Newman Wins at Phoenix; First Win in 77 starts

Associated Press

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- One of the first people to greet Ryan Newman in Victory Lane was Tony Stewart.

"He's so proud of me," Newman said after breaking a 77-race Sprint Cup winless streak. "He told me he loved me and I told him I loved him back because it's his name, I'm representing him and a lot of people behind us."

Newman took the lead after a late caution at Phoenix International Raceway and held off Jeff Gordon in a two-lap shootout Saturday night to get his first victory since the 2008 Daytona 500, and first since joining Stewart's new team last season.

Kyle Busch was cruising to what would have given him a weekend sweep when a caution flag came out with three laps remaining. When the lead-lap cars pitted, Busch took four tires and came out eighth - behind six cars that took only two tires and Jimmie Johnson, who also took four and was seventh out of the pits.

Gordon beat everybody out of the pits, but spun his tires on the restart in a green-white-checkered finish. Newman then charged inside and took the lead, and held on for the win.

"All of a sudden he shot forward. I was like, `Oh man, I'm in trouble here,' " Gordon said.

"It's been a long time coming for me to get to Victory Lane," Newman said. "I'm gracious to be here. This is the most emotional victory I've ever had in my entire career just because it's been so long."

Newman, driving the No. 39 Chevrolet owned by Stewart, had led only two laps before the final two. That lead came during the first caution only 21 laps into what became a 378-lap race -- instead of the scheduled 375, already 63 more than last spring -- on the oddly shaped mile track.

"I couldn't believe it. I saw the white flag and I was like I don't have that far to go," Newman said. "Every restart, I had been on the inside and I couldn't get going. ... I held my line and got a good shot off Turn 2. That's all we needed."

It was Newman's 14th career victory in 303 starts, but the first time a No. 39 car has been to Victory Lane (286 races).

Johnson, who had won four of the previous five races at Phoenix, finished third and increased his series points lead -- from 14 to 36 over Matt Kenseth. Greg Biffle had been second in points before finishing 22nd Saturday night, the first time this season he wasn't in the top 10.

"I made the call for four [tires] and made the most of it," Johnson said. "Not a bad night at all. I'm excited to see us stretch out the points a little bit."

Denny Hamlin, racing only 10 days after surgery to repair the torn ACL in his left knee, drove the entire race and finished 30th, two laps off the pace. He had moved up to 13th before an extended pit stop to repair damage from being hit and to address an electrical problem.

Newman snapped Hendrick Motorsports' string of six consecutive victories at Phoenix, and gave Chevrolet its 10th straight win at the track. Chevy drivers had the top five spots, with Mark Martin fourth and Juan Pablo Montoya fifth.

Matt Kenseth was sixth and Carl Edwards seventh in Fords, while Busch finished eighth in his No. 18 Toyota.

Busch had taken the lead from Johnson on a restart on lap 263, then stayed in front and was seemingly on way to his first Cup victory of the season. But the caution came out when Scott Riggs blew a right front tire -- while running just ahead of Busch -- and ran into the wall.

Busch won the Nationwide race Friday night at Phoenix in dramatic fashion when he benefited from a late caution.

In the Nationwide victory, Busch took four tires on the final stop and was 10th on the restart with eight laps left. It took him only three laps to dart through the field and take over the lead.

Busch had lost his lead on a disputed restart that led to a red flag and was penalized on the ensuing restart to drop to 19th place and 20 seconds behind. If not for that last caution, during which he collided with his teammate on pit road, he would have never been able to win that race.

"I thought Kyle stole one last night," Newman said. "So it's even." The late caution cost Busch on Saturday night.

Busch's crew chief, Dave Rogers, said the decision had been made before the race to change all four tires if there was a late stop, a decision based largely on what happened in the Nationwide race. Busch left without commenting.

Before Busch took the lead on a restart, Johnson had led 66 consecutive laps and had built a 1½-second lead over Montoya until David Ruetimann's accident brought out the seventh of nine cautions.

On that restart, Busch went ahead while Johnson and Montoya were bumping each other behind him.

The race that featured 20 lead changes among 13 drivers was slowed by 59 caution laps. Newman won with an average speed of 99.372 mph by a margin of .130 seconds.

Busch and Johnson both led 113 laps, and Montoya led 104.

A.J. Allmendinger, a first-time polesitter in the Richard Petty-owned No. 43 Ford, led the first 17 laps until the first caution, and never led again. He finished 15th.

Scott Speed, who essentially replaced Allmendinger on the Red Bull team, started second but had slipped to 31st by lap 77. He got back on the lead lap during a caution 122 laps later and wound up 21st.

Updated Odds to Win Phoenix Subway Fresh Fit 600 Following Qualifying

Las Vegas Hilton Super Book
Odds to win SUBWAY FRESH FIT 600--Adjusted after Qualifying & Final Practice

PHOENIX INT'L RACEWAY
SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2010

JIMMIE JOHNSON 5
MARK MARTIN 7
JEFF GORDON 10
KYLE BUSCH 12
DENNY HAMLIN 20
JUAN MONTOYA 15
TONY STEWART 12
CARL EDWARDS 10
GREG BIFFLE 20
KURT BUSCH 10
KASEY KAHNE 40
CLINT BOWYER 18
KEVIN HARVICK 18
JEFF BURTON 18
BRIAN VICKERS 60
MATT KENSETH 18
DALE EARNHARDT JR 18
JOEY LOGANO 20
RYAN NEWMAN 40
MARTIN TRUEX JR 40
DAVID REUTIMANN 100
JAMIE McMURRAY 18
DAVID RAGAN 100
BRAD KESELOWSKI 100
MARCOS AMBROSE 40
SAM HORNISH JR 60
AJ ALLMENDINGER 40
ELLIOTT SADLER 500
PAUL MENARD 500
BOBBY LABONTE 500
REGAN SMITH 1000
SCOTT SPEED 100
TRAVIS KVAPIL 1000
FIELD 300

Changing Conditions at Phoenix Track Will Play Big Role Saturday Night

By Micah Roberts
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix is going to be a tale of three races within and who adapts to all three the best as the race goes on. The race starts in the bright Arizona sunlight at 4:45 p.m. (PDT) where the temperatures will be about 85 degrees. They race for a few hours under those conditions until twilight hits at around 6:30 p.m., and then by 7 it will be completely dark with temperatures much cooler than when it started.

Each of those stages will be critical for every team involved because the surface and temperature of the track will change drastically. The crews for each team will have to slowly make the transition from day to night racing a little bit at each pit stop with the combined goal of having the optimum setup for the final stages of racing at night and finishing strong.

Phoenix International Raceway changed the length of its race from 500 kilometers to 600 because of the earlier NASCAR-mandated start time, which would have had the race ending just as twilight hit. The difference equates to about 63 laps, but also ensures that the spring Phoenix race remains unique because of the day/night changes.

Because the race is being run on a Saturday, the practice and qualifying schedule was compacted into one Friday session, which changes a normal pattern set by the crews as well as everyone else who use the practice speeds as a barometer in trying to figure out who will do well. On a normal weekend, we have a practice session Friday, which is used mostly with qualifying trim, then the teams qualify, take a break, and practice for real on Saturday.

The two sessions Saturday are critical for handicappers, bookmakers and fantasy players to get the best read on who the drivers to beat will be. This week in Phoenix, we have a jumbled mess because everyone was trying many different things to prepare for the different expected conditions on Saturday.

Following Friday’s qualifying session, the teams will not get any other practice time and will have to do their final tinkering as the race goes on.

More so than with other races to determine who might win, we have to look at recent past history of a driver’s performance at not only Phoenix, but Richmond and New Hampshire as well. While none of those three tracks are similar on paper, they all have relatively flat banking and are a mile or less in distance. Crew chiefs who have had success on one of the three tracks often will bring the same chassis to the other two because the setup requirements are similar.

The practices are still important and critical to the calculations, but because it was a much different kind of practice this week, it doesn’t hold as true as with other tracks. So this week, we’ll place a lot of emphasis on what chassis certain drivers have brought for the race, mixed in with some notes about practice.

Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last five races at Phoenix and it just so happens he brought the same car he won with in the last Phoenix race. He wasn’t spectacular in practice and only ran a few laps with qualifying trim on in the final session Friday, but chances are that this car is set up to run its best when the lights come on with cooler temperatures. Knowing this, it’s likely crew chief Chad Knaus made only minor adjustments for the early stages of the race because you can’t win a race at the beginning.

Denny Hamlin is an interesting candidate to win because he’s on the injured list. Following his Martinsville win two weeks ago, Hamlin had surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. He has Casey Mears on standby just in case he can’t go the distance because of the pain.

Should Hamlin hand over the steering wheel to Mears during a pit stop, chances are that they’ll go a lap down, which makes Hamlin a risky play this week. However, he had a great practice run Friday and brought the same car that finished third at Phoenix last fall.

All indications show that it will be tough to get Hamlin to get out of the car while the race is going, especially if he’s having a good run. He’s a competitor, the team finally ran well with their win at Martinsville, and he’ll want to keep the momentum going as much as he can.

Tony Stewart hasn’t been talked about too much this season, but has managed to quietly put himself eighth in points. He brought his second-place Phoenix chassis from this race last year which, coupled with a great practice on Friday, makes him a solid contender to get his first Phoenix win since his rookie year of 1999.

Along the same lines as Stewart is his teammate Ryan Newman who brought his same chassis that ran at both Phoenix and Richmond races last season. He finished in the top-10 of both Richmond races. During the final stages of practice, Newman reeled off the third-fastest lap while in qualifying trim.

Jeff Burton is a two-time winner at Phoenix, along with multiple wins combined at New Hampshire and Richmond. The team struggled early in practice but gathered itself nicely toward the end Friday with good speeds in qualifying trim. The best thing about Burton this week is that he brought the same car that finished second in Phoenix last November.

Mark Martin should be considered a candidate just because he won this race last season. He practiced well Friday, but the car he’s using is new which always leaves some uncertainty to its capabilities because it has no track record. Jimmie Johnson has proven this year that a new car can win a race, but Johnson is in an entirely different class.

Greg Biffle is a nice candidate to run well this week just because he runs well every week. He’s the only driver this season to have finished the first six races within the top 10. Biffle had a strong practice with the fourth-fastest single lap and has done well at Phoenix in all series in the past. His most recent success was a fifth-place finish in this race last year.

Drivers that could surprise this week include Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. McMurray had a great first practice but couldn’t get any speed with qualifying trim on. Joey Logano was smooth for the entire day Friday, and Earnhardt Jr, a two-time Phoenix winner, had a good first practice.

Don’t put too much into start position for this race, even though it has proved very critical the last four races. Only 10 of the 27 Phoenix races have been won from a top-five starting position with only four more getting wins while starting among the top 10. However, the last four races have been won from a top-five starting position. Based on this week's lineup, it doesn’t appear anyone of the top nine starters can win.

Driver Quotes

Tony Stewart on what makes the Phoenix track so slick:
“It is just Phoenix. But that is what makes it fun, too; it makes us work as drivers. You have got to not overdrive your car. It is very sensitive to heat and that makes us as drivers have to work harder.”

Jeff Gordon on how his Friday Phoenix practice and qualifying sessions went:
"Under the conditions, I am pretty happy our team had a very impressive day. We started the day really far off, so we tried a few new things and experimented since we’re early in the season. It’s hard to do that when we have all our practices in just one day. I’m really proud of my guys; they didn’t give up and we made big gains certainly for qualifying as well. We’ll see what happens tomorrow night in the race."

For Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings, click here.....

Hamlin Fastest in First Phoenix Practice Session; Mears Takes a Few Laps in The No. 11

Denny Hamlin ran the first 22 laps of practice with what was then the 10th fastest single lap before giving up his seat to Casey Mears as a precaution should Hamlin not be able to race all 375 laps Saturday night at Phoenix.

Hamlin had surgery last week to repair a torn ACL ligament and there is some uncertainty whether he will be in the car for the entire race.

Mears times were close to what Hamlin had put on the board and the team should feel confident that Mears could do a nice job feeling in if needed.

For the final 10 minutes of practice, Hamlin's crew put on qualifying trim, one of the only cars to do so in the first session, and put up the top speed. The others were some of the start and park drivers like Michael McDowell who had the second fastest lap after running only two laps for the entire session. Tony Stewart also tried a qualifying set-up just as the session ended but didn't improve his times as drastically as Hamlin did.

Stewart also spun out with fresh tires on a very slick surface coming around turn four midway through the practice but didn't hit anything or do damage to the car.

The final practice should be interesting as every team will be mixing up race and qualifying set-ups throughout. 

Top 5 Speeds From First Phoenix Practice Session
1) #11-Hamlin 131.210 mph
2) #66-McDowell 130.274
3) #1-McMurray 130.110
4) #2-Busch 130.025
5) #88-Earnhardt, Jr. 129.992

Driver Chassis Selections: Phoenix Subway Fresh Fit 600

by Jeff Wackerlin
MotorRacingNetwork.com

1. Jimmie Johnson: Winner of four of the last five races; 5.1 average finish leads all drivers; Finished fourth in this event last year; Has combined to lead 631 laps in last five races; Last finish outside the top seven was 15th in this event in 2005; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 540) that led 238 laps en route to the win last fall at Phoenix.


2. Greg Biffle: Has an 8.2 average finish in last five starts; Finished fifth in this event last year for third top five in 12 starts; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 634) in the Subway Fresh Fit 600.

3. Matt Kenseth: Winner of the 2002 race; 17.7 average finish in six starts with the new car; Last of six top 10s (third) came in the 2007 fall race when he led 93 laps; Finished 27th in this event last year.

4. Kevin Harvick: Won both Cup races in 2006; Has posted a 16.0 average finish in the six races at the track with the COT; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 304) in the Subway Fresh Fit 600.

5. Jeff Burton: Coming off sixth top five in 21 starts with a second-place finish last fall; Third-best average finish (9.0) among drivers that have raced in all six events with the new car; Won the 2000 and 2001 events with Roush Racing; Last fall's finish was seventh top 10 in 11 starts with Richard Childress Racing; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 280) that ran at Phoenix last November.

6. Kurt Busch: Best track on the circuit based on 12.0 average finish; 3.7 average finish in last three starts; Second-best driver rating in last 10 races; Won the 2005 race with Roush Racing; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 701) that finished eighth at Auto Club Speedway last October in its debut. This car was tested at Gresham Motorsports Park last month.

7. Jeff Gordon: Coming off 16th top 10 (ninth) in 22 starts; Won the 2007 spring race from the pole; Three-time pole winner; 16.5 average finish in the six races with the new car.

8. Tony Stewart: Finished second in this event last year in track debut with Stewart-Haas Racing; 25th-place finish last fall raised his average finish to 11.0 in 16 starts; Posted one win and six top fives in previous 14 starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Bringing chassis No. 14-535; Car brought team a second-place finish in this event last year.

9. Clint Bowyer: Coming off third top 10 (seventh) in nine starts; 13.3 average finish in the six starts with the new car; Finished 26th in this event last year; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 265) that was rebuilt during the offseason after finishing sixth (Atlanta) and 36th (Charlotte) last season.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 19.8 average finish in four starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Has led a combined 150 laps with the team in the spring races; Won the events in 2003 and 2004 with Dale Earnhardt, Inc.; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 586) in the Subway Fresh Fit 600.

11. Paul Menard: 24.3 average finish in six starts; Finished 23rd in this event last year in first track start driving a Ford; Will pilot a 2009 chassis (No. 574) in the Subway Fresh Fit 600. This car has yet to make a start in 2010.

12. Brian Vickers: 29.0 average finish in five starts with Team Red Bull; Best finish (19th) with the team came in this event last year; Only top 10 came in the 2005 spring race, in eighth, when he was driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

13. Joey Logano: Finished 21st in both events in 2009; Taking brand new chassis No. 269 to Phoenix.

14. Carl Edwards: 14.5 average finish in the six races with the new car; Has finished in the top 10 in three of his last four starts; Led 87 laps in the 2007 fall race from the pole before an engine failure; Will be back in the same car (chassis No. 647) that finished 16th last fall at Phoenix.

15. Denny Hamlin: Second-best average finish (6.0) among drivers that have raced in all six events with the new car; Has finished sixth or better in last four starts; Will have Casey Mears on standby because of his knee surgery last week; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 263) that finished third at Phoenix last fall.

16. Kyle Busch: 11.8 average finish in four starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Won this event in 2005 driving for Hendrick Motorsports; Has yet to lead a lap in last seven starts.

17. Mark Martin: Won this race from the pole last year in first track start with Hendrick Motorsports; Finished fourth in the fall; 8.8 average finish in 25 starts; Also won the 1993 race with Roush Racing; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 588) in the Subway Fresh Fit 600.

18. Martin Truex Jr.: 15.0 average finish in the six races with the new car; Coming off consecutive top 10s; Scored only top five (fifth) last year in the fall race from the pole; Will make first track start in a Toyota.

19. Jamie McMurray: Only top 10 (third) in 13 starts came in the 2008 fall race; Will make first track start in a Chevrolet with Earnhardt-Ganassi; This is the same team that finished in the top 10 in both races in 2009 with driver Martin Truex Jr.; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 1008) in the Subway Fresh Fit 600.

20. Kasey Kahne: One top five and three top 10s in 11 starts; 19.2 average finish; Celebrating 30th birthday on race day.

21. Scott Speed: Track debut in 2008 ended in bad accident and 40th-place finish; Average finish of 35.7 in three starts.

22. Ryan Newman: Three top-five finishes in 15 starts; Best finish was runner-up spot in 2004; Recorded 18.0 average finish with SHR in 2009; Leads all drivers in poles (4); Piloting chassis No. 39-536, which was raced at both Phoenix and Richmond races in 2009; Posted two top-10 finishes at Richmond with the car.

23. Elliott Sadler: Only top 10 in 16 starts was in a Ford for Yates Racing in 2002 fall event; 26.6 average finish; Making 400th Cup start; Driving brand new chassis No. 609.

24. David Reutimann: Posted two top-10 finishes in 2009; Track best eighth place in this event last year; 18.6 average finish in five starts.

25. Juan Pablo Montoya: Finished eighth last fall for best finish in six starts; 19.2 average finish; Driving chassis No. 909; Same chassis he used in last fall's event.

26. AJ Allmendinger: Finished 13th in a Ford in last fall's race; 21.3 average finish in three starts; Bringing chassis No. 277 for second race this season; Finished 25th at ACS in February with this car.

27. Brad Keselowski: One start in fall of 2009 resulted in 37th-place finish; Bringing brand new chassis PRS-716.

28. David Ragan: One top-10 finish in six starts came in fall of 2008; Piloting chassis RK-613; Car was driven to 23rd-place finish in fall 2009 race.

29. Marcos Ambrose: 14.3 average finish with three top-20 finishes; Best finish of 11th came in fall 2009.

30. Sam Hornish Jr.: Finished ninth in this event last year for first Cup Series top-10 finish; 21.8 average finish in five starts.

All Three Richard Childress Cars Figure to Run Well Saturday Night at Phoenix

RCR at PIR … Team owner Richard Childress has three victories, tying him with Robert Yates for third on the all-time car owner victories list at the Avondale facility. In 62 races at Phoenix, RCR has earned three wins, including Kevin Harvick’s sweep of both races at PIR in 2006. Prior to that, Dale Earnhardt won the Checker 500 on Nov. 4, 1990. Additionally, the Welcome, N.C.-based organization boasts 12 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes.

Kevin Harvick
This Week’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Phoenix … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 304 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet is a completely brand new car which will see its first laps on the track during Friday’s practice session.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

What is the key to completing a good lap at Phoenix?
“I think there are two parts that are important at Phoenix. You have to be able to get through the middle of turns one and two and get back to the throttle early, and then you have to be able to get your car to come straight off the corner in turn four. If you can do that and keep your car turning in turns one and two, you will be in great shape.”

This race starts in the middle of the afternoon and ends under the lights. What kind of challenge does that present to the teams?
“It’s going to be a challenge because a lot of it depends on the type of weather that we have. If it’s really hot during the day, then it usually cools off quite a bit at night. As soon as the sun goes behind the suites in turns one and two, the temperature really drops and the track gains quite a bit of grip. The lap times generally pick up a few tenths a lap.”

Jeff Burton
This Week’s No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet at Phoenix International Raceway … Jeff Burton will pilot chassis No. 280 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend’s 375-lap affair. Built new for 2009, this Caterpillar Chevrolet was put through its first paces at Chicagoland Speedway last July where the 17-year veteran was credited with a 37th-place finish after being collected in a late-race multi-car incident. Burton then piloted this No. 31 racer at Kansas Speedway where he finished 23rd before posting a runner-up finish at Phoenix International Raceway in November.

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

You scored a runner-up finish in the fall race at Phoenix last year. What does the Cat Racing team need to do to better themselves by one spot? “Phoenix has been a really good race track for me. I felt that if we had qualified better and been up front earlier, we would have been hard to beat in that race. We were really fast and got by a lot of cars early but never had good track position until later in the race. It’s been a while since I’ve won there and we’re going back to finish where we left off in the fall. The key for us to do that is to go back better than we were and respond better to the spoiler than everybody else.”

Clint Bowyer
This Weekend’s No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet Impala at Phoenix International Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 265 from Richard Childress Racing’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Bowyer drove this Chevrolet twice last season, finishing sixth at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March and 36th at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. The Impala was completely updated over the offseason.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:

You finished seventh at Phoenix in the fall. What do you expect as you head there this weekend?
“Phoenix is one of my favorite race tracks. It’s another short track that races well. We had a good run there in the fall and I feel like we’ve hit on some things which will allow us to come back and be better. I’m looking forward to going to Phoenix and having some fun. Hopefully, we can run up front all day. So far this season, we’ve been able to do that consistently. We have to keep that going and, if we keep doing that long enough, we’re going to get ourselves a win. Phoenix is one of those places where we can get our first win.”

Denny Hamlin Should Be Just Fine This Week at Phoenix

Denny Hamlin's primary car (JG 263) he'll be using at Phoenix this weekend is the same car that finished third at Phoenix last fall. Should he have any trouble in Friday's practice, he'll be in good shape because the backup is same chassis that he won with at Richmond. Despite the knee surgey last week that may give the appearance Hamlin may not be 100% for this race, this particular car is a monster and should be considered a favorite to win.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Phoenix:

Six days after surgery – how is your knee feeling?: “It’s painful – as anyone who has had this surgery or any similar surgery can tell you – but I am working hard to get back my full range of motion and get back to where I need to be. The actual surgery went very well, no issues and no concerns so I owe big thanks to Dr. Connor and his team. They took good care of me and gave me every opportunity to be back in the car this weekend. All I can do now is work hard, follow the rehab program and see how fast I can get back. I have a couple of days yet to see how my knee responds and that will help me make the right decision when I get to Phoenix this weekend.”

What kind of rehab are you doing?: “Right now I am pretty much doing full days of rehab, working to get back my full range of motion, keeping the knee flexible and working to make it stronger while I get more comfortable with what I can and can’t do right now. I spend three hours on the machine working on my range and I am making a lot of progress. It gets better every day and I know I am ahead of schedule for a surgery like this. I do a lot of work on my back, working my quad and stretching and spend a lot time icing it too. It’s coming around but it’s a long and hard process and I knew that was going to be the case. It’s not fun but I know that doing this now was absolutely the right thing to do – now I am focused on getting back to racing.”

How important was that Martinsville win, both in terms of getting the season back on track and giving this team a boost before your surgery?: “The win felt like a long time coming even though we are only six races into this season. There were really high expectations coming off last season and every race where we didn’t run as well as we wanted seemed to lead to more questions and concerns from outside of the team. Inside, we weren’t panicking because we had been pretty good in almost every race. To win at Martinsville sets some of that aside I hope. The win points us in the right direction and takes us into what will be our next challenge of getting past this knee surgery but it’s a long season and a lot can happen. We know we have a lot of work left to do.”

Subway Fresh Fit 600 Preview: Phoenix Is Yet Another Track Johnson Loves to Dominate

By Micah Roberts

VegasInsider.com

We’re only six races into the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the circuit will be making it’s third visit of the season west of the Mississippi when they roll into Phoenix for the first night race of the year. Then a week later, they make a stop at Texas before heading back to some traditional roots in Talladega.

With the west side visits still seem somewhat new even though they’ve been coming out here regularly for over a decade, one thing that seems to be getting old for many is Jimmie Johnson leading in points. It’s only been four straights years with a title, but if you add up the two previous years before he won that he probably should have, and tack on this years outstanding performance, the California driver is a huge sign of the new NASCAR.

Two weeks ago in Martinsville, Johnson didn’t have his car ever at Martinsville, but still took it to a top-10 finish. After Kevin Harvick fell out early and Matt Kenseth got punted late, there was Mr. Johnson backing into his familiar position of number one in points.

Even on what may have been his worst car ever for a Martinsville, he still gains two positions in the standings. The law of physics and averages should always somehow equate for the lucky factor balancing out over the long haul, but Johnson seems to have used up more luck than a three-legged dog named Lucky.

Then when you compound just how good he and his team are week to week, you’re left scratching your head saying, “Man, this guy don’t need no luck.”

Ever since Phoenix has gone to two races a year back in 2006, Johnson has dominated like no other. Heck, even if you include his four races prior to 2006, no one has been better. He’s got an average finish of 5.1 and comes in winning four of the last five Phoenix races. Over his last seven races, he’s finished no worse than fourth. His worst performance ever was 15th, which he’s done twice, and has helped contribute to that awful 5.1 average.

Phoenix starts the mid-range flat track season for NASCAR which includes new Hampshire and Richmond. Although all are different in configuration, most teams that have success on one track always run well on the others prompting crew chiefs to usually bring the exact same chassis to each.

The drivers should give a good run for Johnson’s money include all three Childress drivers, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, and Tony Stewart.

Martin was stellar at all three tracks, Richmond, New Hampshire, and Phoenix at the tail end of last season that included a win and two fourth-place finishes. Martin also won this particular race last season denying Johnson of four straight Phoenix wins. The win was the second of his career at Phoenix that also has him with 11 top-5 finishes.

Jeff Burton use to be the Phoenix sun-king while he drove for Jack Roush with two wins and a host of other top-5 finishes. Burton was also equally good at the same time during his reign in Phoenix at New Hampshire.

Last season, his team debuted some new chassis’ down the stretch as they were attempting to get a jump on the 2010 campaign for what was an awful 2009 season for the entire team, and it worked well. Burton finished second in the fall race and has carried that momentum into this year showing both improved handling and horsepower in nearly every race.

We all know how Denny Hamlin loves Richmond, and he treats Phoenix the same way, except calling it home. After having a finish of 34th-place in his first Cup race, he’s gone a tear over his last seven starts there that include four third-place finishes. He finally had something good happen to him at Martinsville with a win and should be set-up nice to compete this week a well.

The one issue with Hamlin this week is having to race after having ACL surgery last week. It’s not known yet how it will affect his driving ability. If there is discomfort, Casey Mears will be available to take over during one of the pit stops.

Phoenix was a track that Jeff Gordon could never win at through his great career, even when he was the original Jimmie Johnson-type from the 1990’s. He finally took the checkers in 2007 after series of quality runs. Since then, Gordon hasn’t been so good there. In his last five races there, his best finish has been ninth, mixed in with a 41st and 25th-place finish, not exactly numbers expected from someone of Gordon’s stature considering who his cars room with in the Hendrick garages.

Tony Stewart won at Phoenix as a rookie in 1999, one of three late season wins Stewart had that year, but has gone winless there ever since. He does have 3 second-place finishes over his career since, with the last coming in this race last season. His quality finish in this race last season gave validation to the racing world that his new team was going to be able to contend with the rest of NASCAR’s best on a regular occurrence. Look for another quality finish this week.

The Busch Brothers are definite wild cards this week. You know Kurt is going to run well after having three straight terrific runs there with finishes no worse than sixth, but Kyle is the tough one to gauge. Sooner or later Kyle is going to win a race, but he hasn’t had the look of a winner in any practice session prior to each race. He’s almost looked like the weak link among the Joe Gibbs cars as Hamlin and Joey Logano have each tasted some kind of success this year.

Based on Kyle’s history, Phoenix is a place he should run well at just because of how well he’s run at New Hampshire and Richmond over his career, yet he hasn't won there since his rookie year of 2005.

In Las Vegas, the SuperBook at the Las Vegas Hilton has been daring folks to bet on Kyle Busch all season after practices with his odds reaching above 25 to 1, odds we never thought we would have seen for Kyle on any track just a mere few months ago. But that’s how far he has slipped and it’s hard to say when he’ll rebound, but as the odds get higher, he’s going to force some bets out of people and they may just get lucky as Kyle can steal any race.

Johnson’s going to be tough to topple again this week and wouldn’t recommend betting against him in driver match-ups either no matter how high the plus-money is because he’ll probably finish in the top-3. I think the best value may be going with Childress cars this week in match-ups and odds to win.

Top 5 Finish Prediction:
1) #31 Jeff Burton (12/1)
2) #5 Mark Martin (10/1)
3) #48 Jimmie Johnson (5/1)
4) #11 Denny Hamlin (8/1)
5) #29 Kevin Harvick (12/1)

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Phoenix Subway Fresh Fit 600 Odds & Ends

Compliled by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services

At 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.

Notebook
· There have been 27 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, one per season from 1988-2004 and two each season since.
· Geoffrey Bodine won the first pole in 1988.
· There have been 17 different pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four.
· Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon are the only drivers to win consecutive poles. Newman won three straight (2002-04), while Gordon won the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007.
· There have been 19 different race winners, led by Jimmie Johnson, with four. Johnson has won four of the last five Phoenix races. Mark Martin (spring 2009) won the other race in that span.
· The race has been won from the pole three times: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008) and Mark Martin (spring 2009).
· The race has been won from a top-10 starting position in 14 of 27 events.
· Denny Hamlin won his first career pole at Phoenix in November 2005.
· Ricky Rudd won the 1995 race from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.
· Mark Martin has 11 top-five finishes, more than any other driver. Martin (8.9 average finish) is one of three active drivers who average a top-10 finish. Jimmie Johnson (5.1) and Denny Hamlin (9.6) are the others.
· Five of the last seven races have ended with a margin of victory under one second.
· Two perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 have been recorded at Phoenix. Kurt Busch did it with his win in April of 2005, and Kevin Harvick did it in November of 2006.

NASCAR in Arizona
* There have been 32 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Arizona.
* 29 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Arizona.
* There have been no race winners from Arizona in NASCAR’s three national series.

Phoenix International Raceway Data
Race: 7 of 36 (4-10-10)
Track Size: 1 mile
· Banking/1 and 2: 11 degrees
· Banking/3 and 4: 9 degrees
· Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees
· Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
· Frontstretch: 1,179 feet
· Backstretch: 1,551 feet

Driver Rating at Phoenix
Jimmie Johnson 123.0
Kurt Busch 104.6
Mark Martin 103.8
Jeff Gordon 99.8
Greg Biffle 99.8
Denny Hamlin 98.8
Carl Edwards 98.8
Tony Stewart 97.8
Kevin Harvick 94.6
Kyle Busch 92.2
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-09 races (10 total) at Phoenix.

Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: Mark Martin (133.814 mph, 26.903 seconds)
2009 race winner: Mark Martin (108.042 mph, 4-18-10)
Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman (135.854 mph, 26.499 seconds, 11-5-04)
Track race record: Tony Stewart (118.132 mph, 11-7-99)

Pit Window: Approximately 70-78 laps, based on fuel mileage.