’t qualified for any of them, which is why the move might seem a little too soon for some.

But, if there’s a team where he could succeed, it’s Penske, where he’s raced for the last four seasons in the IRL, during which he won eight races and the 2005 points title. He’ll not only be with a familiar team, but an established team, where he’ll have ample chance to succeed. And, there’s a chance he won’t have to worry about qualifying for the first five races of next season, if Penske decides to move the owner points Kurt Busch has over to Hornish, since Busch doesn’t have to worry about qualifying.

That would eliminate the potential issues that Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villenueve will face, and what A.J. Allmendinger has faced this season, after coming over from Champ Car. Dario Franchitti is joining a team in the top 35 in owner points, and thusly locked into the first five races of next year, which is the situation Juan Montoya was fortunate to be in.

Montoya is currently 21st in points, and has been locked into every race, while Allmendinger has qualifed for only 17 of 34 races this season. So, if there’s an advantage to be had with getting in those first five races (and there is), then you would think that Penske would go that route and let Hornish have the free pass to the first five races, and let him take care of business from there.

With all of these open-wheelers moving to NASCAR, one has to wonder how the Champ Car/IRL head honchos are feeling right now, with several of their headliners leaving, and more to make the move soon enough more than likely (Danica Patrick has been mentioned with a move to NASCAR, and possibly Dan Wheldon as well).

We’ve got a new name at the top of the new Chase driver rankings, and it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out who it is.

How do the rest of the rankings shake out? Keep reading.

1. Jimmie Johnson (2): Jeff Gordon had been in this spot for the last several weeks, but with Johnson winning the last three races and taking over the points lead, we’ve got a new #1.

It’s like 2006 all over again, where Johnson overcame a deficit in the final half of the Chase to win the championship. He’s certainly got a fight on his hands, but now that he and his crew know what it takes to close it out, catching him’s going to require a rare slip or piece of bad luck.

2. Jeff Gordon (1): If it were someone else, you might count them out as hot as Johnson is right now. But Gordon has been here before, so he’s not going to get fazed by what he faces now. I’m sure he doesn’t feel too hot about running as consistently as he has and losing the points lead, but even he won’t argue with how well his teammate has been.

After winning at Talladega and Charlotte, he’s finished 3rd, 7th, and 7th, while Johnson’s won, and that’s translated into a 68-point lead becoming a 30-point deficit.

It’s not over yet, in the least, because 30 points can be made up in a flash. And, if there’s anyone who can do it, it’s the #24.

3. Clint Bowyer (3): Bowyer’s slight championship hopes all but faded when he finished 19th at Texas. He’s still in third by a good margin, but he’s now 181 points back of Johnson with two races to go.

4. Kyle Busch (4): A slow pit stop late in the race cost Busch a chance at a win for the second straight race, but as opposed to Atlanta, where he got taken out when Denny Hamlin ran out of gas, he rebounded to finish fourth. The finish helped move Busch into fourth in the standings, 339 points back. He’s pretty much out of it, but he can feel pretty good about the way that he’s going out in the #5.

5. Carl Edwards (4): Edwards finished 26th at Texas, which dropped him from 261 points back to 357 back of the leader, and knocked him down a notch into fifth, just behind Busch.

6. Tony Stewart (6): After finishing 30th at Atlanta, Stewart finished 11th at Texas. He hasn’t had a top-10 since Charlotte, when he finished 7th, and as a result, he’s fallen 373 points back, and has to be disappointed about how things have transpired in the Chase, where he was expected to be a serious contender.

7. Jeff Burton (8): Burton has had four solid races after an up and down start to the Chase, finishing 4th, 12th, 5th, and then 6th in Sunday’s Dickies 500. Burton was mathematically eliminated from the Chase on Sunday, but he is finishing the year strong, and has had a resurgence in the last two seasons after falling off of the map for a few seasons.

8. Matt Kenseth (9): If Kenseth hadn’t that four-race bad streak, he would be much higher in the rankings and in the Chase standings. He was a hard-luck loser at Texas for the second time this year, losing the lead to the hard-charging Johnson with two laps to go. But, he recorded his third straight top-five, as he finished second behind the race winner.

He’s gotten himself out of the basement in the last two weeks, and is now 10th in the standings, a point behind Kurt Busch, and only 23 behind Burton.

9. Kevin Harvick (8): I said in last week’s rankings that Harvick didn’t have any top-10s in the Chase, when, in fact, he finished 10th at Martinsville. He recorded his second top-10 on Sunday, finishing 10th. Harvick’s 439 poins back of Johnson, just behind 7th-placed Burton.

10. Kurt Busch (11): Busch finished 8th for the second straight race on Sunday, his third top-10 of the Chase. We’ve come to expect more from him, but you can rest assured that he’ll be back with a vengeance next year.

11. Martin Truex, Jr. (12): Truex won the pole at Texas and finished 3rd. It had to be a lift for him, after he hadn’t finished in the top ten since finishing fifth in the Sylvania 300 at Loudon, the first Chase race, and after a late-race accident knocked him out of contention at Atlanta, where he led the most laps but finished 31st.

12. Denny Hamlin (10): Hamlin finished 29th at Texas, dropping into a tie with Martin Truex, Jr. for last in the Chase standings, 524 points behind Johnson, and officially out of the hunt, along with the rest of the bottom six.

I likely won’t be able to be here to provide in-race updates (and if I do, it will either be early on or towards the end), but I will be here with post-race analysis, following today’s Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Who do you think will win the eighth race of the Chase?

Will it be Gordon, who wins his first Texas race and extends his lead atop the standings?

Will it be Johnson, who would very likely take the points lead with a victory?

Will it be pole sitter Martin Truex, Jr., who could use a victory after a poor streak recently?

Or will it be someone else?

comment and make your picks!

Martin Truex, Jr. is out of the championship hunt, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to throw in the towel. Truex, who is the only driver mathematically eliminated from the title race, won the pole for Sunday’s Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway with a lap of 27.964 seconds.

Jeff Gordon, who’s seen his points lead dwindle in the last two weeks, will have a great chance to win for the first time at Texas, as he will start second in tomorrow’s race. Texas is one of the two current venues that Gordon hasn’t won at, but a win on Sunday would not only be a milestone win for him, but would also go a long way towards in helping him claim the championship.

The top five was rounded out by Juan Montoya, who could have some valuable momentum going into next year if he can finish his rookie season strong, and Kevin Harvick and A.J. Allmendinger in fifth. Allmendinger had the best qualifying run of his short career, and will be chasing his first top-ten finish

Kurt Busch qualified sixth, and Chevrolets represented the rest of the top ten, as Denny Hamlin qualified seventh, with Jimmie Johnson starting eighth tomorrow and looking to take over the points lead from teammate Gordon. Their Hendrick teammate, Casey Mears will start ninth, with Mark Martin alongside him in the fifth row.

As for the rest of the Chasers, Tony Stewart will start 15th, Kyle Busch 17th, Matt Kenseth 18th, Carl Edwards 21st, Jeff Burton 27th, and Clint Bowyer 29th. It was another subpar qualifying effort for Bowyer, who has qualified 23rd or worse in five straight races and six of the last seven. However, he has rebounded to run well in each race, and will need to do so again on Sunday in order to keep his championship hopes alive.

Will Gordon finally be able to break his Texas goose egg and move one step closer to a deserved title? Or will Johnson win his first race at Texas and take control of the championship race? More importantly, will either take control of the title race Sunday, or will they falter and give any of the drivers who are well behind a chance to climb back into it? I’ll be here with race updates and analysis tomorrow, and the race will be on ABC (3 ET/2 CT), in case you want to catch the race live as well.