FYI WIRZ: NASCAR’s Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick Talk Phoenix

A newly configured and repaved Phoenix International Raceway track presents a huge question mark for drivers and teams as Carl Edwards totes a skinny three-point advantage over Tony Stewart with two races and 96 total points remaining for their championship runs.
The Kobalt Tools 500 in Phoenix, Ariz., will consume 312 stock car laps on a one-mile oval with 11-degree banking to a sold-out audience.
Fans not shoulder-to-shoulder in the stands can tune into ESPN at 3 p.m. Sun., Nov. 13.

Author: Dwight Drum racetake.com

The media focus may shift from Kyle Busch’s dilemma should he return to the track—with probation limitations—to the tight fight between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart for the trophy.

The other big focus is the new track.
NASCAR has borrowed a preparation tactic long used by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) where tractors drag sets of tires around the track to put down rubber on the new surface to help with racing traction.
The reason this race is fraught with unknowns is because the new surface had many changes.
According to PIR plans, the alterations were dynamic:
> Widening the front stretch from 52 to 62 feet
> Reconfiguring pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls
> Pushing the dog-leg curve between Turn Two and Turn Three out 95 feet
> Tightening the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet
> Implementing variable banking to ensure the immediate use of two racing grooves, including 10-11 degree banking between Turn One and Turn Two; 10-11 degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg; and 8-9 degree banking in Turn Four.
Going into race 35 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR season, the top five contenders for the Chase for the Sprint Cup title—including Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski—shared their thoughts:

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford)

“Phoenix is really a big unknown,” Edwards said. “I would say this first trip will be more of a crew chief/engineer race. You’re going to have to pay attention to tire wear. The setup is going to be very important. The track is very smooth and easy to drive. I don’t know that you’ll be able to go there and manhandle the car, and hustle it around there like you could at the old Phoenix. At least, not this first time.”

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Chevrolet)

“The exit of turn two is a lot more open,” Stewart said. “You definitely make the apex of the corner a lot sooner, and it leads you out off the corner—it’s a lot easier to get off of turn two than it used to be. With the dog-leg, it’s a little different. It’s somewhat like a roller-coaster with how it’s got an elevation change, going from the banking on the outside, to down on the bottom and then back to the outside. After that, the rest of the track is pretty similar to the way it was. They did a really good job in laying the pavement down. It’s really smooth.”

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Chevrolet)

“If the second groove doesn’t come in, it’s going to be a track position game and probably somewhat physical because it’s going to be hard to pass,” Harvick said. “If the second groove comes in, it’s going to be a very entertaining race because there’s going to be a lot of room to race and the track is fun to drive. I think it has the potential to be an awesome race, and it has the potential to be a disaster, but either way, we’re going there to race. As the test went on out there, the cars seemed to move up a little bit higher and they gained a little bit of speed. If the groove keeps moving up, I predict the cars will probably move up, and, hopefully, that’ll help the racing.”

Matt Kenseth (No.17 Ford)

“Phoenix is going to be very different this weekend than the track we’ve been used to running in the past,” Kenseth said. “Basically, we’ll look over our notes from the test and start from there to work on our set-ups throughout practices. The new layout of the track is very unique, so it’s going to be interesting for the fans to watch, and for us to drive. This weekend is kind of an unknown for everyone. We got to test there, but the track was so slick, and there was only one lane, but I know that they’ve been working to widen the groove out, so I’m looking forward to seeing how different it is this weekend.”

Brad Keselowski (No.2 Dodge)

“You have to applaud Phoenix for having the forethought to re-surface the track before it became a problem,” Keselwoski said. “No one can deny that the surface was aging, but it did produce some great racing. I have seen the new track and I truly believe that once it gets some age on it, it will be a fantastic place to race. Racing two-wide down the backstretch will be exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. However, it may take a couple of years for it to get to where we can do all of those cool things. I know they are taking great measures to make sure we can put on the best show possible this weekend. I’m just excited to get the Miller Lite Dodge out there and see what it’s all about.”

FYI WIRZ is the select presentation of topics by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com.

Unless otherwise noted, quotes and information were obtained from official release materials provided by NASCAR and team representatives.

Author: Dwight Drum racetake.com