(NASCAR Statistical Services)(11-11-2006)

(NASCAR Statistical Services)(11-11-2006)

(NASCAR Statistical Services)(11-11-2006)

Did Not Qualify:
#12-Mike Skinner, 127.850 mph
#72-D.J. Kennington, 127.501
#49-Shane Hall, 126.493
#37-Josh Krug, 125.253

(NASCAR Statistical Services)(11-11-2006)

NASCAR Busch Series News & Notes – Phoenix

Southwest Start: Leicht’s Racing Roots Trace Back To Arizona

When he was three years old, Stephen Leicht (#90 CitiFinancial Ford) was an Arizona resident, living in the city of Ahwatukee, a suburb of Phoenix.

Now 19, Leicht’s residence is in Huntersville, N.C., by way of his true hometown of Asheville, N.C., but his southwest roots were the force behind his racing career and his current place in the NASCAR Busch Series.

The Leicht family moved from Asheville to Ahwatukee in the early 1990s as Stephen’s father Russ took a new job.

During his short stay in Arizona, Leicht began racing, starting in go-karts by age five before his family moved back to Asheville.

Stints in quarter midgets, dirt karts, sprint karts, Mini-Cup cars, Bandeleros, the ARA and ASA led Leicht to his developmental opportunity with Robert Yates Racing.

He debuted in Memphis one year ago, starting eighth and finishing 13th. His second race came at Phoenix International Raceway where he had a solid homecoming with a 15th-place finish.

After splitting time with other drivers in nine of the first 22 races this season, Leicht has been the driver of the #90 Ford for eight of the last nine events and is entered at Phoenix once again this weekend.
In his last four races, Leicht has posted four top-15 starting positions, including a career-best third last Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.

He was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race at Kansas (12th) and has registered top-20 finishes in his last four races. He looks for another strong finish as the season winds down, this one in his adopted home state.

“Traveling to Phoenix always brings back great memories for me, that is where I started racing,” Leicht said. “When I was five, my father got me involved in racing at South Mountain Raceway Park near Phoenix and I haven’t stopped racing since.”

One Week Remains To Vote For 25 Greatest Drivers 

Media and fans have until Sunday to vote for the “25 Greatest NASCAR Busch Series Drivers” via on-line polls on NASCARMedia.com and NASCAR.COM.

In recognition of the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Busch Series and its association with series sponsor Anheuser-Busch, 41 drivers have been listed among the nominees since voting began on Oct. 16.

Voters can select 25 drivers, including one write-in nominee. Drivers with at least one series championship were automatically included among the nominees. Other criteria utilized to create the list included:
A minimum of 150 starts.

Percentage of wins versus starts, top fives versus starts and top 10s versus starts.

“These polls are a great way for our fans and media members to express their opinions on who they feel the greatest NASCAR Busch Series drivers were and are,” said Jim Hunter, Vice President of Corporate Communications for NASCAR.

“The series has such a long and storied history and to select only 25 drivers will be a tough task. We look forward to the results.”

Both polls will be available through Saturday’s Arizona.Travel 200 at Phoenix and will close on Sunday.
The results of each poll will be announced next week when Kevin Harvick (#21 U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet) is officially crowned the 2006 series champion following the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR Busch Series Leaders Through 33 Of 35 Races:

Driver points – Harvick (5,323)*
Owner points – Childress (#21) – (5,252)*
Victories – Harvick (9)
Money won – Harvick ($1,271,830)
Races led – Harvick (19)
Miles led – Harvick (1,289.18)
Laps led – Harvick (1,156)
Busch Poles – Hamlin (6)
Top-five finishes – Harvick (22)
Weeks in Top 10 – Bowyer, Harvick, Yeley (33)
Top-10 finishes – Harvick (30) *Clinched Driver / Owner Championship
Raybestos Rookie – Andretti, O’Quinn Jr. tied (198 pts.)
Closing on Top 10 – Sorenson (10th – 3, 487 pts.) –K. Wallace (11th; -16)

On The Right Track

Greg Biffle (#16 Ameriquest Ford) has two wins at Phoenix in 2001, ’05, the only driver with multiple wins there.

Jason Leffler (#38 Great Clips Chevrolet) won the Busch Pole in April making him the only driver with more than one pole at Phoenix.

In his seven races at Phoenix, Biffle is the leader in top fives (five) and top 10s (seven).

Kenny Wallace (#22 AutoZone Ford) is set to become the leader in races run at Phoenix. His start there Saturday will be his ninth.

Carl Edwards is the only driver to win a race at Phoenix from the Busch Pole, accomplishing that feat last November.

Current Richard Childress Racing teammates and Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers Jeff Burton (2000) and Kevin Harvick (2006) are the only drivers to sweep weekend events at Phoenix.

Chevrolet’s Win Streak Climbs To Six, But Ford Dominates At Phoenix

Chevrolet, the 2006 Bill France Performance Cup champion, brings a six-race winning streak to Phoenix – its longest since winning seven straight in 2003. But Ford seems to have the upper hand at the one-mile track.

In second place in the manufacturer standings (six wins, 194 points) Ford has five wins at Phoenix and won this race last year with Carl Edwards (#60 Ameriquest Ford).

Kevin Harvick, however, won the spring race in April and is on a two-race winning streak, with four wins in the last six races.

Harvick’s win at Texas last week gives Chevy 22 on the year, now fourth all-time. Pontiac had a series-record 21 wins in the inaugural 1982 series season, a record that stood until Chevrolet registered 23 wins in 1998 and the record of 24 the following season.

Dodge is third in the standings with five wins and 179 points and has one win at Phoenix (2004).

Yeley Seeks Loop Data Breakthrough At Phoenix

Phoenix native J.J. Yeley has been nothing but consistant in his last three races at his hometrack, but improvement in a varitety of his Loop Data statistics on Saturday could bring him his first series win in front of a friendly crowd.

Yeley has an Average Finish of 10.3 in his last three races at Phoenix, where his Average Running Position is ranked eighth. He is 10th in Driver Rating at 99.7, but that rating is fifth among drivers entered this week, improving Yeley by five positions.

He is second to Kevin Harvick in Laps in the Top 15 – 541 to Harvick’s 561 – for 89.3%, his best ranking in any Loop Data category in the last three races at Phoenix.

Yeley’s Straightaway speeds are top-10 caliber over the last three events, rating eighth on the Frontstretch (134.790 mph) and 10th on the Backstretch (138.576). His Backstretch Speed helped vault him to fourth among drivers in the Passes by Straightaway category on the Backstretch where he totaled 26 passes.

Yeley has shown equal consistancy in his Green Flag Passes, a category where he is tied for ninth with 86. He’s also 10th in Speed in Traffic (123.558) over the last three races at Phoenix.  

ETC.

• Kevin Harvick won his ninth race of the season last week at Texas Motor Speedway, moving him into second place on the single-season win list behind Sam Ard’s 10 victories in 1983. Harvick also tied Ard’s record of 30 top-10 finishes in one season – also set in ’83.

• Sam Hornish Jr. (#39 Mobil 1 Dodge), the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion, will attempt to make his NASCAR Busch Series debut at Phoenix. Another Indy 500 winner, Juan Pablo Montoya (#42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge), who won in 2000, also is entered.

• The race for 10th in the final standings is separated by just 16 points heading to Phoenix. Reed Sorenson (#41 Discount Tire Co. Dodge) holds the spot, but 11th-place Kenny Wallace has surged over the last five races and forged a 112-point advantage over John Andretti (#10 ppc Racing Ford) in 12th.

• John Andretti and Danny O’Quinn Jr. (#50 World Financial Group Ford) remain tied for the lead in the Raybestos Rookie standings with two races remaining. Each driver has 198 points. “It’s been a lot of fun racing with these guys and it’d be a pretty special honor to get Raybestos Rookie of the Year,’ O’Quinn said.  “I know that’s going to be tough to do but that would be something nice to have on our resume. That means a lot to come out here and win the Raybestos Rookie battle.”

• Jason Leffler will attempt to make his return to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series at Phoenix, running for his NASCAR Busch Series team owner Todd Braun. Todd Kluever (#06 3M Ford) – whose 10th-place finish last week at Texas was his best since May – also is entered in Sunday’s event.

• There have been 17 different winners in the NASCAR Busch Series this season. If a new driver wins at Phoenix, he will tie the record of 18 set during the 1988-89 seasons. 

• Jamie McMurray (#64 Top Flite Dodge) will make his final start for Rusty Wallace Inc. at Phoenix. RWI with field two cars this weekend with Steve Wallace (#61 Checker Auto Parts Dodge) driving the second car.

• Ashton Lewis Jr. (#25 U.S. Marine Corps Ford) has competed in 183 consecutive races – best in the series – dating back to Pikes Peak International Raceway in July 2001.

From The NASCAR Busch Series ‘25 Seasons Running’ Archives

As the green flag drops on Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series event at Phoenix International Raceway, keep an eye on Row 2. The race winner may well be starting there.

Nine series races have been held at the one-mile facility since 1999 and the winner has come from the second row in five of those events. Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race from starting position #3, as did Jeff Burton in 2000. Greg Biffle took his Jack Roush Ford to Victory Lane in 2002 starting fourth and Bobby Hamilton Jr. also won from that positition in 2003.

Jamie McMurray is the most recent Row 2 victor with his 2004 win from the third starting spot.
.
On Deck: Homestead Miami Speedway

The 2006 NASCAR Busch Season comes to an end next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kevin Harvick will officially be crowned as driver champion for the second time while Richard Childress will be handed his third series owner championship trophy.

Ryan Newman is the defending winner of the Ford 300; he won last year from the Busch Pole.
Joe Nemechek, the 1992 series champion and a Florida native, is the all-time win leader at Homestead-Miami with three victories. Eight other drivers have one win.

Jeff Green, the 2000 series champion, is the only multiple pole winner (2) while nine other drivers have captured one pole.

Fast Facts

The Race: Arizona.Travel 200
The Place: Phoenix International Raceway
The Date: Nov. 111
The Time: 3:40 p.m. (ET)
TV: NBC
Track Layout: One-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,391,065
2005 Winner: Carl Edwards
2005 Pole: Carl Edwards

No    Driver Pts
1      Kevin Harvick 5,323
2      Carl Edwards 4,489
3      Clint Bowyer 4,388
4      Denny Hamlin 4,342
5      J.J. Yeley 4,177
6      Paul Menard 3,853
7      Kyle Busch 3,747
8      Greg Biffle 3,613
9      Johnny Sauter 3,530
10    Reed Sorenson 3,487

Schedule:
Friday, Nov. 10—Practice 1:15-2:15 p.m. & following NNCS Qualifying (one hour, time permitting). Rookie Practice, 2:20-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11 — Qualifying 10:05 a.m. Race, 3:40 p.m. (ET)