Nationwide vets among favorites to win at Phoenix

The Nationwide Series rolls into Phoenix this weekend:

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If it's Phoenix, expect to see Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards or Kevin Harvick at the front of the field. Six of the past eight races at PIR have been won by one of those drivers. Each has two wins at the track, most among the 11 winners there.

Busch leads the Phoenix field with three poles and has won the past two for this race. Harvick, Biffle and Edwards are former series champions. Biffle, Edwards and Harvick were driving fulltime in the series when they posted their Phoenix wins.

Edwards leads Busch by just 23 points in the driver standings; his No. 60 Ford leads Busch's No. 18 Toyota by the same margin in the increasingly tight owner standings. The No. 33 KHI Chevrolet and No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet are only 48 points back in the owner rankings.

No backing down from series-only regulars

Series-only regulars are having a great season that could get even better at Phoenix. Jason Leffler, who has two poles there, ranks fourth in the point standings while Brad Keselowski has overcome a slow start to climb to fifth after finishing third at Nashville. Leffler and Mike Bliss (11th) know the Desert Mile as well as any competitors, having won a combined six USAC open-wheel races at PIR.

Three rookies remain in the top 10 -- Justin Allgaier, Brendan Gaughan and Scott Lagasse Jr. are in positions 7-9 in the standings, the third week in succession the rookie trio has been in the top 10. Veteran Jason Keller is 10th, while Bliss, Steve Wallace (12), Michael McDowell (13) and Kenny Wallace (14) are within 39 points of Keller.

McDowell

Different perspective for McDowell upon return home

A different Michael McDowell heads home to Phoenix one year removed from his ride in the Cup Series. He is building solid credentials in the Nationwide Series in the No. 47 Toyota for the first half of the season before turning it over to Kelly Bires.

McDowell has made the most of the experience he gained on the Cup side in his Nationwide ride that came together the week before the season opener at Daytona. He posted his career-best finish (sixth) at Las Vegas and start (third) at Fontana. He's had three other top-20 finishes, including 15th last week at Nashville, where he also led the first laps of his career. He's ranked 13th in the point standings.

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