<table> </table> <hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="subhead">Carl &#8230; meet the wall</span></strong></p><p>The final-lap &#8220;banzai&#8221; move that second-place Carl Edwards attempted on first-place Jimmie Johnson at Kansas Speedway was as thrilling as it was daring. Edwards went low into turn four on Johnson, knowing full well he would hit the wall. His hope was that &#8212; just like in video games &#8212; his car would bounce off the wall under control and he would keep the lead to the finish. Carl, it is called virtual reality for a reason. But, oh baby, that was racing.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Busch-wacky</span></strong></p><p>The calls for a new playoff system actually started before Johnson assumed control of the Chase. They started in the final days of the regular season. They were not meant to de-Jimmie the process, but to de-Kyle it. Kyle Busch was winning everything that NASCAR had to offer for 25 weeks except the swimsuit competition. Uncharacteristic gaffes by Busch and his team early in the Chase and it was one, two, three, see ya.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Edwards avoids the bird</span></strong></p><p>Edwards&#8217; focus in his last, gasping run at catching Johnson almost featured a feathery tragedy. Edwards said he was cruising along at 170 miles per hour at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday when he saw a bird headed right for his window netting. Edwards tells the tale: &#8220;This bird almost came in the window net. I thought to myself, if that bird would have come through the gap in the window net and hit me in the chest, I don&#8217;t know what I would have done. Got my attention.&#8221;</p><p>Maybe it was the Aflac duck &#8212; it&#8217;s one of his main sponsors, you know.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Video madness</span></strong></p><p>NASCAR loves to refer to the people who broadcast its races as its &#8220;partners.&#8221; NASCAR and ABC/ESPN are partners. But that partnership showed it is no Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, but more like Penn and Teller, where one can make the other disappear. That is exactly what happened when &#8212; with 34 laps remaining &#8212; ABC moved the Phoenix race to ESPN2 to show &#8220;America&#8217;s Funniest Home Videos.&#8221; It did that without consulting its &#8220;partner.&#8221; </p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Major moment</span></strong></p><p>Oh yes, then there&#8217;s the fact that history was made this season. Fans got to marvel at a racing performance for the ages. Johnson and Chad Knaus made something supremely difficult look (yawn) simple. They nailed the triple and won their third straight points championship. Save those 2008 ticket stubs and speedway programs. They will be worth more than face-value someday. </p><p></div>