It was a day dominated by Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart, the two main contenders in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. They were seemingly lock-step out front for most of the afternoon, never staying more than a few carlengths from each other.
When the checkered flag fell, however, it was a team two weeks away from possible extinction with a driver/crew chief combo guaranteed to join Hendrick Motorsports next season that grabbed most of the spotlight.
Kasey Kahne took the No. 4 Red Bull Racing Toyota to Victory Lane Sunday afternoon in the Kobalt Tools 500k at Phoenix International Raceway, holding off Edwards and Stewart to earn his first win since September 2009.
For Red Bull Racing, it marked the team's second Sprint Cup win -- the first since Brian Vickers took a fuel-mileage win at Michigan International Speedway in August 2009. The No. 4 crew spent less time on pit road than Edwards and Stewart on the final set of stops, allowing Kahne to build a two-second advantage when Brad Keselowski pitted on Lap 298.
Additionally, Sunday may have been Red Bull Racing's final win. The energy drink is leaving the sport following next weekend's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leaving team general manager Jay Frye to find funding in order to field anything resembling a competitive operation for 2012.
As for the title hunt, very little was actually accomplished when it came to progress made or lost. Edwards still holds a three-point advantage over Stewart, but it wasn't for a lack of trying by the No. 14 team. "Smoke" paced the field for 160 of 312 circuits around the one-mile circuit, clinching a bonus point for leading the most laps yet again.
Both Stewart and Edwards have had success at Homestead-Miami, with the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford winning there last season. Meanwhile, Stewart won the first Sprint Cup races at the 1.5-mile oval, albeit under a much different configuration than it has now.
Rounding out the top 10 were Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, AJ Allmendinger, David Reutimann, Marcos Ambrose and Clint Bowyer. Just three Chasers placed in the top quarter of the field, leaving just Stewart and Edwards mathematically eligible to take the France Trophy.
Jimmie Johnson's 14th-place finish officially ruled him out of an unprecedented sixth consecutive Sprint Cup title, ending one of sports' greatest dynasties.
The 2011 Sprint Cup season wraps up next Sunday with the Ford 400 in Homestead, Fla.
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