Though the green flag to start the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup in New Hampshire was just three days away, four drivers in the 12-man playoff visited Phoenix last Thursday - virtually.

Via a satellite media tour hosted by Hard Rock Café in downtown Phoenix and designed to promote the Chase and the November 11 Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil at PIR, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and Kurt Busch answered questions for an hour from media personalities from around Arizona. The broad range of topics ranged from the racing-related cars and competition on the PIR oval to off-track things like brotherhood and backflips.

The primary focus of the session was how drivers approach the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, and specifically, the impact of the race at PIR being so late in the year. With two former champions (Busch, 2004; Stewart, 2005) taking the questions along with a pair of up-and-comers, the planned methods of taking the championship centered around one idea: consistency.

"I think you have to be more cautious going into the Chase, especially in the last two races," said Edwards. "We haven't had any pressure on us the last couple weeks; we've just been going out and racing for wins, and now we have to go out and race for points."

"Ultimately, consistency is what pays and wins championships in this series," Hamlin said. "If we can get back to that, we're going to be tough to beat in the long haul."

The former champs agreed.

"You know, it still falls under the theory that if you win the races, the points (situation) will take care of itself. It's just our job to go out now, see how many points we're behind Jimmie Johnson right now, and take it one week at a time," said Stewart, who started and ended the weekend in third place in the standings. Originally 30 points behind Johnson, Stewart now sits just 10 markers behind the defending champ.

"It takes consistency. You've got to have some breaks go your way. Whether it's pit stop sequence or whether some guys spin out on the track and you avoid the trouble, you've got to have Lady Luck in your pocket if you want to do well," said Busch. Busch would eventually suffer the unenviable task of having to recover from an early setback, when he dropped to 12th place in the standings just days later following a 25th-place run in New Hampshire.

Edwards matched Busch's sentiments on luck.

"You can do everything you do, but still have an engine blow up," said the driver of the No. 99 Ford. "You just do everything you can, don't get stressed out, and hope it works out."

The drivers all discussed what it means to come back to Phoenix in a pivotal Chase race. While some chose to reflect on on-track success and technique, some sounded more like recreational travelers than top-level racers.

"The Copper World Classic was a highlight for us, and obviously now in the (NEXTEL) Cup Series, being able to go out there twice and run a Busch Series race each year out there is a lot of fun for us," said Stewart, winner of several USAC Midget and Silver Crown Series races in past Copper World Classics.

"The fall trip out there, especially during the Chase, is a lot of fun for us."

Busch, a native of nearby Las Vegas, chose to reflect on the familiar weather as one of his favorite things about Phoenix.

"Well, it's great that we race there twice a year," said the driver of the No. 2 Dodge and winner of PIR's April 2005 NEXTEL Cup Series event. "The first race there is under the lights and it's nice and warm out, and we go back there in November, and it's nice and warm out.

"We love the two dates we have out there in Phoenix. With two races to go (in the season at the time of the November race), it's very important to race good out at the Phoenix race track."

"I love coming to Phoenix," Hamlin said. "Really, I'm confident going there. It's a place we ran well right before the end of the season last year so if we can come away with another top-three finish like we have the last two times there, we should be good.

"You know when you get to Phoenix, you've only got a couple more opportunities to really make up points and that's a good stretch for us."

It was at that point that Hamlin turned from tour racer to tour guide.

"Phoenix is by far my favorite race track to come to for the outside stuff," said the driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet. "There are great places to go like Tempe and Scottsdale, and there's a lot of great shopping and golf courses. There's so much to do around the Phoenix race track.

"It's just a great location, and probably a place I'd like to live at some point in my life so maybe when I retire I'll come out there."

Edwards, ever the active sportsman outside of the race car, reflected on the mountainous terrain surrounding PIR.

"I love coming out to Phoenix. There's so much to do outdoors," he said. "We go hike Squaw Peak and Camelback and then go ride out in the Estrellas on the mountain bikes. There's always something to do outdoors in Phoenix and I can see why people really love to live there."

There you have it, race fans. If you don't get your fix of Carl and Denny on the track in the coming years, they just might be your neighbors in the Valley of the Sun decades down the line.

But if you think retirement is on the mind of the 28-year-old Edwards, you're probably just a bit off. With one championship in the Busch Series practically locked up in his grasp and a Cup title within reach this season, Edwards took some time to talk about what the double title would mean - and it's more than just a speaking engagement at two different season-ending banquets.

"To win both series in one year would be the ultimate goal in NASCAR, in American motorsports," Edwards said. "To me, I think our chances are pretty good. We've been running very well, the Busch Series has been going great, but you never know. The Cup Series is going to be really tough this season."

Tough is probably an understatement. Edwards sits in eighth place, 63 points back of the leaders Johnson and Jeff Gordon. But as Clint Bowyer proved in the Chase opener by winning and hopping eight places in the standings, the field is ripe for a shake-up.

As the driver session ended, talk turned to the less technical aspects of racing. Edwards took a minute to discuss the technicalities of his trademark backflip on the flat Phoenix oval, among other places.

"You've got to watch out for the high-banked tracks like Bristol or Talladega. Phoenix is a lot easier to do the backflip. I'm just so excited after a race to be able to do one that as long as I land on my feet I'm happy," said the November 2005 Busch Series winner.

Kurt Busch highlighted the entertainment portion of the hour, discussing his relationship on the track with brother and fellow Chaser Kyle.

Asked whether he saw him as just another driver or as a man of the same ancestral ilk, Busch replied, "I definitely see him as my little brother. He's a fierce competitor, a proven winner. I always want to go out there and beat him though, because he's my little brother. You've got to move past that somedays; the two of us can help each other at the race track, but we want to go out there and beat each other at the same time. I think it throws an element of fun in there."

Inevitably, the question of household horseplay came up. Who won the childhood wrestling matches? Kurt or Kyle?

"Well, I was seven years older than him, so I always had that under control."

Combining the elder Busch's words with his always confident smile, it became apparent who the real victor was during those Las Vegas days.

Now, just eight weeks remain until the Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil at PIR, and all 12 playoff drivers - along with their non-Chasing contemporaries from around the series - will be in the Valley of the Sun, where a NEXTEL Cup Series champion for 2007 could be crowned.

Considering all the good things said about Phoenix last week, imagine what the drivers would say if could somehow clinch a series championship in the shadow of PIR's famous mountain atmosphere. Will it happen? On November 11, we'll find out.

Get your NASCAR tickets for the Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil at PIR today! Call 1-866-408-RACE (7223) or visit www.racetickets.com!