A statistical and historical look at Phoenix International Raceway, site of the Sprint Cup Subway Fresh Fit 500 on Saturday night:
3 Consecutive wins for Jimmie Johnson at PIR. Johnson was the last driver to win four consective races at a given track when he accomplished the feat at Lowe's Motor Speedway during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
5 Drivers have posted consecutive wins at PIR: Davey Allison (1991-92), Jeff Burton (2000-01), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003-04), Kevin Harvick (spring and fall 2006) and Johnson (fall 2007, spring and fall 2008)
5.5 Jimmie Johnson's average finish at PIR in 11 starts, best among active drivers.
7 Consecutive victories by Chevrolet drivers at PIR. Kyle Busch, then driving the No. 5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, started the trend in the 2005 fall race. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have continued the streak.
15 Top-10 finishes for Jeff Gordon (20 starts) and Mark Martin (24 starts) at PIR, most among active drivers.
17.1 Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s average finish at PIR in 13 starts. It's the lowest average finish of any driver who has multiple wins at the track. Junior has three Did Not Finish results at PIR to go with his two victories, four top-five finishes and seven top 10s.
25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at PIR, which hosted one race from 1988-2004 and two per season since 2005.
15 Different pole winners at PIR, led by Ryan Newman with four. Geoffrey Bodine won the first pole in 1988.
8.8 Ryan Newman's average start, best among active drivers. Jeff Gordon is a close second with 8.9, which includes three poles.
19 Different Cup race winners at PIR, led by Jimmie Johnson's three. Alan Kulwicki won the first Cup race at the track.
12 Times the race has been won from a top-10 starting position.
2 Times a race has been won from the pole (Jeff Gordon, spring 2007 and Jimmie Johnson, fall 2008).
29 Ricky Rudd's starting spot when he won the 1995 race. It's the furthest back a race winner has started.
300 Starts for Kurt Busch after Saturday's race. Busch will be the 72nd Cup driver to reach that milestone.
2 IndyCar Series victories for Sam Hornish Jr. at PIR. He earned his first career IndyCar Series win at the track on March 18, 2001. PIR was also the site of Hornish's Sprint Cup (Nov. 11, 2007) and Nationwide (Nov. 11, 2006) series debuts.
Note: All stats courtesy of NASCAR media services, Internet and wire reports and team releases.
-- Michele Vincze
Photo: Getty Images
I think Dale Jr will collect his third win at Phoenix. That should get the media and the fans off his back!
Posted by: Phoenix Raceway Guide | April 17, 2009 at 10:36 AM