Johnson widens Cup lead

Associated Press

AVONDALE, ARIZ.

Jimmie Johnson seized control of the championship battle following a disastrous performance by Matt Kenseth on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Johnson widened his lead in the Sprint Cup standings to 28 points over Kenseth heading into next Sunday’s season finale at Homestead by finishing third in a workmanlike performance for the five-time champion. Johnson will take his sixth title by finishing 23rd or better next week.

“We’re heading into Homestead in the position we want to be in,” Johnson said. “I’ll have to go down there and run 400 miles. It’s far from over. You’ve got to finish that race.”

Kevin Harvick won Sunday at Phoenix for the second consecutive year, but all eyes were on Kenseth, who struggled mightily for the first time in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Kenseth finished 23rd.

His car was off at the very start of the race and Kenseth struggled to tell crew chief Jason Ratcliff what adjustments to make on a Toyota he described at one point as “just not drivable.”

“I don’t even know what to tell you to fix, to be honest,” Kenseth radioed. “I am so aero tight. So aero tight.”

Figuring track position and clean air was the only fix, Ratcliff opted for a strategy of having Kenseth do the opposite of other drivers: If they pitted, Kenseth did not, and vice versa. It worked as Kenseth cracked the top 10, but then backfired on a disastrous pit stop at the worst possible time.

Moments after contact between Johnson and Carl Edwards knocked Johnson out of the groove and forced him to save his Chevrolet from wrecking, a caution was called for Josh Wise’s spin. The Joe Gibbs Racing crew botched the pit stop, changing strategy mid-stop, and Kenseth compounded the problem by running over his air hose. His car had to be backed up before it could be serviced. It dropped him to 30th, two laps down.