Viewer's Guide: Checker Auto Parts 500

ATLANTA -- With a later start time than normal (3 p.m. ET), the NBC crew will get right to it Sunday, airing an abbreviated pre-race show from Phoenix.

The pit guys will be busy, garnering as many pre-race interviews as they can cram in. You can bet that Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson will get plenty of face time.

Johnson was the big winner in more ways than one Sunday at Atlanta. After taking his third consecutive checkered flag, Johnson has pulled to within 59 points of leader Busch, who suffered his first setback of the Chase at AMS when his engine expired.

Busch's troubles have put four drivers within 100 points of Busch, opening up what was quickly becoming a two-or-three horse race for the championship.

Ask The Producer: This week's question comes from John O'Brien of Boise, Idaho who wonders if the NBC/TNT crew has ever considered adding "laps on fuel" and "laps on tires" to the ticker at the top of the screen.

Sam Flood

NBC/TNT producer Sam Flood said that is something that the crew will look at. However, there are a couple of things that may keep it from being reality. First, information on the ticker must be applicable to all 43 drivers. Second, information about tires and fuel is acquired by the reporters on pit road, where the other ticker information is automatically generated.

Let your voice be heard: Each week, we'll pick one question to ask the producer of the NBC/TNT telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.

Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.

The Rant: This week's Rant comes all the way from LaMaddalena, Italy. Mike Cosgrove, originally from Connecticut, wonders why NASCAR makes such a big deal about post-race interviews:

EMAIL Send Mark your take for "The Rant" or your question for "Ask The Producer"

"I currently live overseas due to my job. The European community is laughing at the United States over these slip-of-the-tongue and wardrobe- malfunction responses. Don't Americans realize, we created these words we don't want to hear? How insane is it? 'Oh, I've come up with a word, it means this, and you can't say it because I've defined it as vulgar.' Where is the logic in this? Oh, I'm sorry, America has no logic. Don't you realize it's not what you say, but, how you say it?"

It's interesting that you close your comment like that, Mike. I agree that we can be a bit too harsh with our language restrictions. However, to say that America "has no logic," is a bit over-the-top.

Get in on the action: In "The Rant," we'll pick e-mails each week to argue about a TV coverage issue, be it a commentator's comment, a driver's comment, a pre-race feature -- basically anything you want to spout off about.

Come with an intelligent, passionate argument and you may see your take on NASCAR.COM.

On to this weekend's schedule:

Site: Avondale, Ariz.

Last year Easy victory Junior cruises to his second victory of 2003 Not so happy Harvick is involved in a four-car accident Going flat Burton cuts down a tire and Park nails the wall

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval, 11-degree banking in Turns 1-2, nine-degree banking in Turns 3 and 4).

Race distance: 312 miles, 312 laps

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 2 p.m. ET Friday. Happy Hour: SPEED, 1 p. m. ET Saturday. Race: NBC, 3 p.m. ET Sunday.

Last race: Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive Nextel Cup race Sunday, setting off an emotional celebration following the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed Johnson for the lead with 51 laps remaining and stayed out front through a series of restarts in a race marred by a record-tying 10 caution flags.

Potential storyline: Entering Atlanta, only three drivers were within the 156-point window that would allow a change in the point lead. With three races remaining the top six drivers are now in the point window and can possibly overtake Kurt Busch this weekend.

Seventh through 10th all trail by more than 156 points and cannot overtake Busch at Phoenix. No one has been mathematically eliminated.

Point to ponder: Mark Martin leads all drivers, scoring eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 16 races at Phoenix International Raceway.

Site: Avondale, Ariz.

Last year Junior achievement Hamilton Jr. celebrates his fourth win of 2003 Final laps Hamilton Jr. wins when the race is halted by rain Out for a spin Boat and Sauter tangle just past the halfway point

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval, 11-degree banking in Turns 1-2, nine-degree banking in Turns 3 and 4).

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps

TV: Race: NBC, 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last race: Nextel Cup regular Matt Kenseth held off an emotional Kyle Busch in a two-lap sprint to the finish, winning the Busch race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Last year: Bobby Hamilton Jr. was declared the winner of Saturday's Bashas Supermarkets 200 when the race was halted after 181 of 200 scheduled laps. Rain brought out the red flag just four yellow-green laps into the race. Nearly 2 1/2 hours later, the race resumed before rain pelted the track again on Lap 176.

Potential storyline: While Martin Truex Jr. has managed to keep a healthy lead in the Busch Series standings, it's Greg Biffle who's actually the hottest driver on the circuit. In the past six races, Biffle has scored 921 points, the most of any driver in the series.

Point to ponder: Kyle Busch is now the only driver with a mathematical chance of catching Martin Truex Jr. for the Busch Series championship. Busch enters the weekend 176 points back.

Site: Avondale, Ariz.

Last year Back to back Harvick gets his second NCTS PIR win in a row Final laps Harvick gets the best of Musgrave for the victory Early action Cook and Crafton make contact in the early laps

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval, 11-degree banking in Turns 1-2, nine-degree banking in Turns 3 and 4).

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps

TV: Race: SPEED, 5:30 p.m. ET Friday.

Last race: Jamie McMurray held off Dennis Setzer on a restart with 12 laps to go two weeks ago at Martinsville and won for the first time in the Craftsman Truck Series, completing a career hat trick.

Last year: Kevin Harvick, stuck in heavy traffic, barely held off a charging Ted Musgrave to win. Potential storyline: NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series 2003 Champion Scott Lynch will pilot the No. 59 HT Motorsports Dodge this weekend.

Point to ponder: No one has won a Craftsman Truck Series race from the pole at Phoenix since Joe Ruttman in 2000.

Mark Spoor is an interactive producer of NASCAR.COM. The Domino's Viewers Guide appears each Thursday during race weeks.