PIR to be renamed Jeff Gordon Raceway for Nov. 15 Chase for the #NASCAR Sprint Cup Race.
PHOENIX – Phoenix International Raceway will officially be renamed Jeff Gordon Raceway on Nov. 15, 2015 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, PIR President Bryan R. Sperber announced today. The race is the semifinal race for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and will be Gordon’s last Sprint Cup Series race at the track as a full-time competitor.
Tickets for the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 start at $25 and are available online at PhoenixRaceway.com, by phone at 866-408-RACE (7223) or at the PIR box office. The green flag for the semifinal race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will fall at 12:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. EST).
“Jeff has had an amazing career in NASCAR, both as a tremendously successful competitor and as an incredible ambassador for the sport,” Sperber said. “When we thought about how to recognize his accomplishments for the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, we knew we had to put together a celebration that was bigger than anything we’ve done in the past. It doesn’t get bigger than renaming the race track and Jeff Gordon is a person who is truly deserving of that honor.”
The renaming of the track will be a way for all PIR fans to celebrate the importance Gordon had on the track, the fans and the sport as a whole. It is the first time that a track has been renamed for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
“It’s an honor to have the track named after me, even if only for a day,” said Gordon. “What a cool gesture by Bryan Sperber, his staff and ISC. I’ve had some great moments at Phoenix International Raceway, and this will just add to the many great memories I have of racing in Phoenix.”
PIR will also release a series of five individual trading cards featuring Gordon’s image and key moments throughout his 24-year career at PIR. A limited number of each card will be randomly distributed to ticket holders both with their ticket mailing and at the gates each day during the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 race weekend. Fans will have the opportunity to trade with each other at locations on the Fan Midway throughout the weekend in order to collect the complete set.
Leading up to the race, PIR will present 24 Moments of Greatness on its social media channels highlighting some of the track’s and fans’ favorite moments with Jeff Gordon.
In addition, the event will be commemorated with an official logo displayed throughout the track, and fans will be able to purchase apparel online and on race weekend through a partnership with Fanatics, the market leader for licensed sports retail.
Gordon has four career wins at PIR, including three in NASCAR-sanctioned races. Each of his wins represented a significant moment to the track’s history. On Nov. 6, 1999, he raced to victory in the inaugural Xfinity Series race at Phoenix, before tying the legendary Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career Sprint Cup Series win on April 21, 2007. Forever etching his name into PIR history, Gordon kicked off the repaving of the track by digging the first piece of pavement following his win on Feb. 27, 2011. His 23 top-10 finishes at Phoenix is a track record, and he will tie Mark Martin for the record for most Sprint Cup Series starts at PIR in November when he makes his 34th start.
In January of 2015, Gordon announced that the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season would be his last. The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion will join the FOX broadcast team full-time in 2016 as race analyst.
JEFF GORDON’S CAREER NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES STATISTICS AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY:
CATEGORY GORDON PIR RANK RECORD HOLDER
Top-10 finishes 23 1 Jeff Gordon, 23
Races 33 2 Mark Martin, 34
Laps completed 10,137 2 Mark Martin, 10,477
Lead-lap finishes 25 2 Mark Martin, 30
Top-5 finishes 12 T-2 Jimmie Johnson, 14
Poles 3 T-2 Ryan Newman, 4
Wins 2 T-3 Kevin Harvick, 7
Average start (min. 5 races) 10.8 3 Rusty Wallace, 8.1
Average finish (min. 5 races) 10.9 T-6 Alan Kulwicki, 5.2
Laps led 442 9 Kevin Harvick, 1,202
About Phoenix International Raceway
Since 1964, Phoenix International Raceway has been the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest. As the only track in the West to have two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekends a year, PIR kicked off its 2015 NASCAR season with the CampingWorld.com 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend in March and will round out the year with the semifinal race for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, Nov. 13-15.
About Fanatics
Fanatics is the largest retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise and provides the ultimate shopping experience to sports fans. A top 50 Internet Retailer Company, Fanatics comprises the broadest online assortment by offering hundreds of thousands of officially licensed items via its Fanatics (www.fanatics.com) and FansEdge (www.fansedge.com) brands, as well as the largest selection of sports collectibles and memorabilia through Fanatics Authentic (www.fanaticsauthentic.com). A multi-channel company, Fanatics operates more than 300 online and offline stores, including the e-commerce business for all major professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, PGA), major media brands (NBC Sports, CBS Sports, FOX Sports) and more than 150 collegiate and professional team properties. The company’s in-venue and event retail portfolio includes the NBA, NHL, NASCAR, Texas Longhorns, LSU Tigers, Arizona Coyotes and New Jersey Devils, allowing fans to experience a seamless shopping experience across online, mobile and physical store locations.
