Phoenix Odds & Ends: Kobalt Tools 500

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.

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

·            The following changes were made during the construction period:

·         Widened the frontstretch from 52 to 62 feet

·         Reconfigured pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls

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

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

·         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.

 

Notebook

·            There have been 30 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 Coors Light Pole in 1988.

·            There have been 18 different pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four. Newman’s next pole will be his 50th.

·            Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards 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, and Edwards won the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011.

·            There have been 21 different race winners, led by Jimmie Johnson with four.

·            The race has been won from the pole four times: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008), Mark Martin (spring 2009) and Carl Edwards (fall 2010).

·            The race has been won from a top-10 starting position in 15 of 30 events.

·            Denny Hamlin won his first career pole at Phoenix in November 2005. AJ Allmendinger won his first career pole in April 2010.

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

·            Mark Martin has 12 top-five finishes, more than any other driver. Martin (8.8 average finish) is one of three active drivers who average a top-10 finish. Jimmie Johnson (4.8) and Jeff Gordon (10.0) are the others.

·            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.

 

Phoenix International Raceway Data

Race: 35 of 36 (11-13-11)

Track Size: 1 mile

·     Banking/1 and 2: 10 - 11 degrees

·     Banking/3 and 4: 8 - 9 degrees

·     Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees

·     Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees

·     Frontstretch: 1,179 feet

·     Backstretch: 1,551 feet

 

Driver Rating at Phoenix
Jimmie Johnson	121.8
Jeff Gordon	103.3
Kurt Busch	100.3
Carl Edwards	99.6
Mark Martin	99.4
Denny Hamlin	98.3
Tony Stewart	98.1
Kyle Busch	98.1
Kevin Harvick	95.9
Greg Biffle	94.8

 Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-11 races (13 total) at Phoenix. 

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2010 pole winner: Carl Edwards (136.389 mph, 26.395 seconds)

2010 race winner: Carl Edwards (110.758 mph, 11-14-10)

Track qualifying record: Carl Edwards (137.279 mph, 26.224 seconds, 2-27-11)

Track race record: Tony Stewart (118.132 mph, 11-7-99)

 

NASCAR in Arizona

·            There have been 35 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Arizona: 30 at Phoenix International Raceway; four at Arizona State Fairgrounds; one at Tucson Rodeo Grounds.

·            30 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 Storylines: Kobalt Tools 500

Three points separate two drivers, points leader Carl Edwards and second-place Tony Stewart. Two races remain before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion is crowned at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

That all equals one storyline-rich stretch run.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship contenders roll to the penultimate race of the season, at newly repaved Phoenix International Raceway for the Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. holds onto a 17-point lead over Elliott Sadler, the only other driver mathematically eligible for the NASCAR Nationwide Series title going into Saturday’s WYPALL 200 at Phoenix.

Austin Dillon nears his first national series championship, needing only a 16th-place finish at Homestead to win the title. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has an open week this weekend.

Stewart Talks Talk, Walks Walk
After his win at Martinsville, Tony Stewart suggested that Carl Edwards forego sleep – he was coming for the points leader.

Brash words, indeed. And Stewart, a two-time champion, backed them up.

Tony Stewart won again, this time at Texas, trimming his deficit to Edwards to three points. An interesting side note: They’ve both scored the exact same number of points in the Chase: 313. Edwards owns his miniscule advantage because of the three bonus points he earned for winning a race in the regular season.

Some other notables from Stewart's win at Texas…

- This is his fourth win of this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Only one other driver has ever won four races in the Chase: Jimmie Johnson, in 2004, 2007, 2009 (Johnson won the title in 2007 and 2009). No driver has won five races in the Chase. Stewart has a solid chance of becoming the first – he turned the fastest lap at last month’s test at Phoenix.
- If Stewart wins the championship this year, he’ll join NASCAR Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough, Lee Petty, Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson, the other NASCAR legends with three titles.

Though no driver has experience racing on the new Phoenix surface, Stewart may have turned more laps than anyone at the one-mile track. Stewart is one of the few drivers who participated in both the two-day test in October and the Goodyear Tire Test in August. Carl Edwards also ran both tests.

I Won’t Back Down: Carl Edwards Up To Challenge

Edwards had the best car in spring, but found trouble

Carl Edwards won’t be intimidated.

Edwards took Stewart's words, and used them as inspiration, finishing second and holding on to the points lead with two races to go.

A couple worry spots, though. His three-point advantage roughly equates to 13 points in the old system. That would be the closest margin between first and second in Chase history.

Second, the circumstances of this season give it a similar feel to last year. Last year, Denny Hamlin, going for his first championship, was leading Jimmie Johnson, who owned multiple titles. This year, Carl Edwards, going for his first championship, is leading Tony Stewart, who owns multiple titles. Hamlin squandered a 33-point lead, and Johnson won his fifth title.

Johnson Just About Done
This just isn’t Jimmie Johnson’s Chase. He finished 14th at Texas, his third finish outside the top 10 in the last four races, and fourth finish outside the top 10 overall in the Chase. That matches the total finishes outside the top 10 in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Chases combined (he had two finishes outside the top 10 in the 2008 Chase, and one each in 2009 and 2010.

He’s now 6th in points, 55 points out of the lead. He leads all drivers in wins at Phoenix, with four – but that was all on the old surface.

What To Watch For: How To Analyze New Phoenix, The New Wild Card Track
This is a tough one. After last month’s two-day test session at the newly repaved Phoenix International Raceway, drivers offered a number of reviews of the surface and new configuration. The consensus: It’s vastly different from the "old" layout. And there wasn’t much of a comparison to other tracks. In other words, who knows. It’ll be interesting

A few insights…

Carl Edwards: "It’s hard to say. I would say this first trip to Phoenix it will be more of a crew chief/engineer race. You’re gonna have to really pay attention to tire wear. The setup is going to be hugely important. The track is very smooth, very easy to drive. I don’t know that you’ll be able to go there and manhandle the car and hustle it around there like you could the old Phoenix – not this first time."

Denny Hamlin: "I think it will be a fun race track. Driving it was like wow, this is a lot different than any other course we’ve ever kind of been on before with the elevation changes and things like that."

Kevin Harvick: "I think there are a lot of unknowns with the repave and the things that have the potential to happen. I look at Phoenix a lot like Martinsville. The Roush cars didn’t run very well there and we have to run well there. So we’re looking forward to it.

"It’s definitely unique. (Turns) three and four is definitely not like it was but it is similar to what it was with the new asphalt as far as the radius of the corner. The exit of turn two is a lot different and the back straightaway is definitely different. They did a good job by designing the track so the fans can see the cars

Jeff Gordon: "The way I look at it is three and four really did not change a whole lot, other than the surface and the tires. It is going to be tricky conditions. Turns one and two has changed quite a bit, as you exit turn two. The back straightaway is completely different, there is definitely no comparison to what goes on back there to any other track. It is going to be challenging, there is no doubt about it."

- NASCAR Media Services

Las Vegas Hlton Super Book Odds to Win Phoenix Kobalt Tools 400

KOBALT TOOLS 500
PHOENIX INT'L RACEWAY
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011

CARL EDWARDS 6
JIMMIE JOHNSON 8
KYLE BUSCH 8
JEFF GORDON 7
MATT KENSETH 12
KEVIN HARVICK 12
DENNY HAMLIN 12
KURT BUSCH 20
TONY STEWART 5
DALE EARNHARDT JR 30
GREG BIFFLE 15
KASEY KAHNE 15
CLINT BOWYER 15
RYAN NEWMAN 20
BRAD KESELOWSKI 20
JOEY LOGANO 60
MARTIN TRUEX JR 50
DAVID RAGAN 60
JUAN MONTOYA 60
MARK MARTIN 40
JEFF BURTON 60
JAMIE McMURRAY 60
BRIAN VICKERS 100
DAVID REUTIMANN 100
PAUL MENARD 60
AJ ALLMENDINGER 60
MARCOS AMBROSE 100
REGAN SMITH 300
BOBBY LABONTE 1000
FIELD 500

Final AAA Texas 500 Driver Ratings Following All Practices

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Sunday, November 6, 2011 - 12:16 pm (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds        Practice 1    Lineup    Practice 2   Practice 3

 1. Matt Kenseth 7/1                  9th            3rd            14th           7th
Two-time winner with track best 10-year average finish of 6.9; using same winning car from April.
 2. Carl Edwards 7/1                 2nd            7th             1st            8th
Three-time winner, best 10-consecutive average laps in final practice; using Charlotte chassis.
 3. Tony Stewart 7/1                  3rd            5th              8th           9th
2006 winner; last Texas top-five came five races ago; using Las Vegas-Atlanta-Kansas chassis.
 4. Kevin Harvick 12/1              23rd          21st            13th         18th
12.9 average finish in 17 starts, good average speeds in practice; using brand new chassis.
 5. Jimmie Johnson 7/1            21st          11th            12th         16th
2007 winner and runner-up in three races since; using winning Kansas chassis this week.
 6. Jeff Gordon 8/1                   28th           23rd            3rd          14th
2009 winner with no top-10s since (four starts); had a great early practice session Saturday.
 7. Kasey Kahne 20/1               14th           9th              4th           1st
2006 winner with only one top-five finish since; practiced like he was in one of the Roush cars.
 8. Greg Biffle 15/1                    1st            1st              2nd          10th
2005 Texas winner; eighth or better in five of last six starts on track. Finished fourth in spring race.
 9. Brad Keselowski 20/1          17th           8th              6th          28th
No top-10 finishes in six starts, but had fastest 10-consecutive lap average of day in practices.
10. Kurt Busch 20/1                  10th          14th            11th         24th
2009 winner, struggled in practice, but is using proven chassis from Pocono (3rd) and Dover (1st).

Note: This is the second race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway. Matt Kenseth led 169 of 334 laps to win in the first race held April 9, 2011 beating Clint Bowyer by a whopping 8.315 seconds. Kenseth’s teammates, Biffle and Edwards, came in third and fourth respectively.
 
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports Director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.

NASCAR Parks Kyle Busch for Entire Texas Weekend

Associated Press

Kyle Busch will not be allowed to race in the Sprint Cup or Nationwide races at Texas after he deliberately wrecked championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Truck Series race.

NASCAR President Mike Helton announced the decision Saturday after a meeting with Busch and Joe Gibbs, his Sprint Cup and Nationwide car owner. Even under the policy of "Boys, have at it," NASCAR determined Busch went too far.

"The responsibility that over the past two or three seasons we've given back to the drivers came I think with a very clear understanding that there could be a line that got crossed," Helton said. "And as annoying as the comments that I've made personally in the past about we'll know it when we see it might have been, we saw it last night."

Busch left the NASCAR hauler through an exit away from the media.

"This is a tough situation for us and basically what we're trying to do is go through it the right way," Gibbs said. "Everybody here with our race team is trying to meet with everybody that was affected by this and obviously we've got a lot of work to do there and a lot of people to see. But we're going to be try to go through this and try to handle everything in the right way."

Gibbs said he met with Busch in the driver's motor home, but didn't share what was said.

"It's one of those personal conversations you have when a real tough situation like this comes up," Gibbs said.

Busch is the first driver since Robby Gordon in August 2007 to be parked for a Cup race for actions in another NASCAR race the same weekend.

Michael McDowell will take over for Busch in the Cup race Sunday, and Denny Hamlin took over the Nationwide seat Saturday.

Gordon wasn't allowed to drive in a 2007 Cup race at Pocono after an incident during the Nationwide race at Montreal.

Kevin Harvick, the owner of Hornaday's truck, was kept out of the Cup race in Martinsville in 2002 for actions related to a truck race there the previous day.

Hornaday was knocked out of Friday night's truck race on the 14th of 148 laps when Busch retaliated for contact between them by pushing the four-time champion into the wall. The trucks made contact after trying to go three-wide around a slower truck and both then brushed the wall.

Busch got behind Hornaday and kept pushing until the No. 33 truck wound up in the wall.

"I lost my cool, no doubt about it. I've been wrecked four weeks in a row, and I've had enough of it, and I retaliated," Busch said by his hauler after the wreck Friday night. "So it's certainly my fault for doing that. If everybody wants to say, 'Hornaday is racing for a championship, roll over,' that's not my fashion. That's not anybody else's fashion out here."

Hornaday dropped from third to fourth in points, his margin increasing from 15 to 48 with only one race left.

Busch and Harvick were fined and placed on probation for an altercation following the Cup race at Darlington in May.

The two made contact during that race and Harvick wrecked with teammate Clint Bowyer. Afterward, Harvick climbed from his car and threw a punch into Busch's window before Busch used his car to bump Harvick's out of the way.

Officials radioed each man's crew during a later race at Pocono, when Harvick forced Busch down the track while the two were fighting for position.

In May, Busch was ticketed in North Carolina for driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone in a bright yellow 2012 Lexus. He later pleaded guilty to speeding and no contest to reckless and careless driving, and lost his driver's license for 45 days. He was fined $1,000, sentenced to 30 hours of community service and put on one year of unsupervised probation .

During the Cup race in Texas last fall, Busch was penalized three laps — the first for speeding on pit road and two more for flashing an obscene gesture through his windshield at the NASCAR official who signaled the infraction while standing in front of Busch's car.

Busch Wrecks Hornaday in Truck race

Biffle Fastest in Friday's First Practice Session at Texas

2005 Texas winner Greg Biffle, with a lap speed of 193.327 mph, was the quickest during the first AAA Texas 500 practice session at Texas Motor Speedway.

Biffle’s fellow Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Carl Edwards, was second fastest with a lap speed of 193.043 mph, and was followed by Tony Stewart (192.713 mph), Marcos Ambrose (192.472) and Regan Smith (192.383).


Rounding out the top-ten fastest during practice were Juan Pablo Montoya (192.253) , Kyle Busch (192.226), Trevor Bayne (192.041, Matt Kenseth (192.000) and Kurt Busch (191.904).

Because the teams have two practice sessions scheduled for tomorrow, most all of the times were done with qualifying trim.

The teams will return to the track a little later this afternoon for their 4:40 PM (ET) scheduled qualifying session, and then they will return to the track on Saturday for two more practice sessions (9:45 AM – 10:30 AM; “Happy Hour” 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – ET).

The AAA Texas 500 is set to get underway approximately at 3:30 PM (ET) Sunday afternoon with ESPN beginning their (pre-race) television coverage at 2:00 PM (ET),

Texas Practice 1 Times 

AAA Texas 500 Preview

By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

Only three races to go until we see someone new hoisting the trophy (Getty)

We’ve got three races to go in NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship with Carl Edwards holding an 8-point lead over Tony Stewart. Martinsville became almost the type of wild card Talladega was with Brad Keselowski (-27 points) and Matt Kenseth (-36) getting shuffled back due to poor finishes despite running well throughout.

The big winner in the entire deal last week was Stewart who won his third race of the Chase, his only three wins of the entire season. The Las Vegas Hilton Super Book made a massive adjustment on Stewart going from 9-to-2 following Talladega to now being even money to win the title. Edwards went from a-160 favorite to -120 following Stewart’s win.

The big winner in all of this may have been Edwards, who finished ninth at Martinsville despite it not being one of his favorite tracks. Not only does he have an 8-point lead, but the final three races of the season are all tracks that he does exceptionally well at.

Beginning with this week’s race at Texas, Edwards has three wins there in 13 starts and finished third in the first race held there in April. To close the season out, all Edwards will have to do is run well at Phoenix and Homestead, two tracks that he won at to close the year out last season.

After getting his third win of the Chase and getting nearer to Edwards in points, Stewart laid down the gauntlet.

"He'd better be worried," Stewart said of Edwards, "that's all I can say. He's not going to have an easy three weeks."

Stewart's charging hard and has a great car this week (Getty)

Stewart finished 12th in the first Texas race, but it might be wiser to look at what he’s done more recently on the 1.5-mile tracks, preferably the high banked sister tracks of Atlanta and Charlotte. While winning on the flatter Chicago track to start the Chase, Stewart also finished eighth at Charlotte and third at Atlanta in the last two months.

Edwards was able to better Stewart on average just a little on the two sister tracks getting a third and fifth-place finish respectively.

Edwards also has his Las Vegas win from early in the season to go off which runs similar to Texas. Ironically, Edwards got that win due to some back luck in the pits on Stewart’s final stop. Stewart had that race thoroughly dominated and is using the same car this week.

“Texas is one of our strong points," said Edwards. "I feel really good about going there, especially the way our Roush Fenway Fords run there.Texas is different than any track we go to just because of the atmosphere. It’s one of the biggest races of the year. The fans, sponsors and drivers all know it, there is a lot on the line and there is a lot of pride in winning a race there.”

The winner of the first Texas race this season, who also won at Charlotte three weeks ago, was Matt Kenseth. Despite his chances of winning a second championship appearing to be gone, Kenseth should run as one of the favorites this week based on his recent and past history at Texas, not to mention he's using the same winning chassis from Charlotte.

No one has more consistent at Texas than Kenseth. Along with his two wins, he also has four runner-up finishes keeping in line with a long standing tradition of Jack Roush cars running well in the Lone Star state. A Roush driver won the first two races ever held there and since then has visited the winner’s circle with three other drivers.

Denny Hamlin swept both Texas races last season, but he hasn’t been a real contender in any 1.5-mile tracks this season. Jimmie Johnson got his only Texas win in 2007 and has had three runner-up finishes since, but hasn’t finished better than eighth in his last two starts. he's be using his winning Kansas chassi this week. Look for Jeff Gordon to well on the basis of his Atlanta win.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:
1) #17 Matt Kenseth (7/1)
2) #99 Carl Edwards (6/1)
3) #14 Tony Stewart (8/1)
4) #18 Kyle Busch (8/1)
5) #24 Jeff Gordon (8/1)

Driver Chassis Selections for Texas

Note: Not all teams their their chassis selections in PR release

Busch is using a great car this week

#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and the #1 Bass Pro Shops/ Tracker Boats team will be bringing chassis #1104 to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. This chassis was previously used at Dover in October, Michigan (June and August), and Charlotte (Coke 600, and All-star).

#2-Brad Keselowski: will race chassis PRS-805 during Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. This is a new chassis to the #2 fleet.

#6-David Ragan: Primary: RK-777 Last ran Chicago - finished 11th; Backup: RK-711 Last ran Darlington - finished 21st

#5-Mark Martin: Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-625 for Sunday's race in Texas. This is the same chassis Martin drove to a 12th-place finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March, a runner-up finish at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in May and 18th-place result at Pocono Raceway in June.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 735 for the 500-mile event at Texas Motor Speedway. This DEWALT Ford Fusion was run previously this season at Texas, Charlotte and Atlanta.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-591: This car debuted in May 2010 in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. It qualified 26th and finished 15th in its maiden race. It saw extensive wind-tunnel time before returning to action in late July for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There, it qualified 15th and ran most of the race at the lower end of the top-10. But a savvy two-tire pit call on the team's final stop allowed it to rally to a fifth-place finish. Chassis No. 14-591 spent the rest of the 2010 season as a backup and, in the offseason, it received a new body and logged many hours in the wind tunnel. The Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was its third career start and first of 2011. It was impressive as Stewart dominated, leading four times for a race-high 163 laps. He opened up a four-second advantage until a pit road miscue derailed the perfect outing and left him second when the checkered flag dropped. Its next start came in May's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, where it was poised to finish in the top-10 until engine woes late in the race dropped it to a 17th-place finish. Chassis No. 14-591's next outing came in a test July 9 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. It returned to racing Labor Day weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway where, after starting 20th, rallied to an impressive third-place finish, gaining 8.5 seconds on eventual winner Jeff Gordon in the final 10 laps. The September stop at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City marked Chassis No. 14-591's sixth career start. It had a strong race, running second to eventual winner Jimmie Johnson for much of the 272-lap contest, but a series of late-race issues conspired for a disappointing 15th-place finish. The car returns to action this weekend at Texas, where it will make its fifth start this season and second in the Chase.

#17-Matt Kenseth: Primary: RK-741 (last run at Charlotte)

#18-Kyle Busch: Chassis No. 322: This is a brand new chassis that will make its on track debut in Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

#22-Kurt Busch: will be racing "Monster Masher" at Texas this weekend. The "PRS-758" AAA Dodge Charger has an impeccable record. Busch debuted the car in the August race at Pocono, where he started fifth and finished third. In its last time at the track, Busch started on the outside pole and won the Oct. 2 AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. "Monster Masher" came from the suggestion of Busch's girlfriend Patricia Driscoll's six-year-old son, Houston.

#27-Paul Menard: will pilot chassis No. 379 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet Impala was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on track at Kansas Speedway in October, where Menard started sixth and finished 12th.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will race chassis No. 381 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This is a brand new racer that will see its first on-track activity this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

#31-Jeff Burton: will pilot chassis No. 372 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in Sunday's AAA Texas 500. This Caterpillar Chevrolet Impala is a recent addition to the fleet, posting an 18th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway last month in its lone on-track appearance.

#33-Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 371 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable this weekend. This Chevrolet Impala, built new in September, has been utilized twice during this season's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The first time it saw action was at Chicagoland Speedway in September when Bowyer drove it to a top-10 finish of seventh after starting 21st and the second time was last month as Bowyer brought home another seventh-place finish after starting 24th at Kansas Speedway.

#35-Dave Blaney: will compete in the No. 297 chassis this weekend. TBR purchased the chassis from Richard Childress Racing this season. Paul Menard drove the chassis prior to TBR.

#39-Ryan Newman: Chassis No. 39-686: This will be just the second start for Chassis No. 39-686 as it made its debut three weeks ago in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. In that race, Newman started sixth, led six laps and finished a solid 10th.

#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Jim Pohlman and the #42 Target team are bringing chassis # 1119 to Texas this weekend. This chassis was previously run at Charlotte (October), where he started 32nd and rallied to a 14th place finish.

#43-A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 710 for this weekend's event at Texas Motor Speedway. This Immortals/ Best Buy Ford has been previously run this season at Texas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Indianapolis and Dover.

Johnson is using his winning Kansas car this week (Getty)

#48-Jimmie Johnson: last drove primary chassis No. 681 to victory lane at Kansas Speedway earlier this month. Backup chassis No. 669 finished second at Michigan International Speedway in August and at Dover International Speedway in October.

#56-Martin Truex, Jr.: The #56 team will debut a new chassis Sunday at Texas.

#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: This weekend at Texas, crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-668. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a third-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in September.

#99-Carl Edwards: RK-739 Last ran at Charlotte, finished third

- compiled by Jayski.com

Edwards in the Chase Driver's Seat Heading to Texas; Using Charlotte Chassis This Week

Carl Edwards is a 3-time winner at Texas (Getty)

Carl Edwards
Team: No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Bob Osborne
Chassis: RK-739 Last ran at Charlotte, finished third

Carl Edwards on racing at Texas Motor Speedway: “Texas is one of our strong points. I feel really good about going there, especially the way our Roush Fenway Fords run there.Texas is different than any track we go to just because of the atmosphere. It’s one of the biggest races of the year. The fans, sponsors and drivers all know it, there is a lot on the line and there is a lot of pride in winning a race there.”

Crew chief Bob Osborne on racing at Texas Motor Speedway: “I think we are all looking forward to racing at Texas this weekend. We kind of held our breath through Talladega and Martinsville, so I’m glad those are behind us and we came away with decent finishes. Historically Texas has been a really good track for Roush Fenway teams, and Carl has three Cup wins there, so we’re planning on another strong run on Sunday.”

Fast Facts


* THE CHASE IS ON…Carl Edwards enters Texas leading the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings by eight points. He has earned one win, 16 top-five, 23 top-10 finishes and two poles this season.

* FOR THE RECORD… Edwards has accumulated three wins at the 1.5-mile Texas track, the most of any active Sprint Cup driver. Edwards’ average NSCS start atTexas is 15.0 and his average finish is 16.5. He is one of only two drivers to win both the spring & fall events in the same year at Texas.

* IN THE LOOP… According to NASCAR’s Loop Statistics, Edwards ranks fourth in laps led with 479 in the past 13 races. He has also turned 288 of the track’s fastest laps, which is second best. He has a driver rating of 98.3, fifth best among active drivers.

* ON THE TRACK…The Aflac team will be unloading chassis No. RK-739 at Texas this weekend. This car last raced at Charlotte in October where Edwards finished third.

* REWIND NOVEMBER, 2010… Edwards battled with the handling of the No. 99 Aflac Ford throughout the race. A two-tire pit stop in the closing laps put him up to 12th with three laps to go, but he lost ground on the restart to finish 19th.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

Hamlin Hoping to Recreate 2010's Texas Success

Denny Hamlin swept both Texas races last season (Getty)

DENNY HAMLIN
Event: AAA 500
Date/Time: Nov. 6/2 p.m. CT
2011 winner: Denny Hamlin
2010 polesitter: Elliott Sadler
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Banking: 24 degrees
Track Shape: Quad Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:


Martinsville Recap: Denny Hamlin drove the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota to a fifth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, leading 58 of the 500 laps en route to his fifth top-five finish of the season. With the result, Hamlin remains 11th in the Chase standings with three races remaining. Hamlin started 11th as Sunday’s starting order was decided by owner points when rain canceled qualifying, and was immediately collected in an early-race incident in front of him. With only minimal damage to the car, Hamlin used differing pit strategy and was soon able to work his way back up the field. It quickly paid off and Hamlin claimed the race lead by lap 63.

Most teams on pit road used different strategies as the #11 machine shuffled throughout the top-10 as the laps clicked during the caution-filled event. Crew chief Mike Ford worked to free up the car for Hamlin just past the race’s midpoint, and on fresh tires and with improved handling, Hamlin was able to pass Jeff Gordon on lap 320 to reclaim the lead. Making his final pit stop of the day with less than 50 to go, Hamlin was forced to restart on the outside line after a flurry of late-race yellows and was unable to challenge for the win. Hamlin also became the 23rd driver in NASCAR history to win at least one race in all three national series with a victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event.

Texas Preview: The Series shifts to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 334-lap event on the 1.5-mile Fort Worth oval. Hamlin is the defending fall race winner at the track, leading 31 laps last November to take the checkered flag. The Virginia native swept both races at the track in 2010, leading 12 laps in the spring en route to victory lane.

The FedEx team finished 15th at Texas earlier this year. Hamlin fought a loose race car throughout the 334-lap event, lost a lap to the leaders during a long green flag run in the race’s midpoint and never got a timely caution while in position for the “lucky dog.” In 12 starts at the track, Hamlin owns two wins and eight top-10 finishes, and has led 131 laps. Hamlin’s 9.3 average finishing position at Texas is second-best among active drivers, only trailing Matt Kenseth (6.8).

Race to Prepare: Hamlin, FedEx and the American Red Cross will team up to teach school children the importance of disaster preparedness and help build kits to be used in the case of weather-related disasters on Thursday at Cross Timbers Middle School in Grapevine, Texas.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION :

How do you focus on the final three races of the season? “We just have to manage our expectations from here on out. I finished outside the top-eight in points only once in my career, so that’s something I’d like to keep going. We’re trying to get as much as we can. Obviously, being set back so far the first three races — we’re still at the same deficit we were at a few weeks ago. So, we’re maintaining it at this point with those top guys. It’s just hard to overcome that. My goal is to win a race before the end of the season. I feel that would go a really long way with our FedEx team and myself and the confidence level, and I feel like we could do that. We have some awesome race tracks ahead of us.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Johnson Bringing Winning Kansas Chassis to Texas

JIMMIE JOHNSON NEWS

MYLOWE’S LOUNGE: Johnson will drive the No. 48 MyLowe’s paint scheme in Texas. MyLowe’s is an integrated online tool on Lowes.com that helps keep track of everything in your home. Users will never have to remember paint colors, warranty information or room dimensions again. When using the My Lowe’s card, purchases will all automatically upload to the users MyLowe’s site and can be customized from there.

In addition, this weekend fans will have the opportunity to visit the MyLowes lounge located in the Midway at Texas Motor Speedway. Fans will play Jimmie Johnson’s new video game Jimmie Johnson’s Anything With An Engine, currently available for purchase on major gaming consoles.

JIMMIE JOHNSON FOUNDATION/LOWE’S TOOLBOX FOR EDUCATION CHAMPIONS GRANTS: Jimmie and Chandra Johnson will be in Oklahoma Thursday for a special event to announce the recipients of the 2011 Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Champions Grants. For the third year, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Lowe’s Toolbox for Education initiative have partnered to award grants in the areas where Johnson and his wife grew up and currently reside.

RACE NOTES

Texas Motor Speedway
• Johnson has made 16 Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, where he has one win, seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 96.2% (5150 of 5354) of competition laps at the 1.5-mile track and has led 118.
• He has an average start and finish of 9.1 and 9.9.

Chassis

• Johnson last drove primary chassis No. 681 to victory lane at Kansas Speedway earlier this month.
• Backup chassis No. 669 finished second at Michigan International Speedway in August and at Dover International Speedway in October.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTE

TALK ABOUT HEADING TO TEXAS THIS WEEKEND: “Texas is a great track. It’s really challenging. The corner exits creep up on you and you are carrying a ton of speed and it’s a narrow transition from the exit of the turn onto the straights. The track has widened out a lot, so we can race all over. Texas Motor Speedway does an awesome job promoting our sport, and that race; and the fan base is there and they are excited to see us. So, I’m excited to go back to Texas.”

- GMR Live Marketing for Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release

Keselowski Needs Best Career Finish at Texas to Stay in Chase Hunt

Brad Keselowski finished 18th in the spring Texas race (Getty)

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
November 6, 2011
TV: ESPN at 3:00 PM ET Radio: PRN/Sirius Channel 90 at 2:00 PM ET

No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger News and Notes

* · This Week’s Charger… The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-805 during Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. This is a new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.

* · No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2011… After 33 points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked fourth in the 2011 Chase for the Championship standings. Keselowski sits 27 points behind leader Carl Edwards following a 17th-place finish in the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday afternoon.

* · Texas Firsts… Keselowski made his first Cup Series start at TMS in November of 2008. After starting the race from the 37th position, the then 24-year-old Keselowski raced his way to a respectable 19th-place finishing position. In November of the following year, Keselowski made his first NASCAR start with Penske Racing at TMS, as he finished 35th in that race. Additionally, in the 2011 spring race at TMS, Keselowski led 32 laps – his first laps led at the track – before finishing 18th.

* · Cheers To Chasing Greatness… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the “Blue Deuce” this weekend in Texas will be “Cheers To Chasing Greatness.” Keselowski continues to battle for the Cup Series championship, which would be a “great” accomplishment in his first season driving the iconic car.

* · Deuces Wild… When Brad wins a race during the 2011 Chase for the Championship, two lucky fans will win their own “man cave,” compliments of Miller Lite. The man cave gear includes a “kegerator,” a dart board, Miller Lite neon sign, a basketball game and pub furniture. Visit MillerLite.com/Brad to enter.

* · The Rest is History… Penske Racing made its first Cup Series start at TMS during the track’s inaugural event in 1997. In 50 combined Cup Series starts at the venue, the organization has garnered two wins (Ryan Newman – 2003 and Kurt Busch – 2009), three poles and nine top-five finishes.

Brad Keselowski on racing at Texas Motor Speedway: “Texas really is a unique racetrack and a unique layout. From above it looks like any normal 1.5-mile track, but the transitions into and off of the corners are quite a bit different than Charlotte, Las Vegas or any of the other mile-and-a-halfs. There is a lot of banking into the corners, which means you can carry a lot of speed in and to the center of the turns, but you lose that speed on exit as the track flattens out. It’s difficult because normally you can carry the same amount of grip and speed on both corner entry and corner exit. You have to adjust accordingly and sometimes that’s hard to do at 180 miles per hour. It’s easy to find yourself in trouble, especially off of Turn 2.”

Brad Keselowski on his fourth-place position in the Chase with three races remaining: “We put ourselves in position to have a great day at Martinsville on Sunday, but that wasn’t in the cards. That’s what happens late in a race on a short track. We took a hit in the points, but this team has been the underdog all year long. We’re not going to stop doing the things that put us in this position. Twenty seven points is not insurmountable. We’re going to need a little help, but there are guys that are due to have something go wrong over these last three races. At the end of the day, we have speed in our cars and that will win out more often than not.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on Texas Motor Speedway: “Texas is a place with a lot of unique characteristics. The track has bumps in Turn 2 and has aged to where grip becomes a big factor late into a run. We want to set the car up to run the bottom of the track, but yet, still have the flexibility to run various lines through the corners. This is a new car for us this weekend – a new specification that we’ve developed at Penske Racing. We’ve rolled out several new cars during the Chase and have been very happy with their performance. Brad has shown that he knows how to get around these 1.5-mile tracks and I think we’ll have a solid weekend at Texas.”

- Penske Racing, Press Release

Jeff Gordon Looking For Another Cowboy Hat from Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas. (November 1, 2011) – While this weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway is not a swap meet, Jeff Gordon only wants a cowboy hat and six-shooters after he gives his Corvette away.

Friday night, live on “Trackside” on Speed, Gordon’s personal 2010 Z06 Chevrolet Corvette will be given away to one of these three finalists of the 2011 raffle: Fred Baker of Florida, Ira Feldman of New York or Jay Nadal of Florida. Nearly $500,000 in proceeds raised from the program will benefit the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation’s efforts to support the research and treatment needs of pediatric cancer patients.

“This is always a cool day for me when I get to hand over the keys to my Corvette,” said Gordon. “While it usually occurs this weekend in Texas, this is the first time the winner is not yet known.

“I appreciate Speed’s support of the Foundation through the years, and for the opportunity to determine the winner live on one of their shows.”

On Sunday, Gordon hopes he is the winner – and recipient of a cowboy hat and six-shooters – of the AAA Texas 500. In 21 starts in The Lone Star state, Gordon has a lone win (2009), two poles (2008 and 2009), seven top-fives and nine top-10’s.

“This place has really turned into a fantastic track,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet. “When we first came here, it was a really, really challenging race track. It was fast and the transitions were really abrupt.

“It was hard to just stay out of the wall.

“But as the surface has worn and as we’ve gotten the cars handling better, it’s become one of the premier tracks. It’s always been one of the premier facilities, but the race track itself has really come into its own and made great racing, as well.”

Results-wise, Texas has always been hit or miss for the No. 24 team. Gordon’s career started with four finishes of 25th or worse before he reeled off four consecutive top-five finishes. Recently, that elusive victory in 2009 was his fifth top-10 in six races, but Gordon has not had a top-10 since.

“I don’t go into a race with any expectations based on recent results,” said Gordon. “Once we get the green flag, I’ll see what my car does in (turns) one and two.

“Then I’ll go to turns three and four and see what it does there. I’ll evaluate it as the race goes on and try to provide (crew chief) Alan Gustafson with the best information so he can make the right adjustments.”

Which could earn Gustafson at least a tip from Gordon’s (new cowboy?) hat in Victory Lane.

- Performance PR Plus, Press Release

Texas Odds & Ends: AAA Texas 500

At Texas Motor Speedway:

History

·         Construction began in 1995.

·         The first NASCAR race was a NASCAR Nationwide Series event on April 5, 1997.

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was on April 6, 1997.

 

Notebook

·         There have been 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, one per season from 1997 through 2004 and two races per year since 2005.

·         Four drivers have competed in all 21 Texas races: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin.

·         Jeremy Mayfield was the first pole winner, in 1998. Qualifying for the inaugural race in 1997 was canceled.

·         Jeff Burton won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

·         15 drivers have scored poles, led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon with two.

·         16 drivers have won races, led by Carl Edwards, with three. Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton each have two wins.

·         15 of 21 races have been won from a top-10 starting position. Only one has been won from the pole (Kasey Kahne in 2006).

·         Matt Kenseth started 31st en route to his victory at Texas in 2002, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started. Kenseth started fourth and won earlier this season at Texas.

·         Both Jeff Burton (1999) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000) scored their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Texas, and 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne made his first series start at Texas (11/07/10). Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup competitor Brad Keselowski also made his first career start at Texas (11/2/08).        

·         Martin Truex Jr. (11/04/07)and David Ragan (04/09/11) scored their first series poles at Texas.

·         Matt Kenseth (9.0), Denny Hamlin (9.3) and Jimmie Johnson (9.9) are the only three active drivers to average a top-10 finish.

·         Roush Fenway Racing leads all owners in victories, with eight. Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have three wins each.

·         There has been two season sweeps, by Carl Edwards in 2008 and Denny Hamlin in 2010.

 

Texas Motor Speedway Data

Race #: 34 of 36 (10-30-11)

Track Size: 1.5 miles

Race Length: 501 miles

·     Banking/corners: 24 degrees

·     Banking/straights: 5 degrees

·     Frontstretch: 2,250 feet

·     Backstretch: 1,330 feet

 

Driver Rating at Texas
Matt Kenseth
105.2
Tony Stewart
102.9
Greg Biffle
100.3
Jimmie Johnson
98.8
Carl Edwards
98.3
Denny Hamlin
97.8
Kyle Busch
97.5
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
93.1
Clint Bowyer
92.4
Kurt Busch
92.0

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (13 total) at Texas.

Qualifying/Race Data

2010 pole winner: Elliott Sadler (195.397 mph, 27.636 seconds)

2010 race winner: Denny Hamlin, 140.456 mph, 11-07-10)

Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers (196.235 mph, 27.518 seconds,

11-03-06)

Track race record: Carl Edwards (151.055 mph, 11-06-05)

NASCAR in Texas

• There have been 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Texas.
• 74 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Texas.
• There have been eight race winners from Texas in NASCAR’s three national series:

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Terry Labonte	22	11	1
Bobby Labonte	21	10	1
A.J. Foyt	7	0	0
Billy Wade	4	0	0
Bobby Hillin Jr.	1	2	0
Johnny Rutherford	1	0	0
David Starr	0	0	4
Colin Braun	0	0	1

AAA Texas 500 Storylines

Still only one win (Vegas) for Edwards on the season.

As if this year’s edition of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup needed any added heat, Tony Stewart doused the flames with a gallon of verbal gasoline.

Stewart let the world know that he was aiming for points leader Carl Edwards, whose lead shrunk to eight points. Stewart’s third Chase of 2011 moved him to second, cutting the lead to single digits, and inching closer to a possible third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

The Victory Lane quote heard ‘round the world: "Carl Edwards had better be real worried. That's all I've got to say. He's not going to sleep for the next three weeks."

Three races remain until the champion is crowned, with a bout at Texas Motor Speedway up next – Sunday, the AAA Texas 500.

Three races also remain in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, which comes off two consecutive open weeks. In Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hopes to hold off charging Elliott Sadler.

Two races remain in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and a stout effort by Austin Dillon at Martinsville last Saturday has put him ever closer to his first championship. He’ll look to increase an 11-point lead over James Buescher in Friday’s WinStar World Casino 350K at Texas.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES


That’s Odd: Smoke vs. Edwards

Stewart laid down the challenge to Edwards, is he afraid?

With a come-from-behind victory at Martinsville Speedway, Tony Stewart cut the deficit between he and points leader Carl Edwards to eight points.

This budding feud has some juice behind it. Consider these two marquee drivers “The Odd Couple Of NASCAR.” Tony’s Burger King. Carl’s Subway. Tony’s outspoken, with little worry about being politically correct. Carl’s a sponsor’s dream, always quick to flash a smile. Last week at Martinsville, when asked what NASCAR personality he’d be for Halloween, Tony said anyone sponsored by a beer company, so it could match what he’s drinking. Carl’s probably in a gym as you read this.

This will get interesting.

Stewart Aims For Third Title, History
If Stewart can overcome his eight-point deficit, he would become first owner/driver since Alan Kulwicki in 1992 to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup title. Maybe more impressively, he would join Cale Yarborough, Lee Petty, Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson with three championships. Everyone on that list is either a NASCAR Hall of Famer or a NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.

Stewart won at Texas in 2006, and finished 12th there earlier this season.

Stewart has a better average finish at Texas than Edwards with a 13.2 compared to Edwards 16.5

Edwards’ Chase: Lemons Into Lemonade
Martinsville was the second consecutive race where Carl Edwards viewed a subpar finish as a victory. After a safe effort at Talladega led to an 11th-place finish, Edwards finished ninth after an adventurous Martinsville race. He breathed a sigh of relief after both.

Good news for him: He leads by eight. Better news: Two of his best tracks await: Texas and Homestead.

Edwards started second and finished third at Texas earlier this season. With a series-leading three wins, Texas joins Atlanta as Edwards most prolific track.


Cream of the Crop: Chase Drivers Successful At Texas

Hamlin swept Texas last season, 15th in the spring (Getty)

Nine of the 12 Chase drivers have wins at Texas. The three drivers without a win: Brad Keselowski (fourth in points), Kevin Harvick (third) and Kyle Busch (seventh).

Keselowski’s best finish at Texas is 14th and he finished 18th there earlier this season; Harvick’s best finish is third, and he finished 20th earlier this season; Busch’s best finish is second, and he finished 16th earlier this season.

Denny Hamlin swept both races last season, and Matt Kenseth won at Texas earlier this season.

Full Circle? Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hopes To End Drought At Scene Of First Win
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win drought stands at 126, but Texas offers a storybook opportunity for its end.

On April 2, 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway, Earnhardt nabbed his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory. He’s been strong there throughout his career, with an average finish of 14.5. He finished ninth at Texas earlier this season.

- NASCAR Media Services

Las Vegas Hilton Super Book Odds to Win AAA Texas 500

Add caption

AAA TEXAS 500
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2011

CARL EDWARDS 7
JIMMIE JOHNSON 7
KYLE BUSCH 8
JEFF GORDON 8
MATT KENSETH 7
KEVIN HARVICK 12
DENNY HAMLIN 12
KURT BUSCH 20
TONY STEWART 7
DALE EARNHARDT JR 30
GREG BIFFLE 15
KASEY KAHNE 20
CLINT BOWYER 20
RYAN NEWMAN 30
BRAD KESELOWSKI 20
JOEY LOGANO 50
MARTIN TRUEX JR 50
DAVID RAGAN 30
JUAN MONTOYA 50
MARK MARTIN 40
JEFF BURTON 60
JAMIE McMURRAY 75
BRIAN VICKERS 60
DAVID REUTIMANN 60
PAUL MENARD 60
AJ ALLMENDINGER 60
MARCOS AMBROSE 60
REGAN SMITH 200
TREVOR BAYNE 300
FIELD 500