One down, 35 to go. After the pageantry, and the hype of Speedweeks and the season opening Daytona 500 the season’s second stop at the one mile Phoenix International Raceway looms.
One driver heads here looking for redemption and based on recent history he may just find it in Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500.
Kevin Harvick looked to be the driver to beat during Speedweeks; he won the Sprint Unlimited as well as his Duel qualifying race on Thursday. All signs pointed to him being the driver to beat in Sunday’s Daytona 500. It wasn’t to be however as Harvick was swept up in an accident. He now heads to Phoenix with the confidence that comes from being the series most recent winner. Harvick scored the win, the second time the series raced on the reconfigured and repaved oval, last November and looks to add another win to the three he has on his resume.
"I've been on both sides,” Harvick said. “Sometimes you go back after winning a race and you run terrible, other times you go back and run well. This year we have a new car and a lot of new things to deal with, you to have an open mind on how to approach the weekend. Obviously, running the NASCAR Nationwide Series race will help by providing a little extra track time, but Phoenix (International Raceway) was a good track for us last year. We finished first and second in the two races last season, so we're going back expecting that we'll run just as well."
Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson has had a busy week. After his win last Sunday, Johnson has been on a whirlwind media tour across the country. There will be little rest for Johnson though; he will be doing double duty this week making a rare NASCAR Nationwide Series appearance Saturday. Johnson showed during Speedweeks that he is a very legitimate title contender this season and his championship tour could continue Sunday. With the knowledge he gains in Saturday’s Nationwide race behind the wheel of a JR Motorsports Chevy, Johnson could become the first driver since 2009 to follow up a Daytona 500 victory with a win at the second stop of the season.
“Definitely a great start for the team,” Johnson said. “When we were sitting discussing things before the season started, we felt good about the 500, but we’re really excited for everything after the 500. So, very hopeful and excited that our No. 48 car will be really fast in Phoenix, Vegas, moving forward. I think it’s going to be a very strong year for us.”
At Phoenix Johnson has four wins, 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes, a pole, average finish of 6.7 and a series best Driver Rating of 115.8. He finished fourth in last spring’s race here, the second of three races run since the one-mile track was repaved and reconfigured.
“I expect each time we go back that the groove will get a little wider,” Johnson said. “That just comes with age. The more the track ages, the more character it will get. It’s a great track and the reconfiguration is good. It just takes a little while once a track is repaved for things to start to age and the grooves to come in and the racing kind of evolves. We started to see it last year and I expect more of it again this time around.”
The last driver to post victories in the both the Daytona 500 and the Phoenix race was Matt Kenseth in 2009. With his new Joe Gibbs Racing team Kenseth looked strong last week at Daytona leading the most laps, 86, before parking his Toyota due to engine failure. Kenseth could be a surprise this week; his new teammate Denny Hamlin won this race last spring and with help from the knowledge shared from that, Kenseth is looking to make a statement. That statement could come in the form of a second career win at Phoenix Sunday.
Don’t Count Out: Speaking of Denny Hamlin; he’s the defending winner of this race and was second in the fall race. He’s looking to make some noise after a quiet Daytona. Hamlin could easily steal the show Sunday.
Bottom Line: The race has been won from the pole four times: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008), Mark Martin (spring 2009) and Carl Edwards (fall 2010). The race has been won from a top-10 starting position in 17 of 33 events. Matt Kenseth won the 2002 race from the 28th-place starting position, the furthest back an active race winner has started.
Kenseth led the most laps in the Daytona 500 (86) before being sidelined by engine failure. He’ll make his first Phoenix start in a Joe Gibbs Toyota as teammate to last spring’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 winner Denny Hamlin. Kenseth’s lone Phoenix victory came in 2002.
Favorites
Kevin Harvick
Jimmie Johnson
Matt Kenseth
Denny Hamlin
NASCAR this weekend
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
The Race: Subway Fresh Fit 500
The Place: Phoenix International Raceway
The Date: Sunday, March 3
The Time: 3 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX, 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 312 miles (312 laps)
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
The Race: Dollar General 200 Fueled By AmeriGas
The Place: Phoenix International Raceway
The Date: Saturday, March 2
The ime: 4:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 4 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90
Distance: 200 miles (200 laps)
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