There are two very clear strategies among the four championship contenders Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano, the favorites, hope to do what they’ve done all season — run up front and contend to win the race. Logano has five wins, Harvick four, and they’re both among the leaders in laps led and top-five finishes.

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Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman, the underdogs, have to swing for the fences, using whatever strategy they can to get to the front. Hamlin has just one win (the May restrictor-plate race at Talladega) and just seven top-fives. Newman has no wins and just four top-fives. They may have to gamble to get the front, or hope that Harvick and Logano have problems.

And the beauty of the final race of the new Chase for the Sprint Cup is that there’s no telling which approach might work best, or who might win. All four title contenders enter the final race with no points and on equal footing. The first one to cross the finish line Sunday wins the 2014 championship.

But each driver and team will have a different agenda based on their performance this year.

“Obviously, you can swing for the fences and maybe, if you don't have the fastest car, you're able to pull different strategies and come in under a caution where other people stay out,” Hamlin said. “Who knows what's going to happen? But this one is going to be a totally different feel, I think, than in years past.

“There are no deficits. There's no you've got to win by a certain amount or be ahead by a certain amount of positions or behind by a certain amount of positions. We all know we just have to beat the person in front of us.”

That favors Harvick and Logano, who each have won two races during the 10-race Chase. Harvick believes his team has the edge because it has been in this position before, winning last week at Phoenix to reach the final race.

“I feel like for us, we had good practice at it last week,” Harvick said. “I feel like everything we did last week, it was one and done. You show up to Phoenix and you know you have to win the race.

“The guys did a great job preparing the car, called a good race, had good pit stops. I feel like they had more pressure last week than they did this week, so I feel like we've already experienced it, and it was just last week. I feel like that was a good exercise as a team for us to go through.”

Harvick and Hamlin have been in this position before, battling each other for the 2010 championship won by Jimmie Johnson. Harvick has finished third in the Chase three times; Hamlin has finished second and third.

Logano, 24, and the veteran Newman are racing for the title for the first time.

Logano says dealing with the pressure might be his biggest challenge.

“There's going to be obviously a lot of distractions this weekend, and you've got to be able to put that behind you and race with a clean mind, and not just myself as a driver, but my whole team,” he said. “And I feel like that's been our strong point all year. I feel like my team has been very strong, keeping the pressure to a low point and being able to do their job in those situations. … I like our chances because of that.”

Harvick likes the fact that everyone is even, that he enters the season finale not trailing in points, but able to race the same way he has all season.

“I think this year you feel the speed in the car on a week‑to‑week basis no matter what racetrack we've gone to,” he said. “I feel like if things don't go wrong or something doesn't happen, we've been in contention to win the race. For us, I think you come in with that confidence and knowing that your cars have been fast.

“I believe that we have the cars that are capable to win every week, and I don't believe this week will be any different.”

There’s one other thing they must worry about — there will be dozens of other contenders trying to win the race as well, particularly former Chase participants who are no longer eligible to win the title.

Who has the edge in the final race of the 2014 season?