Good Sam 500
Phoenix International Raceway
By Richard Tix
NASCAR's second stop on it's West Coast swing is Phoenix International Raceway. Last week NASCAR manage to bring the rain and the sand... Yes rain and sand during one race day in the desert, only in NASCAR could we get weather like this.
The day started with some light rain and ended with a sandstorm and huge wind gusts which were the talk of the race. Now as NASCAR heads to Phoenix other drivers might be hoping for a bit of the same thing. Why? Well because some crazy weather might be the only thing that can stop Kevin Harvicks dominance at PIR.
Harvick has won four of the last five and five of the last seven stops here at PIR. Last Fall in the Chase Dale Earnhardt Jr stopped Harvick's four straight run, but Kevin still found a way to finish second. So, will someone else shut Harvick out this weekend or will he get it going again and dominate the day?
**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**
The Good
- Kevin Harvick- Any Phoenix list, no matter how simple or complex the list is going in depth, should mention Harvick's name at Phoenix. Since the start of 2012 (8 races) he has 5 wins, 2 runner up finishes, and a 13th place finish. Let's just say he has been dominant.
- Brad Keselowski- We go from dominant to really good really often with Keselowski. In that same span (since 2012 or 8 races) BK has seven top 10's (four of them top 5's). He doesn't have any wins at PIR to show for it, though.
- Joey Logano- Logano has also been very good at PIR yet has been held win-less. Much of that has to do with how good Harvick has been here, so other drivers who are also front runners have gone without a trip to VL. JoLo has five straight top 10's including two top 5's.
- Extra Credit- Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson
The Middle
- Matt Kesneth- Matt's last 12 starts at PIR include only 4 top 10's, but show consistent numbers with 8 top 15's and 10 top 20's. His last win at PIR (his only win) was in 2002.
The Bad
- Greg Biffle- Since 2013 Biffle hasn't fared too well at PIR. In six races he has one top 10 and only two top 15's. A lot of Biffle struggles seem to come from him starting farther back in the field.
- Clint Bowyer- Bowyer hasn't had a top 10 since the Spring race in 2013. Since he has an average finish of 24th (5 races). In his last 11 races only two of them were top 10's and seven of those were outside the top 20.
- Kasey Kahne- Last year Kahne started 6th for both PIR stops and have totally different results (4th in the Spring and 26th in the Fall). Much of that had to do with him getting into trouble, however Phoenix hasn't always been his best track overall either.
About the Track
Track Stats
- Chevy won 10 straight races from 2005-10
- Kevin Harvick has won 5 of the last 7 races
- Alan Kulwicki only started 5 races at PIR, but has 1 win, 3 top 5's, 4 top 10's, and an average finish of 5.2
- Jeff Gordon Retired with the most career top 10's of any driver at PIR (24 total)
- Kevin Harvick has the most led laps in PIR Cup history with 1,345 total.
- Ryan Newman still has the most career poles at PIR with 4 total
Track Info
- Surface
- Asphalt
- Length
- 1 mile
- Banking
- Turns 1/2- 10-11 degrees
- Turn 3- 8 degrees
- Turn 4- 8-9 degrees
- Frontstretch- 3 degrees
- Backstretch- 10 degrees
Phoenix
International Raceway
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Race
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Date
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Cars
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Winner(s)
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1988-28
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11/6/1988
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43
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Alan Kulwicki
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1989-28
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11/5/1989
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43
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Bill Elliott
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1990-28
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11/4/1990
|
43
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Dale Earnhardt
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1991-28
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11/3/1991
|
43
|
Davey Allison
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1992-28
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11/1/1992
|
42
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Davey Allison
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1993-29
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10/31/1993
|
43
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Mark Martin
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1994-30
|
10/30/1994
|
43
|
Terry Labonte
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1995-30
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10/29/1995
|
44
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Ricky Rudd
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1996-30
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10/27/1996
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44
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Bobby Hamilton
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1997-31
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11/2/1997
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43
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Dale Jarrett
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1998-31
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10/25/1998
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43
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Rusty Wallace
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1999-32
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11/7/1999
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43
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Tony Stewart
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2000-32
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11/5/2000
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43
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Jeff Burton
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2001-32
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10/28/2001
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43
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Jeff Burton
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2002-35
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11/10/2002
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43
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Matt Kenseth
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2003-34
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11/2/2003
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43
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Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
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2004-34
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11/7/2004
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43
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Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
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2005-08
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4/23/2005
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43
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Kurt Busch
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2005-35
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11/13/2005
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43
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Kyle Busch
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2006-08
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4/22/2006
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43
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Kevin Harvick
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2006-35
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11/12/2006
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43
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Kevin Harvick
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2007-08
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4/21/2007
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43
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Jeff Gordon
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2007-35
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11/11/2007
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43
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Jimmie Johnson
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2008-08
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4/12/2008
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43
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Jimmie Johnson
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2008-35
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11/9/2008
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43
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Jimmie Johnson
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2009-08
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4/18/2009
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43
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Mark Martin
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2009-35
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11/15/2009
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43
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Jimmie Johnson
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2010-07
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4/10/2010
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43
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Ryan Newman
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2010-35
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11/14/2010
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43
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Carl Edwards
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2011-02
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2/27/2011
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43
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Jeff Gordon
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2011-35
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11/13/2011
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43
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Kasey Kahne
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2012-02
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3/4/2012
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43
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Denny Hamlin
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2012-35
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11/11/2012
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43
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Kevin Harvick
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2013-02
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3/3/2013
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43
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Carl Edwards
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2013-35
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11/10/2013
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43
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Kevin Harvick
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2014-02
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3/2/2014
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43
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Kevin Harvick
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2014-35
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11/9/2014
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43
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Kevin Harvick
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2015-04
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3/15/2015
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43
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Kevin Harvick
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2015-35
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11/15/2015
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43
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Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
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