Thursday, November 7, 2013

Driver Chassis Selections: 2013 Advocare 500 at Phoenix

Racing in the  desert

#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis for Charlotte is PRS-864, which last raced at Chicago finishing 7th. The backup chassis is PRS-838 which last raced at Darlington and finished 32nd.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-815 for Sunday s race at Phoenix. Kahne has driven this chassis twice this season. In September, he raced this car at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and finished 14th. Most recently, he qualified second at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in late September. In 18 Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix, Kahne has one win, three top-five finishes and six top-10s. He has qualified inside the top 10 during the last five races at the one-mile Avondale, Ariz., oval, making his average start 5.8 in these past five events.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 DeWalt team will bring chassis No. 728 to Phoenix this weekend. The team ran this chassis at two races this season. Ambrose brought home the chassis best finish of eighth in the spring race at Martinsville.

#10-Danica Patrick will pilot Chassis Chassis No. 10-823 was used for the first time in September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where Patrick started 21st and finished 27th. Patrick has made seven stock car starts at Phoenix ¡V five in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition in addition to her two Sprint Cup appearances. Her best finish at the mile oval was a 10th-place effort in the Nationwide Series race last November.

#14-Mark Martin: Chassis No. 14-792 made its debut in April at Richmond . It started 21st but Tony Stewart wheeled it into the top-five prior to a green-white-checkered finish. There, Stewart was bumped out of the way in the two-lap scramble and instead of finishing fifth, he wound up a disappointing 18th. Chassis No. 14-792 was poised for another strong finish in its second career start when it rallied from its 16th-place starting spot to lead 84 laps in July at New Hampshire. But while in second place on the final lap, Chassis No. 14-792 ran out of fuel. Stewart was forced to coast all the way around the 1.058-mile oval, which left him a disappointing 26th. With interim driver Mark Martin at the wheel, Chassis No. 14-792 returned to New Hampshire in September, qualifying 18th and finishing 23rd. Martin and Chassis No. 14-792 are back together this weekend at Phoenix for the penultimate race of the 2013 season.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Primary chassis No. 761 finished second at Martinsville in April, 13th at Loudon in the July and 17th in September. Backup chassis No. 743 raced at both Richmond races. Bowyer made his Sprint Cup Series debut at Phoenix International Raceway on April 23, 2005 - his only Sprint Cup Series start that season.

#16-Greg Biffle: and the Matt Puccia led #16 3M Scotch Ford Fusion team will bring primary chassis RK-867 was new when Biffle earned a third-place finish in the second Chase race at New Hampshire. The backup chassis is RK-822 which last ran Bristol and finished 9th. Biffle has 19 Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix, earning five top-five and seven top-10 finishes while also leading for a total of 388 laps.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: and the #17 Roush Fenway Driven team will be using primary chassis RK-868 which last ran at New Hampshire and finished 24th. The backup chassis RK- 827 last raced at Charlotte finished 14th.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis is PRS-863 for Phoenix, which last ran at Chicago and finished 37th. The Backup Chassis is PRS-848 which last raced at New Hampshire finishing 14th.

#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 434 at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. This #27 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet SS previously ran at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. Menard has 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at the one-mile oval. His best start of seventh came in both 2009 and 2012, and his best finish of ninth came in both 2011 and 2012. The Wisconsin native has completed 4,111 of 4,134 laps attempted (99.4 percent) at the Avondale, Ariz., track.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot chassis No. 430 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the AdvoCare 500. Harvick drove this RCR-prepared machine to a third-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in September and most recently tested this Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway in October. Since 2001, Harvick has made 21 Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix International Raceway. Throughout the years, the California native has made three trips to Victory Lane (both events in 2006 and November 2012), he has also collected six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. Harvick holds an average starting position of 18.5 coupled with an average finishing position of 12.9, has completed 99.7 percent (6,611 of 6,633) of the laps contested and has 420 laps led to his credit.

#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 429 this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. This #31 @CATMining Chevrolet SS was raced by Burton at Dover International Speedway in September. Burton has 28 starts at Phoenix International Raceway with two wins (2000 and 2001), seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. He has also led 222 laps at the one-mile facility.

#39-Ryan Newman will pilot Chassis No. 39-826 at Phoenix International Raceway. Built new for 2013, Chassis 39-826 will see its first laps of racing competition this weekend. The AdvoCare 500k will mark Newman s 23rd Sprint Cup start at Phoenix, where he has four poles, one win, eight top-five finishes and eight top-10s. Additionally, the 35-year-old driver has led 176 laps, has an average starting position of 12.4 and an average finish of 19th at the desert oval.

#43-Aric Almirola:: The #43 Smithfield team has prepared chassis No. 837. The #43 team raced this chassis five times this year with a best finish of eighth at Richmond International Raceway in April.

#47-Bobby Labonte Crew chief Brian Burns will bring Chassis 703 to New Hampshire: The last time we raced chassis 703 was Loudon, Burns said. He had a good run there until we cut down a tire and that ended our day. Phoenix is a lot like Loudon and we have a good setup for this weekend. Bobby Labonte's journey behind the wheel of the #47 Toyota with JTG Daugherty Racing comes to a close at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). The 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has one pole award, three top-five and nine top-10 finishes and has led 68 laps in 29 starts at PIR. His average start is 23.034 and his average finish is 18.448.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive chassis No. 832 at Phoenix, which is a brand new chassis. Chassis No. 806 serves as the backup which ran both races in 2013 at New Hampshire finishing 6th in July and 4th in Sept.

#55-Elliott Sadler: Primary 762 in which Brian Vickers drove this chassis to victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14. In 18 Phoenix races he owns a top 10 and has led 17 laps. In 432 Sprint Cup starts he s won three races, eight poles and led 1,244 laps. In 227 Nationwide starts he s won nine races, 15 poles and led 1,422 laps. He won the spring Nationwide race in Phoenix in 2012.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-818 at Phoenix International Raceway. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a sixth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. In 22 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix International Raceway, Earnhardt has earned two wins, five top-five finishes and nine top-10s. He also has led 507 laps at the one-mile track. He scored his two wins there back-to-back, going to Victory Lane in November 2003 and November 2004 when Phoenix hosted one Cup event a season.

#99-Carl Edwards the #99 Fastenal blue team will unload RK 866 which last ran at New Hampshire and finished 9th. The backup chassis is RK 802 which last ran at Bristol. Fastenal will return for their final primary paint scheme and will feature supplier brands Lenox, GearWrench, Norton and MCR Safety on the hood, TV panel, deck lid and B-post. In 18 starts at the one-mile track, Edwards has two wins, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. His average start is 11.9 and average finish is 11.8. Edwards has won three pole awards in Phoenix and snagged his second victory this past April.

- compiled by Jayski.com

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