Viewer's Guide: Phoenix

After what happened last weekend at Texas, it's likely that Matt Kenseth couldn't wait to get to Phoenix for this weekend's Checker Auto Parts 500 (2:30 p.m. ET Sun., NBC).

	Inside the Numbers Matt Kenseth at PIR Year Start Finish 2000 12 42 2001 38 4 2002 28 1 2003 37 6 2004 16 36 2005 17 42   16 32 2006 4 3 Average 21.0 20.8

He may not want to be in such a hurry.

Not much went right for Kenseth in the Lone Star State. After a poor qualifying effort Friday, he was forced to battle all day long for a 12th-place finish that cost him the lead in the Nextel Cup Series standings. Jimmie Johnson leads by 17 points with two races left.

Still, as bad as last week was for Kenseth, there is evidence that this week could be just as bad. Kenseth has the second-worst average finish among Chasers at Phoenix at 20.8. However, he does have a win there in 2002 and he finished third there in the spring of this season.

Not surprisingly, Kenseth is seeing the glass half-full.

"I enjoy racing at Phoenix," Kenseth said. "We've had some ups and downs there but it's a good track and we've had our share of success. It's one of the tracks we've won at and that will give us a little bit of confidence going in. Hopefully this weekend will add to that confidence.

"We can definitely use some momentum. It's getting down to crunch time and that means no more mistakes. A mistake at this point could cost us big time. We have to stay focused on our team and our performance and let everything else fall where it may.

"All we can do is our best and we'll just see how it turns out."

Kenseth will be one of the feature subjects in Sunday's pre-race show. Another will be Denny Hamlin, who sits fourth in the standings, 80 points behind Johnson. Hamlin started this race from the pole one year ago and he qualified sixth at PIR in the spring. While Hamlin has been fast in qualifying, he has struggled on raceday, finishing 13th last year and 34th last spring.

"As a driver I like this track because it fits my driving style," Hamlin said. "I grew up running short and flat tracks and it's still where I am the most comfortable. It comes down to car control and these are the kind of tracks where I feel I am at my best and I think the racing is really exciting."

Ken Schrader is among the guests scheduled for Trackside this week from Texas (7 p.m. ET Fri., SPEED). If you're going to Phoenix, the SPEED stage will be located behind the main grandstand.

Speaking of SPEED, the network announced this week it plans to air more than 30 hours of coverage from championship weekend at Homestead, including special editions of all of the network's weekly programming from Homestead.

Highlighting the four-day coverage will be live coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finale Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Darrell Waltrip will join Rick Allen and former driver Phil Parsons in the booth.

On Nov. 19, the network will open the day with a special Breakfast at Homestead program at 9 a.m. ET with Steve Byrnes, Larry McReynolds, Jeff Hammond and Elliott Sadler.

ESPN announced this week it will air a special entitled NASCAR Drivers Non-Stop Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2, documenting a week in the lives of Jeremy Mayfield, J.J. Yeley and Clint Bowyer.

The overnight ratings news wasn't good for NBC at Texas. Sunday's race drew a 4.0 overnight Nielsen Media Research rating and an 7 market share, more than 9 percent lower than last year's race.

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In this week's "Ask Benny and Wally" question, Chris Mossbruger of Mentor, Ohio, wants to know how it is that when the tire changers are changing tires that none of the lug nuts get lodged into the new tires when the drivers are leaving pit road.

Benny Parsons breaks it down:

"They used to get lodged between the brake caliper and the break rotor," he said. "We've seen that happen several times in the last two years.

"The teams have now started to put on a little guard. They attach a small aluminum piece to the brake caliper so that doesn't happen.

"As far as the lug nuts getting in the new tires, when you take those five off all those nuts fall, so when you put the new ones on, the nuts are already glued to the rim. So when the tire carrier hangs the tire on the hub for the changer, at that point in time the stud pushes against those lug nuts and that's when the glue comes loose, but it puts the nut in position. The guy grabs the gun and tightens them down, so there's no way that the lug nuts will get caught between the rim and the hub."

Now on to this weekend's schedule.

Nextel Cup Series: Checker Auto Parts 500

Track: Phoenix International Raceway

• 1-mile oval
• 11-degree banking in Turns 1-2
• 9-degree banking in Turns 3-4
• 3-degree banking in frontstretch
• 9-degree banking in backstretch
• Length of frontstretch: 2,179 feet
• Length of backstretch: 1,551 feet

Race length: 312 laps/312 miles (500 kilometers)

2005 FlashbackWatch strategy pay off for Kyle Busch at PIR Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

TV schedule (All times ET)

• NASCAR Live: 4 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Bud Pole Qualifying: 5 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Trackside: 7 p.m. Fri, SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 1:30 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• Final practice 2 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• NASCAR Raceday: 12:30 p.m. Sun., SPEED
• Pre-race: 2:30 p.m. Sun., NBC
• Race: 3:40 p.m. Sun., NBC

One year ago, title contender Greg Biffle dominated the race, leading 189 of 312 laps. But Kyle Busch used a pit-stop strategy to get track position, taking the lead for the first time on Lap 230 by staying on track when the leaders pitted. He went on to win

The most recent checkered flag went to Tony Stewart, who got his second consecutive Nextel Cup win and third of the Chase after dominating the Dickies 500 at Texas.

Keep an eye on qualifying. No Cup race held at Phoenix has been won from the pole.

Busch Series: Arizona Travel 200

Track: Phoenix International Raceway

2005 FlashbackWatch Edwards grab another victory at Phoenix Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

• 1-mile oval
• 11-degree banking in Turns 1-2
• 9-degree banking in Turns 3-4
• 3-degree banking in frontstretch
• 9-degree banking in backstretch
• Length of frontstretch: 2,179 feet
• Length of backstretch: 1,551 feet

Race length: 200 laps/200 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

• Qualifying: Noon Sat., SPEED
• Race: 3:30 p.m. Sat., NBC

One year ago, Carl Edwards held off Clint Bowyer for the victory. It was the fifth Busch win of the season for Edwards, who led twice for 103 laps, including the final 20.

The most recent checkered flag went to Harvick, who got his ninth victory of the season last Saturday at Texas.

Keep an eye on Greg Biffle. Biffle is the only driver to have multiple victories at Phoenix. He won there in 2001 and '05.

Craftsman Truck Series: Casino Arizona 150

Track: Phoenix International Raceway

• 1-mile oval
• 11-degree banking in Turns 1-2
• 9-degree banking in Turns 3-4
• 3-degree banking in frontstretch
• 9-degree banking in backstretch
• Length of frontstretch: 2,179 feet
• Length of backstretch: 1,551 feet

Race length: 150 laps/150 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

2005 FlashbackGet another look at Bodine's second win in a row Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

• Race: 8 p.m. Fri., SPEED

One year ago, Todd Bodine raced off to his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win in a row.

The most recent checkered flag went to Clint Bowyer, who won from the pole last weekend at Texas.

Keep an eye on Bodine. He can clinch the title Friday in Phoenix by adding 54 or more points to his current advantage.