FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: PHOENIX NOTES
NASCAR’s Western Swing continues this weekend at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, AZ, with Ford driver Kevin Harvick sporting a two-race winning streak after victories in Atlanta and Las Vegas. He’ll look to extend that at a facility in which he’s won eight times in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, including 6 of the last 11.
FORD PERFORMANCE LEADING THE WAY
With two wins in the first three races and 15 out of a possible 30 Top 10 finishes, Ford Performance is leading the way on the track and in the standings. Ford goes into this weekend holding down the top three spots in the driver standings with Kevin Harvick leading the way followed by Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. Overall, Ford has five drivers in the Top 10, including Brad Keselowski (7th) and Paul Menard (9th). In addition, Ford is on top of the manufacturer standings by 11 points.
HARVICK GOING FOR THREE IN A ROW
Kevin Harvick has won back-to-back races four times in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, but he has never won three straight. He’ll have that opportunity on Sunday at ISM Raceway after dominating at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway the last two weeks. Harvick, who has led 395-of-592 laps in those two races combined, could be the first driver to achieve three straight victories since Ford’s Joey Logano swept the Round of 12 Playoff segment in 2015 (Charlotte, Kansas, Talladega).
DID YOU KNOW?
The last three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins for Ford dating back to last season have been by Harvick. He now has four wins with the Blue Oval, which ties him with some prominent names on the all-time manufacturer list, including Hall of Famers Glen Wood, Benny Parsons, Parnelli Jones and Neil Bonnett. In addition, Harvick now has 100 victories in NASCAR’s top three divisions combined.
FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT ISM
· Ford has 15 series wins at ISM Raceway with the last being in 2016 by Joey Logano.
· Alan Kulwicki won the first series race at ISM Raceway in 1988.
· Davey Allison, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards lead Ford with two wins each at ISM Raceway.
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT ISM
· Ford leads all manufacturers with 12 series wins at ISM Raceway.
· Jack Roush is tied for the most owner wins in the series with eight.
· Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski are the only current Ford drivers with series wins at ISM.
KULWICKI WINS FIRST CUP RACE IN ISM OPENER
Alan Kulwicki, driving the No. 7 Zerex Ford, won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race in the debut event at ISM Raceway on Nov. 6, 1988. Kulwicki, who celebrated by taking a Polish Victory Lap for which he is still remembered for today, passed leader Ricky Rudd with 16 laps to go and ended up taking the checkered flag in his 85th start by 18 seconds over runner-up Terry Labonte. Fellow Ford drivers Davey Allison and Bill Elliott finished third and fourth, respectively. Kulwicki, who ended up leading four times for 41 laps in taking the next-to-last event of the season, went on to win four more Cup races during his career.
BUSCH WINS DEBUT NIGHT RACE
Kurt Busch made ISM Raceway history when he drove his No. 97 Irwin/Sharpie Ford Taurus to victory in the first MENCS night race held at the track on Apr. 23, 2005. Busch dominated from the start as he led 132 of the first 133 laps, and while others like Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip led multiple laps at different stages of the event, it was Busch who proved to be too strong down the stretch. He passed Waltrip with 44 laps to go and was never threatened again as he won by 2.315 seconds. Busch led 219 of the 312 laps as ISM hosted the first of two annual Cup dates each season for the first time.
WALLACE RAINS IN 1998
Rusty Wallace had only three more chances to keep his streak of winning at least one race a season alive when he rolled into ISM Raceway in 1998. He had gone to victory lane in each of the previous 12 seasons and didn’t want to see it come to an end, so that’s why what he did on Oct. 25 was so impressive. Wallace, who started sixth, made a beeline to the front and pretty much stayed there all afternoon until rain came and halted the race after 257 laps. The event was eventually called, marking the first rain-shortened race in the track’s NASCAR history, but there was no doubt Wallace deserved the win. He led 196 of the 257 laps, including the final 73. Wallace’s streak eventually reached 16 seasons before it was snapped in 2002.
EDWARDS ENDS DROUGHT
When Ford went to victory lane at ISM in the second race of 2013, it snapped a 70-race winless drought for Carl Edwards, whose previous victory came in Las Vegas in 2011. Edwards led 122 of 312 laps, including the final 78, to win the, but there were anxious moments, particularly at the end when a green-white-checker finish had most of the leaders wondering if they had enough gas in the tank to reach the end. Edwards did and managed to beat Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the finish line.
LOGANO QUALIFIES FOR CHAMPIONSHIP FINALE
Joey Logano needed a victory at ISM last fall in order to assure he would be one of the four drivers eligible for the series championship, and he got it in dramatic fashion as he beat Kyle Busch on a green-white-checker finish. The dramatic restart came about after an incident involving Alex Bowman, Busch and Matt Kenseth on the first overtime attempt. Kenseth was the leader, but he got collected in an accident when Bowman tried to block Busch from passing on the inside lane going into turn one. The resulting yellow enabled Logano to take advantage and win for the third time in 2016.
FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT ISM RACEWAY
1988 – Alan Kulwicki
1989 – Bill Elliott
1991 – Davey Allison
1992 – Davey Allison
1993 – Mark Martin
1995 – Ricky Rudd
1997 – Dale Jarrett
1998 – Rusty Wallace
2000 – Jeff Burton
2001 – Jeff Burton
2002 – Matt Kenseth
2005 – Kurt Busch (1)
2010 – Carl Edwards (2)
2013 – Carl Edwards (1)
2016 – Joey Logano (2)
