With but three races left in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown, Rodger Brogdon and Steve Kent are looking at this week’s race in Phoenix as an opportunity to take on the rest of the Pro Stock teams and start to wrap up the 2011 race season on a strong note.

For Brogdon and Kent, the event in Phoenix will present the opportunity to continue a stretch run that has seen one of the drivers advance to the final four in eliminations at the last three events. In Charlotte and Dallas, Steve Kent drove the Charter Communications Pontiac to the semi-finals and in Reading, PA Brogdon drove the EDGE Pain & Performance Chips car to the semi-finals to keep the ball rolling.

Firebird Raceway in Phoenix is going to present an interesting challenge to all of the contenders on the NHRA tour though. Normally NHRA’s annual stop in Arizona comes early in the season, when conditions are relatively cool and conducive to making power. This year however, the event is being contested as part of NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship and will be ran in conditions that the teams haven’t seen since mid-summer, as temperatures are forecast to be at or near 100 degrees all weekend long.

“It’s been 20 months since we were last in Phoenix,” offered Brogdon when asked about this week’s race in the Valley of the Sun. “Last time we were her the track was giving everyone fits, to the point that NHRA had to postpone the race and finish it in Gainesville (FL) a couple of weeks later. It was certainly a tough weekend for everyone involved and I know we’re looking forward to seeing what Charlie Allen and his crew have done to the track. With a new racing surface and the heat that the weathermen say we’re going to be racing in, I can tell you that we probably won’t be looking at last year’s notes for tune up ideas. This weekend is going to be a whole new ball game!”

“Steve will be back behind the wheel of the Charter communications car, and that will double our ability to get a reading on what the track wants to give us. Beyond that, Timmy (Freeman), the “Doctor” (FJ Acosta), Pete (Smallwood) and the rest of the guys will be pouring over our data base looking for every last opportunity to maximize our performance. Jason (Line) has just about got the championship locked up, but as I’ve said before, if we finish in the top five this year, I’ll consider it a hell of a year.”

Rodger added one last thought, “We’ve got the power and our guys can set up and tune the car. We’ve won before at Firebird (in the Comp car) and there’s no reason why we can’t win there again.”

Look for the EDGE Pain & Performance Chips Pontiac as well as the Charter Communications Pontiac during coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD this weekend; check your local listings for times in your area.