It seems like just yesterday that it was Speedweeks in Daytona and we were all wondering how the 2007 season would unfold. Suddenly, there's just one race left until we bid the season farewell.

Back in February, I doubt even the pundits who were forecasting a strong season for Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe's team would have predicted a 10-win season with four straight wins in the Chase and an 86-point lead over teammate Jeff Gordon heading into Homestead.

But that is exactly the position that Johnson is in after pulling out yet another improbable victory in Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Understandably, Gordon and Johnson received the lion's share of media attention throughout the race, as all eyes were focused on which of the two will walk away with the Nextel Cup next weekend.

Despite good starting positions for both drivers - Gordon started 3rd and Johnson 6th - neither was a lap leader in the early going. In fact, it was pole sitter Carl Edwards who appeared to have the dominant car early on, leading the first 87 laps before the switching off to Martin Truex, Jr.

Unfortunately for Edwards, his engine called it quits on lap 106. The 99 team affected repairs and tried to return to the race, but was forced to call it quits on lap 193. A day that started off with such promise ended with a 42nd-place finish.

Martin Truex Jr. ran well throughout the race, leading a total of 72 laps and finishing 7th. The same can not be said for Truex's DEI teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who got loose and smacked the wall on lap 119, ending his day less than halfway through the race. It was Junior's ninth DNF of the year and dropped him from 13th to 14th in the point standings. Junior had no real explanation for the mishap, except to say that the car "just spun around."

But the overall lap leader turned out to be Matt Kenseth, who overtook Truex on lap 140. Kenseth led a total of 93 laps and looked to be the car to beat through much of the mid portion of the race. Aside from Kenseth and Truex, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson also ran at or near the top 5 for much of the race.

Jeff Gordon, meanwhile, hovered between 5th and 10th, but never made a move to the front. In fact, Gordon didn't lead a single lap, while Johnson led 55.

After swapping the lead with Kenseth several times, Truex restarted in 1st on lap 274, with Kenseth running 3rd and Johnson 5th. Nine laps later, DEI rookie driver Aric Almirola in the No. 01 car - a lap down and trying to hold on to the lucky dog position - got in the way of Kenseth, allowing Johnson to get by the 17.

Johnson then passed Truex Jr. for the lead on lap 289, and once he hit clean air, he never looked back, taking the checkered flag on lap 312. Rounding out the top 5 were Biffle, Kenseth, Stewart, and Newman.

A second point of focus Sunday was the participation of three previous Indy 500 winners in the Cup race. Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Jacques Villenueve, finished 17th, 30th, and 41st, respectively, while another open-wheel driver, Patrick Carpentier, came in 33rd.

There were no major surprises among the race's top finishers, with 10 of the top 12 being Chasers - Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman, two non-Chasers, the only exceptions. Denny Hamlin finished 16th while Carl Edwards and his aforementioned expired engine finished 42nd.

While there is still a mathematical chance for Jeff Gordon to win the championship, it will take a combination of a near-perfect run by the 24 team and a major mishap for the 48 to keep Johnson from his second straight title.