April 11, 2008 6:23 PM ET
Nationwide: Busch wins pole
 The News
Kyle Busch was "scary fast," in his own words, and won his second pole of the 2008 season.
 Our View
Last week, he earned his first victory of the year at Texas, so the monkey is off his back. Busch has to be a favorite to win this week.
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April 10, 2008 9:27 PM ET
Nationwide: Hamlin wins final practice
The News
Denny Hamlin posted the fastest single lap in the final practice session, with a speed of 131.124 mph.
Our View
Nationwide Regulars Mike Bliss, Steve Wallace and Marcos Ambrose all practiced within the top five, so Friday could be a promising showing from their ranks.
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April 10, 2008 8:32 PM ET
Petty, Andretti going home
The News
Kyle Petty and John Andretti posted the two slowest times in practice and will be the two drivers heading to the house before the green flag waves.
Our View
This is the third consecutive race that the Petty Enterprises No. 45 will miss.
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April 10, 2008 8:29 PM ET
Rocketman Newman takes Phoenix pole
The News
Ryan Newman was fast in morning practice and he held onto that speed in qualification to win the pole for the Subway Fresh Fit 500k with a speed of 133.457.
Our View
After being penalized 25 points last week at Texas, this is a great way to start the weekend.
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April 10, 2008 5:06 PM ET
Newman posts fastest lap in Practice 1
The News
Ryan Newman jumped to the top of the leaderboard in the final laps of the first practice session, with a speed of 132.411.
Our View
Jimmie Johnson was at the top of the charts for most of the opening laps before everyone put their qualification setup on the cars. He wound up second overall.
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April 10, 2008 3:08 PM ET
Nationwide: Stremme paces practice 1
The News
Nationwide Regular David Stremme posted the fastest single lap in the first Nationwide series practice, with a speed of 130.577 mph.
Our View
Dario Franchitti was second fastest at 130.520 and Brad Keselowski was fourth at 129.408, so we could be looking at some fresh faces up front.
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April 9, 2008 11:06 AM ET
Petty gets new chief
The News
Petty Enterprises continues to make personnel moves to find the right chemistry for the No. 45. Stewart Cooper will take over from Billy Wilburn.
Our View
Cooper moves into the NASCAR Sprint Cup series after crewing for Braun Racing in the Nationwide series and the team and chief will have a chance to grow together.
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April 9, 2008 12:22 AM ET
Newman penalized for height infraction
The News
Ryan Newman's car was found to be too high following his fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.
Our View
The car was five-eighths of an inch too high, which was one-eighth beyond NASCAR's tolerance; He was penalized 25 driver and owner points.
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April 8, 2008 10:57 PM ET
Mayfield and Haas part ways
The News
One day after announcing that Johnny Sauter would drive the No. 70 at Phoenix, a team spokesman announced that Jeremy Mayfield and the organization had mutually agreed to part ways.
Our View
For the moment, Sauter is listed as the driver only for Phoenix and a search is underway for a full time pilot.
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April 8, 2008 9:16 PM ET
Eight men in: Phoenix
The News
In the event that qualification is canceled at Phoenix, the eight drivers who would make the race would be Bill Elliott, Johnny Sauter, Dave Blaney, David Reutimann, Dario Franchitti, Mike Skinner, Kyle Petty and Patrick Carpentier.
Our View
With only 45 cars on the entry list, that leaves only Joe Nemechek and John Andretti in absolute need of time trials happening.
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April 8, 2008 11:20 AM ET
Five drivers net zero
The News
Five drivers went a long way in last week's Samsung 500, only to finish exactly where they started. Kyle Busch (third), Ryan Newman (fourth), Casey Mears (22nd), Kurt Busch (23rd) and Elliott Sadler (26th) all netted zero.
Our View
We're fond of saying this is a zero sum sport, but that is taking it to the extreme.
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April 8, 2008 9:29 AM ET
Sauter to replace Mayfield at Phoenix
The News
Johnny Sauter will be back behind the wheel of the No. 70 this week at Phoenix, a track on which he earned one of his two top-10s last year driving for this same team.
Our View
So far, Mayfield has struggled and the team is outside the top 35 in owner points. Overall, the Gene Haas teams were very strong on this type of track last year.
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April 7, 2008 5:23 PM ET
Nationwide: entry list posted
The News
The Nationwide list has been posted, and it features only 43 cars for 43 spots.
Our View
Everyone will make the show and the short, flat tracks are a great place to earn experience.
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April 7, 2008 4:20 PM ET
Cup entry list posted
The News
The NASCAR Sprint Cup entry list for Phoenix has been posted, and there are only 45 cars vying for 43 spots.
Our View
The smaller the list, the easier it will be to make the show, which is good news for the drivers outside the top 35 in points.
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April 7, 2008 10:25 AM ET
Heat took toll on Hamlin
The News
After finishing a very respectable fifth in the Samsung 500, Denny Hamlin was visibly fatigued by the Texas heat and had to shorten his Q & A session on pit road.
Our View
Hamlin is young and in good physical condition, which makes you wonder about just how tired some of the other drivers were.
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April 6, 2008 8:19 PM ET
Carpentier is Texas' top rookie
The News
Patrick Carpentier was the top finishing rookie for the first time in 2008. He recorded his best result of 28th.
Our View
If not for his slow start at Daytona and Auto Club Speedway, he might have a substantial lead in the Rookie of the Year (ROTY) standings.
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April 6, 2008 5:57 PM ET
Edwards wins Texas
The News
One of the "E's" had it. Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were favored to win the Samsung 500, and the No. 99 ran off and hid for most of the final laps.
Our View
A green-white-checkered finish and new tires versus old put some drama into the final laps, but the finish was never in question. Our other favorite, Earnhardt finished 12th—one lap off the pace.
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April 6, 2008 12:51 PM ET
Reutimann, Skinner to the back
The News
David Reutimann and Mike Skinner both had a screw come loose in their engines, forcing them to change the powerplant and sending them to the back of the pack.
Our View
Both drivers have to give up excellent qualifying spots, but Reutimann should still be considered a strong dark horse.
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April 5, 2008 5:22 PM ET
Busch wins at Texas
The News
Kyle Busch finally got the monkey off his back, and won the O'Reilly 300 after crashing out of thee straight Nationwide races.
Our View
As predicted, nearly all of the top 10 went to Claim Jumpers, but Jason Leffler managed to finish strong in ninth.
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April 5, 2008 4:25 PM ET
Edwards posts fastest HH lap
The News
Carl Edwards posted the fastest single lap in Happy Hour, with a speed of 185.052 miles per hour.
Our View
His average speed was near the top of the grid as well; it looks like 'Cousin Carl" is going to be Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s biggest competition on Sunday.
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