Even though a spring race has been held at Phoenix since 2005, this has been an easy event to miss. That Rockingham was knocked off the schedule and one race at Darlington does hit a sour note with long time fans as dates have been shifted to rather generic cookie cutter tracks away from two facilities which provided some of the most exciting, competitive racing on the circuit.
The upcoming race, a rare Saturday night event, sure looks good to current champ, Jimmie Johnson who has won the last three races at the Phoenix track, but eyes will be on a number of teams that need to step up their efforts to have a successful season. When will Dale Earnhardt Jr. show the kind of performance that could put him in the chase for the chase? Can the Roush-Fenway operation get one or two of its teams in the top five in points? Currently, Carl Edwards, one of the top contenders for last year’s title is languishing in 8th place while after winning the first two races, Matt Kenseth’s season fell apart but he did gain three positions in the standings after the Texas race. Beyond that, Greg Biffle picked up eight spots in Texas to finally look competitive in 15th place, but the other teams, Jamie McMurray’s and David Ragan’s are buried in 27th and 29th.
Other hot stories are Tony Stewart’s new gig as racer/owner appears to be quite successful holding down fifth position in points while teammate Ryan Newman despite being snake bitten in his early starts has risen to 17th right behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. who appears ripe for the picking should Newman have a strong performance Saturday night. Less than 50 points separate Junior from David Stremme in 22nd place. Meanwhile, after a horrible start, Mark Martin is returning to form as a full-time driver jumping nine positions in his last race.
While the Phoenix track is rather bland looking as an after dark venue, what’s at stake as the season closes in on closing out its first quarter compels drivers to race all out to seek every advantage and continue to climb up the standings where teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson hold down the top two spots.
The upcoming race, a rare Saturday night event, sure looks good to current champ, Jimmie Johnson who has won the last three races at the Phoenix track, but eyes will be on a number of teams that need to step up their efforts to have a successful season. When will Dale Earnhardt Jr. show the kind of performance that could put him in the chase for the chase? Can the Roush-Fenway operation get one or two of its teams in the top five in points? Currently, Carl Edwards, one of the top contenders for last year’s title is languishing in 8th place while after winning the first two races, Matt Kenseth’s season fell apart but he did gain three positions in the standings after the Texas race. Beyond that, Greg Biffle picked up eight spots in Texas to finally look competitive in 15th place, but the other teams, Jamie McMurray’s and David Ragan’s are buried in 27th and 29th.
Other hot stories are Tony Stewart’s new gig as racer/owner appears to be quite successful holding down fifth position in points while teammate Ryan Newman despite being snake bitten in his early starts has risen to 17th right behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. who appears ripe for the picking should Newman have a strong performance Saturday night. Less than 50 points separate Junior from David Stremme in 22nd place. Meanwhile, after a horrible start, Mark Martin is returning to form as a full-time driver jumping nine positions in his last race.
While the Phoenix track is rather bland looking as an after dark venue, what’s at stake as the season closes in on closing out its first quarter compels drivers to race all out to seek every advantage and continue to climb up the standings where teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson hold down the top two spots.
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