Jimmie Johnson is in a familiar position early in Sprint Cup season

It’s no surprise that with three wins in the first six races, reigning champion Jimmie Johnson again sits atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.

But there are curiosities among other drivers even though it’s early in the stock car racing season.

Kevin Harvick, for instance, has come roaring back — he is fourth in the standings — after a dismal performance in 2009 with Richard Childress Racing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also is on a rebound of sorts, at least so far. Still looking for his first win in a points-paying race in nearly two years, NASCAR’s most popular driver is 10th in the standings, 159 points behind Johnson, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports.

“We’ve been able to get decent finishes out of a bad day, which we couldn’t do last year,” when Earnhardt finished a career-worst 25th in points, his crew chief, Lance McGrew, said.

Conversely, usual front-runner Kyle Busch is off to a slow start — he has yet to finish in the top five — and sits 16th in the standings as the series heads to Arizona for Saturday night’s Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Juan Pablo Montoya is faring even worse in 25th place, not where the former open-wheel star expected to land after he finished eighth in points last season and qualified for NASCAR’s 12-driver Chase for the Cup title playoff.

Johnson isn’t likely to make things easier on Montoya or the others Saturday night.

In addition to his unprecedented four consecutive series championships, Johnson also holds the record for Cup wins at Phoenix International with four. All four victories have come in the last five races there.

This season, Johnson broke quickly from the gate in pursuit of his fifth title, picking up wins at Fontana, Las Vegas and Bristol, Tenn., in the first five races.

Harvick, though, has two Cup wins at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway oval, which features a dogleg along its back straightaway. The track also is familiar ground for Johnson, who raced there frequently while cutting his teeth in NASCAR’s Western developmental series.

All three of Childress Racing’s drivers — Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer — are enjoying strong starts in their Chevrolets this season after all three missed last year’s Chase. Burton and Bowyer are fifth and ninth in points, respectively, and Bowyer has four top-10 finishes.

But it is two Ford drivers, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth of Roush Fenway Racing, who are the closest to Johnson. They are second and third in the Cup standings, respectively.

Biffle hasn’t yet won, but he has finished in the top 10 in all six races. Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, has three top-five finishes.

Powering up

Australian Will Power is seeking a trifecta as the Izod IndyCar Series holds its inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday on the Barber Motorsports Park road course in Birmingham.

The Team Penske driver won the first two races of the season on street courses in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and St. Petersburg, Fla. After Sunday’s race in Alabama, the series heads to Southern California for another street race, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 18.

james.peltz@latimes.com