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AVONDALE, Ariz. — They raced like champions Sunday. Next Sunday, one will be.

After battling one another and a cantankerous track, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart are where they started the day — Edwards leads Stewart by three points.

They will settle this 36-race, nine-month season in what is essentially a winner-take-all race this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This is the Game 7 moment NASCAR Chairman Brian France envisioned when he introduced the Chase in 2004 and altered the point system before this season.

The way Edwards and Stewart have run the last few weeks, it doesn't seem far-fetched that they could finish tied for the title — Stewart would win it because he owns the tiebreaker based on having more victories this season.

They got to this point after Edwards finished second to Kasey Kahne at Phoenix International Raceway and Stewart placed third. Stewart scored a bonus point for leading the most laps, thus he and Edwards each scored 43 points Sunday.

"He's keeping me honest, and I'm keeping him honest," Stewart said.

Said Edwards: "It really truly doesn't matter what anyone says or what anyone's predictions are. It gets done on the race track. That's when we'll see."

The title is down to these two after the remaining Chase drivers — including five-time defending champ Jimmie Johnson — were eliminated Sunday.

"I'm definitely disappointed that we won't be able to go to Homestead and race for our sixth," Johnson said. "What we did over the last five years was absolutely spectacular."

What Edwards and Stewart are doing is quite compelling.

This is the second consecutive race that the two have finished beside each other. It shouldn't have been surprising Sunday since they started eighth and ninth.

Even before the race their messages to their teams were similar:

Stewart told his team on the radio: "OK boys, let's just do what we've been doing. We're not going to reinvent the wheel today. There's a reason we've been winning races. Let's just stick to the plan."

Said Edwards on the radio to his team: "Let's go out and have some fun. We'll work hard all day. Biggest thing is to have fun. Keep your eyes open. Anything can happen."

Stewart has done about all he could. He's won four of the nine Chase races and led the most laps the last two races. Edwards showed his strength Sunday, running at the front all race. Unlike previous races where he's had to overcome problems, Edwards had among the best cars.

"I still don't understand why we're both running so good," Edwards said. "It seems like subconsciously we're both able to dig down and our teams are able to give us what we need. It's been neat that this battle has brought out the best in us."

It's not surprising that Edwards is challenging for his first title. Although he's won only one race this season — and that came at Las Vegas in March — he's been consistent in the Chase. His average finish of 5.2 in the Chase is just off Johnson's record average of 5.0 when he won the 2007 title.

Stewart, a two-time champ, could have won as many as four races early in the year, but various problems kept him out of victory lane. After a summer slide, Stewart gained momentum just before the Chase even if he said he didn't wasn't a title contender in September.

Now the championship will be determined after 400 miles in South Florida.

"We both had to fight and fight and fight to get every point we can get up to this point," said Stewart, the last driver to win a Cup title before Johnson's reign. "I feel like if we accomplish this, we have worked for it, not had it handed to us. It's an awesome championship battle. I don't know how you could ask for more than what we got."

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com