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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

2016 NASCAR Week 4 Preview: Phoenix

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
Race
Date
Cars
Winner(s)
1988-28
11/6/1988
43
Alan Kulwicki
1989-28
11/5/1989
43
Bill Elliott
1990-28
11/4/1990
43
Dale Earnhardt
1991-28
11/3/1991
43
Davey Allison
1992-28
11/1/1992
42
Davey Allison
1993-29
10/31/1993
43
Mark Martin
1994-30
10/30/1994
43
Terry Labonte
1995-30
10/29/1995
44
Ricky Rudd
1996-30
10/27/1996
44
Bobby Hamilton
1997-31
11/2/1997
43
Dale Jarrett
1998-31
10/25/1998
43
Rusty Wallace
1999-32
11/7/1999
43
Tony Stewart
2000-32
11/5/2000
43
Jeff Burton
2001-32
10/28/2001
43
Jeff Burton
2002-35
11/10/2002
43
Matt Kenseth
2003-34
11/2/2003
43
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
2004-34
11/7/2004
43
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
2005-08
4/23/2005
43
Kurt Busch
2005-35
11/13/2005
43
Kyle Busch
2006-08
4/22/2006
43
Kevin Harvick
2006-35
11/12/2006
43
Kevin Harvick
2007-08
4/21/2007
43
Jeff Gordon
2007-35
11/11/2007
43
Jimmie Johnson
2008-08
4/12/2008
43
Jimmie Johnson
2008-35
11/9/2008
43
Jimmie Johnson
2009-08
4/18/2009
43
Mark Martin
2009-35
11/15/2009
43
Jimmie Johnson
2010-07
4/10/2010
43
Ryan Newman
2010-35
11/14/2010
43
Carl Edwards
2011-02
2/27/2011
43
Jeff Gordon
2011-35
11/13/2011
43
Kasey Kahne
2012-02
3/4/2012
43
Denny Hamlin
2012-35
11/11/2012
43
Kevin Harvick
2013-02
3/3/2013
43
Carl Edwards
2013-35
11/10/2013
43
Kevin Harvick
2014-02
3/2/2014
43
Kevin Harvick
2014-35
11/9/2014
43
Kevin Harvick
2015-04
3/15/2015
43
Kevin Harvick
2015-35
11/15/2015
43
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

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