Phoenix

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POINT STANDINGS | CUP SERIES
The most points you can earn in a race is 48
43 for P1, +3 for winning, +1 for leading a lap, +1 for leading the most laps

12 Ryan Newman OUT
11 Kyle Busch OUT
10 Denny Hamlin OUT
9 Kurt Busch -87
8 Jeff Gordon -81
7 Dale Earnhardt Jr. -79
6 Jimmie Johnson -55
5 Brad Keselowski -49
4 Matt Kenseth -38
3 Kevin Harvick -33
2 Tony Stewart -3
1 Carl Edwards Leader

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TRACK STATS | PHOENIX

Race #9 in the Chase, Race: 35 of 36
Track Size: 1 mile
·     Banking/1 and 2: 10 – 11 degrees
·     Banking/3 and 4: 8 – 9 degrees
·     Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees
·     Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
·     Frontstretch: 1,179 feet
·     Backstretch: 1,551 feet
Miles/laps: 312 miles, 312 laps
Last years pole sitter and winner was Carl Edwards

DRIVER STATS
1 – Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford)
·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 99.1
2011 Rundown
·         One win, 17 top fives, 24 top 10s; two poles
·         Average finish of 9.7
·         Led 23 races for 757 laps
Phoenix International Raceway Outlook:
·         One win, five top fives, nine top 10s; three poles
·         Average finish of 13.0 in 14 races
·         Average Running Position of 13.6, ninth-best
·         Driver Rating of 99.6, fourth-best
·         252 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
·         Average Green Flag Speed of 123.428 mph, second-fastest
·         2,827 Laps in the Top 15 (68.6%), eighth-most

2 – Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)
·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 93.9
2011 Rundown
·         Four wins, seven top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole
·         Average finish of 12.6
·         Led 19 races for 688 laps
Phoenix International Raceway Outlook:
·         One win, seven top fives, 10 top 10s
·         Average finish of 11.7 in 19 races
·         Average Running Position of 10.4, fourth-best
·         Driver Rating of 98.1, seventh-best
·         559 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
·         Average Green Flag Speed of 123.417 mph, fourth-fastest
·         3,122 Laps in the Top 15 (75.7%), fourth-most
·         336 Quality Passes, fourth-most

3 – Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet)
·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 92.2
2011 Rundown
·         Four wins, nine top fives, 18 top 10s
·         Average finish of 11.4
·         Led 16 races for 391 laps
Phoenix International Raceway Outlook:
·         Two wins, four top fives, eight top 10s
·         Average finish of 13.8 in 17 races
·         Average Running Position of 11.7, seventh-best
·         Driver Rating of 95.9, ninth-best
·         154 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
·         506 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
·         Average Green Flag Speed of 123.322 mph, eighth-fastest
·         2,981 Laps in the Top 15 (72.3%), sixth-most
·         281 Quality Passes, eighth-most

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Kyle Busch Removed from Driving M&M’S® Car
for Remaining 2011 Sprint Cup Series Races
Busch to Return as Mars Driver in 2012

AVONDALE, Ariz. (Nov. 10, 2011) – Today Mars, Incorporated, primary sponsor of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota Camry, removed Kyle Busch from driving the M&M’S® car for the remaining two races of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The decision was a result of the incident during last Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The car will not run with an M&M’S® paint scheme until 2012, at which time Kyle Busch will be the driver, with the expectation that no future incident takes place.

“We strongly support Mars’ decision,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “This gives us all time to work together to foster a positive change where Kyle can continue racing in a way we can all be proud of.”

Interstate Batteries, a partner of Joe Gibbs Racing since the team’s inception 20 years ago, will be featured on the No. 18 Toyota Camry driven by Busch for the final two races of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

A press conference with Joe Gibbs Racing owner Joe Gibbs and driver Kyle Busch will be held in the media center of Phoenix International Raceway on Friday at 9:30 a.m. MST to further address this situation.

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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.

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

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The Kobalt Tools 500 will showcase the second to last race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on the newly repaved and reconfigured one-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway. To prepare the new surface, PIR has implemented a month-long program to groom the track. One of the techniques that is being utilized is an advanced tire dragging machine that will focus on enhancing the upper groove of the race track by applying rubber into the surface. Track officials are pleased with the early results and are confident that the grooming will produce excellent results in advance of the race teams arrival for the Kobalt Tools 500.

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New Asphalt, New Configuration And A New Notebook for Teams At Phoenix
2011) — Among the grocery list of items needed to repave a one-mile race track located just outside of Phoenix: 23,000 tons of asphalt, 7,000 cubic yards of concrete and 600 pounds of rebar. Combine all of that, and you have cars on the race track in Arizona, and the first opportunity for a full-scale NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test on the newly repaved Phoenix International Raceway.

Testing on the repaved and reconfigured one-mile Phoenix oval kicked off Tuesday, the first of a two-day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test session. This was the first opportunity for most teams to test the new track surface following the five-driver Goodyear tire test in late August.

Continue reading “Photos: Teams Test New Pavement at Phoenix”