5 biggest questions for Round of 8 finale at Phoenix

It’s go time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Sunday afternoon at Phoenix International Raceway, two drivers will join Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards as contenders for this year’s series championship. And with four drivers separated by just two points for the final two slots, the battle should be close and intense.

Here are the five biggest questions heading into Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at PIR:

Getty ImagesGetty Images

The Phoenix race is very short. The spring race here took  just 2 hours, 45 minutes to complete. In a race this short, the drivers won’t pit often, which means when they do pit, the stops need to be flawless. Drop a lug nut here or get caught speeding on pit road and there simply won’t be enough time in the race to make it up, especially with passing so difficult here. Think of PIR like any prime piece of real estate: It’s all about three things — location, location, location.

Getty ImagesGetty Images

Last year, Ford didn’t have a single driver make it to the championship round at Homestead. Of the eight drivers left in this year’s Chase, Joey Logano of Team Penske is the only one who drives a Ford. Logano is second in points right now, but Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin are all within two points of him.

Getty ImagesGetty Images

Yes, eight drivers are vying for the final four spots in the championship race. But there are 32 other drivers who are racing, too. Drivers who are no longer in title contention have combined to win 11 of the 34 races run this year, including Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski, who have each one four times so far in 2016. Is there a non-Chaser who can pull off a surprise victory this time around?

Getty ImagesGetty Images

All year long, Joe Gibbs Racing has been the dominant team in NASCAR, leading the Cup Series in victories. And JGR’s Kyle Busch is the defending series champion. Depending on what happens Sunday, there could be as many as three or as few as one JGR driver to advance to Homestead. All year long, the JGR guys have been great teammates. Now, it’s every man for himself.

Getty ImagesGetty Images

Harvick, the 2014 Cup champion, owns PIR. He’s won eight races here, including five of the last six. Plus, he excels in Chase elimination races, having won here and at Homestead in 2014 and another last year at Dover. There’s no question he will be the favorite this weekend, but long winning streaks are hard to sustain in this sport. Still, he’s going to be very tough to beat.

NASCARNASCAR via Getty Images