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A stats-based look ahead to the fourth race of the 2015 Sprint Cup season

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona going into the CampingWorld.com 500 on March 15.

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Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ortho Ford)

·         Five top fives, eight top 10s

·         Average finish of 13.8

·         Driver Rating of 90.1, 10th-best

·         288 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

·         873 Green Flag Passes, third-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.818 mph, 12th-fastest

·         3,508 Laps in the Top 15 (55.5%), 11th-most

·         432 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 10th-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 Stanley Toyota)

·         Two wins, seven top fives, 12 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 12.2

·         Average Running Position of 12.7, eighth-best

·         Driver Rating of 99.2, fourth-best

·         368 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 126.048 mph, sixth-fastest

·         4,325 Laps in the Top 15 (68.5%), seventh-most

·         462 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)

·         Two wins, 12 top fives, 22 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 11.0

·         Average Running Position of 10.1, third-best

·         Driver Rating of 100.5, third-best

·         250 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most

·         786 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 126.021 mph, seventh-fastest

·         5,173 Laps in the Top 15 (81.9%), second-most

·         476 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota)

·         One win, nine top fives, 10 top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 11.0

·         Average Running Position of 12.0, seventh-best

·         Driver Rating of 96.6, sixth-best

·         241 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.959 mph, ninth-fastest

·         4,261 Laps in the Top 15 (70.9%), eighth-most

·         419 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet)

·         Six wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s

·         Average finish of 11.4

·         Average Running Position of 9.8, second-best

·         Driver Rating of 106.2, second-best

·         523 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 126.232 mph, third-fastest

·         4,958 Laps in the Top 15 (78.5%), fourth-most

·         452 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)

·         Four wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 7.7

·         Series-best Average Running Position of 7.4

·         Series-best Driver Rating of 114.0

·         Series-high 609 Fastest Laps Run

·         796 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most

·         Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 126.428 mph

·         Series-high 5,403 Laps in the Top 15 (85.5%)

·         541 Quality Passes, third-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Dollar General Toyota)

·         One win, six top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 16.6

·         Driver Rating of 87.9, 12th-best

·         178 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most

·         857 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 125.837 mph, 11th-fastest

·         3,924 Laps in the Top 15 (62.1%), 10th-most

·         471 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford)

·         Four top fives, five top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 14.6

·         Average Running Position of 14.0, 10th-best

·         Driver Rating of 91.5, ninth-best

·         169 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 126.089 mph, fourth-fastest

Ryan Newman (No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet)

·         One win, eight top fives, 10 top 10s; four poles

·         Average finish of 17.9

·         Average Running Position of 15.0, 12th-best

·         Driver Rating of 87.9, 11th-best

·         870 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most

·         4,258 Laps in the Top 15 (67.4%), ninth-most

·         569 Quality Passes, second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

·         One win, eight top fives, 12 top 10s

·         Average finish of 12.4

·         Average Running Position of 11.1, fifth-best

·         Driver Rating of 96.4, eighth-best

·         220 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most

·         818 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 126.052 mph, fifth-fastest

·         4,359 Laps in the Top 15 (72.6%), sixth-most

·         465 Quality Passes, sixth-most

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at Phoenix International Raceway

Rank

Driver

Races

Poles

Wins

Top Fives

Top 10s

DNFs

Average Finish

Driver Rating

  
 

1

Kevin Harvick

24

0

6

9

13

0

11.4

106.2

  

2

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

25

0

2

7

12

3

16.1

86.5

  

3

Joey Logano

12

0

0

2

6

2

15.1

85.5

  

4

Martin Truex Jr.

18

1

0

1

6

2

17.7

83.7

  

5

AJ Allmendinger

11

1

0

0

2

0

16.6

80.4

  

6

Kasey Kahne

21

0

1

4

7

1

18.0

79.6

  

7

Jimmie Johnson

23

2

4

14

18

1

7.7

114.0

  

8

Denny Hamlin

19

2

1

9

10

0

11.0

96.6

  

9

Casey Mears

21

0

0

0

0

4

26.0

61.7

  

10

Matt Kenseth

25

1

1

6

10

3

16.6

87.9

  

11

Greg Biffle

22

0

0

5

8

1

13.8

90.1

  

12

Ryan Newman

25

4

1

8

10

4

17.9

87.9

  

13

Paul Menard

16

0

0

0

2

0

22.0

66.2

  

14

Clint Bowyer

19

0

0

2

6

3

18.1

80.2

  

15

Aric Almirola

8

0

0

0

0

0

18.5

73.7

  

16

Brad Keselowski

11

1

0

4

5

1

14.6

91.5

  

* – Based on last 20 races at Phoenix International Raceway (2005 – 2014).

Phoenix International Raceway Data

Season Race #: 4 of 36 (03-15-15)

Track Size: 1-mile

Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 10-11 degrees

Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 8-9 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 8-9 degrees

Frontstretch Length:  1,179 feet

Backstretch Length:  1,551 feet

Race Length: 312 laps / 500 Kilometers

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Phoenix

Jimmie Johnson…………………… 114.0

Kevin Harvick………………………. 106.2

Jeff Gordon………………………… 100.5

Carl Edwards………………………… 99.2

Denny Hamlin……………………….. 96.6

Tony Stewart…………………………. 96.4

Brad Keselowski……………………. 91.5

Greg Biffle……………………………. 90.1

Ryan Newman……………………….. 87.9

Matt Kenseth………………………… 87.9

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (20 total) among active drivers at Phoenix International Raceway.

Qualifying/Race Data

2014 pole winner:

Brad Keselowski, Ford

139.384 mph, 25.828 secs. 02-28-14

2014 race winner:

Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet

109.229 mph, (02:51:23), 03-02-14

Track qualifying record:

Denny Hamlin, Toyota

142.113 mph, 25.332 secs. 11-07-14

Track race record:

Tony Stewart, Pontiac

118.132 mph, (2:38:28), 11-07-99


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 first spring race was held on April 23, 2005 and also the first night race, which was won by Kurt Busch.

·         The track underwent its first repave in 2011. The construction began in March and concluded in September of that year.

·         The following changes were made during the construction period (March – Sept., 2011):

o    Widened the frontstretch from 52 to 62 feet

o    Reconfigured pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls

o    Pushed the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet

o    Tightened the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet

o    Implemented variable banking to ensure the immediate use of two racing grooves, including 10-11 degree banking between Turn 1 and Turn 2; 10-11 degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg; and 8-9 degree banking in Turn 4

Notebook

·     There have been 37 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, one per season from 1988-2004 and two each season since.

·         196 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix; 143 in more than one.

·         Mark Martin leads series in starts at Phoenix with 34; Jeff Gordon (second all-time) leads all active drivers with 32.

·         Geoffrey Bodine won the first pole in 1988 at a speed of 123.203 mph (29.220 sec.).

·         There have been 20 different Coors Light pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four.

    ·         Youngest Phoenix pole winner: Kyle Busch (4/22/06 – 20 years, 11 months, 20 days).

·         Oldest Phoenix pole winner: Mark Martin (03/03/13 – 54 years, 1 month, 22 days).

·         Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards are the only drivers to win consecutive poles. Newman won three straight (2002-04), Gordon won the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007. Edwards won the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011.

·         Denny Hamlin (November, 2005) and AJ Allmendinger (April, 2010) won their first career Coors Light poles at Phoenix International Raceway.

·         There have been 23 different NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners at Phoenix, eight have won more than once, led by Kevin Harvick, with six – (’06 spring race and Chase race, ’12 Chase race, ‘13 Chase race, ’14 spring race and Chase race).

·         The eight drivers have won more than once at Phoenix: Kevin Harvick leads the series in wins with six followed by Jimmie Johnson (four), Davey Allison (two), Jeff Burton (two), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Jeff Gordon (two) Carl Edwards (two) and Mark Martin (two).

·       Of the eight drivers with multiple wins at Phoenix International Raceway, Mark Martin is the only driver to win in two different manufacturers: Ford (1993) and Chevrolet (2009).

·      Five drivers have won consecutive races at Phoenix: Davey Allison (1991,1992); Jeff Burton (2000, 2001); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003, 2004); Kevin Harvick (swept 2006) and (2013 Chase race and swept 2014); Jimmie Johnson is the only one of the five to win three consecutive races (fall 2007, swept 2008).

·         Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Phoenix with nine, followed by Roush Fenway Racing with seven.

·        Four of the 37 (10.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from the Coors Light pole: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008), Mark Martin (spring 2009) and Carl Edwards (fall 2010).

·         Seven of the 37 (18.9%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from the front row: four from the pole and three from second-place.

·         18 of the 37 (48.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from a starting position inside the top 10.

·         19 of the 37 (51.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from a starting position outside the top 10.

·         3 of the 37 (8.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·         Jimmie Johnson leads the series in average finish at Phoenix with a 7.696; he is the only active driver with an average finish inside the top 10.  

·         Ricky Rudd won the 1995 race from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.

·       Matt Kenseth won the 2002 race from the 28th-place starting position, the furthest back an active race winner has started.

    ·         Three perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 have been recorded at Phoenix, Kurt Busch in April of 2005 and Kevin Harvick            in November of 2006 and November 2014.

·       Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Phoenix International Raceway winner: Kyle Busch (11/13/2005 – 20 years, 6 months, 11 days).

·      Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Phoenix International Raceway winner: Mark Martin (04/18/2009 – 50 years, 3 months, 9 days).

·        Mark Martin leads the series in runner-up finishes at Phoenix with five; followed by Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart with three each.

·        Jimmie Johnson leads the series in top-five finishes at Phoenix with 14; followed by Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon with 12 each.

·         Alan Kulwicki (11/6/1988) and Bobby Hamilton (10/27/1996) are the only two drivers to post their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career win at Phoenix International Raceway.

·         21 of the 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who have won at Phoenix participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Alan Kulwicki (11/6/1988) and Tony Stewart (11/7/1999) are the only two drivers to win at Phoenix in their first appearance.

·         Jeff Gordon competed at Phoenix International Raceway 16 times before winning (4/21/2007); the longest span of any the 23 winners.

·       Six drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Phoenix: Jeff Gordon (16), Ryan Newman (15), Kasey Kahne (14), Denny Hamlin (13), Carl Edwards (12) and Rusty Wallace (11).

·        Jamie McMurray leads the series (active drivers) with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix without visiting Victory Lane with 23.

·        Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Phoenix was the (4/10/2010) race won by Ryan Newman with a MOV of 0.13 seconds.

·      Two drivers have won at Phoenix and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the same season: Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008 sweep and 2009); Dale Earnhardt (1990).

·      Danica Patrick is the only female driver that has made a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Phoenix International Raceway.

Driver

Starting Position

Finishing Position

Date

Danica Patrick

32

22

11/9/2014

Danica Patrick

33

36

3/2/2014

Danica Patrick

32

33

11/10/2013

Danica Patrick

40

39

3/3/2013

Danica Patrick

37

17

11/11/2012

·         Car numbers that have produced three or more Phoenix wins:

Car Number – Drivers – (Years)

o    No. 48  – Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008 sweep and 2009)

o    No. 99 – Carl Edwards (2010 and 2013) and Jeff Burton (2000, 2001)  

o    No. 29 – Kevin Harvick (2006 sweep, 2012 and 2013)

o    No. 5 –  Mark Martin (2009), Kyle Busch (2005) and Terry Labonte (1994)

o    No. 4 –  Kevin Harvick (2014 sweep) and Kasey Kahne (2011)

NASCAR in Arizona

·         There have been 42 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races among three tracks in Arizona.

Track Name

City

NSCS

Phoenix International Raceway

Avondale

37

Arizona State Fairgrounds

Phoenix

4

Tucson Rodeo Grounds

Tucson

1

·         32 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Arizona.

·         None of the drivers from Arizona have won a race in NASCAR’s three national series.

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Fourth-place finish gives Earnhardt three straight top-four finishes to start ’14

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LAS VEGAS — It all looks so easy, so effortless, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. and that No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet glide around the race track, snapping up the competition and soaring toward the front of the pack.
 
Trust crew chief Greg Ives on this: It’s not so simple.

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"It’s been a lot of damn hard work," Ives said while walking through the garage following Sunday’s Kobalt 400, pausing to autograph a No. 88 hat. "We work hard. Everybody on the team does. Dale, me, the guys at the shop, the engineers, all those guys. They make it seem easy, but it’s not."
 
If that’s the case, they’re likely fooling a lot of folks.
 
Once again, the No. 88 came off the hauler fast, this time in sun-splashed Las Vegas. Once again, it kept that speed on race day. Junior finished fourth Sunday, and it’s his third consecutive top-five to start the year.
 
It’s the second consecutive year in which Earnhardt’s group has notched that achievement, but this year’s mark was set under the backdrop of change.
 
Ives is just one piece of a rebuilt No. 88 puzzle as Junior’s first-year crew chief — the over-the-wall crew has three new members, too, yet there hasn’t been a dip in either car speed or stops on pit road.
 
"I think we were first, second, second (to start the season last year), so we have to step it up a little bit," Junior said with a laugh. "No, Hendrick, overall, has great speed and the engine department is doing awesome. We’re having fun."
 
Clearly. The veteran has been at-ease this entire season, and for the second year in a row at Las Vegas was pleased with a late-race gamble.
 
Last year, it was a fuel strategy call that had Junior leading on the last lap, only to go dry on the final circuit and finish second. This year it was a two-tire call on the final round of green-flag pit stops, one that put him first when pit stops had cycled through.
 
The dominant No. 4 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick eventually caught and passed Junior, and Earnhardt wound up finishing fourth — he was second at the time of the late pit stop. Still, it was the spirit in which that decision was made and not the subsequent loss of two spots that had Earnhardt excited.
 
"We didn’t put lefts (tires) on it; made it a gamble," he said. "I like to gamble. I liked the call. I love being aggressive. We weren’t going to drive up there and pass that No. 4. So, we had to take a chance. Second, fifth, fourth, whatever; it really don’t matter if you don’t win."
 
Wins may be coming soon, though, especially as Earnhardt continues to learn about his ability to adjust the track bar mid-race. After not finding it useful early on this season, he came out even more strongly in favor of it Sunday, making the self-adjusting track bar just another new thing that seems to work for this group.
 
"We’ve been running the track bar pretty much even the whole race, and at the end there I had it down three inches on right side trying to save my butt," he said. "Maybe it was worn-out lefts, I don’t know. The left side (tires) is new and a little softer compound maybe we just took it a little bit too far."
 
Maybe, but as his late-race gamble shows, this group would rather take it a little too far than play it conservatively. They have the speed and the skill; it’s those types of decisions, though, that often mean the difference between challenging for a win and, well, not.
 
"This year, our cars are racing up there," Earnhardt said. "So, we think we’ve got the cars better than we had last year. But I want to win. We’re going to get there."

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Younger sibling followed champion crew chief into NASCAR, makes a name for himself

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Editor’s note: In this first-person account, Leavine Family Racing team hauler driver Willie Evernham writes about his career in racing and his trip from Concord, North Carolina to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400.

Racing has always been a part of my family’s life, even while growing up in Red Bank, New Jersey. My uncle used to take my older brother, Ray (Evernham, famed NASCAR crew chief and NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee), and I to the local short and dirt tracks growing up. This sparked our interest in the sport, so when Ray was 18 and I was 15, we got our first car. Three years later, we were racing locally and in the newly reopened IROC series in Trenton, New Jersey.

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While competing, Ray and I met a bunch of people who work in the Sprint Cup garage now, like Wally and Gary Rogers. In fact, many people involved in NASCAR, like Les Richter, were involved in IROC at the time. I tried driving cars for a while but just didn’t have the right frame of mind for it. I was more into the fun side of racing, so I started working in maintenance and eventually was building the transmissions for the cars. Ray had a job at IROC as well. It basically just happened for us. We didn’t plan it. We just took the jobs because we thought it was cool to get paid to work on race cars.

A couple of years later, Ray had moved down to North Carolina to work in NASCAR. I joined him once I realized that you could only go so far in the IROC Series. I then started with Derrike Cope and Jay Frye at MB2 Motorsports. I moved around after that, learning as many different things as I could. Sometimes racing can be trying, but it’s something that I’ve always liked to do. It’s what I know. I’ve tried to work other normal jobs, and it just wasn’t meant to be.

This year is my 31st year in the racing industry, and sometimes the pressure just gets to you, and you need to take a step back to better yourself. So when the Leavine Family Racing opportunity came along, it just seemed like everything fell into place. I’m really glad to be here. What Bob and Sharon Leavine (team owners) are doing is really good. They are building a great race team that will last for years by building a good foundation first, just like you would do when building a house.

Making the trip from Atlanta to Las Vegas was a little stressful. As a hauler driver, you try to think of situations and think, "OK, if this happens, what can I do now?" It’s part of my responsibility to make sure the team has everything they need out at the track so they can concentrate on the car, so I’m always working hard to make everyone’s life easier.

After we got back to the shop from Atlanta, I stayed up to boot up the generator, fuel up the truck and unload everything I could so that when the guys got to the shop, all we had to do was unload the car. Then on Tuesday, my secondary driver and I left the shop and hit the road to Vegas. The route got a little rough in Texas when we started hitting snow, and I was worried we wouldn’t make it in time for the hauler parade on Thursday night, but everything worked out. We ended up traveling most of the way with two other haulers, which made me feel better just in case anything were to happen to one of us. The hauler guys are really like a big family, always radioing over to make sure you are OK if they see you out on the road.

During the race on Sunday, I tried to get a little bit ahead again by preloading everything I could back into the truck. I also helped out the team by grabbing anything they needed off the truck or helping hand off fuel cans and tires to the pit crew. When we had about 50 laps left, I headed back to hauler to try to get the bottom completely loaded so that all the team and I had to do was load the car in. There’s a test in Charlotte on Wednesday we are trying to make, so we needed to leave as soon as we could. There always seems to be something coming down the road!

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Posted on by Holly Cain

No. 78 Furniture Row driver starts the year off with two top-10 finishes

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LAS VEGAS — Martin Truex Jr. was all smiles after climbing out of his car on Las Vegas Motor Speedway pit road, his runner-up finish in the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet his best in two seasons with the team. And as happy as he was, you got the feeling Truex wasn’t satisfied. He still wanted more.

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"I’ve finished second a lot in my career," Truex said, with a grin. "But this feels good and it’s better than third … or 30th."

And the very fact Truex is shooting higher than a runner-up effort shows how far this single-car team has come in a year.

Truex’ debut with the Furniture Row Racing Team included winning the outside pole for the 2014 Daytona 500 but he finished last in the race and it proved a harbinger of things to come. He scored five top-10s but had 11 finishes of 25th or worse and led only one lap on the season after contending for a Chase bid a year earlier with Michael Waltrip Racing.

This year he started 10th and finished eighth in the Daytona 500 and answered that last week at Atlanta with a sixth-place finish. His runner-up at Las Vegas equals a runner-up finish in the non-points paying Sprint Unlimited race at Daytona in February and he also finished fifth in his Daytona 500 qualifying race.

And Truex is fourth in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings, only five points behind Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano entering next week’s race in Phoenix.

Truex could only shake his head when asked to describe the difference between the start of 2015 and the disappointment of 2014.

"You can’t describe it," he said. "When things aren’t going good, you have to just keep on going and going, and working and working harder.

"It’s no different than what Sherry was going through. You find out what people are made of when they’re down," Truex said, referring to his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex, who has undergone treatment for ovarian cancer in the past year.

"After seeing all that and being a part of that, its was like, a bad year in the race car, that’s nothing.

Caring for Pollex through her difficult treatment and watching her will to persevere and strength to overcome has affected Truex greatly and inspired him mightily.

It has given him a new perspective and re-defined what it means to "never give up."

"When you get a glimpse of something that could possibly change your life like that in a bad way, it makes you look at things a lot differently," Truex said. "Suddenly those bad days at the race track weren’t so bad. Suddenly they were okay and I knew that if we just kept working hard, we could get through it all and certainly I feel like we have now.

"But we’re going to continue to work hard and try to get to that next level. We want to win races. We have got a great team. We have got good equipment right now and it’s important when you’re in those positions to try to take advantage of that."

Truex was quick to credit some major offseason changes for the early season results. He has a new crew chief, Cole Pearn, and says the team’s technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing is maturing and paying off, as is simply having a year under his belt with the FRR team.

Third-place finisher Ryan Newman, a RCR driver and sixth-place finisher, JTG Daugherty Racing driver A.J. Allmendinger are part of that RCR alliance.

"Just getting more experience together, getting more confidence in each other and really just having a better game plan going into the season is a big part of the reason why the cars are running better and all the teams seem to be running closer together," Truex said.

Asked if the rules changes to the cars may have played a role in his reversal of fortune and lent itself more to his driving style, Truex said it was simpler than that.

"I attribute it to knowing what we were doing wrong last year and fixing it over the winter time and coming out of the box kind of understanding what we’re doing.

 "The biggest thing I was proud of today or took way from it was we were off a little bit at the beginning of the race and worked on it all day long, continued to get better and at the end of the day we were the best we’ve been all day."

He continued, "That’s what you like to see out of your team; you like to finish strong.

"Got a lot of momentum on our side right now and hopefully we can keep building on that, build some more momentum and hopefully we are able to catch that 4-car (Sunday’s race winner and points leader Kevin Harvick) in a couple weeks."

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Larson: ‘We’ve had fast race cars … we just haven’t caught the breaks we needed to’

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LAS VEGAS — Tucked in on the far side of the diamond-shaped Las Vegas Motor Speedway garage, a good hike away from the busy vibe and buzz of the entryway on the opposite side of the paddock, sit the two Chip Ganassi Racing transporters of drivers Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray.

A few garage stalls away from the Ganassi teammates’ Chevys are the cars belonging to Sunday’s Kobalt 400 pole-winner Jeff Gordon and three-time Cup champ Tony Stewart.

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Four teams that have been fast and been in contention in 2015, but that have no results to show for it. Yet.

Gordon, who won the Daytona 500 pole and was the fastest qualifier again for Sunday’s race, will instead start in the rear of the field in a backup No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after being collected in a crash during the final minute of Saturday’s final practice. He has finished 33rd and 41st in the first two races of his final full-time season and wrecked in both.

Stewart, who showed good speed at Daytona and will start 12th Sunday, has finishes of 42nd and 30th for the year.

And the Ganassi teammates of Larson and McMurray — two of the hottest drivers in the closing races of the 2014 season — have picked up right where they left off: Fast.

Both ran up front during the Daytona 500 and both advanced to the final round of qualifying last week at Atlanta.

McMurray and Larson were 1-2 in the second round of qualifying on Friday here in Las Vegas, advancing to the final 12 of time trials again.

It’s the finishing that’s at issue.

Larson — who will start fifth Sunday in his No. 42 Target Chevy — has finishes of 34th (Daytona) and 26th (Atlanta). McMurray — who will start 10th in his No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet — has finishes of 27th and 40th.

"We’ve had fast race cars, both of us, we just haven’t caught the breaks we needed to,” said Larson, the 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year. "I was running 10th at the white flag in Daytona and we got jumbled up and wrecked. At Atlanta, I thought we had a top-five car and then had a bunch of issues about three-quarters of the way through the race. I hit someone on a green-flag pit stop and then my shifter broke for the second week in a row.”

"The main thing is we have fast race cars, so we’re not worried yet. The good part of the new format is you can win one race and you’re back in it. I’m confident in my team.”

Larson’s crew chief Chris Heroy is equally confident in the team, but more than ready for a change in fortune.

"I’m a believer you make your own luck to a certain extent,” Heroy said of Larson’s unfortunate race finishes. "This week is really about tightening up the details, not having a shifter fall off into his lap in a race."

"Having fast cars definitely helps you get through the week when you have had problems like we’ve had. I believe you create your own luck to a certain extent but we have had some pretty unique circumstances. All we can do is focus on the details and get these cars and Kyle the finishes they deserve. We’ve made major changes already in pursuit of that and we won’t stop until we get there."

McMurray, a Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 winner, said that despite the scorecard, he’s found great solace in the season start.

"Even though we haven’t finished well, it’s been a really good start to our season for the 1 and the 42 car,” McMurray said. "And with (new crew chief) Matt (McCall) coming over and the little bit of rules changes we had and the different engine package you don’t really know if you’re going to pick up where you left off last year.

"I was optimistic but very quiet about how I felt about that. I knew there was a chance things might not pick up right where we ended. Plus, not having any testing and as a team not getting to work together, you really don’t have a clue where you’re going to be.

"But we’re probably faster this year than we were even at the end of last year. I say that for both cars. We’ve really been top-five cars at the first two intermediate tracks, lots of speed."

If fans had to do a double-take on the Ganassi locale in the Vegas garage, so did the team’s drivers. Their uncharacteristically lower ranking in the drivers points puts them in a section of the garage more typically filled by lesser-funded, smaller operations that consider a top-20 race result a fantastic day. Being further down in the points standings has very tangible disadvantages.

"It’s hard, it stinks, especially where we are parked here in the garage, you don’t get to get on the track right away when practice starts,” McMurray said.

"But I’ve watched Matt Kenseth or Jimmie Johnson blow up in the 500 and I think Jimmie won the championship that year.

"It’s frustrating to have a couple bad races. Plate races are always a gamble, but Atlanta was somewhere we definitely should have finished in the top-10 and you would have recovered from your Daytona 500 immediately and had your mulligan in the bag.

"When you have two bad races, we have to have the next five go really well to move back up in the points and get to where we need to be."

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Posted on by Staff Report

No. 51 heads back to NASCAR Research and Development Center

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Following the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR announced that the No. 51 HScott Motorsports car, driven by Justin Allgaier, was light on the scales in post-race inspection. Some weight was found on the track, and NASCAR said it will check to see if it came off the Chevrolet SS.

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Along with Allgaier’s car, NASCAR will take the winning No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing car, driven by Kevin Harvick, and the runner-up No. 78 Furniture Row ride of Martin Truex Jr.

Any infractions for the No. 51 team likely would be announced on Tuesday.

On Friday, Brad Keselowski‘s No. 2 Team Penske Ford cleared inspection prior to the start of the group session and was resting on pit road when it was called back to the inspection line minutes before the first qualifying round was to begin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NASCAR said an official saw a No. 2 crew member pull on the car’s wheel wells on pit road prior to qualifying.
 
Keselowski’s car was again cleared, and he returned to pit road in the midst of the qualifying session, ultimately advancing to the final round and finishing 11th.
 
"They saw something they wanted to have a closer look at back here in the template area, so we brought the car back here for them to look at," Team Penske Competition Director Travis Geisler told NASCAR.com. "They got one of the templates out they felt like maybe we weren’t in compliance with and we worked with them and they worked with us to making sure everything is right. It’s part of what NASCAR does best, they work really hard to make sure it’s an even playing field.
 
" … It raises the pulse a little bit, but fortunately we got through all that and I don’t think it impacted our performance at all."

Before the season, NASCAR announced it would closely monitor flared skirts and would issue written warnings or penalties, if applicable, to crew members who attempted to pull out the wheel well in an attempt to create more downforce.

— NASCAR.com’s Brad Norman contributed to this report
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Facebook posts detail change in Premium Motorsports Sprint Cup ride

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Mike Wallace announced Saturday that he is looking for a ride after failing to make a second consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race for Premium Motorsports. On Sunday, Vision Racing said Tanner Berryhill will attempt to make his Sprint Cup debut next week at Phoenix International Raceway in the No. 66 ride that Wallace has vacated.

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"Looking for additional racing (driving) opportunities Cup, Xfinity, Trucks," Wallace wrote on his Facebook page. "The 66 NASCAR Sprint Cup series car I was driving for Premium Motorsports has decided not to field the car at every race starting with not going to Phoenix next week and no additional race schedule at this time.

"I enjoyed qualifying 16th and making the Daytona 500 with the team."

Wallace finished 36th in the season-opening race. In six races with the team at the end of 2014, his best finish was 26th at Martinsville Speedway.

Premium Motorsports also fields the No. 62 Chevrolet SS for Brendan Gaughan, who finished 28th in his debut for the team last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He’ll start 43rd on owner points in his hometown at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX). Brian Scott failed to make the Daytona 500 in the ride.

Wallace, who will turn 56 years old on Tuesday, has three top-five finishes in 197 Sprint Cup starts. In the XFINITY Series, he has four wins in 494 starts and five wins in 115 starts in the Camping World Truck Series. One of only 22 drivers in NASCAR history with 800 or more national series starts, Wallace ranks 22nd on the all-time list.

The Vision Racing Team Facebook page posted congratulations to Berryhill for getting in the No. 66 car next weekend at Phoenix (March 15, 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX).

Post by Vision Racing Team.

The 21-year-old Berryhill has 40 XFINITY Series starts from 2012-2014 with a career-best 17th-place finish last August at Mid-Ohio.

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Get the on-track times for everything at Phoenix International Raceway

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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway for a doubleheader of NASCAR action, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series remains off. Check out the full schedule below.

All times are ET

SUNDAY, MARCH 15:

RACE-DAY SCHEDULE
1:30 p.m.: NSCS Driver/Crew Chief Meeting
2:54 p.m.: Official Welcome by:  PIR President; Bryan Sperber
2:55 p.m.: Intro Honorary Race Official: Doug Ducey, Honorable Governor, U.S. State of Arizona
2:56 p.m.: Intro Honorary Race Official: Brigadier General Scott Pleus, Commander of 56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB
2:56:30 p.m.: Intro Honorary Race Official: Jared Valdheer, Offensive Tackle, Arizona Cardinals
2:57 p.m.: Intro Honorary Race Official: Ruben Pardo, Winner of Toyota 120, NASCAR Mexico Series Race
2:57:30 p.m.: Intro Honorary Pace Car Driver: Dan Henderson, Two-time US Olympian, Current UFC Mixed Martial Artist
2:58:30 p.m.: Intro Grand Marshal: Brad Woods, Camping World National Training Director
2:59 p.m.: Intro Honorary Starter: Mike Turner, Parts & Accessory Manager, Camping World of Avondale
2:59:30 p.m.: Intro Miss Sprint Cup: Julianna White
3:00 p.m.: NSCS Drivers Introductions
3:30 p.m.: Intro Presentation of Colors by: Luke Air Force Base
3:30:20 p.m.: Invocation by: PIR Chaplain; Ken Bowers
3:30:45 p.m.: Intro National Anthem
3:31 p.m.: National Anthem: Tori Kelly
3:32 p.m.: Flyover TOT: Commemorative Air Force (B-25 and SNJ)
3:38 p.m.: "Drivers, Start Your Engines" by: Brad Woods, Camping World National Training Director
3:45 p.m.: Green Flag — CampingWorld.com 500 (312 Laps, 312 Miles) (Get results)

ON TRACK
— 3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series CampingWorld.com 500, FOX (312 laps, 312 miles) (Follow live)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 12:30 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr. and Joe Garone, GM, Furniture Row Racing
— Approx. 6:15 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race

FRIDAY, MARCH 13:

ON TRACK
— 3-4:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 4:30-5:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 6-7:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 7:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 2 (Full lineup)
— 10 p.m.: NASCAR Mexico Series Toyota 120, NBC Universo (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 2 p.m.: Kevin Harvick
— 2:30 p.m.: Chase Elliott
— 4:45 p.m.: Denny Hamlin
— Approx. 8:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
— 4 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

SATURDAY, MARCH 14:

ON TRACK
— 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 12:45 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1 (Full lineup)
— 2:30-3:20 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 4 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200, FOX (200 laps, 200 miles) (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 11 a.m.: Sam Hornish Jr.
— 1:45 p.m.: AXALTA Chairman and CEO Charlie Shaver and President Mike Cash
— Approx. 5:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race

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Posted on by Staff Report

Get full lineup of NASCAR programming for the week

RELATED: See the full weekend schedule

All times ET

Monday, March 9
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 2

Tuesday, March 10
2 a.m., NASCAR America: Celebrate the States 1 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
2:30 a.m., NASCAR America: Celebrate the States 2 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
5 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 1
10 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network

Wednesday, March 11
4:30 p.m., The List: Iconic Cars (re-air), NBC Sports Network
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network

Thursday, March 12
2 a.m., NASCAR America: Celebrate the States 3 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
2:30 a.m., NASCAR America: Celebrate the States 4 (re-air), NBC Sports Network
5 p.m., NASCAR America Live, NBC Sports Network
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2

Friday, March 13
3 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FOX Sports 1
6 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FOX Sports 2
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 2
10 p.m., NASCAR Mexico Series Toyota 120 at Phoenix International Raceway, NBC Universo

Saturday, March 14
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
12:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
2 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Day: XFINITY Series, FOX
4 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200, FOX

Sunday, March 15
11 a.m., I Am Dale Earnhardt (re-air), SPIKE
Noon, NASCAR Race Day, FOX Sports 1
3 p.m., NASCAR Race Day: Phoenix, FOX
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series CampingWorld.com 500, FOX
11 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FOX Sports 1

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