The NASCAR Winston Cup series has battled the elements all year long, so why should a visit to the Arizona desert bring a change?

High winds coated the flat Phoenix International Raceway with dust, forcing a postponement of today's first-round qualifying session. Officials decided to scrap the session, which determines the pole and top 25 spots in the field. Qualifying will be reduced to one round and will be held at 12:45 p.m. EDT Saturday.

Once the dust clears, Sunday's Dura Lube 500 will prove to be a pivitol event in this season's Winston Cup chase. The Winston Cup points chase has come down to three drivers, all within 76 points of the prize.

Terry Labonte has a 32-point lead over defending Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, and is the only of the three leaders to have won at Phoenix. In fact, the numbers favor Labonte but surprisingly not in Phoenix.

Labonte has an average finish of seventh over the last two years, while Gordon averages a finish of fourth. If the averages were to hold true, (and the drivers were to pick up an equal number of bonus points) Gordon would gain 14 points in the standings.

Labonte and Gordon are actually the more predictable of the two. Both have built their careers on consistency -- Gordon being a more consistent presence on victory lane, but each turning in 19 top-five finishes this year. Gordon also leads the series with 10 victories and five starts from the pole.

But Jarrett has been a real wild card. He's enjoying a career year, doubling his all-time victory total with four wins this year. Jarrett has been a terror in his Thunderbird, and could close the slim, 76-point gap that separates him from becoming the second second-generation driver ever to follow in his father's footsteps as a Winston Cup champion.

"The biggest thing we've got to do is just keep our guys focused, the ones on the team who have never been there before, and don't let them get too overconfident and lose sight of what we've been doing all year long," said Todd Parrott, Jarrett's crew chief. Jarrett is just behind Labonte and Gordon in top-fives this year with 16.