Bashas' Supermarkets 200 - Phoenix International Raceway

Harvick Wins Two in a Row
Kevin Harvick picked up his 19th career NASCAR Busch Series victory with a win in the Bashas' Supermarket 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. It was Harvick’s second straight victory of 2006 and his ninth straight finish of 11th or better in nine starts this year. This team also won the Atlanta race earlier this season with Jeff Burton behind the wheel. The race was slowed by ten caution periods with Denny Hamlin, who came into the event second in points, getting caught up in a late-race incident, dropping him to third in points. The big story of the race was the run by pole sitter Jason Leffler. The Busch Series regular led 78 laps, the most of any NASCAR Busch Series driver this season. He was in contention for the lead throughout the race, consistently running in the top five, until a tap by Clint Bowyer on lap 189 sent Leffler spinning into the Turn 3 wall. Leffler came back to finish 16th in his crumpled mount. Bowyer was sent to the rear of the field by NASCAR as a penalty for rough driving. The final caution flew on lap 197 when Bowyer clipped the damaged car of David Gilliland going into Turn 1 sending both cars into the wall. This set up a green-white-checker shootout between Harvick and runner-up Reed Sorenson. Despite his good jump on the restart, Sorenson was not able to beat Harvick to the checkered flag. Carl Edwards came home third with Kurt Busch and Mark Martin rounding out the top five. Kevin Harvick maintains the point lead by a margin of 289 markers over Clint Bowyer. Denny Hamlin drops to third with J.J. Yeley in fourth and Carl Edwards 341 points out of the top spot for fifth. David Green was the top finishing NASCAR Busch Series regular coming home in ninth spot.

Bashas' Supermarkets 200 Notes
· Race Results · Ford Post-Race Quotes · Rookie Post-Race Quotes · Point Standings · Owner Point Standings · Lap Leader Notes · Starting Lineup · Qualifying Results · Final Practice · Practice 2 · Practice 1 · Qualifying Order · Entry List · Race Notes · Weekend Schedule · Raybestos Rookie Notes · Scott Riggs Notes	· Kevin Harvick Notes · Denny Hamlin Notes · Clint Bowyer Notes · Carl Edwards Notes · Jason Leffler Notes · Kyle Busch Notes · Greg Biffle Notes · Reed Sorenson Notes · Todd Kluever Notes · Matt Kenseth Notes · Danny O’Quinn, Jr. Notes · John Andretti Notes · Mark McFarland Notes · David Green Notes · Tim Sauter Notes · Ken Schrader Notes · Mark Martin Notes

Leffler Wins First Pole for a Busch Regular in 2006
Jason Leffler won his second pole at Phoenix International Raceway this afternoon but, more importantly, becomes the first NASCAR Busch Series regular to win a pole position this season. All Busch Poles in 2006 have been captured by Nextel Cup drivers, with the exception of Boris Said who sat on the pole in Mexico in a one-off deal with Evernham Motorsports. Leffler qualified in 27.656 seconds, at an average speed of 130.170 mph, and will lead the field to the green flag for tonight’s Bashas' Supermarkets 200. Matt Kenseth recorded a qualifying lap in 27.715 seconds to grab the outside pole, while Kurt Busch will roll off third. Regan Smith and Reed Sorenson round out the top five starting positions for tonight’s race at PIR.