Phoenix Reactions & Observations.

- I didn't think it was going to last very long, and sure enough, Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team found their way back to Victory Lane. Some may think this team isn't back, but with three straight top-5s, including a win, this team has shown the strength that has netted them two straight championships.

- It was another subpar race for Matt Kenseth. I wonder how anxious he's feeling about the Chase right now.

- I'm getting tired of one third of the field being a lap down at the end of the race. I know it's just an indication of how much better the drivers with this new car figured out are, compared to the drivers who haven't, but it makes for some boring racing.

- I thought the racing at the end of the night was great: not knowing who would win because teams had to bank on fuel mileage to finish. It was exciting, suspenseful, and unpredictable.

- It was a good points race for Jeff Gordon, moving up to 13th in points and just eight points out of 12th - the cutoff point for the Chase. His team clearly needs a bit more work with this new car as they just barely managed to finish 13th on Saturday.

- I would have liked to see Mark Martin win the race on Saturday, and wish he hadn't fueled up. He had nothing to lose, and wasn't racing for points, and seeing him in Victory Lane one more time would be very nice.

- Kurt Busch is nowhere to be seen on the radar right now. With the way his team has looked, I don't know if he has it in him to put together yet another summertime hot streak.

- Tony Stewart didn't get a handle on his car at all on Saturday night. He got a little better as the night went down, but stalling his car on the final pit stop didn't help matters.

- Kevin Harvick should have had a top-5 finish but he also had a bad pit stop late in the race and ended up finishing 19th. The finish dropped him three spots in the points standings.

Next up is Talladega after an off weekend next weekend.

Aaron Larsen