Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo: Monte Dutton)
Affiliated with the reigning champion: Kobalt Tools 500k (312 laps/miles).
Complete with a rugged desert backdrop:Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.
Advantage Hamlin:A Texas victory lifted Denny Hamlin to the top spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings, 33 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and 59 in front of Kevin Harvick.
Fleeting, perhaps:Johnson has won more races (4) at PIR than any other driver, including this one last year.
The interesting, the coincidental and the pertinent:
- Joey Logano has put together a string of four consecutive top-10 finishes and two straight top fives.
- Jeff Burton has been running at the finish in 22 consecutive races at this track.
- Two races a season have been run here since 2005. PIR hosted one annual race beginning in 1988. The first winner was the late Alan Kulwicki, whose first Cup victory was at this track.
- Phoenix has spelled trouble for Kasey Kahne. In 12 races, his average finish is 20.75.
Informative, humorous or quotable in some other sense:
“I’m going to race Phoenix like I’m 33 (points) behind.” – Denny Hamlin
“The cool thing about our sport is we're able to stick a microphone in front of a driver as soon as something happens. The worst thing about our sport is we're able to stick a microphone in front of a driver as soon as something happens.” – Jeff Burton
“It’s a track where the driver makes a big difference.” – Carl Edwards
“The three guys up there (Hamlin, Johnson, Harvick) are all quite different, their teams are different, their driving styles and approach, I think, are different, so, in my opinion, the Chase for the championship is pretty interesting this year to see which one of those three guys is going to be on top when it’s all over next week.” – Matt Kenseth
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