Rating the Chase | How the top 12 fared

DAVID POOLE and JIM UTTER

The Charlotte Observer

Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007

How the top-12 teams fared on Sunday at Phoenix:

1st - Jimmie Johnson (6,572 points)

Jimmie Johnson declined when he was asked to rate himself as a driver following his 33rd career victory.

"I'm not one to pat myself on the back," he said. "I've been doing my part for the team and giving 100 percent. That's one motto we always talk about. If everybody gives 100 percent, we'll get what we want."

2nd - Jeff Gordon (86 behind)

Jeff Gordon said maybe he's the one who needs to do something different when it comes to trying to beat Jimmie Johnson.

"I guess I have got to change, I don't know," Gordon said. "We've got to figure out how to go faster. I know that, because what I am doing now ain't getting it done."

3rd - Clint Bowyer (241 behind)

Clint Bowyer fought brake problems all day in his No. 07 Chevrolet, but still milked an 11th-place finish. He has all but locked in a third-place finish in points for the season.

4th - Kyle Busch (387 behind)

Kyle Busch's bid to become the first to win races in all three national series at the same track in the same weekend fell short. He still has a mathematical shot at catching Clint Bowyer to make it a 1-2-3 Hendrick points sweep.

5th - Tony Stewart (403 behind)

Tony Stewart was hampered by a pair of slow pit stops. "You can't pass 80 cars and expect to win," he said after finishing fourth.

"The good thing is these guys don't quit."

6th - Matt Kenseth (469 behind)

Matt Kenseth lost second in the final laps to Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle and wound up third.

"I just couldn't get it done," said Kenseth, who changed two tires on his final stop. "I didn't have quite enough grip."

7th - Kevin Harvick (479 behind)

Kevin Harvick banged fenders with Jeff Gordon late in the race while battling for position.

"He swerved left," said Harvick, who finished sixth. "He ran into the side of us. He is going to get what he has got coming back and I gave it back to him, so I guess we are even."

8th - Jeff Burton (483 behind)

Jeff Burton never completely got the handle on his car and wound up ninth. He still has a chance to finish in the top five in points for the second consecutive season.

9th - Carl Edwards (505 behind)

Carl Edwards started from the pole and led the first 87 laps, but engine problems sent him to the garage after Lap 125.

"I could go just about as fast as I wanted and you don't get that very often," Edwards said.

10th - Kurt Busch (516 behind)

Kurt Busch currently holds a 47-point advantage over Martin Truex Jr. with one race remaining for the final spot on stage at the awards ceremony in New York City.

11th - Martin Truex Jr. (524 behind)

Martin Truex Jr. was critical of crew chief Kevin Manion's decision to stay out and not pit on a yellow with 40 laps left. Truex faded to seventh and said the decision to stay out left him "a sitting duck."

"We just have to get our communication down to understand that we make calls on the pit box to win races; we don't make calls to run seventh," Manion said. "No matter what pit sequence we decide on the pit box, we get ridiculed and criticized by the driver on the race track. It is tough to swallow."

12th - Denny Hamlin (599 behind)

Denny Hamlin was hit with a pair of speeding penalties which twice forced him to the rear of the field. He still managed to fight back to finish 16th.

reprint or license