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Kevin Harvick won two in a row at Phoenix in 2006. Jeff Burton did it five years earlier.

By the Numbers: Phoenix

RCR cars top standings, but can they top the desert?

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
April 10, 2008
09:40 AM EDT

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It was 2000 and Jeff Burton was driving a red, white and blue Ford for Jack Roush when he won the Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. A year later, he put the same car in Victory Lane to become the second driver to win back-to-back races at the track.

Five years later, Kevin Harvick drove a black No. 29 to victory at Phoenix in the 2006 spring race and again visited Victory Lane later in the fall to sweep the track's two races. He was the fourth driver to win consecutive events there.

And now, in 2008, the two are teammates at Richard Childress Racing. That's nothing new. But what is new is the consistent performance that has gotten them to the top of the point standings heading into Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500 (8 p.m. ET, FOX).

Burton leads the standings by 59 points ahead of his teammate Harvick, as well as a few other statistical categories.

7.1Jeff Burton's average finish this season.

8.3Kevin Harvick's average finish this season.

11.4Jeff Burton's average finish at Phoenix for his career.

13.2Kevin Harvick's average finish at Phoenix for his career.

13Worst finish for Jeff Burton this season, which came in the Daytona 500.

14Worst finish for Kevin Harvick this season, which came in the Dayton 500.

1,089Jeff Burton's point total at Phoenix in the last four years.

1,085Kevin Harvick's point total at Phoenix in the last four years.

One aspect of Carl Edwards' three victories this season is that he is not leading the points. But it's not that unique, considering years past when 11 drivers have won three of the first seven races then gone on to win the Cup Series championship. Of them, only two since 1975 were leading the standings after seven races.

Early Indicators

Champions after winning three of the first seven races

Year	Driver	Pos. after Race 7	Total wins

2007	Jimmie Johnson	Fourth	10
1997	Jeff Gordon	Third	10
1995	Jeff Gordon	Third	7
1989	Rusty Wallace	Fourth	6
1987	Dale Earnhardt	First	11
1982	Darrell Waltrip	Third	12
1981	Darrell Waltrip	Fourth	12
1977	Cale Yarborough	First	9
1975	Richard Petty	First	13
1971	Richard Petty	N/A	21
1962	Joe Weatherly	N/A	9

Back in Time

Nov. 6, 1988Alan Kulwicki won the Checker 500, the first Cup Series race held at Phoenix International Raceway. Of the 43 starters that day, only four are on the entry list for Saturday's race: Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Kyle Petty, Michael Waltrip.

10 Key Facts

2Times Jimmie Johnson has finished 15th at Phoenix. His other seven races resulted in top-10 finishes, including a victory in the fall 2007 race.

4Consecutive top-10 finishes for Clint Bowyer. At 11th in the standings, he is the lowest-ranking driver at Richard Childress Racing.

4Former Cup Series champions who are currently ranked outside of the top 12 in the standings and have started all seven races: Matt Kenseth (13th), Jeff Gordon (14th), Kurt Busch (15th) and Bobby Labonte (21st).

4Drivers who have multiple victories at Phoenix, all of whom won consecutive races: Davey Allison (1991-92), Jeff Burton (2000-01), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003-04), Kevin Harvick (both 2006).

5Starts at Phoenix in which Carl Edwards has finished 11th or better. His other two finishes were 37th and 42nd, the latter coming last fall.

5Drivers who have started 22 of the 23 races held at Phoenix. After this weekend, that list could drop to one name as Mark Martin is the only one guaranteed a starting position. The others are either not entered (Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader) or not in the top 35 in owner points (Kyle Petty).

11.1Average starting position for Phoenix winners. Jeff Gordon is the only driver to win from the pole (spring 2007).

20.6Average finish for Ryan Newman in his 11 starts at Phoenix, the worst among the top 12 drivers in the standings. Two drivers have averages better than 10th: Jimmie Johnson (6.6) and Tony Stewart (9.4).

342Laps led by Greg Biffle in his eight starts at Phoenix, the most among drivers entered in Saturday's race who have not won at the track. Mark Martin leads active drivers with 608 laps led in 22 starts.

817Points scored by Jimmie Johnson in the last five Phoenix races, more than any other driver. Jeff Gordon has scored more points in the last 10 races (1,561).

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Phoenix International Raceway

Active drivers, based on victories

Driver	Starts	Wins	Top-5	Top-10

Kevin Harvick	10	2	3	5
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	11	2	4	5
Jeff Burton	17	2	5	9
Tony Stewart	12	1	6	8
Jeff Gordon	18	1	8	15
Jimmie Johnson	9	1	4	7
Bill Elliott	18	1	4	4
Matt Kenseth	11	1	5	6
Kyle Busch	6	1	1	4
Kurt Busch	10	1	2	5
Mark Martin	22	1	8	14

Active drivers, based on average finish

Driver	Starts	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish	Led

J. Johnson	9	13.0	6.6	168
J. Gordon	18	8.9	8.3	247
M. Martin	22	12.2	9.4	608
T. Stewart	12	14.1	9.4	293
J. Burton	17	22.9	11.4	215

Sprint Cup Series

Official Standings

Pos.	Driver	Points	Behind

1.	Jeff Burton	1065	Leader
2.	Kevin Harvick	1006	-59
3.	Kyle Busch	1001	-64
4.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	978	-87
5.	Tony Stewart	957	-108
6.	Jimmie Johnson	921	-144
7.	Denny Hamlin	913	-152
8.	Greg Biffle	901	-164
9.	Carl Edwards	881	-184
10.	Ryan Newman	876	-189
11.	Clint Bowyer	874	-191
12.	Kasey Kahne	874	-191