Subway Fresh Fit 500 Race Preview

Phoenix International Raceway -- 04/18/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Tuesday Apr 14 2009 9:05pm

Among the words most often used to describe the racing at Phoenix International Raceway are “unique” and “challenging.”

Both terms apply because of the track’s one mile tri-oval shape with the tricky dogleg in the backstretch, and because the two ends of the track are so different from each other. Turns 1 and 2 are banked at 11 degrees and are considered tight turns, while 3 and 4 are banked at 9 degrees and create a more sweeping curve.

The race is also unique because it will be first night race of the 2009 Sprint Cup schedule.

Most drivers enjoy the challenge of racing here, although they are sometimes frustrated by having to give up speed in one corner to have it in another.

A few comments about racing at PIR:

Sam Hornish Jr.: “Unlike most other race tracks, Phoenix International Raceway is completely different at both ends. The corners are not alike in any way. A lot of times you have to compromise on one end of the track to make your car do what you want it to do on the other. Basically, you have to focus all weekend on which part of the track is most critical.”

Kasey Kahne: “You need good forward drive off the corner, and getting your car to turn all day off the corner will be the key at Phoenix. Each corner drives differently and you really have to have your car set up well in order to be competitive.”

Tony Eury Jr.: “Phoenix is unique. It's got a lot of banking when you go down into Turn 1, it's got a little dogleg in the back straightaway, and then the other corner is really, really flat. You've got two obstacles there that you have to overcome: we have to have a soft flat-track package to get through Turns 3 and 4 to make it turn really well there, and then you drive down into a bank where you need spring and you need shocks. You always have to give up one or the other. You have to pick which part of the track you want to be good at.”
Alan Gustafson: “The key to Phoenix is turning through the center well. It really becomes a compromise because if you use the back of the car to roll through the center, then you give up the driver's ability to really use the throttle off of the corners. There's a fine balance and it forces you to compromise between the two. Ideally, you get to the point where the front of the car turns really well, but that's hard to do.”

Hard, but not impossible, as past winners here can attest. There have been 25 Cup races at PIR since the first one in 1988 – one fall race per year until the 2005, when a spring race was added.

Jimmie Johnson has won the past three races in a row here – the most wins among active drivers – although he seems hard-pressed to explain exactly why the track suits his driving style so well: “There’s not really anything I can put my finger on. I know that’s a popular question, wanting to know why a driver does well at a certain track. I think something just clicks with certain drivers at certain places. We’ve just been able to get the car comfortable for me and I’ve just been able to get around the track. During a race, there’s a lot that can go on at a short track like Phoenix and having a good pit stall and good pit stops is important, too.”

Pit road can be rather treacherous here, and the past five race winners have come from a top-10 starting spot with two from the pole - Johnson last fall and
Jeff Gordon in the spring of 2007.

Along with three-time Phoenix winner Johnson, three drivers have two PIR wins - Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kevin Harvick – and the following drivers have each won one race each: Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, and Tony Stewart.

Not surprisingly, Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers in the average finish category with a low 5.5 in 11 starts, including his three consecutive wins, six top 5s, and nine top 10s. Johnson has finished in the top 10 for seven races in a row and his worst-ever finish here is 15th.

Following Johnson in the average finish category are Mark Martin (9.4), Jeff Gordon (10.2), Tony Stewart (10.6), and Denny Hamlin (11.0). Hamlin's average finish is the best among those drivers who have yet to win a race here.

In terms of manufacturers, Chevy has been quite dominant on this track, with 11 wins, including nine of the past 10 races. Although Ford has won 12 times at PIR, all but one of their wins came prior to 2003. Neither Dodge nor Toyota has been to Victory Lane in the Cup series yet.

Jimmie Johnson also leads all drivers in points accumulated over the past five races, followed by Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Tony Stewart. Similarly, Hendrick Motorsports leads race teams with six Phoenix wins, followed by Roush-Fenway with five, and Yates Racing and Richard Childress Racing with three wins a piece.

Current odds for select drivers for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway:

Jimmie Johnson +350

Jeff Gordon +575

Kyle Busch +685

Denny Hamlin +825

Carl Edwards +885

Kurt Busch +1285

Mark Martin +1385

Matt Kenseth +1425

Tony Stewart +1475

Greg Biffle +1525

Kevin Harvick +1850

Clint Bowyer +1850

Please check back before the race for our practice and qualifying update.

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