Chase Race No. 9: Harvick Sweeps Phoenix; Keselowski Doesn't Advance

Kevin Harvick celebrates his win Sunday in Phoenix (Photo: Google Images)

Is there an echo in here?

After a long afternoon in the desert, Kevin Harvick showed why he should be considered the last real threat to win the 2014 Sprint Cup. He and crew chief Rodney Childers have been strong all season and after the duo won their first race together at PIR in the spring, it was hard to imagine they wouldn't repeat the feat this time.

The top five was actually filled with Chase drivers, Jeff Gordon finished second, Matt Kenseth third, Brad Keselowski fourth and Denny Hamlin came in fifth. But depite solid runs from Gordon, Keselowski and Kenseth, only Harvick, Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman will advance to the final round of the Chase and fight for the title at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

After a race that saw Hamlin and Keselowski start first and second respectively,  Logano snatched the lead from the No. 11 of Hamlin on lap 25. Logano then led for a while, but on lap 88, Harvick grabbed the lead and didn't look back, the driver who won the last two races at Phoenix International Raceway managed to grab his third and sweep the season's events there too. The dynamic duo of Childers and Harvick has proved very potent this year and while they may have only won four times, they have had a shot to win just about every race on the 2014 schedule.

While it was a big day for Harvick and his team, other big names like Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch had problems. Johnson had an accident in turn one of the speedway on lap 238 and Busch got loose, spun up the track, then back down again on lap 213. On his way back, he barely clipped the right rear of Clint Bowyer's Camry and sent Bowyer head on into the outside wall. The cleanup from this wreck caused a four minute red flag.

Ryan Newman could be the 2014 Sprint Cup champ (Photo: Google Images)

But ultimately, it was all about the Chase today. Many of the Chase drivers made it though without any trouble and thought that their runs would be good enough to advance to the "Final Four." My pick to win it all, Gordon, ran second, but he could not overcome his getting wrecked by Keselowski last weekend and fell one point shy of advancing. Thanks to Ryan Newman for stuffing Kyle Larson in the wall on the last lap to pick up the spot that locked Gordon out.

Newman is the real wild card in all this. he has no wins at all this year. In fact, his last win was the Brickyard 400 last season. If you're looking for someone to play spoiler, the driver of Richard Childress's No. 31 car might be your guy. It would be Childress's first Cup Series title not won by someone named Earnhardt and it would be Newman's first title period.Perhaps if he wins he'll finally be able to afford a neck.

However, that;s why they run the race. Yes Newman has as good a shot as anyone else; Hamlin is always a contender, winning last year's race at Homestead and Logano was picked by many to win it all this season after a breakout year with Team Penske. But Harvick is still the man to beat in my opinion. He and his team are too good and their cars are too fast every week to not go down without a fight. They showed that in their domination of Phoenix this past weekend.

Homestead-Miami Speedway and Ford Championship Weekend await. There are four drivers left who can win the title. Who's it gonna be?