On Sunday afternoon on the popular quad-oval that is Phoenix International Raceway, Jimmy Johnson won the ninth round of the 10 race 2007 NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup series, thus heading into the final round next Sunday in Miami, Florida with a healthy 86-point advantage over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon. All Johnson needs to achieve next Sunday is an 18th place finish and the Nextel Cup — for the second consecutive season — will be his.

"Homestead is going to be a stressful weekend,” said Johnson who hopes to become the first driver to win back-to-back Netel Cup championships since Jeff Gordon accomplished the feat in 1997 and 1998. “We've got seven more days, I'm just going to try to keep my mind clear and focus on the things we need to do,'' Johnson said. "This is kind of where we were last year. We just have to go down there and be smart and see how it shakes out.''

Speaking of Jeff Gordon, the #24 driver had an off day in Phoenix, placing 10th after experiencing tire troubles. Still, he was gracious in defeat, complimenting Johnson on his fourth straight Nextel Cup victory and 10th of the season.

"It's over. It's over,'' sighed Gordon to the Associated Press after the race. "Even if we win it, it's because they have problems. While we'll accept it, we don't want to do it that way. Those guys have flat-out killed everybody. And you've got to give credit where credit is due.

"Unless you lead every lap and beat Jimmie Johnson to win the race, we don't have a shot,'' Gordon said. "We're just coming up short at a crucial time Those guys have just knocked it out of the ballpark, and it would be tough to beat that even if we were hitting on all eight cylinders.''

Roush Racing’s Greg Biffle was third in Phoenix, while Matt Kenseth, also of the Roush organization, was fourth. Interestingly, Kyle Busch was on the ragged edge of making history at Phoenix. Having won the Craftsman Truck and Busch Grand National races on Friday and Saturday, respectively, at PIR, if he could have won on the Nextel Cup race on Sunday he would have become the first NASCAR driver to win all three NASCAR classifications at the same track and on the same weekend. Try as he might, Busch could only get to eighth place at the finish.