Kasey Kahne Wins In Phoenix Amid Static 2011 Chase Duel

The 2011 Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway was all about the 2011 Chase for the Cup. Carl Edwards came to Phoenix with a three point lead over Tony Stewart and they left with the exact same margin. Kasey Kahne scored the win but the focus of the day was the points battle between Edwards and Stewart who finished second and third.

Qualifying

Ford drivers swept the top three qualifying spots. Roush-Fenway Racing's Matt Kenseth was fastest in qualifying to put his Ford on the pole. A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose started second and third.

Chevrolet and Toyota split the rest of the top five with Mark Martin qualifying in the fourth spot and Martin Truex Jr. rolling off fifth.

The Chase leaders qualified eighth and ninth as Tony Stewart edged point leader Carl Edwards to start on the outside of row four while Edwards was on the inside of row five.

Drop Of The Green

Matt Kenseth pulled ahead as the field dove into turn one. The inside lane was clearly quicker and the drivers got into single-file order with Matt Kenseth leading lap one before the first caution flew on lap two.

Kenseth lead again after the second restart and the yellow flag flew again in less than two laps. This race was off to a rocky start.

Matt Kenseth again got the best of the restart and pulled away to the early lead. Behind him Tony Stewart was moving forward steadily while Carl Edwards was riding in the top ten.

Tony Stewart added a bonus point to his total on lap 37 when Stewart got past Kenseth in traffic for the lead. Kenseth pressured him for a lap or two but Stewart was able to put a little distance on the field and continued to lead the rest of the early going.

Storylines

Today's race was all about the 2011 Chase for the Cup. Carl Edwards came into the 2011 Kobalt Tools 500 with a slim three point lead over Tony Stewart who has been on a hot streak recently. Only one more race remains in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season after today and the Championship is very much up for grabs.

Tony Stewart had the best car in the early going and lead over half of the first third of the race. Then through the middle portion of the race Carl Edwards took his turn at the front and made his presence known.

When all was said and done the two Chase leaders left Phoenix exactly the same as when they entered. Three points separate Carl Edwards from Tony Stewart as the Chase moves to its conclusion next week in Homestead.

Chasing The Checkers

As this race closed in on 100 laps to go Tony Stewart held a narrow lead over Carl Edwards. The point leaders were putting on a display. Carl Edwards was haunting his back bumper waiting for Stewart to make a mistake.

With fifty laps remaining Kurt Busch was out front and Carl Edwards was riding peacefully in second. Kasey Kahne was running third and Tony Stewart was well back in fourth.

Then, with 33 laps to go, leader Kurt Busch ran out of gas and had to hit pit road under green for fuel. He stalled it during the stop and had trouble getting refired. This eliminated him from contention.

Carl Edwards inherited the lead when Busch pitted. Could the Chase leader finally score a Chase win?

Carl Edwards took his turn in the pits with 21 laps left in the race. Kahne had already had his turn in the pits. Two tires and fuel later Edwards was back on track after a flawless stop. A couple laps later Stewart hit the pits for fuel only attempting to cut into the lead.

When it all cycled through Kasey Kahne had taken over the lead during the pit stops. Carl Edwards was second and Jeff Burton was running third with Tony Stewart fourth.

Stewart was able to get past Burton for third but that was only only change at the head of the pack. Kasey Kahne held on for the win with Carl Edwards second.

Top Ten

1. Kasey Kahne
2. Carl Edwards
3. Tony Stewart
4. Jeff Burton
5. Ryan Newman
6. A.J. Allmendinger
7. David Reutimann
8. Marcos Ambrose
9. Paul Menard
10. Clint Bowyer

The Points

The points did not change at the top this week. Carl Edwards finished one position ahead of Tony Stewart to earn one more finishing point but Stewart lead the most laps to claim one extra bonus point. The net result is that the two Chase leaders came into the race separated by three tiny positions and left Phoenix separated by the exact same margin.

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings:

1. Carl Edwards -0
2. Tony Stewart -3
3. Kevin Harvick -51
4. Brad Keselowski -65
5. Jimmie Johnson -68
6. Matt Kenseth -70
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -102
8. Kurt Busch -107
9. Ryan Newman -107
10. Denny Hamlin -110
11. Jeff Gordon -112
12. Kyle Busch -135