Snapshot: Phoenix

To The Rear: AJ Allmendinger, JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet (engine change)

On The Front Row | Full starting lineup

1. Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (140.751 mph)
2. Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22 Ford (140.543 mph)

A First For Harvick
The Phoenix Coors Light Pole was Harvick’s first at the 1-mile track and the 15th of his career. Harvick has won multiple poles at just two tracks — Kansas (3) and Indianapolis (2). It is only the second front-row starting position at PIR in 25 attempts. He qualified No. 2 in the fall race here in ’06, led 252 laps and won the race.

Failed To Qualify
Tanner Berryhill, Premium Motorsports No. 66 Chevrolet; Travis Kvapil, Team Xtreme No. 44 Chevrolet

Fastest In Practice
First practice: Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22 Ford (138.771 mph) | Full results
Second practice: Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet (136.768 mph) | Full results
Final Practice: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (136.555 mph) | Full results

Unbreakable?
“I don’t know if you noticed his answer; the only was he can get beat is him screwing up. I don’t know if you heard that. Sounds like it will take a mistake or crash or strategy call.” — Joey Logano on what it will take to beat defending champ Kevin Harvick at Phoenix.

DiBenedetto’s Debut
BK Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto (No. 83 Toyota) will make his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Phoenix after qualifying 35th for the 43-car show. DiBenedetto failed to qualify earlier this year with the team at Atlanta and Las Vegas.

Thirteen on the 13th
David Ragan, making his third start driving in relief for the injured Kyle Busch, will start 13th in the CampingWorld.com 500 at PIR. Ragan was fastest in the first of three rounds of qualifying on Friday in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota but just missed advancing to the final round. “We just need to put a whole weekend together,” Ragan said after qualifying. “I can’t say enough about everybody on this (team). We’ll work on it some (Saturday), but we’ll go to bed mad tonight.” Ragan has finished 18th (Atlanta) and 22nd (Las Vegas) with the No. 18 team.

Hamlin Still Searching
“We have to identify the areas that we’re getting beat, and right now it’s a little bit of everything in my opinion.” — Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota

Keeping up with Penske
“How do we figure out what the Penske guys are doing that is making them better than us? That is their job, to go out there and beat us and ours is the same way as well as the rest of the competition. … While Ford would like us all to be right up there, they can’t go. ‘Hey, you guys have to share everything you are doing.’ Because it doesn’t work that way.” — Sam Hornish Jr., Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Ford

Return of the Outlaw
Former series champion Kurt Busch has ditched the ‘Outlaw’ moniker, but the Stewart-Haas Racing driver continues to be fast. In his first start since being suspended by NASCAR on the eve of the Daytona 500, Busch will start eighth at Phoenix. He led Saturday’s opening practice and was third in Happy Hour. “We are here to race; that’s what we are here to do,” Busch said on Friday.

CD For KK
The Phoenix race will mark career start No. 400 for Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne, 12th most among active, full-time drivers. One of his 17 career wins in Sprint Cup came at Phoenix, in the fall race of ’11.

Defending CampingWorld.com 500 Champion
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet

Driver Rating
Best driver rating average at Phoenix International Raceway based on past 10 years:
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet (114.0)
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet (106.2)
Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet (100.5)

Former Phoenix International Raceway Winners In Field
Kevin Harvick 6; Jimmie Johnson 4; Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon 2; Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart.

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