Entering Sunday's race at Texas, the biggest talk in the garage was not the points. No, it was still about the incident on Friday night and the decisions that followed the following morning.
Come the end of 500 miles, that story is still a headline, but now it can take a backseat to the action on the track and in the points.
Last week, Tony Stewart threw the gauntlet at Carl Edwards, saying "He better be worried. These next three weeks won't be easy." One week later, Stewart not only didn't waiver from those statements, but made certain he backed them up. Not only did he back them up, he made certain that the title hunt was going down to the final two races of the season.
Stewart put on a Texas-sized beatdown on the field at the Texas Motor Speedway. Smoke led the most laps on his way to his fourth win of the season, all coming in the Chase.
Meanwhile, Edwards decided to keep things close, as he fought back to finish second. The points lead has gone from eight points down to just three. What does that mean? It means Stewart can finish three positions ahead of Edwards to tie the points, and four positions ahead means he's got the points lead.
Speaking of points lead, there's a new leader in the Victory Pool. Two writers correctly picked the winner on Sunday, and one of them now holds the top spot. With some picks having rather low runs, everything has changed at the end of the race.
Here's a look at the points now after the AAA Texas 500:
James Broomhead (2301) Tony Stewart WON (3)
Billy Fellin (2295) Carl Edwards finished second (3)
Misan Ayuka (2291) Matt Kenseth finished fourth (4)
Michael Hirshbein (2289) Matt Kenseth finished fourth (6)
Kelly Crandall (2281) Tony Stewart WON (5)
Kara Martin (2279) Matt Kenseth finished fourth (1)
Dustin Parks (2278) Denny Hamlin finished 20th (1)
Sal Sigala Jr. (2266) No. 18 car finished 33rd (5)
Rob Tiongson (2265) Denny Hamlin finished 20th (3)
Christopher Leone (2258) Kevin Harvick finished 13th (4)
Ryan O'Hara (2225) NO PICK SENT (2)
POINTS NOTE: The writer who picked the No. 18 car this week originally picked Kyle Busch. However, with Busch being "parked" for the weekend following his actions in Friday night's Camping World Truck race, questions were brought up by some writers as to how I would handle the points.
Here's my clarification-That writer has earned the points that the car earned for that weekend. The same amount of points the car earned was the same amount that the owner would get for the finish. We all knew going in that the points probably would cause a shake up in the standings, and there would only be a two-position change had the points been zero. Both the writer, and the administrator of Fan Vs. Fan, brought the questions to me, and I have answered them to the best of my ability.
Next Race: Sunday's race was a two-step in Texas, with the winner firing some six-shooters. Next week, it's a wild card of a different sort.
The "Jewel of the Desert" will welcome NASCAR to town for the second time this year. But this time, it's a new racing surface, and a slightly different track configuration will welcome the drivers. The Phoenix International raceway has hosted the next-to-last race of the season since the Chase debuted, and is ready to welcome a points battle that is one for the ages.
Writers, we're down to the biggest races of the Chase, and points will be at a premium. Have your picks for the Kobalt Tools 500 emailed by 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 10.
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