What to watch for as the Chase winds down

Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon is on the brink of going winless in 2008. Getty Images

The presidential election isn't the only thing NASCAR fans have put behind them as of late. With two weeks left to go, many feel this year's title Chase is already wrapped up. While Carl Edwards is making a late season charge, Jimmie Johnson remains ahead by 106 points, and merely needs to finish seventh or better in the final two races to clinch his third straight Sprint Cup championship.

But just because the trophy's likely in the hands of the No. 48 doesn't mean you should suddenly tune out until Daytona in February. There's still other drama to play out in the Cup Series over the next two weeks, with plenty of streaks, awards, and even careers at stake.

Here are five things to keep an eye on as we head down the stretch towards Phoenix and Homestead:

Who's going to end up winless? In a year that's seen three drivers win 22 of 34 races, there's plenty of big name veterans left shut out of Victory Lane in 2008. And that list even includes the Chasers, as three of the Top 12 contenders are winless. With just two races left, that math tells an ugly tale: at least one playoff contender is going to come up empty this year.

The biggest name still yet to cash in is four-time Series champ Jeff Gordon. Struggling with the handling on his DuPont Chevrolets, the Rainbow Warrior has slumped just one year after finishing second in points to Johnson with six wins and a record 30 Top 10 finishes. Things are so off kilter that Gordon had to publicly back crew chief Steve Letarte last weekend to douse rumors of his firing at the end of the season. There have been signs this team's been waking up as of late; a surprising second on fuel mileage at Texas came just two days after winning the pole. But Gordon has just one career win at the final two tracks, and that's not exactly a confidence builder as he attempts to avoid his first winless season since 1993.

Meanwhile, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick are busy trying to bust droughts of their own. Kenseth is one of two drivers to make all five Chases, but has won just once in 48 playoff starts -- a dismal career batting average of .020. Still looking for a breakthrough with crew chief Chip Bolin, the No. 17's best chance will come at Homestead, where Kenseth won last November in his final race with crew chief turned Roush GM Robbie Reiser.

On the other hand, Harvick's best chance to crack the winner's circle comes this weekend at Phoenix, where he has two career wins -- both in 2006. The Arizona oval tends to be ideal for the short track strength of the No. 29 team. With a drought that dates back to the 2007 Daytona 500, Harvick would desperately like to make a statement before the year is out. After all, RCR's No. 1 driver is the only one on the team yet to finish first this season.

Shuffling for the stage in New York. While 12 drivers make the playoffs, 10 get the honor of being invited to NASCAR's postseason banquet at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. With a Times Square celebration, appearances on national talk shows and a little extra money at stake, it gives the drivers in 10th, 11th, and 12th a little something to shoot for after being shut out of the race for the championship.

Right now, three men are separated by just three points for that 10th and final spot. And who would have thought regular season points champ Kyle Busch would be in jeopardy of missing out? For awhile, it didn't even look like Busch would do much of anything after a horrific start to the Chase cost him 300 points in over three weeks. But finishes of fourth, fifth and sixth over the last month have been barely enough to lift him back out of the playoff cellar and into 10th place. With Busch tied for the series lead with eight wins, it would be nothing short of embarrassing for him to fall short of the stage in New York.

But it's not going to be easy. Behind him in 11th sits Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., with one top five finish in his last seven races but looking to finish the season strong. And then there's Denny Hamlin, trying desperately to avoid finishing dead last in the Chase for the second straight year.

Manufacturer Warfare. Eight weeks ago, Toyota seemed a lock to dethrone Ford and Chevy in its second season competing in Sprint Cup. Should Toyota go on to win the manufacturers' title, it'll be the first time neither Ford nor Chevy took home the hardware since Buick in 1982.

But don't crown these Camrys just yet. Joe Gibbs Racing's three-car fleet has fallen flat in the Chase, giving Chevy and Ford the chance to charge back and make this a three-way sprint to the finish. Heading to Phoenix, Chevy has a two-point edge on Ford and three points on Toyota in a bid to win their sixth straight crown in the Cup Series.

Why is this battle important? Considering the sorry state of Ford and GM these days, having Toyota outperform them in the marketplace and on the racetrack would be tough to take. It'd be a crippling blow for their morale at a time NASCAR is doing all it can to ensure no manufacturers pull out during the financial crisis.

The Rookie of the Year battle. I've already written at length about how this rookie class is the worst in the modern era -- at this point, attrition has cut this year's class from six to two. But in the battle for "best of the worst," Regan Smith and Sam Hornish, Jr. are still neck-and-neck, separated by just four points in their battle for top freshmen honors.

Winning the award could mean the difference for both men in whether they even come back for a sophomore season. Smith has yet to find sponsorship for his No. 01 DEI Chevy, and there are grumbles Hornish might head back to Indy Car if he doesn't pick up the pace. Right now, Hornish is a slight favorite, but a surprising Top 10 finish for either man would be all it takes to swing things in their direction.

The plight of the non-Chase teams. For the first time in the five-year history of NASCAR's playoff system, "non-Chasers" have gone winless through eight starts. A few have come close (Smith at Talladega and Jamie McMurray at Texas come to mind), but the fact remains 13th in points on back have been little more than a footnote since we left Richmond in early September.

Considering many of those teams don't have sponsorship for '09, that's a trend that needs to change. DEI, Bill Davis Racing, Ganassi, Petty Enterprises ... the list goes on and on, and not everyone will make it in this year's version of survival of the fittest. Considering the only way you get companies on board is by running up front, these cars have to get some quality TV time the next two weeks to secure the backing they need. With several drivers, cars, and owners in a position with nothing to lose, expect the aggression to kick up a notch over the final two weeks of the season.