Kevin Harvick swept both the Busch and NEXTEL Cup races in Phoenix this weekend. There was no doubt last night when he took the Busch win. Tonight he waited until there were just nine laps to go to take the lead, but he coasted it home from there.
Qualifying
Kyle Busch won the NEXTEL Cup race in Phoenix last fall. On Thursday night he picked up right where he left off and claimed the pole for the 2006 Subway Fresh 500. Greg Biffle rolled off second. The rest of the top five qualifiers were Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards.
Tony Stewart had to drop to the rear of the field. It seems that after qualifying something happened and his tires, which should have been impounded, disappeared or were damaged somehow. Since Tony was not able to start the race on the tires that he qualified he was forced to start in the back and give up his third place starting spot.
Drop The Green Flag
Greg Biffle jumped out to lead the first lap as the cars very quickly got into single-file. Phoenix is relatively flat and there is only one fast groove.
Kurt Busch quickly moved up from his sixth starting spot and took over second place. Biffle and Kurt Busch opened up a two second lead over Kyle Busch in the first twenty laps of the race.
Storylines
Fox missed the restart first 3 times. The first restart we actually got to see was after the red flag that came out on lap 100. That time Fox had plenty of time to show us commercials as we waited out the red flag.
Anyone who has ever attended a race in person knows that the crowd comes to its feet for the restarts. The reason is that restarts are exciting. Race fans need to start letting Fox know how they feel about showing one last commercial instead of bringing us the restarts.
Bad Boy Busch
Casey Mears ran Kyle Busch up high into turn one. Kyle spun in the loose stuff and hit the outside wall. Kyle then rolled up and hit Casey Mears' car while Mears was stopped on the track for a red flag. After they got Kyle's car fixed NASCAR held him on pit road for five laps.
This penalty was more symbolic than anything since Kyle was already 44 laps down. I'm sure that NASCAR will have even more to say about that when penalties are handed out on Tuesday.
Chasing The Checkers
Fox missed almost three laps of the final restart. If we had been able to watch it we would have seen Greg Biffle restart with the lead over Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.
Fuel mileage looked like it might be an issue as the leaders were all very close on fuel. As they entered the final ten laps Kevin Harvick got under Biffle for the lead. The race was never in doubt from there.
Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., Kenny Wallace and others all ran out of gas at the end of the race. This shuffled the final standings.
Top Ten
- Kevin Harvick
- Tony Stewart
- Matt Kenseth
- Carl Edwards
- Clint Bowyer
- Kasey Kahne
- Jimmie Johnson
- Bobby Labonte
- Jeff Burton
- Jeff Gordon
The Points
Matt Kenseth passed Jimmie Johnson for the point lead. The battle at the top is still very tight as Johnson only trails by nine points.
For the first time all season the top ten drivers remained the same. Dale Jarrett remains in eleventh, now fourteen points behind tenth place Casey Mears.
The top ten in points are now:
- Matt Kenseth -0
- Jimmie Johnson -9
- Kasey Kahne -51
- Mark Martin -66
- Tony Stewart -77
- Jeff Gordon -173
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -173
- Kevin Harvick -174
- Kyle Busch -208
- Casey Mears -273
Next Week
Talladega Superspeedway hosts the NEXTEL Cup series next Sunday. NASCAR requires that teams use the restrictor plates at Talladega. Restrictor plates cut horsepower and force the cars to run in big packs all day long.
The high speeds and tight racing often lead to "The Big One" which is a massive multi-car wreck that seems inescapable. Whether you love restrictor plate racing or hate it you've got to watch Talladega next Sunday.
