PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (ONE-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: AVONDALE, ARIZONA
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 35 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 2:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, NOV. 15 (NBC/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 35 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
18th in standings
34 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
3 top-five finishes
10 top-10 finishes
66 laps led
Career
430 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
86 top-five finishes
156 top-10 finishes
4,607 laps led
Track Career
22 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
55 laps led
FARMERS INSURANCE ON THE NO. 5 CHEVROLET SS: Farmers Insurance will adorn the hood of Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway for the 12th and final time this season. Farmers Insurance will be back as a majority partner with the No. 5 team in 2016 with 12 primary races.
VICTORY AT PHOENIX: Kahne raced his way to victory at Phoenix on Nov. 13, 2011, after starting from the 10th position and leading 14 laps.
KAHNE IS A CLOSER: According to NASCAR loop data, in the last 10 years at Phoenix International Raceway, Kahne ranks sixth in closers (0.9 percent positions, 18 positions moved up). During the race at Phoenix earlier this year, Kahne qualified ninth and raced his way into fourth by the time the checkered flag fell.
DRIVING IN THE DESERT: In the past 10 races at Phoenix International Raceway, Kahne owns the third-most top-five finishes alongside Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin, who each have four. Kahne also has the fourth-most top-10 finishes at the one-mile oval during that stretch, tied with drivers Kyle Busch and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. with five top-10 finishes apiece.
KAHNE IS KARTING FOR A CAUSE: Kahne and The Kasey Kahne Foundation partnered with Omaze to offer one lucky fan a once-in-a-lifetime experience benefitting The Kasey Kahne Foundation’s mission to support chronically ill children and their families. Fans bid on the opportunity to race head-to-head in a go-kart race with Kahne from Sept. 12 through Oct. 17. This Thursday, the winner will to be flown out to Phoenix for a race of epic proportions as they will compete against Kahne at a local Arizona karting track while also getting VIP access to this weekend’s Phoenix International Raceway event.
No. 24 Pepsi Chevrolet SS / Jeff Gordon
Driver Jeff Gordon Hometown Pittsboro, Indiana
Age 44 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
1st in standings
34 starts
1 win
4 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
19 top-10 finishes
252 laps led
Career
795 starts
93 wins
81 pole positions
325 top-five finishes
473 top-10 finishes
24,916 laps led
Track Career
33 starts
2 wins
3 pole positions
12 top-five finishes
23 top-10 finishes
442 laps led
Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Pepsi Chevrolet SS, is scheduled to visit the Phoenix International Raceway media center at 2:30 p.m. local time Friday.
GORDON IN CHAMPIONSHIP 4: On Nov. 1, Jeff Gordon led the final 22 laps at Martinsville Speedway en route to his ninth win at the Virginia short track. Gordon’s first win of 2015 – and 93rd career victory – means he will be one of four drivers battling for the championship in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22. No other driver has yet to secure a spot with one race remaining in the Eliminator Round.
TYING ‘THE INTIMIDATOR’: Gordon’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at Phoenix International Raceway occurred on April 21, 2007, and was his 76th career win in NASCAR’s premier division. That win tied him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Sr. for sixth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. A week later, Gordon would move into sole possession of sixth with his win at Talladega Superspeedway.
GORDON TEARS UP DESERT TRACK: The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s second win at the one-mile Arizona track occurred on Feb. 22, 2011, in only his second start partnered with crew chief Alan Gustafson. After the event, Gordon ceremoniously dug up the start/finish line in advance of a track repave/reconfiguration project.
PEPSI SALUTES GORDON: During Gordon’s final full-time season, Pepsi released this video, entitled “Final Lap,” to honor the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and their partnership of nearly 20 years.
No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 40 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2015 Season
12th in standings
34 starts
5 wins
0 pole positions
13 top-five finishes
20 top-10 finishes
514 laps led
Career
505 starts
75 wins
33 pole positions
206 top-five finishes
312 top-10 finishes
17,665 laps led
Track Career
24 starts
4 wins
2 pole positions
14 top-five finishes
18 top-10 finishes
933 laps led
LOWE’S HONORS VETERANS: Jimmie Johnson will pilot the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS this weekend. The last time Johnson raced the scheme was the July Daytona event where he finished second. The red, white and blue-themed Chevy SS will race this weekend in honor of the Veterans Day holiday. Lowe’s has a long history of supporting the military. Lowe’s Home Improvement was founded just after World War II by military veteran Carl Buchan, whose leadership helped it grow from a small hardware store in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, into the Fortune 50 company it is today. Currently, more than 14,000 veterans work at Lowe’s. Additionally, Lowe’s is honored to thank all the men and women who have served our nation in the military with a 10 percent discount this Veterans Day weekend.
TEXAS IN THE REAR VIEW: With his victory Sunday, the No. 48 Chevrolet SS driver has won five of the last seven races at Texas Motor Speedway, including the last three. Johnson’s six total wins at Texas are the most in track history.
50TH CHEVROLET SS WIN: Johnson’s win at Texas was the 50th victory for the Chevy SS model race car. The debut of the Chevy SS was the 2013 Daytona 500, in which Johnson delivered its first victory. The win at Texas was the quickest any Chevrolet nameplate has earned 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories.
ONE AWAY FROM THE TIE: The win at Texas Motor Speedway put Johnson within one race of tying Earnhardt Sr.’s 76 career wins. Johnson’s 75 are currently eighth all-time. One more win would tie him with Earnhardt Sr. for seventh, behind Cale Yarborough’s 83 wins in sixth place. The all-time wins leader is Richard Petty with 200.
PHOENIX DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Johnson has the series-best driver rating at Phoenix with a score of 112.8 during the past 10 years at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE: Earl Barban, the colorful spotter for Johnson and a native of St. Louis, was a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1983-1988 before his career in racing.
No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 41 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2015 Season
9th in standings
34 starts
2 wins
0 pole positions
15 top-five finishes
21 top-10 finishes
265 laps led
Career
575 starts
25 wins
13 pole positions
142 top-five finishes
245 top-10 finishes
8,112 laps led
Track Career
26 starts
2 wins
0 pole positions
7 top-five finishes
12 top-10 finishes
513 laps led
STANDINGS UPDATE: With his sixth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, Earnhardt Jr. picked up two spots to ninth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. While he’s no longer in championship contention after getting knocked out of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Talladega Superspeedway, Earnhardt could still finish as high as fifth in the final standings.
NATIONWIDE INSURANCE: Nationwide will return to the No. 88 for the final two races of the season, so fans will see Earnhardt back in the familiar blue-and-white Nationwide Chevrolet SS at both Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.
PHOENIX RESURGENCE: Earnhardt, a two-time winner at Phoenix, has experienced a resurgence lately at the one-mile tri-oval. In his last five races at the facility, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has earned three top-five finishes and four top-10s. The only one of those five events in which he finished outside of the top 10 was when the series visited the short track earlier this year and a blown right-rear tire ended his day on lap 180.
TWO-TIME WINNER: Earnhardt earned his two wins at Phoenix back-to-back, going to Victory Lane in November 2003 and November 2004 when Phoenix hosted one Cup event per season. Among drivers all-time, Earnhardt’s two wins are tied for third at Phoenix.
DRIVER RATING: Earnhardt is rated 15th among all active drivers with a score of 85.6 during the past 10 years at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
PHOENIX LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt ranks third among active drivers at Phoenix during the last 10 years in the green-flag passes category with 895. The driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevy is scored 10th in laps led with 203 and 11th in the number of fastest laps run with 202.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT PHOENIX: Hendrick Motorsports drivers have earned nine wins, nine pole positions, 42 top-five finishes and 71 top-10s at Phoenix International Raceway. Those nine wins are spread among five drivers, with Johnson accounting for four. Gordon recorded the organization’s most recent Phoenix victory in February 2011, prior to the repave of the one-mile oval. The organization took home two second-place finishes in the 2014 events at the track thanks to Earnhardt and Gordon, respectively.
DOUBLE DIGITS: A Hendrick Motorsports win this weekend would mark its 10th at Phoenix. Currently, the organization has double-digit victory totals at 10 active Sprint Cup Series tracks: Martinsville (23), Charlotte (18), Dover (18), Pocono (17), Darlington (14), Daytona (14), Atlanta (13), Talladega (12), Bristol (10) and Richmond (10). Hendrick Motorsports has nine wins at four different tracks: Fontana, Indianapolis, New Hampshire and Phoenix.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 239 victories, 205 pole positions, 978 top-five finishes and 1,632 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 64,938 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
“I think the track is really similar at Phoenix both early in the year and late in the year. I don’t think it changes a whole lot, which is unusual because most of our other racetracks do. One thing that’s great about racing in Phoenix is the fans. Every time we go there they have the place filled up with people – it’s fun, it’s exciting and it’s entertaining. I like that side of it. I go jogging and running around different areas out there. It’s just a great part of the country. It’s fun to be out there racing.”
Kasey Kahne on Phoenix International Raceway
“I just remember thinking: ‘Yes, yes yes! I knew we could do it.’ Then when I saw all of the guys jumping over the wall – that’s what it’s all about.”
Kahne on what he remembers from winning at Phoenix in 2011
“We tested at Phoenix and I thought it went well. Martin Truex Jr. was extremely fast at the test. (Kevin) Harvick wasn’t there, but I think we all expect him to be fast this weekend.
“I’m glad we’re not in a ‘must-win’ situation. We’re going to battle hard, though, and hopefully carry some momentum into Miami.”
Jeff Gordon on expectations for Phoenix
“Phoenix is going to be an exciting race that is for sure. You have cars that have to win to make it to the championship round, guys who just want to go out and win a race this year, I can just see a killer race playing out.”
Jimmie Johnson on racing at Phoenix
“I’m just so happy to be where we are at right now. I’m so honored and have been so fortunate with great cars, a great sponsor, great teammates and look forward to that day we can tie such an incredible talent. There are really no words to describe how that will feel if it happens. I never could have dreamed this up.”
Johnson on being one race away from tying Dale Earnhardt Sr.
“The shape of the track is unlike anything else. You go to a lot of tracks and you feel like you see some of the same things at a lot of different racetracks, especially the mile-and-a-half tracks – they’re all kind of very similar. But nothing’s like Phoenix. Nothing has the dogleg on the back straightaway and the banking and all that stuff with variable banking. The turns are all so different from each other, so it’s a fun challenge for the crew chiefs and the teams to try to set a car up to get around all those different corners and different styles of banking. And the track was recently paved, so it’s a real challenge to pass, which can be fun, but as the track’s aged over the last couple years it’s gotten more enjoyable and more fun to sort of set up how you drive the corners, but it’s a challenge. You can’t wear the tires out or abuse them or you’ll lose one like we did in the spring when our car was super loose. You have to get your car handling better.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Phoenix
