PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (ONE-MILE OVAL)
LOCATION: AVONDALE, ARIZONA
EVENT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 4 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 3:30 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, MARCH 13 (FOX/MRN/SIRIUSXM)
No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne
Driver Kasey Kahne Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Age 35 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
13th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
0 laps led
Career
435 starts
17 wins
27 pole positions
86 top-five finishes
157 top-10 finishes
4,607 laps led
Track Career
23 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
5 top-five finishes
8 top-10 finishes
55 laps led
PHOENIX STATS: Coming off of a 10th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kasey Kahne heads to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend in the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS. Kahne’s one win at the desert track came in November 2011. The driver also has the highest average starting position of all active drivers at Phoenix – 11.565. Kahne looks to add a pole position this weekend at Phoenix — he has earned three of his 27 pole awards at short tracks.
PHOENIX LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR’s loop data, Kahne is a closer at Phoenix. Since 2005, Kahne ranks fifth among active drivers, having moved up 21 positions in the final 10 percent of races at the track. Kahne also ranks 11th in quality passes at the one-mile track with 406 during that span.
WIN GREAT PRIZES: On the fifth of each month, Great Clips has its “GREAT Giveaway,” which gives fans a chance to win Great Clips-related items including merchandise autographed by Kahne. Fans should stay tuned to @GREATRacing for details on how they can win.
THANKING THE FANS: Since Farmers Racing reached 150,000 likes on Facebook, Farmers Insurance is thanking the fans by giving away prizes signed by Kahne. Fans have until March 11 to enter and should visit here for their chance to win.
MEET KASEY: On Saturday, March 12, Kahne will sign autographs on behalf of Hendrick Motorsports partner Valvoline from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. local time at Kmart — 8701 W. McDowell Road in Tolleson, Arizona. Wristbands will be distributed at the location earlier in the day.
No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS / Chase Elliott
Driver Chase Elliott Hometown Dawsonville, Georgia
Age 20 Resides Dawsonville, Georgia
2016 Season
28th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
3 laps led
Career
8 starts
0 wins
1 pole position
0 top-five finishes
1 top-10 finish
3 laps led
Track Career
0 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
0 top-five finishes
0 top-10 finishes
0 laps led
NAPA AUTO PARTS ON THE NO. 24 CHEVROLET SS: NAPA AUTO PARTS will be the primary partner on board Rookie of the Year contender Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway and will be the primary sponsor on the car for 20 additional Sprint Cup Series races this year.
PHOENIX TRACK STATS: Elliott already has several starts under his belt at the Avondale, Arizona, track. In 2011 and 2012 he raced in three NASCAR West Series races, earning two top-five finishes and improving his average starting position by 1.3 positions among the three events. Elliott’s next start at the desert track was in November 2013, competing in the NASCAR Truck Series. Elliott improved his starting position by six spots, earning a top-10 finish in only his ninth Truck Series start. As Elliott progressed into the NASCAR XFINITY Series, he competed at the one-mile oval four times throughout 2014 and 2015, finishing higher than or tying his qualifying position each race en route to four top-10 finishes.
GOING HOME: No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevy jackman John Gianninoto will compete this weekend in front of friends and family at his home track of Phoenix International Raceway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Gianninoto grew up in Tucson, Arizona, graduating with honors from Catalina Foothills High School. He went on to play as an offensive lineman for UNLV, signing in 2006, earning his first letter in 2007 and becoming a captain of the team in 2010. Gianninoto participated in the NFL’s Carolina Panthers’ training camp in 2012 before signing with Hendrick Motorsports in September 2012.
NAPA TEAMMATES – ELLIOTT AND CAPPS: This weekend at Phoenix, the NAPA AUTO PARTS stable of drivers will be out in full force. Sprint Cup driver Elliott will host his NAPA teammate and NHRA Funny Car driver Ron Capps at the one-mile oval. Capps will be introduced at the drivers’ meeting on Sunday among other unique experiences. For more information, please contact Caitlin Barry.
DOUBLE DUTY: In addition to racing the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports in 2016, the 20-year-old rookie is running a limited schedule in the NXS, piloting the No. 88 for JR Motorsports. His third NXS race of the season will be Saturday, March 12, at Phoenix International Raceway.
No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 40 Resides Charlotte, North Carolina
2016 Season
2nd in standings
3 starts
1 win
0 pole positions
2 top-five finishes
2 top-10 finishes
146 laps led
Career
510 starts
76 wins
34 pole positions
209 top-five finishes
316 top-10 finishes
17,855 laps led
Track Career
25 starts
4 wins
3 pole positions
15 top-five finishes
19 top-10 finishes
977 laps led
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS, will visit the media center at Phoenix International Raceway at 9:45 a.m. local time on Friday.
LEAVING LAS VEGAS: Following his win at Atlanta two weeks ago, Jimmie Johnson left Las Vegas with a strong third-place finish. Johnson led a race-high 76 laps and is now second in the standings, just six points behind the leader.
LOWE’S PROSERVICES PAINT SCHEME: Johnson will race the No. 48 Lowe’s ProServices Chevrolet SS in this weekend’s race at Phoenix. Lowe’s Commercial Services is designed to help customers save time and money and make their businesses run smoother. Stores across the country have a dedicated ProServices team ready to help by offering 5 percent off everyday purchases with a Lowe’s Business Credit Account, quick-turn, customizable quotes on volume purchases, providing an order-ahead option and pulling materials for pick up, giving reduced delivery rates and offering bulk discounts on supplies used the most.
WEST COAST SWAP: Team Lowe’s Racing transporter drivers Chris Burton and Lance Scott have an extended stay on the West Coast over the next few weeks. Instead of driving back to Hendrick Motorsports in Concord, North Carolina, as they would normally do after a race weekend, additional trucks are driven west to meet them at the respective racetracks to swap out cars prepared for each particular track.
LAP LEADER: Johnson has led the most laps of all drivers so far this season, leading in all three events for a total of 146 laps, or 18.3 percent of all laps run.
JIMMIE JOHNSON WELLNESS CHALLENGE RETURNS: Registration is open for the 2016 Jimmie Johnson Foundation Wellness Challenge. Register now for early-bird pricing and register for all three events to receive a reduced rate. The first event is May 22, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation 5K in Huntersville, North Carolina. Log on to www.jjfwellnesschallenge.org for more details.
No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hometown Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age 41 Resides Mooresville, North Carolina
2016 Season
12th in standings
3 starts
0 wins
0 pole positions
1 top-five finish
2 top-10 finishes
15 laps led
Career
580 starts
26 wins
13 pole positions
144 top-five finishes
248 top-10 finishes
8,149 laps led
Track Career
27 starts
3 wins
0 pole positions
8 top-five finishes
13 top-10 finishes
535 laps led
RECENT WINNER: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Phoenix last November after a rain-shortened event. The wet weather didn’t put a damper on Earnhardt, who led 22 laps en route to his 26th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and his third at PIR. The 41-year-old driver earned his first two Phoenix wins back to back, going to Victory Lane in November 2003 and November 2004 when the one-mile tri-oval hosted one Cup event per season. By virtue of his three wins, Earnhardt ranks third on the all-time wins list at Phoenix.
AXALTA ‘SOLAR FLARE’ SCHEME: Axalta Coating Systems will make its debut as primary sponsor of Earnhardt and the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 team this weekend at Phoenix, marking the first time the new red, orange and yellow “Solar Flare” paint scheme will be featured on the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS. Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings, is continuing its longstanding, 24-year partnership with Hendrick Motorsports after a contract extension that expanded its presence and takes one of the longest sponsorships in NASCAR through 2018.
CALL IT A COMEBACK: Earnhardt, a three-time winner at Phoenix, has experienced a resurgence lately at the short track. In his last six races at the facility, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has earned one win, four top-five finishes and five top-10s. The only one of those six events in which he finished outside of the top 10 was when the series visited the short track in March 2015 and a blown right-rear tire ended his day on Lap 180. Earnhardt is ranked 13th among all active competitors with a driver rating of 87.4 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.
AXALTA’S RACE TO PHOENIX CONTEST: In addition to debuting on the No. 88 Chevrolet SS, Axalta will sponsor the NASCAR XFINITY Series Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. To get fans revved up for race weekend, Axalta has created a social media “Race to Phoenix” contest where fans complete daily “go-do’s” for a chance to win prizes. Follow Axalta Racing on Facebook to participate.
Hendrick Motorsports
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT PHOENIX: Hendrick Motorsports has earned 10 wins, 10 pole positions, 44 top-five finishes and 74 top-10s at Phoenix International Raceway. Those 10 wins are spread among six drivers, with Johnson accounting for four. Earnhardt recorded the organization’s most recent Phoenix victory in November 2015.
DOUBLE DIGITS: With Earnhardt’s win in November, Phoenix became the 11th racetrack where Hendrick Motorsports has earned 10 or more Sprint Cup victories. A 10th Auto Club Speedway win next week would add a 12th track to the list. On April 3, the Sprint Cup circuit visits Martinsville Speedway, where Hendrick Motorsports has a team record 23 wins.
ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 241 victories, 207 pole positions, 983 top-five finishes and 1,643 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 65,181 laps since 1984.
QUOTABLE /
“Phoenix is tough. This new package will definitely be different, but I enjoy racing at Phoenix. It’s a cool area and I enjoy the track. To me, you go into Turn 1 and it’s a really sharp turn-in, so that’s different than the rest of the racetrack. The rest of the track is kind of open — your entry to (Turn) 3 is open, your exit of (Turn) 4 is really open — but in Turn 1 it shuts down and you have to get right to the bottom most of the time. So to be able to do that and have good grip everywhere else and enough rear grip and things like that probably is the toughest spot, just making both corners the same since they’re so different.”
Kasey Kahne on racing at Phoenix
“I’ve been fortunate to have some good cars at Phoenix. I thought we had two good cars out there last year. I don’t look at Phoenix as being a place I’ve figured out though. I think I have a lot of room for improvement there. On the Cup side the challenges are going to be much greater. I’m just trying to watch tape and learn as much as I can from the guys who really have the place figured out. I’m looking forward to getting on track.”
Chase Elliott on racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Phoenix
“I appreciate NAPA giving me the opportunity to be a part of the company and to drive their car on the weekends. Their support level is so high and the way NAPA does things, the way they commit – they’re all in. I learned that very quickly in 2014. They’re committed to both Ron (Capps) and I, and having them here for us, that says a lot about a sponsor.”
Elliott on NAPA AUTO PARTS
“Qualifying isn’t my strong suit, but last time out in Phoenix we were able to win the pole. Since Phoenix was repaved it’s been a tough track for the Lowe’s Racing team. We havent won since 2009. I think it has something to do with the asphalt and tire combination. This asphalt is really fast, it’s not abrasive yet and the tires last forever. I have always struggled on hard tires on repaved tracks, but in November we were pretty fast — but the weather got in our way. Old, worn-out tracks, soft tires that wear out, that just fits my style since I’ve ever been in a race car. Phoenix is slowly evolving.”
Jimmie Johnson on racing at Phoenix
“We struggled a little bit last weekend at Vegas, but we’re right there. We’re not too far off, so we’ll get it a little bit better and keep working on it. We’ll go on to Phoenix and see how we do there. Should be a lot of fun. Hopefully we can go back and try to get another win. It was a rain-shortened win last time, but my guys and I were very proud of it because of how the car ran all weekend, which put us in position. If we can unload that fast this weekend, we’ll be in good shape. The racetrack has a great history — the place has been around for so long and the area has always supported it, so we should get a good crowd and I’m looking forward to it. ”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Phoenix
