Rookie Denny Hamlin anticipates
PHOENIX A HOT NIGHT IN
By RICK MINTER Cox News Service
Atlanta Perhaps no other driver is looking forward to this weekend's races at

Phoenix International Raceway more than Denny Hamlin.

Although he's officially a rookie this year, he made seven Nextel Cup starts last year, one of them at Phoenix, where he won the pole and finished 13th.

That Phoenix pole made him eligible for this year's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, which he won.

Although the Shootout pays no points, Hamlin still is 14th in the Nextel Cup standings with one top-five and two top-10 finishes.

He's second in Busch points with a victory, two poles and six top-10 finishes, including a third-place finish last week at Nashville, where he started from the pole in the Pepsi 300.

He said he's looking forward to Phoenix and a lot of other tracks coming up on the schedule.

"I think we're definitely performing better than what we expected on mileand a-half race tracks, so hopefully we'll be able to bring that to the shorter tracks as well," he said. "We haven't had a ton of success, but I know Phoenix is a track where we can run well, and it suits my driving style so I'm looking forward to it."

Rookie Denny Hamlin pulls his car into Victory Lane after winning the Bud Shootout, a race he qualified for by winning the pole in last year's fall race at Phoenix International Raceway. Kurt Busch claimed victory in last year's Subway Fresh 500 (above).

The Virginia native said he feels right at home on Phoenix's relatively flat (banking from nine to 11 degrees), oddshaped, one-mile tri-oval.

"It became my favorite track the first time I went there in the Busch car," he said. "It was a track I ran really well at. Every time I go there I seem to get a little better."

He said his first Cup points victory could come in Saturday night's Subway Fresh 500.

"I definitely think we have a shot at it," he said, adding that he has access to the setup notes generated by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Tony Stewart, who has a victory, three top-five and five top-10 finishes in eight Cup starts at Phoenix.

"We have some good setup notes," Hamlin said. "We had a good top-15, top10 car last fall. Hopefully, we can go back with that and improve on it."

He's even more confident about his No. 20 Busch Series car, which he'll drive in Friday's Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix.

"Our [Busch] team is head-over-shoulders better than it was last year," he said. "We're getting better in what we know. It's not necessarily people; it's learning a lot and bringing a lot of stuff over from the Cup shop."

He also feels he has improved as a driver.

"It's amazing how much better I am versus where I was last year," he said. "In Cup, I don't expect to be anything less than a top-10 car every week.We've run really well every week.We've run in the top 10 every week, we just need to finish it off."

Another driver anxious to get going at Phoenix is Carl Edwards, who will be running his first race since Wally Brown replaced Bob Osborne as his crew chief.

"We ran really well at Phoenix last year," said Edwards, who had finishes of sixth and seventh. "That should be a good spot for our team." Track length: 1 mile Race length: 312 laps/312 miles (500 kilometers) Banking in Turns 1, 2: 11 degrees Banking in Turns 3, 4: 9 degrees Banking on frontstretch: 3 degrees Banking on backstretch: 9 degrees Frontstretch: 1,179 feet Backstretch: 1,551 feet Grandstand seating: 76,812 Qualifying record: Ryan Newman, Dodge; 135.854 mph; Nov. 5, 2004 Race record: Tony Stewart, Pontiac; 118.132 mph; Nov. 7, 1999 PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY