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FORT WORTH, Texas -- It was just off.

That was crew chief Steve Addington's simple explanation for Tony Stewart's worst finish of the season Saturday at the Samsung Mobile 500.

In November, Stewart was shooting off guns in the winner's circle at Texas Motor Speedway. At Saturday's Samsung Mobile 500, Stewart never led, never really threatened -- he was never really there.

Stewart finished an unsual week in Fort Worth with a 24th-place finish.

The week started poorly, too. Stewart struggled in his first practice session Thursday, and things got worse when he wrecked his primary car during Friday's practice.

During the race, Stewart moved up a few spots to 19th. After 100 laps, Stewart fell back and never really moved up or down.

Stewart was optimistic during the beginning of the race because his front end was good. The back end was a different story, though. The heavy winds pushed Stewart even more off balance, but Addington said it wasn't the reason they finished poorly.

"Everybody has to deal with it. That's no excuse for the way we ran," Addington said. "We were just off tonight."

Stewart didn't talk to reporters after the race, but Addington spoke about the problems Stewart's team had getting the No. 14 working correctly.

"It was just off," Addington said again. "If I could explain it I could have fixed it. Everybody worked really hard, we just missed the balance on it."

With two wins on the season, Stewart is still in great shape for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but Addington's team isn't going to just forget about this weekend and move on.

"We're not going to just sweep it under the rug because we won two races," Addington said. "We have to figure out what we're doing when we come back here."

Stewart apologized to his team for wrecking the primary car, but Addington said that wasn't a good excuse, either. Stewart drove that same backup car to victory in the November win at TMS.

"We win as a team and we lose as a team," Addington said. "We're a good enough team that we should be able to drag a car off the trailer and get closer than we did tonight."

The finish moves Stewart down four spots into seventh place in the Sprint Cup standings.

What an amazing year, unquestionably the biggest year in sports for Dallas-Fort Worth ever! No community in America has likely ever had a year in sports like the one we just enjoyed in 2011.

The Mavs won the NBA world championship. TCU won the Rose Bowl. A Baylor football player -- RGIII -- won the Heisman Trophy. The Rangers played in the World Series. The Super Bowl was played here. Two PGA golf tournaments were played here. Two NASCAR races were run and twin IndyCar races were held in the same night. High school sports gave us unlimited stories of success and failure, opportunities and created memories for a lifetime. The Sporting news named us the nation's top sports city!

As you try to wrap your arms around the most amazing year any city has enjoyed in sports, I would argue that the greatest individual performance by any athlete occurred here at Texas Motor Speedway in November when Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards began an emotional three-race battle for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Stewart won here at TMS while Edwards, the points leader, finished second. One week later in Phoenix, Edwards finished second and Stewart third. In the season finale at Homestead, Stewart's stubborn competitive drive proved too much as he won the race with Edwards finishing a close second. The two ended the season tied in the points standings. A tiebreaker -- the driver with the most wins -- gave Stewart his third championship.

What more can you ask for in sports? And it all started right here.

Why do we watch sports? To see competitors win or lose. To see who has the strongest will. To find out who will refuse to lose. To see who is the most determined. To see who has the most grit. To see who can conquer their own fears and insecurities. To see who is mentally tough. TO SEE WHO HAS THE BIGGEST HEART.

In a sport that must blend man and machine, the big, strong, determined heart that beats in Tony Stewart's chest was bigger than the 600 horsepower engine in Edwards' car. Stewart's will won out. And that come-from-behind run in the final three races of the season started right here at Texas Motor Speedway. All that is good in sports was on display right here that day in November.

As you consider a remarkable year in sports for Dallas-Fort Worth, I wanted to remind you that Stewart and Edwards shined in the purest of ways that day. Fittingly, a simple race between two tough men was beautiful in the most graceful of ways.

It may well be the highlight of the greatest year in sports for Dallas-Fort Worth. Ever.

Never in the history of motorsports have two titans rendered the sport simply a two-man show the way Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards have over the final three race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

Starting here at Texas Motor Speedway, the eighth of 10 races in the Chase, it was almost like there were no other cars on the track. At TMS, Stewart won and Edwards finished second. At Phoenix, Edwards finished second and Stewart third. And then it came down to the finale in Homestead, Fla., in front of a disappointing crowd amid rain delays at the small track.

The focus was clearly on these two drivers. Old School Tony and the cerebral and physically fit Edwards. Both drove with their tongues hanging out, racing each lap as hard as they possibly could. Stewart looked like a man possessed, passing four-wide at a Homestead track where two-wide is pushing it. From time-to-time he let out a shout, sounding euphoric and delivering a message that he was leaving it all on the track. It was checkers or wreckers for him.

Edwards, though, led the most laps. He wasn’t to be outdone. And he calmly went about his pace with reserved discussion over the two-way radio with his crew chief, Bob Osborne.

Speaking of crew chiefs, Darian Grubb was informed by Stewart-Haas Racing that he'd no longer have a job once the season ends. Now that he has guided Stewart’s team to the Sprint Cup championship, will that change? Not likely.

Oddly, Grubb is both the newly crowned NASCAR Sprint Cup champion's crew chief and looking for a job. Awkward. But at least his asking price would appear to have risen. His call to save fuel and give up track position was gutsy. A timely caution benefited Stewart, and Grubb was fortunate. Instead of being champion, he could have wound up the turkey. But seven-time champion Richard Petty has always said he'd rather be lucky than good. Grubb has been both.

If anybody ever asks again, what is the ratio between car and driver? Is the driver more important, or is the car more important? Over the last several races we have seen two great drivers carry their cars. Sure, the cars were prepared well. But these two drivers made their cars great. This was a driver's showdown, not a car or team showdown. Stewart and Edwards proved the driver can play as much of a role as they want.

Sunday’s race reminded me of the first fight between Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier in Madison Square Garden. Both fought out of sheer will. Frazier won the 15-rounder by decision. Afterwards, both fighters were hospitalized for their injuries. Rumors circulated that Frazier had, in fact, died (not true -- Fraizer died two weeks ago at age 67 after a bout with liver cancer.

That kind of sacrifice, self-discipline and will power makes an athlete not merely great, but truly legendary.

The performance by Stewart and Edwards puts them forever into that legendary status.

In a classic showdown, Tony Stewart beat Carl Edwards to win the Ford 500 in the season finale at Homestead to capture his third Sprint Cup championship.

The two drivers finished tied in points -- the first time that's happened in NASCAR history -- but Stewart won the season title based on his five race victories during the Chase, including his win at Texas Motor Speedway.

From Ed Hinton's perspective:

Tony Stewart drove a race for the ages. He won a championship for the ages. And Carl Edwards, in all-out pursuit to the end, helped Stewart seal Sunday's Ford 400 as the best NASCAR season finale there ever has been -- and probably ever will be.

They finished 1-2 on the track, they finished tied in points for the first time in NASCAR history, and Stewart won the championship on the first tiebreaker, most race wins, with five to Edwards' one this season.

"If this doesn't go down as one of the greatest championship battles in history, I don't know what will," Stewart said in Victory Lane.

He needn't even qualify this with "one of …"

Epic. The best ever. The greatest of all time.

Thirty-five races down and one to go. We’ve made it to the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Carl Edwards leads the standings by just three points over Tony Stewart and the two have 267 laps left to settle who will be crowned the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.

NASCAR is in its best season ever. We’ve got two titans of the sport battling in the third-tightest point spread leading into the season finale. Edwards and Stewart have eliminated the remaining 10 Chase competitors from earning the 2011 title, and now it’s time to let them race it out on the track.

There are several championship-winning scenarios depending on where Edwards and Stewart finish Sunday. A win for either would mean the title, but if Edwards finishes ahead of Stewart, he earns the championship. In Stewart’s favor is his tiebreaker status (most wins), so he only needs to tie Edwards to win his third championship.

The stats for Edwards and Stewart at Homestead-Miami Speedway intensify the epic showdown even more, as each have two wins at the track. Stewart set the race record at 140.335 mph when he won the inaugural race in 1999 and earned his second win the following year. Edwards posted wins in 2008 and 2010.

Edwards and Stewart have brought out the best in each other, performing their finest when the season was on the line. They finished first and second at Texas, and second and third Sunday at Phoenix. Edwards’ last two finishes (second and second) and Stewart’s last two finishes (first and third) means both have an average finish of 2.0 in the last two races.

Since the inception of the position-based points system in 1975, only three drivers have made up a points deficit in the season finale: Richard Petty in 1979 (made up two points on Darrell Waltrip), Alan Kulwicki in 1992 (made up 30 points on Davey Allison) and Jimmie Johnson in 2010 (made up 15 points on Denny Hamlin). Just as the great duels between these racing prodigies, I hope people will look at this season down the road and say, “Wow. That was a good year.”

For now, I hope people will enjoy the competitiveness this season has brought. I also hope people will appreciate and respect what our defending champion Jimmie Johnson, who has five consecutive titles, has accomplished, because it will never happen again.

Epic. The best ever. The greatest of all time. Hyperboles in describing both the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season or the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title?

No. I think it stands up as simple fact.

There's only one race remaining in the Sprint Cup season, and only three points separating the top two drivers in the Chase for the Championship -- Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.

After Stewart beat Edwards to the finish line for a 1-2 finish in Texas last week, Edwards had the better car on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway -- barely. Edwards finished second, while Stewart was third.

Oh, by the way, Kasey Kahne won the race. And in case you were wondering, five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson was eliminated.

Here's David Newton's take on the Sprint Cup shenanigans on Sunday:

Carl Edwards entered the media center late Sunday afternoon at Phoenix International Raceway and took a seat a few feet from Tony Stewart with only a black chair separating them.

"If you want, we can eliminate the chair," joked Stewart as Edwards slid even closer to the two-time Sprint Cup champion.

Quipped Edwards, "We're good."

These two have been that close on the track for most of the past three weeks. They will be that close heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Stewart behind Edwards by a mere three points with all the marbles on the line.

For more of the story on this epic points battle, click here.

Sage Steele and Shannon Spake preview the AAA Texas 500 on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

After deliberately wrecking Camping World Truck Series points leader Ron Hornday during a caution just 15 laps into Friday night's race at Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR has come down hard on Kyle Busch.

Busch, a participant in NASCAR's Chase for the Cup, has been suspended from the Nationwide Series race on Saturday AND for the Sprint Cup race on Sunday.

"After a good deal conversation and discussion, NASCAR decided to maintain the parked position for the balance of the weekend," Helton said during a news conference Saturday morning. "Kyle will not be participating today and tomorrow in Texas."

For more on the story, click here.

Busch has long been a polarizing figure in NASCAR, with fans either loving or hating the brash driver of the M&M's No. 18. So, after NASCAR's famed declaration of "Have at it, boys," do you agree with the sport's decision to park Busch for the weekend?

Click here to comment.

Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage is more than happy to hype this Sunday's Sprint Cup race -- the AAA Texas 500 (2 p.m., ESPN).

In fact, ESPN.com writer Ed Hinton has put together a top-10 list on why it promises to the best event -- ever!

Here's #9: Because TMS draws 8.5 million fans in 3.4 million luxury motor coaches to every single race, and every race gets bigger. (No, Gossage doesn't disclose attendance. You have to go by his insinuations.)

Click here to read the full list.

Matt Kenseth joins SportsNation for a chat Tuesday morning, and he discussed the Chase for the Championship as the Sprint Cup series roars into Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. Kenseth, who wheels the No. 17 Ford for the Roush Fenway Racing, sits fifth in the points race with three races left.

Here are a few highlights of his chat:

Is Texas Motor Speedway a good track for you? How confident are you heading into this weekend?

Kenseth: It's been a good track for us, maybe the best statisically speaking. I love going there but past success doesn't mean much for future success. But I like going there.

Do you feel like this year's Chase was more open than in past years?

Kenseth: It has felt like that. There have been many different guys in contention and just like you say, much more wide open. Not sure if it is the point system or Jimmie not being as dominant or what. I'm not really sure.

Do you still feel as if you have a legitimate shot at winning the Sprint Cup?

Kenseth: I was more confident two and a half weeks ago. We're far down but not out. We would have to have a spectacular few weeks and have the top guys have a down few weeks to get back in it.

It seems the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has woken a sleeping giant. Tony Stewart picked up his third win in the Chase yesterday at Martinsville and jumped from fourth to second in the championship standings. He now trails leader Carl Edwards by a mere eight points.

“Carl Edwards had better be real worried,” said Stewart in Victory Lane yesterday. “That’s all I’ve got to say. He’s not going to have an easy three weeks.”

Edwards responded with, “He's wound up. He won the race. We'll see what happens (this week) at Texas.”

Here’s Stewart who was almost a non-contender entering the Chase and now he’s made a complete 180 degree turn -- a perfect example of how quickly a team can rebound in the new Chase points system when it find that competitive edge. The luck can turn the opposite way just as fast, but now Stewart can taste a third NASCAR Sprint Cup championship and he’s not going down without a fight.

You couldn’t have picked two better guys to be battling in this Chase. Stewart was the last champion before Jimmie Johnson began his title-winning spree and Edwards is hungry for his first. I think of Ali vs. Frazier, the Yankees and the Red Sox, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.

This championship battle has a feel for the makings of a classic, epic slugfest. In fact, if you offered them a boxing ring to have at it after 500 miles of hard racing, I don’t think either one would turn the offer down. (Hey, that’s an idea!)

The AAA Texas 500 on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway is perfect timing for this rivalry to get heated up. Wild and crazy things have been known to occur at this place during the Chase. Last year we saw crew guys being shuffled, a fight on the backstretch and an official served with a hand gesture. The intensity of this year’s Chase is even higher, so I can only imagine what this race has in store for us.

LAAA-DIES AND GENTLE-MEN! IN THIS CORNER …

A late caution erased Jimmie Johnson's lead at Martinsville on Sunday afternoon. And on the restart, Tony Stewart took the high road to beat the five-time champ to the checkered flag -- his third victory of the Chase. And now he's nipping at the heels of points leader Carl Edwards coming to Texas Motor Speedway for the AAA Texas 500.

COVERAGE

David Newton: Stewart has that familiar swagger. Should Edwards be worried?

Martinsville recap: Late-race drama shuffles Chase contenters. Story » Results »

Chase for the Cup standings entering TMS race week.

Ladies and gentleman, it is officially Brad Keselowski's breakout season.

People can say what they want about Keselowski getting hot at the right time and so on, but nobody back-doors this competition. Everyone has their own formula for success, and Keselowski has found his.

Keselowski has come a long way since the beginning of this season. Talent was never the issue; he lacked confidence. Then he broke his ankle in a testing accident only to push through the pain and win four days later at Pocono. His confidence skyrocketed. He made a complete turnaround and took matters into his own hands. Keselowski entered the Chase 11th and has worked his way up to third, and he's now a prime contender for the championship.

I picked out Keselowski three years ago and started exchanging text messages with him. I saw talent and potential and wanted to see him succeed. His level of confidence wasn’t where it needed to be, so I wanted to encourage him. He has always been very receptive to my comments and has responded respectfully, so I’m very proud of him for working so hard and not giving up.

Keselowski comes from a great family, so I’m sure his upbringing has a lot to do with those good, strong character traits he possesses. I’ve known his dad, Bob, who raced in the ARCA Series, for years. know he and the entire Keselowski family is just exploding with pride right now.

We’ve got four races to go in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, including the AAA Texas 500 coming up on Nov. 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. Keselowski led for the first time at Texas earlier this season in April.

The Texas race has been known to be the game-changing race in the Chase.

Keselowski could be the beneficiary this season.

The intensity in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup grew even higher Sunday at Kansas as Jimmie Johnson earned his second win of the season and Carl Edwards took the series lead by one point over Kevin Harvick. But it seems like there’s only one thing on the public’s mind: “We’re tired of Johnson winning championships.”

While I understand Johnson and this sport seems like a broken record (excuse the pun), I’d like to remind everyone of the unique season we’ve seen.

First let’s consider the repeat Cinderella story. Prior to this season, never before had NASCAR seen first-time winners in the Daytona 500, Southern 500 and Brickyard 400 in one year. In fact, even just the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 had never seen first-time winners in the same season. That’s good stuff.

Next I want to bring up the heated competition. Yes, I’m talking about feuds and controversy. Fireworks erupting between Harvick and Kyle Busch at Darlington, Johnson and Kurt Busch at Richmond and Pocono, Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya at Darlington, and Greg Biffle and Boris Said at Watkins Glen.

“He is the most unprofessional little scaredy cat I've ever seen in my life,” Said said about Biffle. “He wouldn't even fight me like a man after. So if someone texts me his address, I'll go see him Wednesday at his house and show him what he really needs.”

Talk about drama. You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

Then you’ve got drivers like Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. making remarkable comebacks, clinching a spot in the Chase and actually being in contention to win the title. And let’s not forget Jeff Gordon earning his 85th victory, passing Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for third place on the all-time wins list.

It’s been a very competitive year, and this could turn out to be a magical season. It reminds me of 1992 when Alan Kulwicki, an underdog, recorded one of the greatest championship comebacks in NASCAR history, rebounding from a 278-point deficit with six races remaining. Kulwicki edged Bill Elliott by 10 points to become the series champion -- the closest championship margin at the time.

Now we’re down to six races and nine guys still have a legitimate shot, but somebody’s feelings are about to get hurt. There’s no room for mistakes now. You can’t leave anything on the table. Get ready NASCAR nation, because the pressure’s on.

So I hear Jimmie Johnson is back. Wait ... When was he gone? Did I miss something?

Prior to Johnson’s second-place finish at Dover on Sunday, he was 10th with one top-10 finish so far in the Chase. Sure he was down in points, but that didn’t make me think he was done.

Then there was talk about Johnson calling out his crew chief, Chad Knaus, over the radio at New Hampshire and suggesting a rocky relationship could result in an end to his NASCAR championships. To me, the words they exchanged are nothing out of the ordinary. It happens all the time. These drivers are focused on the job at hand, and it’s a silly time to talk nuances.

I know driver/crew chief pairings are critical to success in this sport. It’s teamwork. That’s why it’s called a race team. We’ve seen pairings like Richard Petty and Dale Inman, Dale Earnhardt and Kirk Shelmerdine, and Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham lead to multiple championships before.

But I think the assumption that Johnson’s chances of a sixth consecutive championship could be over because of a change in relationship with Knaus diminishes what he has accomplished. Johnson is the one behind the wheel. The man is a legend. He's won five consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships.

Obviously, Johnson also has been reading these stories about his so-called diminishing performance. After Sunday’s race, he made the comment: "Are we out of it? Last week I was considered done."

It's not hard to make up points in this Chase system. Look at the standings now. The top-nine drivers are within 19 points of each other. This system is working exactly the way NASCAR wants it to -- a close competition. The only person too far out to win this thing in my opinion is Denny Hamlin.

So you can't ever write Johnson off. He's still got the drive. The hunger. The passion. He's still the man and to be the man, you've got to beat the man. And everybody knows they've got to beat Johnson.