NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
* This week Subway Fresh Fit 500 will be held at the one-mile oval Phoenix international Raceway, the raceway was carved out of the foothills of the Estrella Mountains. It was intended to be a new jewel in the crown of American open-wheel racing
[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”275″]
[/media-credit]But it wasn’t until 1988, when NASCAR’s Cup Series racing came to PIR, that auto racing in Phoenix really became a major sporting attraction for the Valley of the Sun. New racing legends and legends-in-the-making like Davey Allison, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and the rest of the Cup stars found out firsthand what their Champ Car brethren had known for years: Phoenix International Raceway is truly a great place to race, both for the drivers and especially the fans.
This weeks Schedule:
Practice
– 2:30 p.m. ET Fri. on Speed
Practice
– 6 p.m. ET Fri. on Speed
Qualifying
– 3:30 p.m. ET Sat. on Speed
Race
– 3 p.m ET Sun on Fox and Sirius XM 128 and MRN
* Trevor Bayne made history Sunday winning the Daytona 500:
– He became the youngest Daytona 500 winner in history, by a ways (Jeff Gordon previously held that crown, winning the 500 in 1997 at the age of 25.)
– He became one of the seven drivers whose first series points-race win was the Daytona 500.
– He became the second-youngest winner in series history.
* New Qualifying Rules Begin This Weekend
Starting this weekend in Phoenix, if bad weather cancels qualifying, the final starting lineup will be determined by practice speeds. The same rule book procedures will be used to determine eligibility to start a race. If weather cancels practice sessions, then the starting lineup will be set by points, per the rulebook. Also, the qualifying order will be set based upon slowest to fastest practice speeds.
*Last Race On Old Surface
This weekend’s race will be the last on a surface that has hosted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since the inaugural race there in 1988. After Sunday’s event, workers will lay down new asphalt, and the blueprint calls for a few design wrinkles that will promote side-by-side racing.
Some of the principles:
– Widen the front stretch from 52 to 62 feet
– Reconfigure pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls
– Push the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet
– Tighten the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet
– Implement 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.
* Second’s In First
Because Trevor Bayne elected to earn championship points in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Daytona 500 runner-up Carl Edwards is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader.
Here is the rest of the top 15 Drivers after week 1 0f 36
Position Driver Points
1 Carl Edwards 42
2 David Gilliland 41
3 Bobby Labonte 41
4 Kurt Busch 40
5 Juan Montoya 39
6 Regan Smith 38
7 Kyle Busch 37
8 Paul Menard 36
9 Mark Martin 34
10 Aj Allmendinger 34
11 Bill Elliott 32
12 Tony Stewart 31
13 David Regan 31
14 Terry Labonte 30
15 Robby Gordon 29
• Other notables but outside of the top 15:
22. Dale Earnhardt Jr
25. Jimmie Johnson
26. Jeff Gordon
33. Jeff Burton
37. Kevin Harvick
