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the Chase Update - Week 7

by Tim Zaegel on April 8th, 2008

#1 – Jeff Burton (NC) – Burton walked away with yet another solid finish on Sunday despite starting all the way back in the 35th position, and now has five consecutive top-ten finishes to his credit. He could continue to stack up some points this weekend at Phoenix, a track that he’s won at twice (2000 & 2001) and hasn’t finished outside of the top-15 at since 1996.

#2 – Kevin Harvick (NC) – The no. 29 team definitely saw their share of struggles last Sunday at Texas, but they were able to rebound and display the maturity that this race team has developed over the past year en route to an 11th place finish. Harvick has yet to finish outside of the top-15 this season, and should be looking forward to his date with Phoenix this weekend. He swept both of the races there in 2006 and finished both races inside the top-ten last season.

#3 – Kyle Busch (+2) – Just when people were beginning to write Kyle’s early-season success off as a fluke, he put another hot rod out on the track last Sunday and showed more patience than he’s shown all season in settling with a third place finish. This weekend in Phoenix could be another big day for the man known as “Wild Thing.” In six trips to the desert he has a win and four top-ten’s.

#4 – Dale Earnhardt Jr (NC) – “June Bug” looked like he might have another top-five car last week, only to fade and go a lap down in the latter stages of the race. His team was able to regroup and salvage a twelfth place finish, but a disappointing run for this 88 team nonetheless. Phoenix has had its up’s and down’s for Earnhardt, though, so this could be an interesting weekend. He won here in 2003 & 2004, and in 11 races does have 5 top-ten’s to his credit. However, he also has four finishes outside of the top-25.

#5 – Tony Stewart (+1) – Stewart continues to collect top-ten finishes, giving him his fifth on the season after finishing 7th at Texas. Not typically known for his early-season performances (he has only four career victories before the month of June), Stewart fans can appreciate the consistency he’s displayed so far this year. Phoenix should be another solid day for him as well. He hasn’t won here since his rookie campaign back in 1999, but does have 8 top-ten’s in his 12 trips to PIS, and also has four top-five’s in the last 5 Phoenix races.

#6 – Jimmie Johnson (+4) – After runs of 4th at Martinsville and 2nd last week in Texas, it’s apparent that this no. 48 team is finally getting things figured out again, and that’s very bad news for the rest of the field. Johnson’s already catapulted up to 6th in the points, and heads into this weekend with the comfort of owning the best average finish of all active drivers at Phoenix with a 6.6 average over nine races. During that span he has 7 top-ten’s, as well as a win there last Fall.

#7 – Denny Hamlin (+1) – Hamlin is quickly establishing himself as a legitimate threat this season. After his fifth place run last weekend, he now has three consecutive finishes of 6th or better, five straight top-15’s. He could be a wildcard this weekend in Phoenix where he posted a pair of third place finishes in the Fall of ’06 & Spring of last year, but his best finish in his other three Phoenix appearances is 12th.

#8 – Ryan Newman (+3) – Newman had a relatively quiet day in Texas, but used some late-race pit strategy to sneak into a fourth place finish, giving him his first top-ten since winning Daytona. Phoenix has been a sore spot for him, though, ever since finishing 3rd in ’03 and 2nd in ’04. His got his first top-ten at the track since then last Fall when he finished 5th. With an average overall finish of only 20.6, this could be the weekend that Newman starts to lose some serious ground on the leaders.

#9 – Greg Biffle (-6) – After getting off to a fantastic start for his no. 16 Roush team, Biffle has suffered two very disappointing finishes these past two weeks at Martinsville and Texas (20th & 39th). Biffle is another wildcard this weekend, though. He has only two top-ten’s at Phoenix (a pair of 2nd place finishes), but does have five top-15’s in his 8 PIS appearances. He’ll need a solid race if he wants to maintain his positioning, because there’s a crowd of hungry spectators waiting right outside the top-12.

#10 – Carl Edwards (+4) – It took his third victory of the season to get Carl back inside the Chase field after taking the penalty for the oil tank lid fiasco at Vegas and then blowing up in Atlanta, but here he is back in the show. Edwards has by far been the dominant driver at the 1.5 mile “cookie cutter” tracks, but will need to shift gears this weekend for Phoenix. He’s never won here, but does have 4 top-ten’s in 7 trips. He finished 11th and 42nd here last year, but will be relying on the teams 2008 momentum to carry him to a solid finish on Saturday.

#11 – Clint Bowyer (+1) – The 07 team continues to hang out amongst the Chase competitors after claiming their fourth consecutive top-ten finish last weekend. They’ll need a little bit of luck this weekend, though. In five Phoenix races, Bowyer has only one top-ten finish, which came back in 2006. This team may take a week or two sitting outside the top-12 after this weekend.

#12 – Kasey Kahne (-5) – After playing the consistency card through the first few weeks of the season, Kahne has racked up a pair of lackluster performances these past two weeks and continues to drop down the standings.  He does have 3 top-ten’s at Phoenix in his seven tries there, but failed to finish inside the top-30 in either race last season. This is likely to be a very bad week for the no. 9 fans out there with Matt Kenseth sitting 13th in points and gaining steam.

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