2007 Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway

This Saturday night the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series takes to the stage for the first primetime race of 2007. Phoenix International Raceway sees the return of the Car of Tomorrow on this narrow one-mile race track. The Car of Tomorrow has provided two great finishes in its two races. Can the COT make even Phoenix an exciting race?

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Turn one is sharp with just 11 degrees of banking while turns 3 and 4 are long and sweeping with just 9 degrees of banking. Phoenix also features a unique "kink" in the backstretch that serves to tighten up the backstretch and limit passing.

These challenging specs means that your car has to handle well in order to survive a long 500 kilometer race there. It is possible to pass if you are faster, but there is no outside groove for side-by-side racing.

312 Laps = 312 Miles = 500 Kilometers

This is race number 8 of the 26 race "regular season" before the top twelve are locked in for the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.

Jeff Gordon maintains the point lead but Jeff Burton's victory last week in Texas moved him within just 8 points of the lead.

Top Twelve

1. Jeff Gordon -0
2. Jeff Burton -8
3. Matt Kenseth -125
4. Jimmie Johnson -181
5. Denny Hamlin -222
6. Clint Bowyer -270
7. Kyle Busch -280
8. Carl Edwards -299
9. Tony Stewart -322
10. Jamie McMurray -331
11. Mark Martin -342
12. David Stremme -357

In 2006 Kevin Harvick swept both Phoenix races on his way to a career best fourth place points finish. Harvick started out 2007 much the same way with a big win in the Daytona 500. This had people wondering if 2007 could be Kevin Harvick's year.

Since then however Harvick has managed only one more top ten finish (fourth at Bristol) and has suffered four finishes of 25th or worse. He currently finds himself outside of The Chase, fourteenth in points.

Can Kevin Harvick turn his season around this weekend and bring back his Phoenix magic from 2006?

TV: FOX Saturday, April 21st, 8:00PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 8:30 p.m. Eastern

$4,961,431

Last year the 2006 Subway Fresh 500 from Phoenix International Raceway had a little bit of everything. Long green flag runs, hot tempers, people running out of gas and a pass for the win inside the last ten laps. Kevin Harvick mastered that multi-faceted race to take the win in Phoenix over Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth.

Harvick had the fastest car and deserved the win but some other drivers were up front near the end and ran out of fuel in the final ten laps. This included Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr. and others who all fell back in the final standings as they were forced to pit for fuel under green.

Phoenix is a difficult race track to predict. This race has seen some dominating performances and some first time winners. Pit strategy can come into play as we saw here last year. You just never know what to expect in Phoenix.

My primary pick for this week's Subway Fresh Fit 500 is Tony Stewart. Tony has been running well so far in 2007 but bad breaks have ruined his best finishes. Tony was second in this race last year and ran well in the previous two Car of Tomorrow races. Tony has all the tools to wind up in Victory Lane if Lady Luck will grant him a break.

My backup this week is Kyle Busch. Kyle already has a Car of Tomorrow win in 2007 as he scored the Bristol victory. Kyle also won at Phoenix International Raceway in the fall of 2005. Kyle's Hendrick Motorsports team proven that they know how to tame the Car of Tomorrow and Kyle knows his way around this race track. Kyle is a solid backup pick for this weekend's Subway Fresh Fit 500.