Edwards chases Johnson to end

Carl Edwards still faces long odds in trying to thwart Jimmie Johnson from winning a third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

But if Edwards pulls it off, he’ll make stock car racing history. The Missourian arrives for Sunday’s race at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway -- the next-to-last race in the season -- trailing Johnson by 106 points.

Qualifying to set the race’s 43-car field is today.

Johnson had led by 183 points, but Edwards on Sunday pared that advantage by winning at Texas Motor Speedway while Johnson finished 15th.

If Edwards somehow can erase Johnson’s remaining lead at Phoenix and at the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 16 to win the title, it would be the biggest comeback since NASCAR began using the current points system in 1975.

The record comeback to date -- or record collapse, depending on your point of view -- was in 1992, when Alan Kulwicki overcame an 85-point gap to Bill Elliott with only two races remaining to win the championship.

And while it won’t be easy for Edwards to gain 106 points on Johnson, given Johnson’s strong performance in recent weeks, it’s not out of the question, either. NASCAR noted that Edwards gained 106 points on Johnson over a two-race stretch on five separate occasions this season.

But Edwards has his work cut out at the Phoenix raceway, a quirky bean-shaped oval that is nestled against the desert foothills several miles west of downtown Phoenix.

Johnson, the El Cajon native who drives the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, has taken the last two races here, including this year’s spring race when he won on a fuel-mileage gamble -- just as Edwards did last Sunday.

“My goal is to win the race, try to lead the most laps, gain points on those guys so we can go to Homestead with as many points as we can,” Johnson said.

“I hope it works that way,” he added. “No telling it will.”

Edwards, meanwhile, is nothing if not confident, having won the last two races in his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and eight overall for the season, tying him for the series high with Kyle Busch.

“Phoenix is, I think, one of the most fun race tracks we go to,” Edwards said. “A driver can really make a difference there. . . . That race track will be good.”

Tight truck race

The closest battle for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title resumes tonight, with the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International.

Johnny Benson holds a six-point lead over Ron Hornaday Jr. in the championship standings with two races left. Hornaday won a week ago at Texas Motor Speedway. If Hornaday wins the title, he would become the oldest champion of a NASCAR national series, at 50 years and four months.

Phoenix footnotes

The Phoenix raceway has been playing host to Cup races since 1988, and three active drivers have won twice here besides Johnson: Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. . . . Johnson also has the top average finish (6.0) here among the 12 drivers in this year’s Chase for the Cup, while Matt Kenseth has the worst (18.8). . . . Jeff Gordon, still looking for his first win of the season, has eight top-five finishes at this track, highest among the Chase drivers.

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james.peltz@latimes.com