(NASCAR Statistical Services)

Did Not Qualify:
#01-Jay Sauter, 126.214 mph
#56-Chris Cook, 125.901
#49-Jorge Goeters, 124.322
#23-Marc Mitchell, Did Not Start.
(NASCAR Statistical Services)

NASCAR NEWS & NOTES

• Points leader – Kevin Harvick (1,284)
• Money won – Denny Hamlin ($388,494)
• Laps led – Kevin Harvick (305)
• Miles led – Kevin Harvick (403.65)
• Victories – Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart (1)
• Busch Poles – Denny Hamlin (2)
• Top-five finishes – Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick (5)
• Top-10 finishes – Kevin Harvick (7)
• Raybestos Rookie Leader – Burney Lamar (+16 over Todd Kluever)
• Races led – Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick (5)
• Weeks in Top 10 – Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, J.J. Yeley (8)

Greg Biffle (#16 Ameriquest Ford) is the only multiple race winner at Phoenix; Jamie McMurray (#64 Top Flite Golf Co. Dodge) and Carl Edwards have one win each. … There have been eight different Busch Pole winners at Phoenix; six of those drivers – Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Jason Leffler (#32 Ft. McDowell Resort Destination Chevrolet), Ken Schrader (#66 Yard-Man Ford), Kyle Busch (#5 Lowe’s-Hitachi Chevrolet) and Edwards are entered this week. Edwards is the only driver to have won from the pole having accomplished the feat last November. … Biffle has finished in the top 10 in each of his six series races at Phoenix. … Ashton Lewis Jr. (#25 U.S. Marine Corps Ford) is scheduled to make his 200th NASCAR Busch Series start at Phoenix. Likewise, Johnny Sauter (#00 Yellow Transportation Chevrolet) is on track to make his 150th career start, while McMurray is eyeing career series start #125.

Denny Hamlin became the first driver to win two Busch Poles this season when he captured his second straight at Nashville last Saturday. There have been eight different winners in the first eight races this year, 10 different winners dating back to last November’s race at Phoenix. The series record is 13 consecutive different winners, which occurred at the start of the 1988 season. … Kevin Harvick’s first win of the season at Nashville helped boost Chevrolet’s lead in the Bill France Performance Cup standings to nine points, tying its largest advantage this season over the second-place manufacturer, Dodge. Chevrolet has accumulated five wins and 57 points, while Dodge has two wins and 48 points. Ford has one win, but stands just one point behind Dodge in third with 47. Ford has five NASCAR Busch Series wins at Phoenix, three out of the last four. … Matt Kenseth (#17 Ameriquest Ford) will have a new crew chief at Phoenix as Jimmy Fennig comes on board to oversee Kenseth’s crew as well as the entire Roush Racing NASCAR Busch Series organization. … Raybestos Rookie David Gilliland (#84 Hype Manufacturing Chevrolet) has some veteran experience at Phoenix. He won the 2003 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series race and also the 2005 NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series race at the track. “The level of competition up from the Southwest and West Series to the NASCAR Busch Series level is tremendous,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t win. I think we’ve proved to a lot of these guys that we’re just as fast. We’re just in a different game now. There a lot of great drivers in the NASCAR Busch Series.” … From the “time flies” department – Carl Edwards ran in his first pavement race just five years ago in the 2001 Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway. … April is National Autism Awareness month, and Jamie McMurray will run a special logo on his car at Phoenix. A neurological disorder that effects social interaction, communication and the sensory system, Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S. “As most know, this cause hits home for me as my niece is autistic,” he said. “Anything I can do to help raise awareness is directly helping my family out. Having the Autism Awareness Month logo on my car is just a tiny way that I can help raise awareness to a cause that is extremely important to me.” … Kenny Wallace (#22 AutoZone Ford) and his nephew Steve Wallace (#64 Jackson Roscoe Foundation Dodge) will each throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Monday, April 24 when the Washington Nationals host the Cincinnati Reds. The two will meet the media at RFK Stadium prior to the game and then arrive on the field via the Richmond International Raceway pace car to deliver the first pitch. The Wallaces are helping promote the Circuit City 250 presented by FUNAI May 5 at Richmond.

• “It will be a good race and with all six Roush NASCAR Busch Series teams in it again this weekend, our stiffest competition will probably be our teammates.” – Greg Biffle.
• “In the last three races, we’ve (Compton and teammate Jon Wood – #47 Clorox/American Red Cross Ford) improved over our starting position a total of 41 spots. That’s incredible. And it’s only going to get better.” – Stacy Compton (#59 Kingsford/Bush’s Baked Beans Ford).
• “Getting back to racing under the lights on Friday night … it reminds me a lot of my Late Model days.” – Denny Hamlin (#20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet).

The Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 has been held each year since 1999 at Phoenix International Raceway. Cars prepared by team owner Jack Roush have won three of those events. Roush first went to Victory Lane at Phoenix in 2000 when his driver Jeff Burton crossed the finish line .932-second ahead of rookie Jason Leffler. Greg Biffle made it back-to-back wins for Roush with his 2001 victory. In each case, Burton and Biffle led the most laps. Biffle, again driving a Roush-prepared Ford, led the most laps and won the 2005 edition of the race to become the event’s only repeat winner. His 1.969-seconds win over Elliott Sadler is the largest margin of victory for any NASCAR Busch Series event held at Phoenix.

“It’s hard to be on an even keel all the time when you are in that race car. Things happen that, in high-pressure situations, you just absolutely lose it for a time. But you don’t hold a grudge.” – Tommy Ellis (1988 NASCAR Busch Series champion).

The NASCAR Busch Series makes its only trip to Talladega Superspeedway this season next Saturday, April 29. Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers have made their mark at the 2.66-mile track over the last three years as Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in 2003, and two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr. captured the last two races. Paul Menard sat on the Busch Pole last April.