This week: Checker Auto Parts 500

(Race No. 34of 36)

Where: Phoenix International Raceway in Phoenix, Ariz.

SERIES: Nextel Cup

When: 3 p.m., Sunday

Track dimensions: 1-mile oval with 9-degree banking in the first and second turns, 11-degree banking in Turns 3 and 4

Broadcast: Television NBC at 3 p.m..; Radio Motor Racing Network at 3 p.m.

Track records: Qualifying 134.178 mph by Rusty Wallace on Nov. 3, 2000; Race 118.132 mph by Tony Stewart on Nov. 7, 1999

2003 winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Coble's Pick: Kurt Busch "He's been great on flat tracks this year and will bounce back from last week's blown engine."

Companion events: Friday Checker Auto Parts 300 pole qualifying (6 p.m., Speed); Chevy Silverado 150 ( Craftsman Truck Series), 5:30 p.m. (Speed); Saturday Bashas' Supermarkets 200 (Busch Series), 3 p.m. (NBC)

Other races: Sunday Telmex/Tecate Grand Prix (CART Champ Car Series) at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City (4 p.m., Spike); Naturally Fresh 250 (USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series) at New River Valley Speedway