Bet on RCR in Phoenix

Historically, flat track racing seems to be the strong suit of Clint Bowyer, who’s two wins came on similarly configured flat, short tracks in Loudon and Richmond. Jeff Burton has also done a good share of his winning on the flatter tracks, winning twice in Phoenix to go along with four Loudon victories and one triumph apiece in Richmond and Martinsville.

Kevin Harvick, one of just two drivers to sweep the season at PIR since the track went to two dates in 2005 (along with - who else? - Johnson), also has a solid flat-track record. His biggest career win, the 2007 Daytona 500 aside, came on the world’s most famous racetrack, the low-banked Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2003. He also won at Loudon and Richmond in 2006, the same year he scored his two triumphs in Phoenix.

Even looking at recent history, a strong case can be made for the Childress team. At Phoenix for the 2009 season’s penultimate contest, Burton finished a fighting second, while Bowyer finished seventh. In the only flat track race so far this season, Burton and Bowyer again were solid, with Burton threatening to win before his race literally went flat in the stretch run and Bowyer finishing a solid seventh after racing in the top five for much of the afternoon. Harvick looked strong early in that race before a blevvy of brake issues ruined his day.

Top-to-bottom, no organization, not even Hendrick Motorsports, has been as solid so far this year as RCR, and this very well could be the weekend that they break their winless drought dating to Burton’s October 2008 triumph in Charlotte. Look for Burton to lead the Childress charge, with Bowyer not far behind. Harvick, who seems to have lost a step after opening the season with three strong runs, could threaten as well.