AVONDALE, Ariz. -- With one quarter of NASCAR's regular season in the books, the battle to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup title run resumes tonight at Phoenix International Raceway.
The top 12 drivers in points after 26 races qualify for the 10-race playoff in the fall. Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing are first and second, respectively, followed by Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and two-time champion Tony Stewart.
Three other former champions -- Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch -- are just outside the top 12.
But all three are former Phoenix winners and could make a move in the standings at the Subway Fresh Fit 500, a 312-lap race on the one-mile PIR oval with a 5:30 p.m. scheduled start. Ryan Newman of Penske Racing is on the pole.
Here's what to look for tonight in the Valley of the Sun:
Childress Express -- Burton and Harvick not only lead the points, they know their way around PIR.
Burton is a two-time winner here (2000-2001) and so is Harvick, who swept the spring and fall race at PIR two years ago. Harvick, a Bakersfield native, also cut his teeth here when he was driving in NASCAR's minor leagues.
"I've got a lot of experience here, the track hasn't changed a lot and we've had a lot of success," Harvick said.
Neither qualified their Chevrolet particularly well for today's race: Harvick was 17th and Burton starts way back in 39th. But that's of little consequence for Burton, who excels at patiently moving through the field to contend at the finish.
Forget Texas -- Last week's race at Texas Motor Speedway was a nightmare for Gordon, who finished last for the only the second time in his stellar career with a car so ill-handling that he said, "I haven't felt this lost since my rookie year."
No matter. Look for Gordon to bounce back in the desert and, perhaps, give Hendrick Motorsports its first win of the season. Gordon starts 11th tonight.
He won the race here a year ago to tie the late Dale Earnhardt for career Cup victories, then saluted Earnhardt by waving a "3" flag outside his Chevrolet on his victory lap.
Speaking of Earnhardt - Phoenix would be as good a place as any for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to score his first points-paying victory in nearly two years.
Earnhardt won here in 2003 and again in 2004 when he drove for his late father's team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and now it's generally agreed that his No. 88 Hendrick Chevy is even more potent. He starts 13th tonight.
