Although there's a remote chance that Ted Musgrave can clinch the championship Friday at Phoenix International Raceway, the odds are much better that the title race will go to the season finale for the 10th time in 11 years.

Unofficially, Dennis Setzer will carry the battle to Homestead-Miami Speedway with any finish of 33rd or better regardless of Musgrave's fortunes at the one-mile track.

Musgrave never has won at P.I.R. but until last year's 19th-place finish had been among the top five on four occasions and never worse than sixth. He posted back-to-back, second-place runs in 2002-03 and has led each of the past two Silverado 150 races.

Setzer's Phoenix log is equally impressive: six top-10 finishes in eight starts, the best a third behind Kevin Harvick and Musgrave in 2003. Of interest, Setzer never has led at Phoenix but has finished off the lead lap just twice, both times due to accident. Setzer's worst finish was 35th in the 1995 Silverado 150.

Neither driver, however, was ready to seal any deals in Texas.

Musgrave's 14th-place finish marked his first back-to-back performances outside the top 10 in eight starts. For Setzer, the top 10 has been elusive for four straight and seven of the past eight events.

***

Oh, what might have been.

Todd Bodine, driving for the defunct Fiddle Back Racing team, logged a finish average of 17.6 over the season's first 10 races. Since rejoining Germain Motorsports - a team with which he won twice in 2004 - Bodine's average is 9.07.

Had Bodine posted the latter number for all 23 races (and included the bonus points he scored for Fiddle Back), the driver would trail Musgrave by just 35 points. He's tied second with Ron Hornaday Jr. in races led (10) and bonus points scored (70). Mike Skinner remains the season leader with 14 and 95, respectively.

Friday's victory was Bodine's eighth top-three finish since the reuniting in late June with the Germain operation headed by general manager Mike Hillman and crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.

***

Skinner's second-place finish marked his 50th top five on the series. David Starr picked a good time to reach a career plateau. The Houston native's fourth-place effort, worth $20,270, made Starr the 12th driver to reach $2 million in total winnings.

***

The battle for 10th-place - and a spot on-stage at the Dec. 11 champion's banquet in Orlando - is closest in series history with just 96 points separating eighth (Jimmy Spencer) and 12th (Todd Kluever).

Consider this: The No. 10 position has changed hands 14 times in the season's first 23 races. Matt Crafton is the current "bubble" driver with a 10-point advantage over Martinsville winner Ricky Craven.

"We want to (finish) a top-10 team because we have a top-10 team," said Crafton. "Running good in the last two races and finishing there will be a good help for momentum for next year."

Twenty-one different drivers have ranked among the top 10 at some point during the 2005 season.

***l

Erin Crocker will make her NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Phoenix in the Bobby Hamilton Racing No. 4 Dodge driven most of the season by Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender Timothy Peters. The latter driver returns for the season finale at Homestead.

There is the possibility the race will see three female starters - Crocker, Deborah Renshaw and Kelly Sutton - to match the NASCAR record set May 16, 2004 at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. Renshaw, Sutton and Tina Gordon comprised the historic trio.