Who needs to do what to win NASCAR championships this weekend

Sprint Cup: Only one finish guarantees Carl Edwards his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship – a victory in Sunday’s season-finale Ford 400. Just three points separate points leader Carl Edwards and second-place Tony Stewart, a margin so tight, no other finish would clinch the title for Edwards regardless of where Stewart finishes.

Stewart owns the tie-breaker (best finishes), and therefore could tie and win his third series championship. All other drivers are officially eliminated from championship contention. Edwards’ three-point lead roughly translates to 13 points under the previous points system.

Nationwide Series: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will clinch the Nationwide Series championship with a finish of 37th or better; or 38th or better with at least one lap led; or 39th or better with most laps led at Homestead.

Only one point separates the points leading No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in the Nationwide Series owners standings. Only one finish guarantees the No. 18 a championship – a victory in Saturday’s Ford 300.

Both teams have eight wins on the season, but the No. 60 has nine second-place finishes (the No. 18 has five) – giving the No. 60 the tie-breaker. The No. 60 would win the owners title by gaining one or more points on the No. 18 on Saturday.

Truck Series: Austin Dillon owns a 20-point lead over Johnny Sauter heading into the Camping World Truck Series finale. James Buescher also remains in title contention, 28 points behind Dillon. Ron Hornaday Jr., 48 points behind Dillon, will be eliminated as soon as Dillon starts at Homestead.

Dillon guarantees himself his first championship by finishing 16th or better; or 17th or better with at least one lap led; or 18th or better with the most laps led in Friday night’s Ford 200.

Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 2 Chevrolet clinched the 2011 owners championship last week at Texas Motor Speedway. It was KHI’s third owners title.

Can Kyle Busch learn Kevin Harvick's life lesson?

   While there is no love lost between Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, the two drivers do share some similarities when it comes to rocky starts to their respective Sprint Cup Series careers.

   In his second Cup season in 2002, Harvick missed the spring Cup race at Martinsville, Va., when he was parked the day before during a Truck series race for wrecking another competitor and disobeying the request of a NASCAR official.

   The incident vastly changed Harvick's approach to the sport and he has become one of the most talented and respected drivers in the garage.

   Many believe Busch faces a similar defining moment after NASCAR parked him and forced him to miss last weekend's Nationwide and Cup races at Texas. Busch was parked in the Truck race for intentionally wrecking another competitor under caution.

   On Friday at Phoenix, Harvick was asked about his experience and whether he believed Busch could change.

   “When I went through that situation I had two people in the whole sport; obviously Richard (Childress) was one; but I had Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace. Those were the only two guys who reached out and said, 'You know, I’ve been there before and here’s what you need to do and you need to move on.' But it’s a game-changer as far as how you look at the sport and how you feel about things," Harvick said.

   "The bottom line is, when you’re in a competition and when things are competitive, you’re going to do things that you’ll look back on and you say, man that was pretty bad there. I shouldn’t have done that or I should have done this a different way. The one thing that we try to do is when we make a mistake or I make a mistake or somebody makes a mistake in the company, you try not to do it twice. You try to learn from that and you try to move on. And you hope as this situation moves forward you hope that you take something from it and learn something from it.

   "This sport is a lot like life. You go from year to year and you learn and you hopefully learn from your mistakes and you get older and you mature as a person. So hopefully those go hand-in-hand as you move on in your career and things become more clear. So, it’s a tough sport. And the hardest part about this sport is not NASCAR, it’s not your sponsors, it’s really the part that governs it the hardest are the competitors because they look at it as a disrespect to the sport that they’ve been a part of building for a long time and that’s the hardest part is to come back and be able to look everybody in the eye and them believe that you actually respect the sport.”

M&M's Mars statement on Kyle Busch

MARS TAKES ACTION ON KYLE BUSCH’S BEHAVIOR

Busch Removed From Driving M&M’S® Car for Remaining 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Races; Set to Return as Mars Driver in 2012

   Hackettstown, NJ, November 10, 2011…Mars, Incorporated announced today that they will be removing Kyle Busch from driving the M&M’S® car for the remaining two races of the 2011 NASCAR season as a result of the incident during last Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. The car will not run with the M&M’S® paint scheme until 2012, at which time Kyle Busch will be the driver with the expectation that no future incident take place.

    “As a proud member of the racing community, Mars and the M&M’S® brand strongly support the partnership we have with Joe Gibbs Racing and are committed to NASCAR. Yet, Kyle’s recent actions are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of Mars,” said Debra A. Sandler, Chief Consumer Officer, Mars Chocolate North America. “While we do not condone Kyle’s recent actions, we do believe that he has shown remorse and has expressed a desire to change. We believe our decision will have a positive impact on Kyle and will help him return next season ready to win.”

    “We strongly support Mars’ decision,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “This gives us all time to work together to foster a positive change where Kyle can continue racing in a way we can all be proud of.”

Who's earned most points in the Chase?

Chase Points
Driver	Pnts In Chase
Carl Edwards	313
Tony Stewart	313
Kasey Kahne	284
Matt Kenseth	272
Kevin Harvick	271

Sprint Cup Series points leader Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart have both earned exactly 313 points since the Chase started. The reason for Edwards' current three-point advantage? The three bonus points he received by winning one race in the regular season.

After the two title contenders Kasey Kahne - who is not in the Chase - has earned the most points at 284. That comes in part from five finishes of sixth or better in his last six races.

Z-Line statement on Kyle Busch

   Z-Line Designs, which sponsors Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, posted a statement on its Facebook page on Tuesday regarding Busch being parked by NASCAR last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

   "We were disappointed in Kyle Busch's actions during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. As a sponsor, it is important that those who represent our company abide by certain standards of conduct. We have expressed our concerns directly to Kyle and to Joe Gibbs Racing. We support NASCAR’s decision and support Joe Gibbs Racing as they address this issue internally."

   The company's Facebook page can be seen here.

Stewart-Haas Racing adds Outback

Stewart-Haas Racing is adding yet another sponsor to its lineup on the No. 39 team driven by Ryan Newman, The Observer and ThatsRacin.com have learned.


Outback Steakhouse, a restaurant chain based in Tampa, Fla., will serve as primary sponsor on the No. 39 in at least two Sprint Cup Series races in 2012, multiple sources said.


A formal announcement of the sponsorship addition is expected Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.


The organization recently announced the addition of sponsor Quicken Loans for nine races on the No. 39 next season.

VIDEO: Stewart-Edwards good as it gets?

Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards talk about the Chase, which is down to two races after Sunday's win by Stewart at Texas. It may be down to two drivers with a realistic shot, too.