Not surprisingly, the number one topic of discussion in the Nextel Cup garage is who will drive for Toyota's Red Bull Racing. Kevin Harvick's contract with Richard Childress Racing ends at the end of the 2006 season and it is well known that he has been dissatisfied with the RCR engines for the last couple of years. Of course Toyota will spend what they have to in order to get Harvick. Harvick said this week that a decision will be made soon but he's leaning towards staying at RCR. He says the RCR team performance has been a lot better this year and that's the main issue. He says he doesn't need the money and he's not crazy about joining a new startup team. Childress was on an African safari so wasn't in Phoenix. Expect Harvick's decision in a couple of weeks. It's also rumoured that Toyota is interested in Dale Jarrett & Robby Gordon. Meanwhile, Harvick won Friday's Busch Series race and leads the points. He's looking to win the Subway Fresh 300 and sweep Phoenix International Raceway.
Kyle Busch-#5 Carquest Chevy won the pole but ran into trouble when penalized for speeding on pit road. This led to Busch tangling with Casey Mears-#42 Texaco Havoline Dodge on lap 100 and hitting the wall. The red flag came out because a separate crash involving Kyle Petty-#45 Wells Fargo Dodge & Michael Waltrip-#55 Napa Auto Parts Dodge among others. The cars are supposed to stop but an irate Busch tried to ram Mears. I see a fine & probation in his future. Busch finished 36th.
The pattern for most of the race had Greg Biffle-#16 Subway Ford leading at the start of a run. Mark Martin-#6 AAA Ford seemed to improve at the end of a run and usually took the lead by that time. Tony Stewart-#20 Home Depot Chevy qualified third but started in the back because of a crew error regarding his tires. He made it to the front anyway.
A spin by Kyle Petty brought out the final caution. Everyone made final pit stops. The race remained green so fuel mileage became an issue. Who would last until the end of the race? Biffle was leading with Tony Stewart second and Kevin Harvick coming on strong in third. Harvick took the lead with ten laps left and then Biffle & Mark Martin both ran out of fuel to mess up their finishes. Martin was 11th & Biffle was 16th. Harvick hung on easily for the win and swept the weekend.
Congratulations to Kevin Harvick, crew chief Todd Berrier & car owner Richard Childress on the victory. Clint Bowyer was fifth & Jeff Burton was tenth. So all three RCR cars finished in the top ten. Matt Kenseth took over the points lead with a third place finish and Bobby Labonte had a top ten as well. Here's the top ten.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.29/Kevin Harvick/GM Goodwrench/Chevy/Richard Childress
2.20/Tony Stewart/Home Depot/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
3.17/Matt Kenseth/DeWalt Tools/Ford/Jack Roush
4.99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush
5.07/Clint Bowyer/Sylvania/Chevy/Richard Childress
6.9/Kasey Kahne/UAW-Dodge Dealers/Dodge/Ray Evernham
7.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
8.43/Bobby Labonte/Cheerios/Dodge/Petty Enterprises
9.31/Jeff Burton/Prilosec OTC/Chevy/Richard Childress
10.24/Jeff Gordon/Dupont/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
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