Love him or hate him, the guy who drives that No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet is ready to pounce on the drive for five. Jeff Gordon, going for his fifth championship, is a mere six points behind Burton. He's got two wins at the 1 1/2-mile oval and hasn't finished any worse than 13th.
As for Kenseth, he's tied with Denny Hamlin, only 18 off Burton's pace. He won the pole last year and finished fifth - good signs for a DeWalt Ford Fusion team that needs to shake off last week's disappointment.
Hamlin, meanwhile, started seventh last year in one of his few appearances, but finished 32nd.
Within the TV broadcast, it's likely that most of the attention will focus on the top five guys, including Kevin Harvick, who had engine problems at Dover and finished 32nd.
But don't count out Kasey Kahne. He has three of his five wins in 2006 on tracks like Kansas (Lowe's, Atlanta, and Texas), but the other drivers in front of him aren't going to exactly roll over.
It's time to earn the stripes.
On the TV schedule, qualifying starts at 2:30 p.m. today on Speed Channel, followed by the Busch Series race, the Yellow Transportation 300, on TNT (cable channel 46 in St. George), Saturday at 1 p.m.
The big show on Sunday will be switching stations for this week only due to KSL's airing of the LDS General Conference sessions. The Banquet 400 coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. on KUCW, Channel 30.
Just remember to set the TiVo. Responsibilities first (faith and family), then let the fun begin.