Carl Edwards is on the pole for today's Subway Fresh Fit 500 (3 p.m. Eastern, FOX), and as the most recent driver to win there, he should be the headliner entering the race.
Alas, it is his archnemesis, starting from the fourth position.
Kyle Busch has one previous Sprint Cup win at the Phoenix International Raceway, in November of 2005. Should he duplicate that feat, he will duplicate another: winning all three national touring races in one weekend, something he did last August at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch got his weekend started right by winning the Camping World Truck Series race Friday, then led all 200 laps in Saturday's Nationwide race for his 87th and 88th career national touring victories.
He also has some unfinished business, as he was denied victory in last year's Subway Fresh Fit 600 when Scott Riggs crashed with less than five laps remaining. Under the caution, all of the leaders pitted and Busch lost significant track position by taking four fresh tires while most took two or none.
The potential spoiler is Kyle's brother, Kurt. Fresh off an attempt at history of his own back in Daytona, the elder of the Busch boys starts from outside row one, next to Edwards. He is the inaugural champion of the Subway Fresh Fit 500, winning the 2005 event.
All but an afterthought is Jimmie Johnson, the all-time wins leader at Phoenix (four) and the five-time defending series champion, who qualified a miserable 28th. Ricky Rudd holds the record for worst starting position by a winner, 29th set in 1995, so the precedent is there for Johnson to spoil the Busch boys' an Edwards' fun.
Subway Fresh Fit 500 Starting Grid:
Row 1: Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford) & Kurt Busch (No. 22 Dodge)
Row 2: Kasey Kahne (No. 4 Toyota) & Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota)
Row 3: Regan Smith (No. 78 Chevrolet) & Joey Logano (No. 20 Toyota)
Row 4: Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 Toyota) & Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Chevrolet)
Row 5: Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Dodge) & Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ford)
View the rest of the lineup here.