Edwards: Title fight will go to wire

Carl Edwards expects the battle for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title to go down to the final lap at Homestead next week.

The Roush Fenway driver currently leads the Chase by a slim three points over Tony Stewart, who has won four out of eight play-off races, including back-to-back wins in the last two events.

Edwards has led the standings more often than any other driver this year and believes his consistency throughout the season is proof that he can finally clinch his maiden Cup title, despite his rival's recent surge during the Chase.

The pair have actually scored the same amount of points during the last eight weeks but Edwards' victory early in the season at Las Vegas gave him the three bonus points that keep him at the top of the standings, despite not winning again since then.

Edwards does not believe he needs to change his approach entering the last two title-deciding events.

"We have led the points, I have said this 100 times, we have led for 20-something weeks and we have done it the way we know how to do it and the way we can," said Edwards. "We might have to step it up just a little bit these next two races but I don't feel we are in a position where we have to change anything. I think we have to just go race as hard as we can."

He added: "For us it is pretty neat to be holding off a two-time champion having the best Chase he has ever had. It is neat to be battling with him. If we can continue and hold him off and win this thing... If it truly comes down to the end like I believe it will, I truly believe it will come down to the last lap at Homestead, that is going to feel good that it is Tony."

Edwards won both the last two races of the season last year at Phoenix and Homestead when already out of contention for the title, and also claimed victory in the season finale two years ago on the way to the runner-up spot in the championship.

His past and recent success at the last venue of the season makes him confident that he can beat Stewart, even if he ends up dropping to second in the standings following this weekend's race at Phoenix.

"If I were 10 points behind [after Phoenix] then Tony's run at Texas would make me think he will probably run pretty well at Homestead but I still feel we can lead the most laps, win the race and it would only take a little trouble or a little lack of speed on their part for us to beat them still," Edwards said. "I have seen a lot of points battles and been part of a few and seen a lot of things happen in the sport.

"I am telling you, there is something to me that I feel this thing is not going to be over until the last lap. I just have a feeling about this one for some reason."

He added: "I am not nervous. I maybe should be but I am not. I am pretty excited about the opportunity I have here. I have been doing this long enough now. Last year is a good example. I sat back and thought about what I would not give to be going into these last two races with a shot at winning the thing.

"To be able to go out there and perform and do what we do - that is the neatest part. The last restart at Homestead, neck and neck, tied and if it's best man wins, then the hair might be standing up on my neck. Right now I am looking at this like this is pretty neat to be a part of and it is fun."

Both Stewart and Edwards looked strong in race-trim during Friday's practice sessions at Phoenix, with Saturday's qualifying looking key as overtaking is expected to be at a premium during Sunday's race on the new surface of the one-mile venue.

Kenseth takes pole at Phoenix

Matt Kenseth claimed pole position for the penultimate round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Phoenix.

The Roush Fenway racer bumped fellow Ford driver AJ Allmendinger from pole with a lap of 26.260 seconds at an average speed of 137.101 mph, which gave him his seventh Cup career pole and his third of the year, more than he has ever achieved in a single season.

Kenseth's lap ended up splitting the main title contenders Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards onto separate rows. They had looked set to start right next to each other but ended up eighth and ninth respectively, the Stewart Haas racer having to take the first green flag on Sunday from the less favourable outside line.

Drivers struggled with loose cars and poor grip relative to Friday's practice sessions amid the hotter track conditions, but teams anticipate the track will continue to change as overnight rain is expected to take away some of the rubber that has already been laid on the new surface.

"Jimmy [Fennig, crew chief] had a strategy to go fast in the first practice to go out late," said Kenseth. "Even though we knew the temperature would be hotter he thought the track could be faster with more cars having run on it. A lot of people chose the opposite strategy and worked on race set-up in the first practice and did their qualifying stuff in the second practice to go out early.

"He had a plan and made the right adjustments. He thought it would be looser today. I didn't get all there was to get out of the car. It was just that good. They made all the right choices there."

Kenseth remains mathematically in the title hunt despite his 33-point deficit to Edwards, while Kevin Harvick, also still in contention, qualified 27th. Penske's Brad Keselowski was 12th fastest while four-time Phoenix winner Jimmie Johnson will start 16th.

Kyle Busch was 34th fastest but he will start from the rear of the field following an engine change during the first practice session on Friday. His Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Denny Hamlin spun when starting his qualifying run and ended up 33rd on the grid.

Red Bull rookie Cole Whitt impressed on his first Cup outing, qualifying 19th, right behind team-mate Brian Vickers.

Scott Riggs, David Stremme and Andy Lally, who spun on his qualifying run while driving his back-up car, all failed to make the field.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford 26.258s 2. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford 26.384s + 0.126s 3. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 26.411s + 0.153s 4. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet 26.455s + 0.197s 5. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 26.455s + 0.197s 6. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 26.469s + 0.211s 7. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota 26.473s + 0.215s 8. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 26.488s + 0.230s 9. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 26.529s + 0.271s 10. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 26.534s + 0.276s 11. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 26.547s + 0.289s 12. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 26.585s + 0.327s 13. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 26.588s + 0.330s 14. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 26.608s + 0.350s 15. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 26.613s + 0.355s 16. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 26.618s + 0.360s 17. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge 26.622s + 0.364s 18. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 26.624s + 0.366s 19. Cole Whitt Red Bull Toyota 26.625s + 0.367s 20. Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge 26.630s + 0.372s 21. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet 26.631s + 0.373s 22. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 26.634s + 0.376s 23. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 26.689s + 0.431s 24. Scott Speed Whitney Ford 26.694s + 0.436s 25. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 26.696s + 0.438s 26. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 26.704s + 0.446s 27. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 26.715s + 0.457s 28. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet 26.751s + 0.493s 29. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 26.756s + 0.498s 30. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet 26.764s + 0.506s 31. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 26.793s + 0.535s 32. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 26.837s + 0.579s 33. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 26.850s + 0.592s 34. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 26.936s + 0.678s 35. Michael McDowell HP Toyota 26.979s + 0.721s 36. Mike Skinner Max Q Ford 27.023s + 0.765s 37. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 27.040s + 0.782s 38. Casey Mears Germain Toyota 27.062s + 0.804s 39. Mike Bliss FAS Lane Ford 27.184s + 0.926s 40. Geoffrey Bodine Baldwin Chevrolet 27.417s + 1.159s 41. JJ Yeley Front Row Ford 27.911s + 1.653s 42. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 29.252s + 2.994s 43. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 27.157s + 0.899s Did not qualify: Scott Riggs R3 Toyota 27.336s + 1.078s David Stremme Inception Chevrolet 27.355s + 1.097s Andy Lally TRG Ford 28.215s + 1.957s

Busch's Gibbs drive not in jeopardy

Kyle Busch admits he feared he would lose his drive with Joe Gibbs Racing following his actions during last week's NASCAR Truck Series race at Texas, but team boss Joe Gibbs says he will continue to race for his outfit next year.

On Friday morning Gibbs confirmed that the 26-year-old will remain a JGR driver for the reminder of the season and into 2012, amid speculation that #18 car's main sponsor Mars, through its brand M&M's, did not want to carry on its backing of the team if Busch remained behind the wheel.

On Thursday Mars put out a statement announcing it was effectively withdrawing its sponsorship for the last two Sprint Cup races of the season at Phoenix and Homestead, with longtime JGR sponsor Interstate Batteries taking over for both events.

According to Gibbs, besides NASCAR's penalties and his sponsor's decision, the team will put in place a number of internal measures to punish Busch.

He said that when faced with the decision of whether to terminate his driver's contract, he chose to continue to support Busch and hope he makes amends for his actions and finally turns a corner with his behaviour.

Busch, a former Nationwide Series champion for the team, had been the outfit's main championship contender this year, but his penalties from last week at Texas all but ended any hope of him remaining in the hunt for his maiden Cup title.

"Kyle's penalties are going to be substantial," Gibbs said. "If you think about it, NASCAR taking him out of the car last week, there's also a fine associated with that but the biggest thing is we went from seventh in points in the Chase to 11th.

"That's a huge deal. I know Kyle and all of us were excited about getting back in the top five. That'll probably take this away from us. I'm just emphasising that was a huge deal for us.

"Other actions are going to be in place. There'll be other financial penalties and stuff that we're working through and we'll continue to do that as we continue to go forward through this process.

"When you're put in a situation like this, you really can make one or two decisions. One would've been devastating, I think really discouraging for everybody associated with it, Kyle, everybody around him and for the sport.

"What I've chosen to do - I want to support Kyle. This could have a positive impact on Kyle and I'm committed to him as a person. I like him, we've gone through a lot together and as far as us at Joe Gibbs Racing we're looking forward to a long relationship."

Busch was apologetic when facing the media for the first time since NASCAR suspended him from racing at Texas last week and expressed his appreciation for his team's support. He admitted his actions, which took place while driving for his own team, have lost him respect with his JGR peers, colleagues and fans, but said he hopes to make the most of an "opportunity to become a better person."

Earlier this year Busch went past 100 wins in NASCAR's national series, claiming four Cup victories on the way to being one of the leading Chase contenders entering the play-off.

However controversy has surrounded him all season, first when he was caught speeding on public roads in May and consequently lost his licence, then when he was on the receiving end in a physical altercation with team owner Richard Childress at Kansas in June, ignited by a clash with an RCR driver on the track.

Busch said he feared for his future at JGR after being suspended from racing at Texas but denied that possibility was mentioned by his bosses this week.

"When you sit back and reflect and think about everything, you're sitting there on the sidelines on Saturday [at Texas], you're sitting there watching your [Cup] car race on Sunday, you know that's a huge deal," he said. "That's a huge disappointment not only to myself but more importantly to my team.

"These guys at Joe Gibbs Racing that had nothing to do with Friday night [at Texas]. I feel a tremendous amount of remorse for them. I've got to gain their respect back.

"Was there a point in which I thought 'do I have a ride'? Of course there was. Yeah, I thought that. Was there a point where Joe ever told me that 'hey, we're looking at terminating this'? No. Joe has been there and stuck by my side, held my arms through this whole deal."

Busch also stated that he has spoken to Ron Hornaday, with whom he clashed last week in the Truck race at Texas, and indicated they are already on good terms. The former Truck champion is still looking for a drive for next season and reportedly held talks with Busch about a seat with his team in 2012.

Next year Busch will also field his own car in the Nationwide Series.

M and M's suspends Busch backing

Kyle Busch has lost the backing of one of his main sponsors for the remainder of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season following his suspension from racing at Texas last weekend.

Mars has pulled its M&M's backing from Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for the final two races of the year in response to the 26-year-old deliberately crashing into Ron Hornaday under caution in last weekend's Truck series race.

Team boss Joe Gibbs said: "We strongly support Mars's decision. 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."

Mars confirmed that is still committed to NASCAR, and plans to return to the Sprint Cup arena with Busch in 2012. But it hopes that its decision to withdraw its support in the wake of last weekend's incident will make a point to the driver.

"Kyle's recent actions are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of Mars," said Debra A Sandler, chief consumer officer for 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."

Kyle Busch further penalised

Kyle Busch has been fined and placed on probation by NASCAR adding to his suspension from racing last weekend at Texas.

Busch has been fined US $50,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year following his incident with Truck Series contender Ron Hornaday in the early laps of Friday's race at Texas Motor Speedway.

According to NASCAR's release Busch could be suspended indefinitely "if during the remaining NASCAR events in 2011 there is another action by the competitor that is deemed by NASCAR officials as detrimental to stock car racing or to NASCAR, or is disruptive to the orderly conduct of an event".

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has lost any chance of contending for this year's Sprint Cup title after being unable to score any points in Sunday's race, which he watched from the top of his team's pitbox on his sponsor's request.

It remains to be seen if JGR will take any internal measures against Busch after his Sprint Cup sponsor Mars and manufacturer Toyota have expressed their disappointment over the driver's actions.

Stewart beats Edwards to Texas win

Tony Stewart claimed back-to-back wins for the second time in this year's Chase, winning his fourth race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season on Sunday at Texas.

The Stewart Haas driver continued to close on the series points lead after beating Chase leader Carl Edwards with a categoric win, taking home a perfect score that now places him only three points behind his Roush Fenway rival.

Edwards tried putting the pressure on Stewart in the final laps as both spent most of the race at the sharp end of the field but in the end he did not have anything for him despite Roush Fenway cars looking like the class of the field for most of the event.

Full report to follow

Results - 334 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 3h16m51.000s 2. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford + 1.092s 3. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota + 6.053s 4. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford + 6.369s 5. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford + 6.920s 6. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet + 11.046s 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet + 11.525s 8. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota + 12.826s 9. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet + 14.984s 10. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford + 17.392s 11. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford + 17.786s 12. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford + 20.684s 13. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet + 21.070s 14. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet + 21.285s 15. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet + 23.776s 16. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 24.416s 17. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford + 27.457s 18. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 29.298s 19. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet + 30.176s 20. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota + 1 lap 21. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota + 1 lap 22. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota + 1 lap 23. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet + 1 lap 24. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge + 1 lap 25. Casey Mears Germain Toyota + 1 lap 26. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet + 2 laps 27. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet + 2 laps 28. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota + 2 laps 29. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet + 2 laps 30. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge + 3 laps 31. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford + 3 laps 32. David Gilliland Front Row Ford + 3 laps 33. Michael McDowell Gibbs Toyota + 3 laps 34. Mike Bliss FAS Lane Ford + 5 laps 35. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet + 18 laps 36. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 39 laps Retirements: Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 258 laps Geoffrey Bodine Baldwin Chevrolet 215 laps Scott Speed Whitney Ford 30 laps Josh Wise HP Toyota 23 laps Mike Skinner Max Q Ford 19 laps Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 14 laps JJ Yeley Front Row Ford 10 laps

Busch apologises for Texas clash

Kyle Busch has publicly apologised following his incident in Friday's NASCAR Truck Series race, which caused him to be suspended from competing at Texas.

Busch was parked by NASCAR officials after intentionally crashing into the back of Truck series title contender Ron Hornaday under caution, spinning him against the barrier and putting him out of Friday night's race.

His actions came as retaliation for previous contact while fighting for second place early in the race.

On Saturday NASCAR announced Busch had been suspended from driving at Texas for the reminder of the weekend, forcing him to miss both the Nationwide and Cup Series races.

"I've had a lot of time today to sit and reflect, and try to put my thoughts into words as best I can," read an open apology letter issued by Busch on Saturday night.

"I want to sincerely apologise for my actions during Friday night's Truck Series race at Texas.

"I apologise to my fans, all my sponsors, everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports.

"After talking with my team, it's great to have their support and encouragement to assure me that there are better days ahead. Even though this took place while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, I am sorry for how difficult this has been for everyone associated with Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series teams.

"I'd also like to apologise to Ron Hornaday Jr, and everyone associated with the #33 team in the Truck Series.

"I understand why I was taken out of the car for the rest of the weekend. NASCAR officials had to act, and I accept their punishment and take full responsibility for my actions.

"As a racecar driver, the hardest thing to do is to sit on the sidelines listening to cars on the track when you know you should be out there competing. For this, I have no one to blame but myself.

"Through a lot of support from the people around me, I feel like I've made a lot of strides this year, but this was certainly a step backward. Moving forward, I will do everything I possibly can to represent everyone involved in a positive manner.

"However, I know my long-term actions will have more of a bearing than anything I say right now."

NASCAR president Mike Helton said further penalties for Busch were possible, while the driver's boss Joe Gibbs would not confirm whether the team was considering taking any internal measures.

"I think right now we're just trying to handle the first things first for us and there's so many things to consider and so many people to meet with," Gibbs said. "I think we're still early in the process and we're trying to work our way through it as best and as fast as we can."

Following Gibbs' remarks, Toyota issued a statement saying it trusts JGR will handle the difficult situation properly.

"Toyota understands it is NASCAR's responsibility to enforce their rules for the well-being of the sport," the statement read.

"We recognise this is a difficult situation for both Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch with respect to the incident that occurred at Texas Motor Speedway during Friday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

"However, we are confident in the leadership of Joe and JD Gibbs, and are certain the team will handle this difficult situation in an appropriate manner. Toyota remains 100 per cent committed to its support of Joe Gibbs Racing and its drivers."

Busch has all but lost any chance of contending for the Cup title as he will not be able to score points for the Chase this weekend, with only two more races left in the championship.