Phoenix International Raceway:

Phoenix International Raceway:

History

·            Construction was completed in January 1964.The facility consisted of a one-mile oval and a 2.5-mile road course.

·            Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 1988.

·            The first spring race was held on April 23, 2005 and also the first night race, which was won by Kurt Busch.

·            The track underwent its first repave this year. The construction began in March and concluded in September of 2011.

·            The following changes were made during the construction period:

·         Widened the frontstretch from 52 to 62 feet

·         Reconfigured pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls

·         Pushed the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet

·         Tightened the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet

·         Implemented variable banking to ensure the immediate use of two racing grooves, including 10-11 degree banking between Turn 1 and Turn 2; 10-11 degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg; and 8-9 degree banking in Turn 4.

 

Notebook

·            There have been 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, one per season from 1988-2004 and two each season since.

·            Geoffrey Bodine won the first Coors Light Pole in 1988.

·            There have been 18 different pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four. Newman’s next pole will be his 50th.

·            Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards are the only drivers to win consecutive poles. Newman won three straight (2002-04), while Gordon won the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, and Edwards won the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011.

·            There have been 21 different race winners, led by Jimmie Johnson with four.

·            The race has been won from the pole four times: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008), Mark Martin (spring 2009) and Carl Edwards (fall 2010).

·            The race has been won from a top-10 starting position in 15 of 30 events.

·            Denny Hamlin won his first career pole at Phoenix in November 2005. AJ Allmendinger won his first career pole in April 2010.

·            Ricky Rudd won the 1995 race from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.

·            Mark Martin has 12 top-five finishes, more than any other driver. Martin (8.8 average finish) is one of three active drivers who average a top-10 finish. Jimmie Johnson (4.8) and Jeff Gordon (10.0) are the others.

·            Two perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 have been recorded at Phoenix. Kurt Busch did it with his win in April of 2005, and Kevin Harvick did it in November of 2006.

 

Phoenix International Raceway Data

Race: 35 of 36 (11-13-11)

Track Size: 1 mile

·     Banking/1 and 2: 10 - 11 degrees

·     Banking/3 and 4: 8 - 9 degrees

·     Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees

·     Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees

·     Frontstretch: 1,179 feet

·     Backstretch: 1,551 feet

 

Driver Rating at Phoenix 

Jimmie Johnson            121.8

 

Jeff Gordon                  103.3

Kurt Busch                    100.3

Carl Edwards                99.6

Mark Martin                   99.4

Denny Hamlin                98.3

Tony Stewart                 98.1

Kyle Busch                   98.1

Kevin Harvick                95.9

Greg Biffle                    94.8

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-11 races (13 total) at Phoenix.

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2010 pole winner: Carl Edwards (136.389 mph, 26.395 seconds)

2010 race winner: Carl Edwards (110.758 mph, 11-14-10)

Track qualifying record: Carl Edwards (137.279 mph, 26.224 seconds, 2-27-11)

Track race record: Tony Stewart (118.132 mph, 11-7-99)