Final Phoenix Driver Ratings: 2016 Good Sam 500

Kurt Busch last won at Phoenix in 2005.

LAS VEGAS -- The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota's came out flexing their muscles at Phoenix during Friday's qualifying putting all five of its drivers in the first four rows, with Kyle Busch leading a trio of them in the first three slots. However, when Saturday's final two practices ran, it was obvious that JGR wasn't the team to beat in Sunday's Sam Good 500.

Just as has been the case for the last two years of racing at Phoenix International Raceway's one-mile flat layout, Stewart Haas Racing has the car to beat, but it's not Kevin Harvick this time, it's Kurt Busch who dominated both of Saturday's practices.

Harvick still deserves to be the favorite based on winning five of the past seven Phoenix races and using a chassis this week that led 224 of 312 laps there last fall. This same car also finished second three times and third in another 2015 race. Yes, Harvick is going to be real good Sunday, but Kurt Busch might be just as good and he also starts fourth where Harvick starts 19th. Harvick's last four Phoenix wins were from a 13th or better starting spot.

Read More Here......TheLinemakers.com


Micah Roberts' Top-10 Rated NASCAR Drivers
Good Sam 500
Phoenix International Raceway
Sunday, March 13, 2016 - 12:46 pm (PT)    
 
Rating     Driver       Odds                     Practice 1             Qualified       Practice 2        Practice 3
 1. Kurt Busch 10/1                      1st                  4th            1st                 2nd 
2005 spring winner (perfect driver rating); fastest 10-consecutive lap average during practice 2.
 2. Kevin Harvick 9/4                   5th               18th            2nd               1st  
Track record seven-time winner; using chassis that won at Phoenix last March -- also second three times
 3. Kyle Busch 8/1                        8th                  1st           19th                3rd
2005 fall winner, fourth in November; five of 39 (12.8%) past Phoenix winners started on pole.
 4. Carl Edwards 12/1                  6th                 2nd            3rd               15th
Two-time winner (2010, 2013); second-fastest 10 consecutive lap average during practice 2.
 5. Denny Hamlin 20/1               2nd                 3rd           18th              11th 
2012 winner with third-best 11.4 average in 21 starts; flat tracks his best types over career.
 6. Jimmie Johnson 8/1              9th                 5th            11th              13th  
Fourt-time winner, the last in 2009; track record 15 top-fives and 7.7 average finish in 25 starts.
 7. Martin Truex Jr. 15/1             4th                 8th            4th                 8th 
Only one top-five finish in 20 starts - 17th-place average, but his Phoenix car never looked as good.
 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 17/2       24th               26th            6th               14th
Three-time winner, including last fall (rain shortened); eighth or better in five of past six starts
 9. Kasey Kahne 30/1                 22nd              24th            7th                 6th 
2011 fall winner; went to a back-up engine (starts from rear) and it was outstanding in final practice.
10. Joey Logano 8/1                     3rd                  9th            9th                 9th 
Tied career-best with third last fall; has been ninth or better in past five Phoenix starts

Note: The best handicapping tool for this race is to refer to 2015 results from the six races on flat tracks at Phoenix, Richmond and New Hampshire.

Odds courtesy of the William Hill sports books.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting NASCAR odds since 1994. Follow him on twitter @MicahRoberts7

Kyle Busch leads trio of Gibbs cars during Phoenix qualifying

Kyle Busch grabs his first pole of season.

Phoenix Qualifying Fast Facts:
* Kyle Busch won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 12th Annual Good Sam 500 with a lap of 26.014 seconds, 138.387 mph.
* This is his 18th pole in 394 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
* This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2016.
* This is his third pole in 22 races at Phoenix International Raceway.
* Carl Edwards (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2016 and his 11th in 24 races at Phoenix International Raceway.
* Denny Hamlin (third) posted his 10th top-10 start at Phoenix International Raceway. It is his second in four races this season.
* Ryan Blaney (12th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Starting Lineup

Harvick looking for record-eighth Phoenix win

Kevin Harvick is +220 to win at William Hill sports books.

Mother Nature might be the only person who can stop Kevin Harvick from winning at Phoenix International Raceway.

Last fall, the No. 4 Chevrolet driver appeared to be on his way to his fifth consecutive victory at the one-mile track, leading 143 of the 219 laps when rain brought out a caution as he was leaving pit road. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was slightly ahead of second-place Harvick on the track, earned the win when NASCAR called the race due to the precipitation.

Harvick will try to continue his success at PIR by starting a new win streak inSunday’s Good Sam 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX). The overwhelming favorite, Harvick boasts a track-record seven victories, including wins in five of his last seven starts in the Arizona desert.

“I feel like that can be gone at any point,” Harvick said about his perceived Phoenix edge. “That’s the hardest thing about having success. You have to have an open mind to try new things to keep moving forward. If you don’t have an open mind or are not willing to try a fresh approach, then it will get stagnant. You’re going to become stale and get left behind.”

The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion hasn’t looked close to losing his advantage at the one-mile flat oval since it was repaved for the fall 2011 event. Since then, Harvick leads all drivers at Phoenix with five wins, 1,208 laps led (114.2 per race) and a 130.1 driver rating. He also enters the Good Sam 500 as one of three drivers with a top-10 finish in every race this season.

“As we go to Phoenix, we have to look at the things that we’ve done well. Obviously, we’ve done a lot of good things,” Harvick said. “We look at the race tape and pay attention to the lines and braking, steering, throttle and all the things that you have access to and you try to mimic that immediately when you get on the racetrack. The hard part about our sport is the conditions are never the same.

“There are a lot of good race car drivers and lots of circumstances that could play out to have things go wrong. You go there with a fresh start like you’ve never won there before and try to get the car dialed in.”

Desert Domination a Kevin Harvick Phoenix Infograph
A fixture in Victory Lane with 12 wins over the last three seasons, Harvick hasn’t taken a checkered flag since 10 races ago at Dover. In fact, he’s been snake-bitten by second-place finishes lately. Last season, the Bakersfield, California native produced 13 runner-up showings, the most since NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison produced 15 in 1970.

Harvick doesn’t believe “there’s anything missing” causing him to not win races.
“Those things go in cycles,” he said. “You’re going to have things work out. You’re going to have things not work out. You’re going to win races that you shouldn’t win. If you can capitalize, they’re almost harder when you’re in position to win them all day, which is something I hadn’t really learned a lot about till the last couple years because they’re hard to manage.”

- NASCAR Wire Service

Austin Dillon using fourth-place Michigan chassis at Phoenix

Austin Dillon is 60-to-1 to win at Phoenix on Sunday.

This Week’s Dow Chevrolet SS at Phoenix International Raceway …Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 512 in the Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Dillon drove this Chevrolet SS four times in 2015, earning his best Sprint Cup Series finish with this car at Michigan International Speedway when he finished fourth in August.

Dillon at Phoenix International Raceway … Dillon has four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix International Raceway to his credit, earning his best finish of 15th in March 2015.

Focusing on Collaboration and Partnership … At Dow Automotive Systems, the focus is on collaboration and partnership. Customers bring the opportunity, Dow brings the materials, and together Dow and their customers create an outstanding automotive solution. Whether you need to meet safety standards, lightweight requirements, structural advancements or assemble a multi-material design, Dow Automotive Solutions deliver sustainable, workable ideas for automotive and commercial transportation manufacturing as well as aftermarket repair for both markets.

Attention, Please … Dillon is scheduled to appear in the Phoenix International Raceway Media Center on Friday, March 11 at 2:45 p.m. Local Time for media availability.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:

Do you take a short-track car to Phoenix International Raceway or an intermediate car?
“Yeah, we take a short-track car to Phoenix. We want to get as much front turn as possible. Short-track cars are also lighter. The lighter the car, the faster the car. Every car we build now is as light and fast as we can get it. There aren’t a ton of differences in the cars because we feel like aerodynamics are really important no matter what track we’re racing.”

- Richard Childress Racing

Martin Truex Jr. is 15-to-1 to win at Phoenix

Martin Truex is 15/1 to win at Phoenix.

DENVER, Colo. (March 9, 2016) —Despite major offseason changes of having a new manufacturer in Toyota and a new technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, Martin Truex Jr. and his Furniture Row Racing team have managed to shorten the learning curve.

After the first three races, Truex has a 6.66 finishing average. At the season opener he came within inches of winning the Daytona 500, losing by 0.010 seconds in the closest 1-2 finish in the 58-year history of NASCAR’s biggest race.

Truex, who will drive the colorful No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota in this weekend’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, was quick to praise his team for the successful start.

“We have an awesome team, we just click and have some really good chemistry,” said Truex. “Certainly this offseason was a busy one for everybody at Furniture Row Racing. The switch to Toyota involved a lot of work and many overtime hours. The guys back at the Denver shop have done an incredible job.”

Truex added, “Cole (Pearn, crew chief) has done an awesome job. We have that trust and belief in each other. When I ask my guys about something, I know they’re going to figure out how to get it to me. It’s just really fun to go to the race track and work together like that as a team and have that confidence in each other.

“Honestly, I’ve never had a team where I felt more confident in them. I think most importantly, I’ve never had a team where I felt that in return, where they felt like I was the best guy for them and they wouldn’t want anyone else in their car. Just that relationship makes it so much easier to go to work and figure out how to make our cars go fast.”

Tackling Phoenix’s 1-mile oval is never an easy task, but it’s been a place that has given Truex one of his career highlights since joining the Cup series full time in 2006. The 35-year-old New Jersey native clinched a berth in the Championship 4 at the November race in Phoenix.

“No questions, that was a pretty special evening at Phoenix last fall,” recalled Truex. “We had a narrow lead in points to reach the final four at Homestead when the race was red flagged for rain. I was in the team hauler when I received word that the race was called and was then summoned to the media center with the other three drivers who would be vying for the championship. That was a pretty exciting time.”

Truex’s finishes last year at Phoenix were seventh in the spring and 14th in the fall. His Sprint Cup career record at Phoenix is 20 starts, one top five, seven top 10s, 101 laps led and one pole. His starting average is 12.2 and finishing average 17.0.

“I am looking forward to driving the Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota in Phoenix,” stated Truex. “The last time I drove the Bass Pro Shops car was finishing runner-up at the Daytona 500 season opener. Bass Pro Shops and its founder Johnny Morris have played a big role in my career and I would love to get them a win this weekend.”

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing

2016 Good Sam 500 odds: Harvick massive favorite at Phoenix

Kevin Harvick has seven wins at Phoenix in 26 starts. 

LAS VEGAS — After a restrictor-plate race at Daytona and two races on 1.5-mile tracks, we get our first taste of 2016 racing on a smaller track Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway's flat, one-mile layout. It's the second of three races on the west coast swing, and the first of six races this season on similar flat tracks.

What you see in Sunday's Sam Good 500 will be extremely important to handicapping two later races at Richmond and New Hampshire, as well as the second Phoenix race in November during the Chase. For this weeks race, the best approach is to look at happened in those six races last season.

From a handicapping perspective, Phoenix is one of the most true to each driver's rating, which makes it one of the best tracks to bet on with driver matchups. After Friday and Saturday's practices, you should have a nice edge over the sports books in betting because there isn't much randomness factored in. In five of the past seven races, it's been one driver — Kevin Harvick — that has won, which is why he's the +225 favorite this week.

With such a big favorite, several other quality drivers have their odds raised to balance out the sports books preferred theoretic hold. The big question is just how much you can be tempted to support a driver other than Harvick to win. Let's take a look at all the Sam Good 500 odds to win posted by William Hill's 105 sports books across Nevada.

Read More Here....complete list of Phoenix odds to win

Aric Almirola had career-best Phoenix finish last fall

Aric Almirola is 250/1 to win Sunday at Phoenix.

No. 43 Smithfield Ford Sits 15th in Championship Point Standings

This past weekend in Las Vegas didn’t have the ending that Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Smithfield Ford team wanted. The 24th-place finish didn’t reflect the speed that the Ford Fusion had, but the team isn’t letting that get them down heading to Phoenix International Raceway. The one-mile track will be the second stop on NASAR’s annual West Coast Swing. The track is a driver and fan favorite with the close-racing action. The racing in the desert is always competitive, and the No. 43 team is confident going into the weekend with the new low downforce package. Currently sitting 15th in championship point standings, the team is looking to climb back up into the Top-10.

With 10 starts in the Sprint Cup Series at Phoenix International Raceway, Almirola has a best finish of 10th from the November race last season. He has run consistently well at the desert track, having recorded Top-20 finishes in his last eight races there. Almirola’s best starting position was fifth in the 2012 fall race.

APPEARANCES:

Kids age 12 and under will have the opportunity to meet Almirola on Friday afternoon during NASCAR’s Youth Autograph Session. Almirola will be signing autographs for his youngest fans inside of Gate 4 in the Fan Midway from 2:30-3:00 p.m. Wristbands will be handed out first-come, first-serve for the session beginning at 1:45 p.m.

When: Friday, March 11 from 2:30-3:00 p.m.
Where: Fan Midway, Inside of Gate 4 (Behind Turn 1)

Fans will be able to see Almirola and “The King” Richard Petty when they judge the Whole Hog Challenge on Sunday morning at the Smithfield display in the Fan Midway. Pre-selected contestants will compete to eat eight Smithfield ribs the fastest. The competition will begin at 9:45 a.m. This will be the fourth qualifying competition of the season. At the end of the racing season, all of the qualifying competition winners will gather in Miami for the final event where the 2016 Whole Hog Challenge Champion will be crowned.

When: Sunday, March 13 at 9:45 a.m.
Where: Smithfield Display in the Fan Midway at Phoenix International Raceway

Fans can get in the car with Almirola by listening to his radio feed during the Phoenix 500 race on SiriusXM Radio Channel 134.

ALMIROLA WEEKEND CHATTER:
“I’m excited about being able to go to Phoenix International Raceway and race more side-by-side and be able to pass cars. The track was repaved a few years back, and it’s finally starting to age some and turn into its old self. When cars are slipping and sliding around and you’ve got cars coming and going, it promotes much better racing. And, I’m looking forward to going to Phoenix with this low downforce package. Hopefully Goodyear has developed a good tire for this track just like they have for Atlanta and Las Vegas and we’ll see great results. We’ll definitely be on edge during the race with the new package and the slick track, but that’s what makes it exciting.”

ABOUT RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS:
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Aric Almirola and Brian Scott. Almirola will return to the iconic No. 43 Ford with partners Smithfield Foods, STP, United States Air Force and the “Fresh From Florida” campaign. Scott will make his debut with the team and drive the Petty Family No. 44 Ford. Albertsons Companies, Shore Lodge, Twisted Tea and GoBowling.com will join Scott as he competes for Rookie of the Year in his first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.

- Breaking Limits, LLC., for Richard Petty Motorsports

Point leading Kyle Busch looks to conquer Phoenix again

Kyle Busch is 8/1 to win Sunday at Phoenix.

HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (March 8, 2016) – Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and his team are off to a hot start in the three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races contested thus far in 2016.

In fact, the defending Sprint Cup champions are the only ones to post three top-five finishes this season. So as the series continues its West Coast swing, they’ll move on down the road to Phoenix International Raceway for Sunday’s Good Sam 500k in hopes of continuing their run of success.

Busch and company will head to the Valley of the Sun looking to Rock the Rainbow for the third consecutive year with the now-familiar Skittles colors that will adorn the No. 18 Toyota for the first of four races this season. The Skittles brand made its NASCAR debut in 1998 in partnership with MB2 Motorsports on the No. 36 Pontiac for driver Derrike Cope. In 1999, driver Ernie Irvan took the wheel of the Skittles No. 36 car as well. Busch brought Skittles its first victory as part of the JGR partnership as he was victorious in the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last July.

Heading into this weekend’s race at the mile oval just west of Phoenix, Busch is the series points leader thanks to his three top-five finishes. He’s looking to score his first win of the season and automatically seal a birth into this year’s edition of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Busch has actually posted seven consecutive top-fives dating back to last season, and hopes to keep the streak alive with another top-five finish in Arizona.

The desert setting of Phoenix has been a favorite place to wheel a racecar for Busch long before he joined the Sprint Cup ranks. And the results have certainly shown, starting with a solid eighth-place finish in his very first outing there in the spring of 2005, followed by just his second career Sprint Cup victory in his very next start there that fall. Coincidentally, Busch’s first Sprint Cup win came just 10 races prior in another desert-like setting not far from his hometown of Las Vegas – Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, where the West Coast swing will conclude next week.

In 21 Sprint Cup starts at the mile oval known as the “Diamond in the Desert,” Busch has one win and 13 top-10 finishes, including four in a row from the spring 2007 through fall 2008 events, and he won the pole for the spring 2006 race. Busch also was in position to win Sprint Cup races at Phoenix in 2010, as well as the February 2011 race, and both races there in 2012, but things never fell his way. Since then, he’s added three more top-10 finishes the past two seasons but sat out the first trip to Phoenix last season because of injury.

So as the Sprint Cup Series moves on to the middle race of 2016’s West Coast swing, Busch will hope that Rocking the Rainbow will be just what he needs to bring home his first victory of the season and continue his hot hand to start his championship defense.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

How do you feel the potential of the JGR cars is at Phoenix?
“It was a bit of a struggle there the last several years, but I also think we improved a ton there last fall compared to where we’ve been. We still have work to do there, but I definitely think we were headed in the right direction there last fall. We had a good enough position that we were able to finish well and transfer through to Homestead. So (fellow JGR driver Matt) Kenseth tested for us out there before the race last fall and I definitely think he helped our program with the feedback he and Jason (Ratcliff, Kenseth’s crew chief) gave us. I’m looking forward to what he’s worked out for us, getting there and making some laps and hopefully having a good racecar with our Skittles Camry.”

Have you been pleased with the start of your season and your top-five streak dating back to last year?
“The guys have been doing a great job. As a company, we have a little bit to go to get better with this new package, but I think we have the right people and the right resources to get that done. Last weekend, we were off in practice and qualifying and we finally hit on something the last part of final practice that we could race with. So I’m proud of Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and all the guys for digging and getting us better. Phoenix is a bit of a different deal than the other two races on the West Coast, but we ran better there last fall and I’m hoping we have something to be competitive with on Sunday in our Skittles Camry.”

What does it take to be successful at Phoenix?
“You’ve got to have a good car, but you’ve got to have good brakes. You’ve got to have a good-turning car, and you’ve got to have a good car that can accelerate off of turn two and go fast down the backstretch. There’s a lot involved at Phoenix, but heading there with our Skittles Toyota Camry without any testing there will be interesting to see how the race plays out.”

In addition to eight Xfinity Series wins at Phoenix, you also won in your second Sprint Cup start at the mile oval. Do you enjoy racing at Phoenix?
“Phoenix is a pretty neat place, even though they made some changes with the repave. For some reason, I’ve always run well there. I don’t know if it’s that I’m comfortable being back close to home on the West Coast, or what. I always have a little more fan support out there, as well. As for the track itself, you have two distinctly different corners at Phoenix.”

How do you feel about your intermediate program after the first couple of “open” races?
“We have some work to do. There are definitely guys who are better than us. I think, as a company, we’re not bad. I think we’re fourth to eighth – out of all of us, that’s kind of where we run and we need to get a little better to where we’re the guys who can be up front and lead laps. Yeah, we led laps at Vegas, but Matt (Kenseth), being a leader, got passed. And me, being a leader, got passed under the green flag. So, we’re just not good enough. We’ll work on our Phoenix package and look and see what we can do better the following week at Fontana.”

Skittles Racing Advance Team Report
Round 4 of 36 – Good Sam 500k – Phoenix International Raceway
Car No.: 18 – Skittles Toyota Camry

Teammates: Denny Hamlin – No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry; Carl Edwards – No. 19 Stanley Toyota Camry;
Matt Kenseth – No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry.

Notes of Interest:
* The Good Sam 500k will mark Kyle Busch’s 394th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 22nd Sprint Cup start at Phoenix International Raceway.

* Busch has career totals of 34 wins, 17 poles, 133 top-fives, 197 top-10s and 11,036 laps led in 393 career Sprint Cup races. His most recent Sprint Cup win came four races ago in last year’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, clinching his first Sprint Cup championship. Busch notched his most recent pole position 18 races ago at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

* Busch has one win, four top-five finishes and 13 top-10s and has led a total of 510 laps in 21 career Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix. Busch’s average Phoenix finish is 13.8.

Taste the Rainbow: The Skittles colors will adorn Busch’s No. 18 Toyota for the first of four races this season starting at Phoenix this weekend. The remaining Skittles races are in April at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, July at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and September at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

Streaking: Not only are Busch and the Skittles team the only ones to post three top-five finishes to start the season, Busch is riding a seven-race top-five streak that dates back to last season.

On Point: In addition to the top-five streak, Busch is also the Sprint Cup Series points leader as he enters Sunday’s race in the Valley of the Sun with a six-point advantage on second-place Jimmie Johnson.

34 Career Sprint Cup Wins: With his Sprint Cup win at Homestead last season, the 34th of his career, Busch sits 21st on the all-time Sprint Cup win list.

156 and Counting: Busch enters Phoenix with 156 career wins among NASCAR’s top three divisions – Sprint Cup (34), Xfinity (78) and Truck (44) – after winning the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend.

- True Speed Communication for M&M’s Racing

Dale Earnhardt Jr goes for fourth Phoenix win

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the last race at Phoenix, rain shortened.

No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 41 

Resides Mooresville, North Carolina

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Phoenix
“We struggled a little bit last weekend at Vegas, but we’re right there. We’re not too far off, so we’ll get it a little bit better and keep working on it. We’ll go on to Phoenix and see how we do there. Should be a lot of fun. Hopefully we can go back and try to get another win. It was a rain-shortened win last time, but my guys and I were very proud of it because of how the car ran all weekend, which put us in position. If we can unload that fast this weekend, we’ll be in good shape. The racetrack has a great history -- the place has been around for so long and the area has always supported it, so we should get a good crowd and I’m looking forward to it. ”

It's a small sample size thus far for the 2016 package. But I think it'll provide better racing throughout the field all season.
@DaleJr via Twitter
3/6/16, 9:01 p.m.

2016 Season
12th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
2 top-10 finishes
15 laps led

Career
580 starts
26 wins
13 pole positions
144 top-five finishes
248 top-10 finishes
8,149 laps led

Track Career
27 starts
3 wins
0 pole positions
8 top-five finishes
13 top-10 finishes
535 laps led

RECENT WINNER: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Phoenix last November after a rain-shortened event. The wet weather didn’t put a damper on Earnhardt, who led 22 laps en route to his 26th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and his third at PIR. The 41-year-old driver earned his first two Phoenix wins back to back, going to Victory Lane in November 2003 and November 2004 when the one-mile tri-oval hosted one Cup event per season. By virtue of his three wins, Earnhardt ranks third on the all-time wins list at Phoenix.

AXALTA ‘SOLAR FLARE’ SCHEME: Axalta Coating Systems will make its debut as primary sponsor of Earnhardt and the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 team this weekend at Phoenix, marking the first time the new red, orange and yellow “Solar Flare” paint scheme will be featured on the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS. Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings, is continuing its longstanding, 24-year partnership with Hendrick Motorsports after a contract extension that expanded its presence and takes one of the longest sponsorships in NASCAR through 2018.

CALL IT A COMEBACK: Earnhardt, a three-time winner at Phoenix, has experienced a resurgence lately at the short track. In his last six races at the facility, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has earned one win, four top-five finishes and five top-10s. The only one of those six events in which he finished outside of the top 10 was when the series visited the short track in March 2015 and a blown right-rear tire ended his day on Lap 180. Earnhardt is ranked 13th among all active competitors with a driver rating of 87.4 during the past 10 years at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points.

AXALTA’S RACE TO PHOENIX CONTEST: In addition to debuting on the No. 88 Chevrolet SS, Axalta will sponsor the NASCAR XFINITY Series Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. To get fans revved up for race weekend, Axalta has created a social media “Race to Phoenix” contest where fans complete daily "go-do's" for a chance to win prizes. Follow Axalta Racing on Facebook to participate.

- Hendrick Motorsports

Kasey Kahne always a threat at Phoenix

Kasey Kahne is 30/1 to win at Phoenix Sunday.

PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (ONE-MILE OVAL)

LOCATION: AVONDALE, ARIZONA
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 4 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 3:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, MARCH 13 (FOX/MRN/SIRIUSXM)

Driver: Kasey Kahne 

Hometown: Enumclaw, Washington
Age: 35

Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

2016 Season
13th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led

Career
435 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
86 top-five finishes
157 top-10 finishes
4,607 laps led

Track Career
23 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
55 laps led

PHOENIX STATS: Coming off of a 10th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kasey Kahne heads to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend in the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS. Kahne's one win at the desert track came in November 2011. The driver also has the highest average starting position of all active drivers at Phoenix – 11.565. Kahne looks to add a pole position this weekend at Phoenix -- he has earned three of his 27 pole awards at short tracks.

PHOENIX LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR’s loop data, Kahne is a closer at Phoenix. Since 2005, Kahne ranks fifth among active drivers, having moved up 21 positions in the final 10 percent of races at the track. Kahne also ranks 11th in quality passes at the one-mile track with 406 during that span.

WIN GREAT PRIZES: On the fifth of each month, Great Clips has its “GREAT Giveaway,” which gives fans a chance to win Great Clips-related items including merchandise autographed by Kahne. Fans should stay tuned to @GREATRacingfor details on how they can win.

THANKING THE FANS: Since Farmers Racing reached 150,000 likes on Facebook, Farmers Insurance is thanking the fans by giving away prizes signed by Kahne. Fans have until March 11 to enter and should visit here for their chance to win.

MEET KASEY: On Saturday, March 12, Kahne will sign autographs on behalf of Hendrick Motorsports partner Valvoline from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. local time at Kmart -- 8701 W. McDowell Road in Tolleson, Arizona. Wristbands will be distributed at the location earlier in the day.

- Hendrick Motorsports

Phoenix Betting Preview: 2016 Good Sam 500

The wind was crazy fast in Las Vegas; Phoenix expected to be perfect.

LAS VEGAS -- The fourth race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season takes us to the flat one-mile layout at Phoenix International Raceway, one of the most beautiful backdrops the tour will see all year until making the trip again in November during the Chase. Situated on the base of the Estella Mountains, the combination of Saguaro cacti everywhere, constant sunshine and fun on Rattlesnake hill make it one of a kind.

I love the concept of having three straight West Coast races early in the season, but it's not very practical from a west coast fan perspective. When I was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday I had the opportunity to talk with lots of the fans. There were a couple of parties I met anchored in on the infield with their RV's that will be going to Phoenix this week and Fontana in two weeks. They've taken three weeks out of their lives to live NASCAR -- pretty awesome stuff. I was extremely jealous.

But others I talked to at Las Vegas that don't have the liberty to take off work so long aren't very happy about three straight West Coast races this early. The problem is that NASCAR forces almost everyone to make a destination choice between the three. Where do I go, Las Vegas, Phoenix or Fontana? If the races were spaced out more across the schedule, there would be more people able to attend all three west coast dates. After Fontana next week, the series won't come out west again until late June at Sonoma and then not again until November with Phoenix again.

When I heard multiple fans at Las Vegas tell me this and then I looked around at LVMS and saw less people than ever in the stands, I thought they had some valid points. The wind was hitting 40 mph on Sunday, which may have discouraged some to attend, but there should still be cause for concern. If Las Vegas is having trouble filling the track, with all the city has to offer, there is something wrong with the set-up. The west coast swing thing may sound nice to the NASCAR folks in Daytona making the schedule, and they are saving some fuel with less travel, but it should be called west coast cannibalism.

Okay, that's all I have to say about that. As usual, I'll be watching the race on television, where to be truthful, I actually enjoy more in my older age than being at the race. Phoenix has always been a track I enjoyed watching not just because it's unique, but also because its one of the truest to driver ratings. Drivers expected to do well usually do and that's a big advantage in betting driving matchups.

Read More Here.......Top-5 Finish Prediction on VegasInsider.com

Carl Edwards goes for third Phoenix win this weekend.

Carl Edwards is 12/1 to win at Phoenix this weekend.

Carl Edwards / No. 19 STANLEY Toyota Preview
Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway
No. 19 STANLEY Toyota News and Notes:

Edwards travels to Phoenix International Raceway for the second of NASCAR Goes West races running the Stanley colors for the first time in 2016.

Edwards has had a lot of success with two Sprint Cup Series wins in 2010 and 2013 at the 1-mile track. He also has had strong runs there in the XFINITY Series capturing four wins in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In 23 Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix, Edwards has completed 6,874 of 7,164 laps (96 percent) and has led for a total of 387 laps. Edwards has earned two wins, seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes there. His average start is 12.4 and his average finish is 12.3.

RACE INFO: The Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile) begins at 12:30 p.m. MT on Sunday, March 13th. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

Edwards’ 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
3	0	2	2	0	1	13.7	9.3

Edwards’ Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
412	25	117	204	16	5219	14.8	13.5

From the Cockpit:
Carl Edwards: “Heading to Phoenix with the Stanley Toyota Camry. It will be our first Stanley race this year. We couldn’t be going to a better race track. I like Phoenix. It’s a special place to me. It’s the site of my first pavement race in the USAC Silver Crown Series, which was a big turning point in my career. I have had a lot of success there in multiple series. I’ve had some really great races and a lot of fun at Phoenix. We tore up two race cars at Vegas, so a lot of guys in the shop and a lot of time on the road getting cars fixed and moved around and headed out west. The good side of that is that I got to know my guys a lot better working with them more this last weekend at Vegas. The bad side it is more time and more effort for everyone. We have a great group and as frustrated as we were after Vegas everybody is really excited to go to Phoenix, so we’ll just go out there and have some fun. It’s a very unique racetrack. It’s got two completely different corners and then that back straightaway is unlike anything we’ve got in this sport. You get to dive down on the apron. You just have to decide whether it’s worth it to slam your racecar down on the ground. At least there are options there. We’ll go out there and have a good time.”

From the Pit Box:
Dave Rogers: “Phoenix is the first race that Stanley will serve as the primary partner on the 19 team this season. I know they are extremely excited about this program and we look forward to representing them well. Carl has two cup wins at Phoenix – we’d like to make it three.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing

Phoenix International Raceway Track Facts: 2016 Good Sam 500

Great racing always on the 1-mile layout at Phoenix.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2016 Top 10 at Phoenix International Raceway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Kyle Busch	21	2	1	4	13	1	13.8	97.3
2	Jimmie Johnson	25	3	4	15	19	1	7.7	112.6
3	Kevin Harvick	26	1	7	11	15	0	10.6	109.9
4	Joey Logano	14	0	0	3	8	2	13.7	89.9
5	Kurt Busch	26	0	1	6	15	1	13.7	98.4
6	Brad Keselowski	13	1	0	4	7	1	13.5	93.8
7	Carl Edwards	23	3	2	7	12	1	12.3	99.2
8	Denny Hamlin	21	2	1	9	11	0	11.4	95.1
9	Martin Truex Jr	20	1	0	1	7	2	17	85
10	Austin Dillon	4	0	0	0	0	0	24.2	66.5

* – Based on last 22 races at Phoenix International Raceway (2005 – 2015).

Phoenix International Raceway Data Season Race #: 4 of 36 (03-13-16) Track Size: 1-mile Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 10-11 degrees Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 8-9 degrees Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees Banking/Backstretch: 8-9 degrees Frontstretch Length:  1,179 feet Backstretch Length:  1,551 feet Race Length: 312 laps / 500 Kilometers Top 10 Driver Ratings at Phoenix Jimmie Johnson........................ 112.6 Kevin Harvick............................ 109.9 Carl Edwards.............................. 99.2 Kurt Busch.................................. 98.4 Kyle Busch................................. 97.3 Denny Hamlin............................. 95.1 Brad Keselowski......................... 93.8 Joey Logano.............................. 89.9 Ryan Newman............................. 88.6 Kyle Larson................................ 88.3 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races (22 total) among active drivers at Phoenix International Raceway. Qualifying/Race Data 2015 pole winner: Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet 140.751 mph, 25.577 secs. 03-13-15 2015 race winner: Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet 105.753 mph, (02:57:01), 03-15-15 Track qualifying record: Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet 143.158 mph, 25.147 secs. 11-13-15 Track race record: Tony Stewart, Pontiac 118.132 mph, (2:38:28), 11-07-99

Phoenix International Raceway:

History

·         Construction was completed in January 1964. The facility consisted of a one-mile oval and a 2.5-mile road course.

·         Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 1988.

·         The first spring race was held on April 23, 2005 and also the first night race, which was won by Kurt Busch.

·         The track underwent its first repave in 2011. The construction began in March and concluded in September of that year.

·         The following changes were made during the construction period (March – Sept., 2011):

o    Widened the frontstretch from 52 to 62 feet

o    Reconfigured pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls

o    Pushed the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet

o    Tightened the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet

o    Implemented variable banking to ensure the immediate use of two racing grooves, including 10-11 degree banking between Turn 1 and Turn 2; 10-11 degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg; and 8-9 degree banking in Turn 4

Starts

·         There have been 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, one per season from 1988-2004 and two each season since.

·         203 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix; 148 in more than one.

·         Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon lead series in starts at Phoenix with 34 each; Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman lead all active drivers with 27.

·         Rusty Wallace leads the series at Phoenix in average starting position (8.053). Kasey Kahne leads all active drivers with a 11.565.  

Poles

·         Geoffrey Bodine won the first pole at Phoenix in 1988 at a speed of 123.203 mph (29.220 sec.).

·         There have been 21 different Coors Light pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four.

·         Youngest Phoenix pole winner: Kyle Busch (4/22/06 – 20 years, 11 months, 20 days).

·         Oldest Phoenix pole winner: Mark Martin (03/03/13 – 54 years, 1 month, 22 days).

·         Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards are the only drivers to win consecutive poles. Newman won three straight (2002-04), Gordon won the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007. Edwards won the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011.

·         Casey Atwood (October 2001), Denny Hamlin (November, 2005) and AJ Allmendinger (April, 2010) won their first career NSCS poles at Phoenix International Raceway.

Wins

·         There have been 23 different NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners at Phoenix, eight have won more than once, led by Kevin Harvick, with seven – (’06 spring race and Chase race, ’12 Chase race, ‘13 Chase race, ’14 spring race and Chase race, ’15 spring race).

·         The eight drivers that have won more than once at Phoenix: Kevin Harvick leads the series in wins with seven followed by Jimmie Johnson (four), Davey Allison (two), Jeff Burton (two), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Jeff Gordon (two) Carl Edwards (two) and Mark Martin (two).

·         Of the eight drivers with multiple wins at Phoenix International Raceway, Mark Martin is the only driver to win in two different manufacturers: Ford (1993) and Chevrolet (2009).

·         Five drivers have won consecutive races at Phoenix: Davey Allison (1991,1992); Jeff Burton (2000, 2001);Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003, 2004); Kevin Harvick (swept 2006) and (2013 Chase race, swept 2014 and ’15 spring race); Jimmie Johnson (fall 2007, swept 2008).

·         Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Phoenix with 10, followed by Roush Fenway Racing with seven.

·         Five of the 39 (12.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from the Coors Light pole:Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008), Mark Martin (spring 2009), Carl Edwards (fall 2010) and Kevin Harvick (spring 2015).

·         Eight of the 39 (20.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from the front row: five from the pole and three from second-place.

·         20 of the 39 (51.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from a starting positioninside the top 10.

·         19 of the 39 (48.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from a starting positionoutside the top 10.

·         3 of the 39 (7.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from a starting position outsidethe top 20.

·         Ricky Rudd won the 1995 race from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.

Wins

·         Matt Kenseth won the 2002 race from the 28th-place starting position, the furthest back an active race winner has started.

·         Alan Kulwicki (11/6/1988) and Bobby Hamilton (10/27/1996) are the only two drivers to post their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career win at Phoenix International Raceway.

·         21 of the 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who have won at Phoenix participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Alan Kulwicki (11/6/1988) and Tony Stewart (11/7/1999) are the only two drivers to win at Phoenix in their first appearance.

·         Jeff Gordon competed at Phoenix International Raceway 16 times before winning (4/21/2007); the longest span of any the 23 winners.

·         Six drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Phoenix: Jeff Gordon (16), Ryan Newman(15), Kasey Kahne (14), Denny Hamlin (13), Carl Edwards (12) and Rusty Wallace (11).

·         Jamie McMurray leads the series (active drivers) with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix without visiting Victory Lane with 25.

·         Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Phoenix International Raceway winner: Kyle Busch (11/13/2005 – 20 years, 6 months, 11 days).

·         Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Phoenix International Raceway winner: Mark Martin (04/18/2009 – 50 years, 3 months, 9 days).

Additional Finishing Positions

·         Mark Martin leads the series in runner-up finishes at Phoenix with five; followed by Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart with three each.

·         Jimmie Johnson leads the series in top-five finishes at Phoenix with 15; followed by Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon with 12 each.

·         Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-10 finishes at Phoenix with 24, followed by Mark Martin with 21. Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with 19.

·         Alan Kulwicki leads the series in average finishing position at Phoenix with a 5.200. Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with a 7.720; he is the only active driver with an average finish inside the top 10.  

Track / Event Specific Stats

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring (1993) the closest margin of victory in the NSCS at Phoenix was the (4/10/2010) race won by Ryan Newman with a MOV of 0.130 seconds.

·         Three drivers have won at Phoenix and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the same season:Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008 sweep and 2009); Dale Earnhardt (1990); Kevin Harvick (2014).

·         Four perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 have been recorded at Phoenix, Kurt Busch in April of 2005 and Kevin Harvick in November of 2006, November 2014 and March 2015.  

·         Qualifying has never been cancelled due to weather at Phoenix International Raceway.

Track / Event Specific Stats

·         Of the 39 races at Phoenix five have ended with a Green-White-Checkered: 3/3/13 (312/316); 11/11/2012 (312/319); 4/10/10 (375/378); 11/9/08 (312/313); 11/7/04 (312/315)

·         Only two of the 39 races at Phoenix have been shortened due to weather – 10/25/98 (Scheduled 312 / Completed 257); 11/15/2015 (Scheduled 312 / Completed 219)

Female Competitors

·         Danica Patrick is the only female driver that has made a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Phoenix International Raceway.

Date	Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Driver Rating
11/15/2015	Danica Patrick	21	16	66.4
3/15/2015	Danica Patrick	23	26	59.6
11/9/2014	Danica Patrick	32	22	60.5
3/2/2014	Danica Patrick	33	36	51.7
11/10/2013	Danica Patrick	32	33	33.2
3/3/2013	Danica Patrick	40	39	44.2
11/11/2012	Danica Patrick	37	17	58.0

NASCAR in Arizona

·         There have been 44 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races among three tracks in Arizona.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale	39
Arizona State Fairgrounds	Phoenix	4
Tucson Rodeo Grounds	Tucson	1

·         33 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Arizona.

·         None of the drivers from Arizona have won a race in NASCAR’s three national series.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Milestones
Drivers	Has	Needs	Milestones
Jimmie Johnson	76	1	Break tie with Dale Earnhardt for 7th on all-time wins list
Matt Kenseth	36	1	Tie Bobby Isaac and Tim Flock for 18th on all-time wins list
Kevin Harvick	31	1	Tie Dale Jarrett for 23rd on all-time wins list
Denny Hamlin	27	1	Tie Rex White for 25th on all-time wins list
Jimmie Johnson	34	1	Tie Ned Jarrett for 19th on all-time poles list
Denny Hamlin	23	1	Tie Alan Kulwicki for 28th on all-time poles list
Ryan Newman	215	1	Tie Sterling Marlin for 29th on all-time top 10s list
Kevin Harvick	499	1	500th Consecutive NSCS career start - third on active list
Jimmie Johnson	17,855	145	To become ninth NSCS driver all-time to lead 18,000 laps
Kevin Harvick	8,989	11	To become 19th NSCS driver all-time to lead 9,000 laps
Track Specific Milestones
Drivers	Has	Needs	Milestones
Carl Edwards	3	1	Tie Ryan Newman for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series most poles (4) at Phoenix
Jimmie Johnson	3	1	Tie Ryan Newman for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series most poles (4) at Phoenix
Kevin Harvick	11	1	Tie Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin for second most top-five finishes at Phoenix.
Kevin Harvick	1,345	155	155 Laps led will bring Harvick's series most total to 1,500 laps led at Phoenix
Jimmie Johnson	977	23	23 Laps led will bring Jimmie Johnson's (second-most in the series) laps led to 1,000 at Phoenix.