Two to go and this week it's PHoenix.. To the victor the spoils and a likely leg up in the Chase for the Cup.. to the rest of the pack, it's just one more race to go after Sunday. Who has the stuff to finish ahead of the pack? Place your bets! Phoenix - PIR history - In 1964, when Phoenix International Raceway was carved out of the foothills of the Estrella Mountains, it was intended to be a new jewel in the crown of American open-wheel racing. Drivers like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones and the Unsers soon came to love the 1-mile paved oval with the unique bend in the backstretch. And they really loved coming to Phoenix, where the tourism industry was just starting to grow and its Western style hospitality was second to none. Five drivers have won consecutive races at Phoenix: Davey Allison (1991,1992); Jeff Burton (2000, 2001); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003, 2004); Kevin Harvick (swept 2006); Jimmie Johnson is the only one of the five to win three consecutive races (fall 2007, swept 2008). Johnson, a 60-race winner in the Sprint Cup Series, continued the Chevrolet dominance in this race in 2007, as he posted his 33rd career title, defeating Greg Biffle by less than a second. Johnson led twice for 55 laps, including the final 24. Pole sitter Carl Edwards led the first 87 laps, but failed to finish due to engine problems and placed 42nd. In 2006, Harvick crossed the finish line 0.250 of a second ahead of Johnson to claim his 10th career Sprint Cup title and fifth of that campaign. Harvick, who started second on the grid, led for a whopping 252 laps, including the final 30. Pole sitter Jeff Gordon was out in front for the first three laps and finished fourth. Kyle Busch out-dueled Greg Biffle in 2005 by less than a second for his second career Sprint Cup title. Busch led for a total of 63 laps, including the final 28 in front of a crowd of 105,000. Busch, who started 15th on the grid, led on three separate occasions, while Biffle led four times for 189 laps. Pole sitter Denny Hamlin led for 23 laps and finished 13th. This and That from Phoenix International Raceway: Construction was completed in January 1964. The facility consisted of a one-mile oval and a 2.5-mile road course. Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 1988. Ricky Rudd won the 1995 race from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started. In 32 previous races at PIR, the pole sitter has won four times and the top-10 starting spot has captured half of the races. Several changes have been made to PIR, as the frontstretch went from 52 to 62 feet and the dog-leg curve between the second and third turns was pushed out 95 feet. In addition, pit road was reconfigured with the installation of concrete pit stalls. The track was repaved last year. [TABLE="width: 100"] [TR] [TD="width: 100"]watchxnascaronline.com [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]