Two Races Left. Two Drivers Left.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards adjusts his heat shields prior to the 2010 Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway

There are two races left in this years Sprint Cup Series and there are two drivers who have a shot at winning the championship. Carl Edwards leads Tony Stewart by a mere three points in the standings after Stewart won his fourth race of the Chase.

This week the drivers head to Phoenix, Arizona for the second time this season for the running of the Kobalt Tools 500. This is shaping up to be one of the better championship battles since the inception of the Chase.

Kobalt Tools 500

Carl Edwards: Carl won this race in last years Chase and has sat on the pole for the last two races here. Bonus points are really going to come into play over the final two races. A great qualifying run could get you a bonus point for leading a lap early in the race.

Tony Stewart: Tony hasn’t won here since the Checker Auto Parts / Dura Lube 500 in 1999. He always ran well here when he was with Joe Gibbs Racing and finished second here in his first race with Stewart-Haas Racing. He lead 59 laps in the spring race here and finished 7th in that race also.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin still has an outside chance and he just has to do the best he can without worrying about what the two drivers ahead of him in the standings are doing on the track. He has finished in the top-10 in his last two starts here and swept the races here in 2006.

Matt Kenseth: Matt also has a very slim chance of winning the championship yet this year but, trying to gain 38-points on the leader and pass two other drivers in the standings is going to be tough to do with only two races remaining. Matt has done alright here in his last four races but a win this week is a must.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has only run four Cup races here with his best finish being 15th this spring. About midway through the Chase he said that Talladega and Phoenix would be the wild cards and now he has to hope it gets really wild.

Jimmie Johnson: A few weeks ago I thought, here we go again, when Johnson finished second at Dover and then won the race at Kansas the next week. Jimmie had a great run, winning five straight championships but, that streak is coming to an end now. Even though he has finished in the top-5 in his last 10 starts here including four wins, he is too far behind to comeback and win it all this year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale ran well for most of the season and made the Chase pretty easily this season. He is still looking to break his winless streak but, he hasn’t run all that well at Phoenix lately. He just needs to keep building on what his team has accomplished and start over once again next season.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff won the race here this spring and is another driver that would love to get one more win this season. He could very well do that this weekend and that would give this team a lot of confidence heading into next year.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has run very well here throughout his career. This is another team that is just looking to build on what they have for next season. None of these teams are giving up on trying to win yet this year but, they might be trying some new things for next year.

Yahoo Fantasy NASCAR Picks for Phoenix

Yahoo Fantasy Driver Group A

• Jimmie Johnson
• Jeff Gordon

Yahoo Fantasy Driver Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Mark Martin
• Clint Bowyer
• Juan Pablo Montoya

Yahoo Fantasy Driver Group C

• David Ragan
• Paul Menard

Top-5 Drivers Overall at Phoenix International Raceway

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Carl Edwards
4. Tony Stewart
5. Kevin Harvick

Dark Horse: Mark Martin

Chaser to Stay Away From: Brad Keselowski