Sixty Seconds with Syd
By Sydney Davis

Heading for the Phoenix sunset - Does Jeff Gordon have enough to hold on?
Thursday, November 8, 2007

Jimmie Johnson checked another task off his to-do list this weekend with his win at Texas Motor Speedway. He also took the lead over teammate Jeff Gordon, in case you were living under a rock.

Gordon now faces the obstacle of overcoming a 30-point deficit heading into Phoenix, the second to last race of the Chase.

Is it really an obstacle? No. Should we all be worried Gordon won't be able to hang with his teammate this weekend? No. Would the media kindly stop saying Gordon's lost the championship? No.

The constant coverage of the Hendrick darlings has finally gotten to me. I understand they are fighting for a championship, but to say Gordon has a very slim chance of beating Johnson is a little much. Yes, I know it's for ratings.

Looking at the stats for Phoenix, I would say it's once again going to be an interesting battle. Especially since both teams love each other enough to share everything.

Back in April, Gordon got his first win of the season, while Johnson finished fourth. Gordon also has three poles, eight top fives and 14 top 10s. Johnson has three top fives and six top 10s.

One interesting thing of note, 15 times this year Gordon has "out-pointed" Johnson by more than 30 points in consecutive races, Phoenix included. In April, Gordon finished fouth at Texas and won Phoenix, out-pointing him by 151 points. So it's a stretch to say Gordon is out of this fight.

It's going to come down to the final laps at Homestead. This season the Chase is doing what was intended: giving the fans some real drama. I just hope Jeff Gordon ends up on top, otherwise it's going to be a long off-season of Gordon media pity.

Edwards hoisted the trophy, but dropped the ball

Carl Edwards clinched the Busch Series driver's title Saturday at Texas, but his recent bad luck, and mistakes, cost him the owners title. In fact, the Roush Fenway No. 60 is actually third in points, and mathematically eliminated from the battle.

When was the last time the two titles went to different teams you may ask? Back in 2003, Brian Vickers, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the driver's title and the Richard Childress Racing team of Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter won the owners title.

Only two teams remain in the fight. The Richard Childress Racing's No. 29 team has a 113 point lead over the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 team. Scott Wimmer will drive the No. 29 Saturday, while Denny Hamlin will pilot the No. 20.

The Busch Series is making some drama of its own, even without the Chase for the Championship. The worst part about this entire situation though? There's not one Busch regular who is involved with this battle.

I'm excited that NASCAR is even considering options to deter Cup drivers from crossing over, but I don't have much faith. What's your take on the Busch Series? Send me your opinions.

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