Phoenix, last time here with its current setup, great build from the win last week by Trevor Bayne with the Cup Series active leader in wins breaking his longest career winless streak. Polesitter Carl Edwards runs upfront until lap 59 when Kyle Busch got loose and could not save it in time before slamming in the left side of the 99.

Lap 67 we had The Big One for the second time in a matter of weeks when Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth got into each other and caused a 13 car accident that would bring a 14-minute and four second red flag delay in the action.

After the red flag we saw good racing with Jeff Gordon chasing Kyle Busch down and giving him a little bump with eight to go. Gordon got under Busch and then drove him up the track so he could get better position coming out of the turn to take the lead for good and pull away for his 83rd career win.

Storyline that we will remember: Jeff Gordon bumping Kyle Busch out of his way on his way to the win.

Storyline that we will forget: Carl Edwards and crew getting back on track and finishing 28th after being hit by a loose Kyle Busch car on Lap 59.

Quote of the Week: "We just beat Kyle Busch!” – Jeff Gordon

Tweet of the Week: “More Knaus to JJ: "The 18 and the 24 are the only teams that have anything for us, 10-4?" JJ: 10-4” @MartySmithESPN – Jimmie Johnson finishes third behind both Gordon and Busch.

Power Rankings
(Rankings are based on who is running the best, with an emphasis on the last several races but having respect for the duration of the 36 race schedule. Last Week’s Rankings can be found in parenthesis.)
1.   (1)Kurt Busch – Won 2 of 3 at Daytona, 2 Top 10 finishes.
2.   (8)Kyle Busch – Points leader and the Busch Brothers are the only drivers with Top 10 finishes in both races.
3.   (NR)A.J. Allmendinger – Tied for 3rd in Points after an average finish of 10th this season.
4.   (NR)Tony Stewart – Leads the 2nd most laps in Phoenix, finished 7th.
5.   (NR)Jeff Gordon – Leads 138 laps on his way to ending the longest drought of his career at 66 races
6.   (10)Mark Martin – In the Big One last week, Average finish of 13th.
7.   (NR)Ryan Newman – Tied for 7th in the points, finished 5th in Phoenix
8.   (6) Juan Pablo Montoya- Tied for 7th in points standings,  finished 19th in Phoenix
9.   (7) Bobby Labonte –Tied for 7th in standings, finished 21st in Phoenix.
10. (NR) Jimmie Johnson – Finishes 3rd after the talk going into the race was that Hendrick cars were not going to be successful this weekend.

Driver of the Week: Jeff Gordon – Led the most laps, and pulled away when making the pass with six to go to victory lane. The future Hall of Famer is now tied with Cale Yarborough with 83 wins and is one behind Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison.

Bad Decision of the Day: Kenseth and Vickers – Lap 67 of 312, racing hard for position and did not give each other any room causing a 13 car wreck, a 14 minute red flag, and a lot of hard work totaled.

Stat of the Week:  83 wins, Jeff Gordon now tied for 5th and with 2 more wins this year will be in third all by himself behind “The King” Richard Petty and David Pearson.

Let me know if you disagree with my rankings or awards and think I missed a big part of the race.

Contact Thomas via twitter @thomaseharris

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