AVONDALE, Ariz. - Kevin Harvick finally has a shot to win his first Sprint Cup championship, while Jeff Gordon was once again denied in his drive for No. 5.Harvick routed the field Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, where he had to win to move into NASCARs championship finale. Hell go with Stewart-Haas Racing, the team he joined this season in his quest to win a title after 13 years of futility at Richard Childress Racing.Coming over here and racing this year has given me new life, Harvick said. Its like a dream. You lay it all out on paper and you say, This is what we want to do and we want to race for wins and championships, and all of a sudden youre a week away from everything that you talk about and dream about.Hell race Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the championship. The title will be decided by finishing order, and all four will be vying for their first championship.The championship field does not include Gordon or Brad Keselowski, who along with Harvick were the most dominant drivers all season. Keselowski has won a series-best six races, Gordon has won four times and led the points most of the season, and both showed the intensity of this new elimination-style Chase for the Sprint Cup championship with a pit road brawl last week that left both former champions bloodied.A disappointed Gordon said the on-track aggression and off-track intensity at Homestead will make Texas and the last month of racing look tame.If it was that ugly the past few weeks, its going to be real ugly next week, Gordon said.There were no fights following this race, but it was still intense as the championship field flipped and flopped with every lap. The most shocking change came after Gordon had crossed the finish line in second behind Harvick and thought he was in. Instead, Ryan Newman, needed one more position to bump Gordon out of the final four. He ran Kyle Larson high up the track to get the rookie out of his way to claim an 11th-place finish that put Newman in the Chase.I didnt take him out, Newman said. In a day or two, hell understand. Its hard to rationalize that, but I did what I had to do. I dont like racing that way.Gordon wound up missing the final by one point to Newman. He was tied with Harvick in the standings, but Harvick earned the automatic berth for his victory.Thats the system we have, Gordon said. I mean, I could have taken out Harvick, too, to make it in. But I didnt.Also eliminated Sunday were Matt Kenseth, who finished third, Keselowski, who needed to win to make it in but finished fourth, and Carl Edwards, who was 15th.It was a devastating blow for Keselowski, who won a race in each of the first two rounds of the Chase. But he fell into a hole because of a mechanical problem at Martinsville in the first event of this three-race round that he couldnt recover from despite strong finishes at Texas and Phoenix.His mettle was definitely tested, too, as his aggressive driving style angered his competitors and led to two fights in four races. He was fined $50,000 for his post-race behaviour at Charlotte last month — actions that caused Kenseth to jump him from behind in the garage — and he and Gordon were both bloodied when the drivers and the teams brawled on pit road after last weeks race at Texas.We gave it all we had, it was a strong run, it just wasnt enough to advance, Keselowski said. We did everything but win. We broke down in Martinsville and it was a huge hurdle to overcome and it was probably going to take a win. Fourth wasnt going to be enough, and we knew that coming in.What everyone else knew all weekend was that Harvick probably had the field covered.His win Sunday was his fourth of the season in his No. 4 Chevrolet and reaffirmed that hes very difficult to beat at Phoenix. Harvick swept the season here, has won four of the last five races and the last three fall races.His 2012 victory came the same weekend news broke he was leaving Childress at the end of the 2013 season, and his win last year provided one final hurrah with the only team hed ever driven for in the Cup series.You can pretty much sum this whole year up as Holy cow, Harvick said. Its definitely the best position that, myself personally, Ive ever been in.His competitors next Sunday all had to sweat it out to make it into the finale.Newman needed the last-lap pass, while Hamlin and Logano both had issues early in the race that forced them to come back from a lap down and then drive through the field. Hamlin finished fifth and Logano sixth.Hamlin, the defending winner at Homestead, loves his chances. He lost the 2010 championship to Jimmie Johnson because of a sub-par finish in the final, and he said hes far more prepared to handle the pressure this week.I feel pretty optimistic, said Hamlin, a one-time winner this season. Love it, love the opportunity. Were on house money now, so lets go have fun.Logano, a five-time winner this season, will be racing to give Team Penske a sweep on the season. Roger Penske already won the IndyCar championship in September, and now his young driver can make it 2-for-2.Its all about how good your team is, and I feel like Ive got the best team, Logano said. Custom Chiefs Super Bowl Jerseys . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. Demarcus Robinson Super Bowl Jersey . So heres what I do when I want to get into the baseball mood—I delve into "The Baseball Project". http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Arman...-chiefs-jersey/. -- The Oakland Raiders expect to have starting right tackle Tony Pashos back for Sundays game against the Houston Texans. Joe Montana Super Bowl Jersey . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone. Juan Thornhill Super Bowl Jersey .com) - Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows about life in the NFL from other stints around the league.Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Ben Bishop made 30 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning did just enough to top the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, on Thursday. Tampa Bay was outshot 32-19, but Ondrej Palats two goals in the third period put the Lightning in front. Steven Stamkos also lit the lamp for Tampa Bay to help end a two-game losing streak. The Oilers got a pair of goals from Benoit Pouliot, but could not tie the game late. Ben Scrivens made 16 saves on 19 shots as Edmonton fell for the 14th straight time on the road. For the first time this season, the Lightning were able to erase a deficit entering the third period and win the game. Palat tied the game 1 1/2 minutes into the third when he was in the right place to bury a rebound off Nikita Kucherovs initial shot. With eight minutes to go, Palat found the back of the net again. Nikita Nesterov won a puck battle along the boards to free the puck to Tyler Johnson. He made a behind-the-back pass to Palat stepping into the slot, and after he took a moment to shift the puck to his forehand, he wristed the puck by Scrivens for the game-winner. Edmonton took a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal in the first period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins carried the puck out of danger and used hhis speed to skate around Anton Stralman to get a shot on goal.dddddddddddd Bishop made the save, but Pouliot followed up to knock the loose puck into the net. Stamkos evened the score after the Lightning killed a penalty. After exiting the box, Matt Carle received a pass on the blue line. His pass skipped over an Oilers stick to Stamkos, and he ripped a shot past Scrivens. The Oilers missed chances to retake the lead. Nail Yakupov hit the goal post, and Bishop made a save on Derek Roys weak shot coming on a 3-on-1 rush. Pouliot scored his second goal with a minute to go in the period, this time on the power play. The Lightning failed to clear the puck all the way down the ice, and Edmonton moved back in transition. Pouliot got behind the defense on Taylor Halls pass, and after being denied on his first shot, Pouliot scored on another rebound. Game Notes Tampa Bay entered 0-13-1 when trailing after two periods ... Pouliot has six goals during a four-game goal streak ... Stamkos has five goals during a four- game goal streak ... The Lightning have won six straight home games ... Edmonton fell to 7-7-1 against Eastern Conference opponents ... Edmontons Boyd Gordon skated in his 600th NHL game. ' ' '