8 - Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 101.3
2009 Rundown
• Three wins, 13 top fives, 18 top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 13.8
• Led 19 races for 1,309 laps
Phoenix International Raceway Outlook:
• Four top fives, five top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 10.4 in eight races
• Average Running Position of 12.1, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 96.4, ninth-best
• 89 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
• 345 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 123.083 mph, seventh-fastest
• 1,884 Laps in the Top 15 (75.5%), ninth-most
208 Quality Passes, seventh-most
9 - Ryan Newman (No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 82.4
2009 Rundown
• Five top fives, 15 top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 14.3
• Led 15 races for 213 laps
Phoenix International Raceway Outlook:
• Three top fives, three top 10s; four poles
• Average finish of 22.9 in 14 races
• Average Running Position of 16.6, 15th-best
• Driver Rating of 84.1, 14th-best
• 1,795 Laps in the Top 15 (63.9%), 11th-most
• 222 Quality Passes, fifth-most
10 - Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 87.8
2009 Rundown
• Two wins, seven top fives, 14 top 10s
• Average finish of 15.2
• Led 8 races for 248 laps
Phoenix International Raceway Outlook:
• One top five, three top 10s
• Average finish of 19.5 in 10 races
• Average Running Position of 19.5, 21st-best
• Driver Rating of 73.8, 20th-best
• 325 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most
11 - Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 87.8
2009 Rundown
• Seven top fives, 13 top 10s
• Average finish of 15.3
• Led 12 races for 164 laps
Phoenix International Raceway Outlook:
• Four top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 13.0 in 10 races
• Average Running Position of 12.9, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 101.9, fourth-best
• 190 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• 328 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 123.346 mph, second-fastest
• 2,085 Laps in the Top 15 (74.2%), sixth-most
• 222 Quality Passes, fifth-most
12 - Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota)
• Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 83.5
2009 Rundown
• One win, four top fives, 13 top 10s; six poles
• Average finish of 16.6
• Led 10 races for 101 laps
Phoenix International Raceway Outlook:
• One top five, one top 10
• Average finish of 19.3 in 10 races
• Average Running Position of 18.5, 18th-best
• Driver Rating of 75.8, 18th-best
At Phoenix International Raceway:
History
• Construction was completed in January 1964. The facility consisted of a one-mile oval and a 2.5-mile road course.
• Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 1988.
• The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debuted at Phoenix on Feb. 5, 1995. Mike Skinner became the series’ first winner.
• The first spring race was held on April 23, 2005 and also the first night race, which was won by Kurt Busch.
Notebook
• There have been 26 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, one per season from 1988-2004 and two each season since.
• Geoffrey Bodine won the first pole in 1988.
• There have been 16 different pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four.
• Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon are the only drivers to win consecutive poles. Newman won three straight (2002-04), while Gordon won the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007.
• There have been 19 different race winners, led by Jimmie Johnson, with three. Mark Martin ended Johnson’s streak with his win in the spring.
• The race has been won from the pole three times: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008) and Mark Martin (spring 2009).
• The race has been won from a top-10 starting position in 13 of 26 events.
• Ricky Rudd won the 1995 race from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.
• Mark Martin has 10 top-five finishes, more than any other driver. Martin (9.0 average finish) is one of two active drivers who average a top-10 finish. Jimmie Johnson (5.4) is the other. Alan Kulwicki (5.2) leads all drivers in average finish at Phoenix.
• Five of the last six races have ended with a margin of victory under one second.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the points standings by 73 points over Mark Martin with two races remaining. The largest points deficit overcome with two races remaining was 85 by Alan Kulwicki in 1992.
NASCAR in Arizona
• There have been 31 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Arizona.
• 29 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Arizona.
• There have been no race winners from Arizona in NASCAR’s three national series.
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