Carl Edwards

Here we are at the final race of the 2011 season. The thing about the NASCAR season is sometimes it seems like it will go on forever, but when we get to this point, it always seems like it was over too soon. None the lest here we are. And the final race of the season brings with it no shortage of drama. A new Sprint Cup champion will be crowned on Sunday. Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, along with 9 other drivers that qualified for the chase, have been eliminated. So it comes down to Carl Edwards vs Tony Stewart.

Just two races are left until we crown a Sprint Cup Champion. And it looks like we will have a new champion for the first time in five seasons. Five time champ Jimmie Johnson is 55 points behind leader Carl Edwards in sixth place. A lot of drivers would have a pair of disastrous races for five time to become six time. Which is just one of the reasons that the drama will be cranked up as NASCAR heads to the desert. Also adding to the intrig is that no one knows what to expect at the Phoenix International Raceway.

Tony Stewart passed Jimmie Johnson on a restart with three laps to go Sunday and surged into contention for his third NASCAR Sprint Cup championship with three races left. The victory was the third for Stewart in the first seven races of the 10-race playoffs. Stewart moved from 19 points behind leader Carl Edwards and in fourth place to just eight points behind in second as several contenders got caught up in a season-high 18 caution flags. Edwards struggled all day, but rallied to finish ninth and held on to a lead that he seemed likely to lose.

You've all heard the stories about the crazy things that have gone on in the Talladega infield at night. But to me they pale in comparison to what I have seen with my own eyes at the track during the day. Dale Earnardt, Junior going from 15th to first in the final lap, Regan Smith's pass to win that was disallowed, the big crash that put Carl Edwards in the fence and Brad Keseloski in victory lane and of course the closest finish in NASCAR history between...

Spare Matt Kenseth the toilet humor.   The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was delighted to win Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with new sponsor Fluidmaster on his car - make that with any sponsor on his car.   In a race that saw five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson suffer a Chase-changing accident in the final 20 laps, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch and teammate Carl Edwards during...

Jimmie Johnson may have lead the most laps, but Kurt Busch lead the one that counts, taking the checkered flag in the third race of the Chase for the Championship at the Dover International Speedway. Johnson lead 157 laps and finished second. Carl Edwards, who had to rebound from a pit road speeding penalty finished third, with Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth rounding out the top 5. The race also shook up the Chase for the Championship standings. Kevin Harvick, who finished tenth is the new points leader, with Edwards second.

Fastenal announced today that it has signed a multiyear agreement with Roush Fenway Racing to become a primary sponsor of Carl Edwards' No. 99 Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Fastenal will be the primary on Edwards' No. 99 for 17 Cup Series races in 2012, starting at Daytona International Speedway. The company will also sponsor two additional Roush Fenway entries in a yet to be determined 2012 Cup Series race, putting three Fastenal-branded Fords on the track during a single event.

NASCAR's top series has shifted to scenic wine country and its first of two races this season on a road course. But the talk at Infineon Raceway wasn't about the twists and turns of the winding track, or the road course ringers who show up hoping for a rare victory. Instead, the discussion was on Carl Edwards and his contract negotiations, and the announcement that Red Bull is leaving NASCAR at the end of the season. Edwards is the key to free agency, as most teams are waiting to see if he'll re-sign with Roush-Fenway Racing.

Kyle Busch. Carl Edwards. Two drivers at the absolute top of their game right now. But which one would you rather have if you were an owner starting a Sprint Cup team right now. (No Jimmie Johnson is not available). Carl Edwards has finished of 1st, 1st, 2nd, 28th (after being caught in an accident), 1st, 2nd and 6th over the last 7 races. He is on fire and there is no surprise that he is the points leader right now. But he is streaky. All you have to do is look back over his career and see that the 99 team can turn on a dime, and go cold as quickly as they got hot. " This is the best start to a season that I've ever had," Edwards said after his win at Vegas.

The day belonged to Kyle Busch, but the victory in the Auto Club 400 belongs to Kevin Harvick. Busch lead 151 of the 200 laps at the Auto Club speedway on Sunday, but Jimmie Johnson took the lead woth 3 laps to go, just to give up the lead on turn four of the final lap to Harvick. The 29 lead just one lap, the last one but it was all he needed. Busch finished third. "I can see them growing bigger in the mirror, I could see them coming," said Busch. Those guys were just better.