Roush Fenway Racing Subway Fresh Fit 500 Phoenix Preview

Edwards jumped into the stands after ending 70 race winless streak 

CARL EDWARDS ON RACING AT PHOENIX: "I’m looking forward to going back to Phoenix after our win there last November. I’ve always loved racing there and I will be out there laying in front of the excavating equipment trying to get them to leave it after the race. I really like that surface a lot. I don’t think you can mess that track up though, it’s the right size, the sun beats down and it gets slippery. It will be neat after the new pavement as well.”

EDWARDS CREW CHIEF BOB OSBORNE ON PHOENIX: "It would be great to repeat our performance from last fall and get another win at Phoenix. We are taking a brand new car that should be even better than the car we won with there last year. It was a relief to come out of Daytona with a good finish and the points lead. It’s nice when you don’t start the season in a points deficit and spend the first several races trying to fight your way back into the top 10.”

FAST FACTS: Carl Edwards enters Phoenix leading the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings by one point over David Gilliland and Bobby Labonte after his second-place finish in the Daytona 500.

DEFENDING WINNER…Edwards won the last race at Phoenix in November after leading 93 laps. He broke a 70-race winless streak for his first Sprint Cup win there.

FOR THE RECORD… In 13 starts at the one-mile track, Edwards has one win, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes. His average start and finish is 11.8. Edwards has completed 94.4 percent (3896 of 4126) of laps in Cup competition attempted at Phoenix.

IN THE LOOP… According to NASCAR’s Loop Statistics compiled over the last 13 races at Phoenix, Edwards has turned 234 of the track’s fastest laps (fourth most), spent 2,777 laps in the top 15, and has led 180 laps. He has a driver rating of 101.7 (second best).

ON THE TRACK… The No. 99 crew will unload RK-726 at Phoenix. This is a brand new car and the first of three races where Subway will be the primary sponsor.

Biffle has a 14.6 average finish at Phoenix

GREG BIFFLE ON RACING AT PHOENIX: “I really can’t wait to go to Phoenix this weekend. I love that track and I love going out west. We’ve run well there but we don’t have a win there yet in the cup car. In order to run well at Phoenix, you really have to work on getting your car to handle well at both ends which can be difficult because they are very different. I would say the only other track that is so different at both ends is Darlington. If we can get that figured out, we should have a really good race in Phoenix.”

BIFFLE CREW CHIEF GREG ERWIN ON PHOENIX: “Well, we have a couple of variables that we are going to have to work with when we get to Phoenix. Goodyear has changed the tire base on a test we actually were a part of in Richmond last year. So that may change our setup a little. Roush Fenway as a company also just made a decision to use Raybestos brakes across the boards. That will be something that Greg (Biffle) will need to work with and get used to this weekend as well. Beyond that, I would say that as a company, we gained on out short track program last year and we are also looking forward to seeing how the new Ford nose and splitter combination works for us at a non-restrictor plate track.”

BIFFLE'S PHOENIX NOTES:
• Biffle is currently 32nd in the Sprint Cup point standings following his 35th-place finish at Daytona.
• Biffle has an average finish of 14.6 from an average starting position of 13.6 at PIR.
• Following this weekend’s race at Phoenix, Biffle is planning to stay on the west coast and enjoy some time at the sand dunes with his sand cars. Going to the dunes is one of Biffle’s favorite activities away from the racetrack.
• Interesting fact: 3M developed the first refastenable diaper tapes in 1985.
• Visit www.shop3M.com to learn more about all of the innovative products 3M has to offer.

LAST TIME IN PHOENIX: Greg Biffle started fourth in the 3M Scotch Brand Ford but fell back over the course of the race with an ill-handling racecar. The Pit Bulls made several adjustments to the car throughout the race but in the end the part that mattered was the fuel tank. With 22 laps remaining, Biffle was running ninth and reporting that the car had no grip. Just a few laps later, however, several of the front runners began to run out of fuel and Biffle began picking up positions. He was able to move up five spots and score his ninth top five of the season. The fourth-place finish moved Biffle up one position to eighth in the point standings.

Kenseth's last win came in race No. 2 of the 2009 season at Fontana

MATT KENSETH ON RACING AT PHOENIX: "Phoenix is a track that I really enjoy racing at. There are a lot of challenges when we race there since it’s such a unique track, so we usually focus on handling in order to make sure that our Crown Royal Ford handles well in all of the track’s different corners in race trim. Qualifying is important at Phoenix since it’s a track where it can be difficult to pass, so track position is always a focus for our team when we unload. If we can get our car to handle well, get good track position, and have fast pit stops, those are usually the keys for a successful run at Phoenix.”

KENSETH CREW CHIEF JIMMY FENNIG ON PHOENIX: “We earned a top-ten finish the last two times we raced at Phoenix, so I’m hoping to have another strong run on Sunday. One of the main challenges of racing at Phoenix is always making sure the driver can see since the sun drops into their line of sight during the race. This is a weekend where it’s hard to pass, so track position will be important and we’ll work on qualifying set-ups in an effort to get good track position right from the start of the race.”

KENSETH PRIMARY CHASSIS: RK-725 (brand new chassis)

DAVID RAGAN ON RACING AT PHOENIX: “Phoenix is the second race of the year and the last year for the current track surface, so it will be good to try and go all out and get a good run. We think we’ve improved our short track stuff from a year ago, so it will be interesting to see how we perform right off the truck with our new short-track program.”

RAGAN PRIMARY CHASSIS CHOICE: RK-737 Brand new chassis; Backup: RK-640 Last ran California – finished 32nd

- Roush Fenway Racing Press Release