Sprint Cup Season Has Just Two Races Left

Eight down and just two to go, as the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship moves on to Phoenix this Sunday. Only seven points separate Jimmie Johnson and second-place Brad Keselowski.  And it could be a repeat of last year's battle between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. Stewart trailed Edwards by eight points with three races left last year, but won the title in a points tiebreaker by winning at Texas and Homestead.

Ten drivers are still mathematically alive for the title, but that likely will be cut to three after Sunday’s race. Reigning champion Stewart is 80 points back and needs a miracle to survive.

Johnson has been the dominant driver at Phoenix with four wins including three in a row, two runner-up finishes and 15 top-10s.

Mark Martin is the only other driver to come close to that.

The points leader after 34 races has gone on to win the championship six times, including Johnson who did it four times. But in the past two seasons the No. 2 driver - Johnson in 2010 and Tony Stewart in 2011 – rallied to win.

Johnson and Keselowski each have five wins this season with Johnson holding the tie-breaker based on the most second-place finishes (five to three).

The season comes to a close next Sunday at Homestead in Florida.