The first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship season of Jimmie Johnson's career was accented by historical wins at Daytona, Talladega, and Indianapolis, but that's not to say that his performances at Phoenix International Raceway had nothing to do with his run for the title.

Following a second-place finish behind Kevin Harvick in last weekend's Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil at PIR, Johnson extended what had been a 17-point lead over second-place Matt Kenseth to a nearly insurmountable 63-point advantage heading into the final race of the season. Not since 1992 had the NEXTEL Cup points leader after the penultimate race of the season finished out of the top spot in the standings. By building his points lead on the one-mile desert oval, Johnson helped to extend that impressive championship streak to 14 consecutive seasons.

With a seventh-place finish in April's SUBWAY Fresh 500¿ to go with his November runner-up honors, Johnson's average finish of 4.5 at PIR in 2006 ranked only behind two-time race winner Kevin Harvick, making him one of Phoenix's elite drivers. Additionally, every NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion since 1998 had finished in the top 10 in the fall race at PIR, and Johnson provided some championship foreshadowing of his own by taking second a week ago to extend that streak.

As the winner of three of the four events in which he entered at PIR in 2006, Harvick too can point to the one-mile track as a boost to his dominant run for the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series championship. After winning April's Bashas' Supermarkets 200 for one of his nine checkered flags in 2006, Harvick took runner-up honors in November's ARIZONA.TRAVEL 200 and cemented his great run of success in the desert.

While titles have long been decided and champions crowned elsewhere, the high-powered season of 2006 provides some solid evidence that strong runs at PIR can give a solid boost to one's championship hopes.

Bright Lights. Big Party. NASCAR at Night! NASCAR action heats up when the lights come on for the SUBWAY Fresh 500¿ Weekend at PIR, April 19-21, 2007. The party kicks off under the lights for Thursday's Phoenix 150 NASCAR AutoZone West Series race. Friday night's fiesta is the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 NASCAR Busch Series race. Then, the action reaches its pinnacle when the cars and stars of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series take the track for the SUBWAY Fresh 500¿, the first night race of the 2007 NEXTEL Cup Season. Tickets are now on sale for the SUBWAY Fresh 500¿ weekend at PIR and can be purchased by calling 602-252-2227 or 866-408-7223 or online at www.racetickets.com. For additional information on the SUBWAY Fresh 500¿ Weekend, visit www.phoenixraceway.com or call 623-463-5600.