THE RACE: 2007 ARIZONA.TRAVEL 200 – PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Busch Series Race #34 of 35 for the 2007 season
- Race: 4:30pm/et, Saturday, November 10, 2007 in Phoenix, AZ
- Length: 200 Laps, 200 miles
- TV: ESPN2 – 4:00pm/et
- Radio: MRN
- Purse: $1,408,944
- Announcers: Jerry Punch, Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree
- Pit Reporters: Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro
Practice Dates/Times
- Practice: Friday, November 9, 12:00-1:20pm/et & 3:35-4:35pm/et, Rookie Practice 3:05-3:30pm/et
Qualifying Info
- Qualifying Draw: Friday, November 9, 11:00am/et
- Qualifying Time: Saturday, November 10, 12:05pm/et
- Qualifying: 2 laps for all positions, cars will be impounded.
- NASCAR Online will have live lap-by-lap coverage of Busch qualifying via the web (NOTE: this is a paid subscription service). TheHotLap.com has free qualifying coverage.
Goodyear Tire Notes
Busch Series — Race No. 34 — ArizonaTravel 200
Phoenix International Raceway (1.0-mile oval) — Avondale, Ariz.
Fast Facts for November 9-11, 2007
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials
Number of Tires: Nextel Cup: Busch Series: Left-side — 575, Right-side — 575
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-4104; Right-side — D-4106
Tire Circumference: Left-side — 87.4 in.; Right-side — 88.6 in.
Technical Inspection Inflation: Left Front — 20 psi; Left Rear — 20 psi; Right Front — 30 psi; Right Rear — 30 psi
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 15 psi; Left Rear — 13 psi; Right Front — 30 psi; Right Rear — 27 psi
Notes: Teams in all three NASCAR series will run the same tire codes at Phoenix this weekend, though the Nextel Cup and Busch Series tires will be branded “Goodyear Eagle,” while the Craftsman Truck tires will be branded “Goodyear Wrangler” . . . this is the same specific combination of left- and right-side tires that Goodyear brought for Nextel Cup and Busch teams to run at Phoenix this past April . . . in addition to Phoenix, teams in all three of NASCAR’s major series ran this tire set-up at Richmond and New Hampshire in 2007 . . . Busch and Craftsman Truck Series teams also ran this set-up at Milwaukee, Gateway, Indianapolis Raceway Park and Memphis (Busch only) this season . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Phoenix.
ENTRY, PRACTICE, QUALIFYING, AND RACE INFORMATION
- Kyle Busch Wins at Phoenix: #5-Kyle Busch backed up his win in Friday night’s Truck race by winning the Arizona.Travel 200 at Phoenix International Raceway for his 4th Busch Series win of the year. He led 132 laps on the day and held off #17-Matt Kenseth on a green white checker finish. The rest of the top 10 were: #2-Clint Bowyer, #29-Scott Wimmer, #21-Kevin Harvick, #9-Kasey Kahne, #60-Carl Edwards, #38-Jason Leffler, #26-Jamie McMurray, and #77-Ron Hornaday. There were 11 cautions (and 2 red flags) for 46 laps and 7 leaders with 10 lead changes.(11-10-2007)
NASCAR Race Number 34
Unofficial Race Results for the Arizona Travel 200 – Saturday, November 10, 2007
Phoenix International Raceway – Phoenix, AZ – 1 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 203 Laps – 203 Miles – Purse: $1,408,944Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Total Award Status Times Laps 1 4 5 Kyle Busch Sta-Green/Lowe’s Chevy 203 195 10 $53,575 Running 3 132 2 9 17 Matt Kenseth Arby’s Ford 203 175 5 $42,925 Running 2 12 3 1 2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy 203 170 5 $33,425 Running 2 28 4 2 29 Scott Wimmer Holiday Inn Chevy 203 165 5 $58,563 Running 1 2 5 6 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevy 203 155 $36,125 Running 6 3 9 Kasey Kahne Wrigley’s Doublemint Dodge 203 155 5 $31,850 Running 1 1 7 28 60 Carl Edwards World Financial Group Ford 203 146 $30,200 Running 8 30 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 203 142 $32,897 Running 9 5 26 Jamie McMurray Dish Network Ford 203 138 $23,010 Running 10 19 77 Ron Hornaday, Jr Dollar General Chevy 203 134 $31,025 Running 11 18 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevy 203 130 $22,750 Running 12 15 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 203 127 $30,347 Running 13 16 41 AJ Allmendinger Imation Dodge 203 124 $24,025 Running 14 27 00 Michael McDowell Aaron’s/Best Western Toyota 203 121 $21,540 Running 15 38 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford/Bashas’ Ford 203 118 $33,027 Running 16 11 18 Brad Coleman # Carino’s Italian Grill Chevy 203 115 $23,295 Running 17 23 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy 203 112 $27,632 Running 18 13 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy 203 109 $26,450 Running 19 10 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 203 106 $27,387 Running 20 7 27 Robby Gordon Huggies/Bashas’ Ford 203 103 $21,705 Running 21 22 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 203 100 $27,167 Running 22 26 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/Bashas’ Ford 203 97 $22,510 Running 23 12 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 203 94 $20,750 Running 24 31 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 203 91 $26,812 Running 25 34 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 202 88 $26,902 Running 26 37 37 John Graham Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford 201 85 $22,170 Running 27 21 10 Brian Vickers Fort McDowell Resort Destination 199 82 $22,135 Running 28 14 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy 198 84 5 $25,565 Running 1 7 29 8 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 197 76 $27,515 Accident 30 32 30 Stanton Barrett Phytter Phone/Interush Chevy 196 73 $22,430 Accident 31 40 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 195 70 $21,945 Accident 32 20 22 Mike Bliss SuperCuts Dodge 181 67 $26,457 Accident 33 39 28 Blake Bjorklund Kibbles ‘n Bits/U.S. Border Patrol 180 64 $21,875 Running 34 17 24 Landon Cassill National Guard 40th Infantry Brigade 170 61 $21,840 Running 35 25 11 Jason Keller InvestLinc Chevy 138 58 $25,172 Accident 36 24 16 Greg Biffle 3M Scotch Tape Ford 137 60 5 $25,270 Accident 1 21 37 41 66 Steve Wallace HomeLife Communties Dodge 137 52 $25,102 Accident 38 42 36 Jeremy Clements Chevy 34 49 $21,700 Ignition 39 29 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 22 46 $21,665 Accident 40 36 13 Todd Souza Central Coast Cabinets Chevy 21 43 $19,630 Accident 41 35 01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL Chevy 18 40 $19,595 Overheating 42 43 56 Frank Kreyer Culver’s Chevy 8 37 $19,540 Accident 43 33 72 D.J. Kennington Northern Provincial Pipeline Dodge 7 34 $19,491 Accident Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 42,000 – Kyle Busch won the Arizona.Travel 200, his 11th career NASCAR Busch Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following driver(s) dropped to the rear for the reason(s) indicated: #66 S. Wallace; #33 Raines (unapproved impound adjustment). Failed to Qualify: (4) 44 Jennifer Jo Cobb, 0 Eric McClure, 89 Morgan Shepherd, 34 Brian Pannone. Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 18 Mins, 41 Secs. Average Speed: 89.111 MPH Margin of Victory: .305 Seconds Caution Flags: 11 for 46 laps: Laps: 10-15 (#56,72 accident turn 3); 18-20 (#16 spun turn 2); 24-30 (#12,13 accident turn 4); 45-48 (#24 accident turn 4); 117-122 (Debris); 134-137 (#10 accident turn 4); 139-141 (#11,16,26,66 accident frontstretch [Red 6:03-Lap 138]); 149-151 (#42 spun backstretch); 172-175 (Debris); 183-185 (#22 accident turn 3); 199-201 (#6,25,30,42 accident frontstretch [Red 11:18-Lap 198]). Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers: C. Bowyer 1-3; S. Wimmer 4-5; C. Bowyer 6-30; K. Busch 31-44; K. Kahne 45; G. Biffle 46-66; D. Hamlin 67-73; M. Kenseth 74-84; K. Busch 85-116; M. Kenseth 117; K. Busch 118-203. Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge: Scott Wimmer, #29 (90.665 Seconds) Featherlite “Most Improved Driver”: Marcos Ambrose, #59 (17 Places) Raybestos “Rookie of the Race”: Marcos Ambrose, #59 Sunoco Diamond Performance: Kyle Busch, #5 WIX Filters “Lap Leader”: Scott Wimmer, #29 (2 Laps)
- Driver Standings: With one race remaining in the season, the top 5 in points remain unchanged after Phoenix: Carl Edwards (+571), David Reutimann, Jason Leffler, Kevin Harvick, and David Ragan.(11-10-2007)
Points Report
Phoenix International Raceway
Arizona Travel 200
UNOFFICAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics- Saturday, 11/10/2007 @ 5:50 PM USPos Driver BPts Points Ldr 1 Carl Edwards 125 4640 0 2 David Reutimann 30 4069 -571 3 Jason Leffler 30 3875 -765 4 Kevin Harvick 65 3868 -772 5 David Ragan # 20 3670 -970 6 Bobby Hamilton Jr. 5 3525 -1115 7 Stephen Leicht 20 3443 -1197 8 Marcos Ambrose # 20 3343 -1297 9 Greg Biffle 65 3316 -1324 10 Matt Kenseth 85 3311 -1329 11 Mike Wallace 65 3300 -1340 12 Clint Bowyer 55 3131 -1509 13 Denny Hamlin 80 3095 -1545 14 Scott Wimmer 30 3072 -1568 15 Kyle Busch 120 2943 -1697 16 J.J. Yeley 10 2846 -1794 17 Jeff Burton 80 2812 -1828 18 Kyle Krisiloff # 0 2722 -1918 19 Steve Wallace 15 2691 -1949 20 Casey Mears 20 2536 -2104 21 Mike Bliss 15 2514 -2126 22 Brent Sherman 20 2425 -2215 23 Dave Blaney 15 2401 -2239 24 Jamie McMurray 5 2225 -2415 25 Brad Keselowski # 5 2180 -2460 26 Jason Keller 15 2127 -2513 27 Kasey Kahne 40 2111 -2529 28 Bobby Labonte 10 1929 -2711 29 Reed Sorenson 15 1881 -2759 30 Aric Almirola 20 1850 -2790 31 Regan Smith 25 1820 -2820 32 Brad Coleman # 10 1795 -2845 33 Shane Huffman 5 1727 -2913 34 Tony Stewart 25 1723 -2917 35 Kelly Bires 10 1717 -2923 36 Juan Pablo Montoya 20 1689 -2951 37 Todd Kluever 15 1687 -2953 38 Eric McClure 5 1639 -3001 39 David Gilliland 5 1597 -3043 40 Ward Burton 0 1555 -3085 41 David Stremme 10 1554 -3086 42 Stanton Barrett 0 1285 -3355 43 Paul Menard 0 1208 -3432 44 Jon Wood 0 1154 -3486 45 Robby Gordon 0 1130 -3510 46 Richard Johns 0 1127 -3513 47 Robert Richardson 5 1091 -3549 48 Danny O’quinn, Jr 0 952 -3688 49 Ryan Newman 20 851 -3789 50 Brian Vickers 15 796 -3844 51 Morgan Shepherd 5 789 -3851 52 Kevin Hamlin 5 748 -3892 53 Tony Raines 0 747 -3893 54 D.J. Kennington 0 719 -3921 55 Bobby East 5 679 -3961 56 Dale Earnhardt, Jr 10 668 -3972 57 Cale Gale 0 658 -3982 58 Todd Bodine 5 655 -3985 59 Timothy Peters 0 646 -3994 60 Chase Miller 0 642 -3998 61 Mark Green 0 632 -4008 62 Ron Hornaday, Jr 5 615 -4025 63 Timothy McCreadie 0 600 -4040 64 Johnny Sauter 0 587 -4053 65 Kertus Davis 0 584 -4056 66 AJ Allmendinger 0 573 -4067 67 Mark Martin 0 573 -4067 68 Kurt Busch 20 527 -4113 69 Brett Rowe 0 524 -4116 70 Kevin Conway 0 523 -4117 71 Landon Cassill 0 510 -4130 72 Justin Diercks 0 505 -4135 73 Sam Hornish Jr. 0 502 -4138 74 Scott Riggs 0 460 -4180 75 Boris Said 5 452 -4188 76 Bryan Clauson 0 443 -4197 77 Derrike Cope 0 440 -4200 78 Casey Atwood 0 412 -4228 79 Scott Pruett 10 395 -4245 80 Jimmie Johnson 10 387 -4253 81 Jay Sauter 0 376 -4264 82 John Graham 0 371 -4269 83 Martin Truex, Jr 10 370 -4270 84 Ron Fellows 10 328 -4312 85 Kevin Lepage 0 306 -4334 86 Mike Harmon 0 301 -4339 87 Joe Nemechek 0 300 -4340 88 Jorge Goeters 5 297 -4343 89 Brad Teague 0 295 -4345 90 David Green 0 294 -4346 91 Brian Keselowski 0 292 -4348 92 Patrick Carpentier 5 256 -4384 93 Jeff Green 0 255 -4385 94 Andy Pilgrim 0 236 -4404 95 Bobby Santos 0 235 -4405 96 Dario Franchitti 0 231 -4409 97 Donnie Neuenberger 5 228 -4412 98 Frank Kreyer 0 226 -4414 99 Michael McDowell 0 224 -4416 100 Jeremy Clements 0 223 -4417 101 Elliott Sadler 0 212 -4428 102 Andy Lally 0 210 -4430 103 Ron Young 5 210 -4430 104 Alex Garcia 0 210 -4430 105 Max Papis 0 205 -4435 106 Sterling Marlin 0 203 -4437 107 Michel Jourdain 0 203 -4437 108 Brad Baker 0 198 -4442 109 Blake Bjorklund 0 195 -4445 110 Chris Horn 0 174 -4466 111 Travis Kvapil 0 170 -4470 112 Jerick Johnson 0 157 -4483 113 Marc Mitchell 0 155 -4485 114 Kenny Wallace 0 146 -4494 115 Adrian Fernandez 0 138 -4502 116 Johnny Benson 0 138 -4502 117 Todd Souza 0 137 -4503 118 Shelby Howard 0 137 -4503 119 Justin Ashburn 0 134 -4506 120 Trevor Boys 0 134 -4506 121 Niclas Jonsson 5 132 -4508 122 Danny Efland 0 132 -4508 123 Scott Lagasse 0 119 -4521 124 Travis Kittleson 0 112 -4528 125 Josh Wise 0 106 -4534 126 Carl Long 0 104 -4536 127 J R Fitzpatrick 0 98 -4542 128 Brian Simo 0 97 -4543 129 Carlos Contreras 5 97 -4543 130 Dale Jarrett 0 94 -4546 131 P J Jones 0 91 -4549 132 Scott Gaylord 0 89 -4551 133 Steve Grissom 0 88 -4552 134 Kerry Earnhardt 0 88 -4552 135 German Quiroga 5 84 -4556 136 Rogelio Lopez 0 76 -4564 137 Colin Braun 0 73 -4567 138 Mike MacKenzie 0 64 -4576 139 Deac McCaskill 5 63 -4577 140 Michael Valiante 0 61 -4579 141 A J Frank 0 52 -4588 142 Ian Henderson 0 52 -4588 143 Brandon Miller 0 52 -4588 144 Dange Hanniford 0 49 -4591 145 Larry Foyt 0 49 -4591 146 Jeff Fuller 0 49 -4591 147 John Andretti 0 46 -4594 148 John Young 0 46 -4594 149 Matthew Carter 0 46 -4594 150 Jamie Mosley 0 43 -4597 151 Joe Fox 0 40 -4600 152 Eddie MacDonald 0 40 -4600 153 Chase Austin 0 40 -4600 154 Caleb Holman 0 37 -4603 155 Mike Potter 0 37 -4603 156 John Borneman 0 37 -4603 157 Randy MacDonald 0 34 -4606 158 Michael Waltrip 0 34 -4606 159 Jason White 0 0 -4640 160 Ruben Pardo 0 0 -4640 161 Tono Perez 0 0 -4640
Owner Points Report
Phoenix International Raceway
Arizona Travel 200
UNOFFICAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics- Saturday, 11/10/2007POS # OWNER NAME POINTS STARTS WINS TOP 5 TOP 10 ATTEMPTS 1 29 RICHARD CHILDRESS 29 4918 34 4 16 26 34 2 20 JOE GIBBS 20 4724 34 4 12 22 34 3 60 JACK ROUSH 60 4640 34 4 14 20 34 4 21 RICHARD CHILDRESS 21 4591 34 6 13 18 34 5 99 MICHAEL WALTRIP 99 4069 34 1 5 12 34 6 9 RAY EVERNHAM 9 3940 34 2 3 8 34 7 33 DELANA HARVICK 33 3911 34 0 4 13 34 8 38 TODD BRAUN 38 3875 34 1 7 11 34 9 22 ARMANDO FITZ 22 3733 33 0 5 10 34 10 5 RICK HENDRICK 5 3726 25 4 15 19 25 11 17 JACK ROUSH 17 3693 27 2 14 17 27 12 6 JACK ROUSH 6 3670 34 0 4 9 34 13 77 DELANA HARVICK 77 3626 34 1 3 9 34 14 10 GREGORY POLLEX 10 3553 34 0 2 10 34 15 88 DALE EARNHARDT, JR 88 3525 34 0 1 9 34 16 35 GARY WEISBAUM 35 3525 34 0 0 2 34 17 16 JACK ROUSH 16 3522 34 0 3 7 34 18 41 CHIP GANASSI 41 3498 34 1 4 7 34 19 90 ROBERT YATES 90 3443 34 1 2 6 34 20 18 JOE GIBBS 18 3366 34 0 5 8 34 21 59 TAD GESCHICKTER 59 3343 34 0 1 5 34 22 7 JAMES FINCH 7 3300 34 0 0 0 34 23 42 FLOYD GANASSI 42 3296 34 1 1 5 34 24 1 JAMES FINCH 1 3284 33 0 1 3 34 25 37 CLARENCE BREWER 37 3281 34 0 0 5 34 26 27 TAMMY BREWER 27 3263 34 0 1 3 34 27 47 JODI GESCHICKTER 47 3151 34 0 0 4 34 28 2 RICHARD CHILDRESS 2 3037 21 2 12 17 21 29 25 EDWARD RENSI 25 2809 34 0 0 1 34 30 66 RUSTY WALLACE 66 2779 34 0 0 0 34 31 24 RICK HENDRICK 24 2723 21 0 7 13 22 32 14 GREGORY POLLEX 14 2722 34 0 1 2 34 33 28 JOE CUSTER 28 2518 34 0 0 0 34 34 36 JOHN MCGILL 36 2496 34 0 0 0 34 35 0 KEITH DUESENBERG 0 1965 29 0 0 0 34 36 4 BOBBY GINN 4 1820 17 0 3 5 17 37 126 JACK ROUSH 126 1745 15 0 1 6 15 38 12 ROGER PENSKE 12 1710 19 0 3 5 19 39 211 BRYAN MULLET 211 1593 15 0 0 4 15 40 230 STANTON BARRETT 230 1312 16 0 0 0 16 41 15 TERESA EARNHARDT 15 1208 11 0 1 5 11 42 170 MARY LOUISE MILLER 170 1162 16 0 0 0 17 43 156 JOHN MCNELLY 156 955 13 0 0 0 13 44 1 JOHNNY DAVIS 01 909 20 0 0 0 23 45 252 JIMMY MEANS 252 906 18 0 0 0 22 46 72 PAT MACDONALD 72 889 13 0 0 0 16 47 155 ROBBY GORDON 155 819 8 0 0 1 8 48 189 CINDY SHEPHERD 189 793 16 0 0 0 20 49 23 KEITH COLEMAN 23 758 13 0 0 0 14 50 8 TERESA EARNHARDT 8 722 5 0 2 4 5 51 34 FRANK CICCI 34 592 6 0 0 0 7 52 105 WAYNE DAY 105 562 8 0 0 0 11 53 103 STEVE GERMAIN 103 505 4 0 0 2 4 54 244 DONNIE RICHARDSON 244 472 8 0 0 0 13 55 91 BILL RILEY 91 431 5 0 0 0 5 56 148 RICK HENDRICK 148 387 3 0 1 2 3 57 32 TODD BRAUN 32 353 3 0 1 1 4 58 344 MICHAEL WALTRIP 344 318 3 0 0 0 3 59 87 ANDREA NEMECHEK 87 300 3 0 0 0 3 60 249 DUSTY WHITNEY 249 292 3 0 0 1 3 61 106 JACK ROUSH 106 282 2 0 1 1 2 62 171 JERRY YOUNG 171 241 3 0 0 0 4 63 298 ALEX GARCIA 298 235 3 0 0 0 4 64 158 FRED HORN 158 205 3 0 0 0 4 65 111 TERESA EARNHARDT 111 195 2 0 0 1 2 66 273 JAMES ROWE 273 186 3 0 0 0 3 67 271 GINA MACDONALD 271 174 4 0 0 0 4 68 139 ROGER PENSKE 139 170 1 0 1 1 1 69 176 JACK JOHNSON 176 157 5 0 0 0 6 70 163 SUSAN SPRAKER 163 152 2 0 0 0 2 71 149 JAY ROBINSON 149 139 3 0 0 0 4 72 113 KELLY SOUZA 113 137 2 0 0 0 2 73 154 CHARLES FRIDELL, JR 154 132 2 0 0 0 3 74 192 EDDIE D’HONDT 192 98 2 0 0 0 2 75 144 ARMANDO FITZ 144 80 5 0 0 0 5 76 167 TOM ERIKSEN 167 76 1 0 0 0 1 77 130 CHRIS LENCHESKI 130 70 1 0 0 0 1 78 200 LORI MORGAN 200 68 1 0 0 0 2 79 231 STANTON BARRETT 231 49 1 0 0 0 1 80 146 JOHN YOUNG 146 46 1 0 0 0 1 81 240 DOUG TAYLOR 240 46 1 0 0 0 1 82 64 RUSTY WALLACE 64 40 1 0 0 0 1 83 175 CHARLES HENDERSON 175 37 1 0 0 0 1 84 180 ROBERT RICHARDSON 180 31 0 0 0 0 1 85 250 JEFF BARRISTER 250 31 0 0 0 0 1 86 254 JIM BRADDOCK 254 31 0 0 0 0 1 87 208 J L PENNINGTON 208 25 1 0 0 0 2 88 161 BRIAN CARTER 161 25 0 0 0 0 2 89 195 EARL SADLER 195 22 0 0 0 0 1 90 112 BRYAN MULLET 112 22 0 0 0 0 1 91 134 BOB FARMER 134 22 0 0 0 0 1 92 43 MIKE CURB 43 0 1 0 0 0 1 93 268 TOM ERIKSEN 268 0 1 0 0 0 1 94 185 DANIEL KINNEY 185 0 1 0 0 0 1
- Bowyer On Pole at Phoenix: #2-Clint Bowyer grabbed the Busch pole for the Arizona.Travel 200 at Phoenix International Raceway with a qualifying speed of 132.954mph. #29-Scott Wimmer qualified second. The rest of the top 10: #9-Kasey Kahne, #5-Kyle Busch, #26-JamieMcMurray, #21-Kevin Harvick, #27-Robby Gordon, #42-Dario Frachitti, #17-Matt Kenseth, and #90-Stephen Leicht. Not making the race were #44-Jennifer Jo Cobb, #0-Eric McClure, #89-Morgan Shepherd and #34-Brian Pannone.(11-10-2007)
Starting Line Up by Row
Phoenix International Raceway
Arizona Travel 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Sat, November 10, 2007 @ 11:33 AM USPos Car Driver Team Time Speed 1 2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy 27.077 132.954 2 29 Scott Wimmer Holiday Inn Chevy 27.258 132.071 3 9 Kasey Kahne Wrigley’s Doublemint Dodge 27.330 131.723 4 5 Kyle Busch Sta-Green/Lowe’s Chevy 27.345 131.651 5 26 Jamie McMurray Dish Network Ford 27.370 131.531 6 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevy 27.375 131.507 7 27 Robby Gordon Huggies/Bashas’ Ford 27.385 131.459 8 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 27.388 131.444 9 17 Matt Kenseth Arby’s Ford 27.407 131.353 10 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 27.426 131.262 11 18 Brad Coleman # Carino’s Italian Grill Chevy 27.433 131.229 12 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 27.437 131.210 13 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy 27.454 131.128 14 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy 27.493 130.942 15 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 27.508 130.871 16 41 AJ Allmendinger Imation Dodge 27.547 130.686 17 24 Landon Cassill National Guard 40th Infantry Brigade 27.549 130.676 18 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevy 27.555 130.648 19 77 Ron Hornaday, Jr Dollar General Chevy 27.562 130.615 20 22 Mike Bliss SuperCuts Dodge 27.572 130.567 21 10 Brian Vickers Fort McDowell Resort Destination Toyota 27.579 130.534 22 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 27.594 130.463 23 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy 27.647 130.213 24 16 Greg Biffle 3M Scotch Tape Ford 27.684 130.039 25 11 Jason Keller InvestLinc Chevy 27.718 129.88 26 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/Bashas’ Ford 27.778 129.599 27 00 Michael McDowell Aaron’s/Best Western Toyota 27.783 129.576 28 60 Carl Edwards World Financial Group Ford 27.801 129.492 29 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 27.835 129.334 30 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 27.836 129.329 31 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 27.866 129.190 32 30 Stanton Barrett Phytter Phone/Interush Chevy 28.021 128.475 33 72 D.J. Kennington Northern Provincial Pipeline Dodge 28.021 128.475 34 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 28.083 128.191 35 01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL Chevy 28.156 127.859 36 13 Todd Souza Central Coast Cabinets Chevy 28.239 127.483 37 37 John Graham Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford 28.242 127.470 38 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford/Bashas’ Ford 28.270 127.343 39 28 Blake Bjorklund Kibbles ‘n Bits/U.S. Border Control 28.574 125.989 40 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford Owner Points 41 66 Steve Wallace HomeLife Communties Dodge Owner Points 42 36 Jeremy Clements Chevy Owner Points 43 56 Frank Kreyer Culver’s Chevy 28.330 127.074 Did Not Qualify: #44-Jennifer Jo Cobb; #0-Eric McClure; #89-Morgan Shepherd; #34-Brian Pannone.
- Ragan Fastest in Happy Hour: #6-David Ragan’s speed of 130.823mph was fastest in Happy Hour. #16-Greg Biffle was second, followed by #10-Brian Vickers, #9-Kasey Kahne, #17-Matt Kenseth, #38-Jason Leffler, #41-A.J. Allmendinger, #42-Dario Franchitti, #5-Kyle Busch, and #24-Landon Cassill. Slowest: #44-Jennifer Jo Cobb and #34-Brian Pannone. No Speed: #36-Jeremy Clements. #47-Kelly Bires spun late in the session but did not hit anything.(11-9-2007)
NBS Final Practice (HAPPY HOUR)
Phoenix International Raceway
Arizona Travel 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, November 09, 2007 @ 02:34 PM USPos Car Driver Team Time Speed # Laps 1 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 27.518 130.823 24 2 16 Greg Biffle 3M Scotch Tape Ford 27.545 130.695 33 3 10 Brian Vickers Fort McDowell Resort Destination Toyota 27.550 130.672 23 4 9 Kasey Kahne Wrigley’s Doublemint Dodge 27.559 130.629 12 5 *17 Matt Kenseth Arby’s Ford 27.619 130.345 25 6 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 27.667 130.119 33 7 41 AJ Allmendinger Imation Dodge 27.689 130.016 25 8 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 27.718 129.88 35 9 *5 Kyle Busch Sta-Green/Lowe’s Chevy 27.750 129.730 12 10 *24 Landon Cassill National Guard 40th Infantry Brigade 27.778 129.599 24 11 77 Ron Hornaday, Jr Dollar General Chevy 27.818 129.413 22 12 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy 27.855 129.241 31 13 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 27.868 129.18 25 14 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 27.883 129.111 34 15 *2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy 27.895 129.055 18 16 29 Scott Wimmer Holiday Inn Chevy 27.900 129.032 30 17 18 Brad Coleman # Carino’s Italian Grill Chevy 27.923 128.926 25 18 27 Robby Gordon Huggies/Bashas’ Ford 27.994 128.599 20 19 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy 28.004 128.553 33 20 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevy 28.010 128.526 20 21 *00 Michael McDowell Aaron’s/Best Western Toyota 28.018 128.489 31 22 22 Mike Bliss SuperCuts Dodge 28.025 128.457 36 23 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 28.026 128.452 27 24 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 28.117 128.036 25 25 60 Carl Edwards World Financial Group Ford 28.131 127.973 24 26 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 28.234 127.506 36 27 *26 Jamie McMurray Dish Network Ford 28.255 127.411 35 28 37 John Graham Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford 28.263 127.375 29 29 *30 Stanton Barrett Phytter Phone/Interush Chevy 28.333 127.060 22 30 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford/Bashas’ Ford 28.333 127.060 15 31 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/Bashas’ Ford 28.377 126.863 14 32 *12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 28.383 126.836 21 33 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevy 28.387 126.819 29 34 *11 Jason Keller InvestLinc Chevy 28.396 126.778 25 35 *56 Frank Kreyer Culver’s Chevy 28.490 126.360 22 36 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy 28.528 126.192 22 37 *01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL Chevy 28.615 125.808 11 38 66 Steve Wallace HomeLife Communties Dodge 28.628 125.751 20 39 *89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Dodge 28.630 125.742 9 40 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 28.631 125.738 33 41 *72 D.J. Kennington Northern Provincial Pipeline Dodge 28.637 125.711 21 42 *0 Eric McClure Hefty Chevy 28.669 125.571 8 43 *13 Todd Souza Central Coast Cabinets Chevy 28.772 125.122 28 44 28 Blake Bjorklund Kibbles ‘n Bits/U.S. Border Control 29.183 123.359 11 45 *44 Jennifer Jo Cobb The Annexus Group Chevy 29.236 123.136 19 46 *34 Brian Pannone Superstition Trailers Ford 29.999 120.004 28
NBS Rookie Practice
Phoenix International Raceway
Arizona Travel 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, November 09, 2007 @ 01:31 PM USPos Car Driver Team Time Speed # Laps 1 *00 Michael McDowell Aaron’s/Best Western Toyota 27.640 130.246 5 2 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/Bashas’ Ford 27.708 129.926 14 3 *24 Landon Cassill National Guard 40th Infantry Brigade 27.777 129.604 16 4 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 27.855 129.241 17 5 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 27.931 128.889 18 6 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 27.963 128.742 16 7 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford/Bashas’ Ford 27.971 128.705 17 8 41 AJ Allmendinger Imation Dodge 28.033 128.420 24 9 *56 Frank Kreyer Culver’s Chevy 28.112 128.059 7 10 18 Brad Coleman # Carino’s Italian Grill Chevy 28.167 127.809 13 11 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 28.327 127.087 20 12 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 28.333 127.060 17 13 *13 Todd Souza Central Coast Cabinets Chevy 28.636 125.716 12 14 28 Blake Bjorklund Kibbles ‘n Bits/U.S. Border Control 28.796 125.017 11 15 *44 Jennifer Jo Cobb The Annexus Group Chevy 29.668 121.343 8
- Bliss Fastest in Phoenix Practice: #22-Mike Bliss paced the field in opening practice at Phoenix International Raceway with a speed of 131.162mph. #29-Scott Wimmer was second, followed by #2-Clint Bowyer, #99-David Reutimann, #5-Byle Busch, #21-Kevin Harvick, #26-Jamie McMurray, #20-Denny Hamlin, #90-Stephen Leicht, and #9-Kasey Kahne, Slowest was #0-Eric McClure and #44-Jennifer Jo Cobb. #34-Brian Pannone had no speed. The only incident was an early accident by #36-Jeremy Clements. The team will go to a backup.(11-9-2007)
NBS Practice 1
Phoenix International Raceway
Arizona Travel 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Fri, November 09, 2007 @ 11:20 AM USPos Car Driver Team Time Speed # Laps 1 22 Mike Bliss SuperCuts Dodge 27.447 131.162 34 2 29 Scott Wimmer Holiday Inn Chevy 27.539 130.724 24 3 *2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy 27.551 130.667 15 4 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 27.605 130.411 28 5 *5 Kyle Busch Sta-Green/Lowe’s Chevy 27.633 130.279 28 6 21 Kevin Harvick AutoZone Chevy 27.675 130.081 10 7 *26 Jamie McMurray Dish Network Ford 27.786 129.562 35 8 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy 27.792 129.534 25 9 90 Stephen Leicht citifinancial Ford 27.794 129.524 23 10 9 Kasey Kahne Wrigley’s Doublemint Dodge 27.795 129.520 31 11 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 27.804 129.478 24 12 *17 Matt Kenseth Arby’s Ford 27.811 129.445 19 13 10 Brian Vickers Fort McDowell Resort Destination Toyota 27.815 129.427 21 14 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr. McDonald’s Ford 27.840 129.310 37 15 88 Brad Keselowski # U.S. NAVY Chevy 27.855 129.241 41 16 77 Ron Hornaday, Jr Dollar General Chevy 27.876 129.143 33 17 *12 Sam Hornish Jr. Kodak Dodge 27.912 128.977 33 18 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy 27.936 128.866 33 19 27 Robby Gordon Huggies/Bashas’ Ford 27.947 128.815 35 20 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy 27.947 128.815 33 21 *11 Jason Keller InvestLinc Chevy 27.986 128.636 33 22 41 AJ Allmendinger Imation Dodge 28.036 128.406 47 23 6 David Ragan # Discount Tire Ford 28.083 128.191 46 24 60 Carl Edwards World Financial Group Ford 28.100 128.114 22 25 *24 Landon Cassill National Guard 40th Infantry Brigade 28.108 128.077 36 26 *00 Michael McDowell Aaron’s/Best Western Toyota 28.127 127.991 42 27 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts Chevy 28.129 127.982 35 28 16 Greg Biffle 3M Scotch Tape Ford 28.145 127.909 18 29 59 Marcos Ambrose # Kingsford/Bashas’ Ford 28.17 127.796 43 30 18 Brad Coleman # Carino’s Italian Grill Chevy 28.175 127.773 40 31 47 Kelly Bires Clorox/Bashas’ Ford 28.178 127.759 47 32 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge 28.254 127.416 53 33 66 Steve Wallace HomeLife Communties Dodge 28.282 127.289 26 34 *30 Stanton Barrett Phytter Phone/Interush Chevy 28.352 126.975 17 35 25 Richard Johns freecreditreport.com Ford 28.453 126.524 43 36 *89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Dodge 28.474 126.431 12 37 14 Kyle Krisiloff # Lilly/Walgreens Ford 28.502 126.307 28 38 *72 D.J. Kennington Northern Provincial Pipeline Dodge 28.565 126.028 20 39 *01 Kertus Davis RACEGIRL Chevy 28.676 125.541 13 40 36 Jeremy Clements Chevy 28.725 125.326 5 41 *56 Frank Kreyer Culver’s Chevy 28.739 125.265 46 42 28 Blake Bjorklund Kibbles ‘n Bits/U.S. Border Control 28.749 125.222 25 43 *13 Todd Souza Central Coast Cabinets Chevy 28.847 124.796 30 44 37 John Graham Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford 28.849 124.788 49 45 *0 Eric McClure Hefty Chevy 28.897 124.58 31 46 *44 Jennifer Jo Cobb The Annexus Group Chevy 30.582 117.716 12
Preliminary Entry List
Phoenix International Raceway
Arizona.Travel 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics – Mon, November 05, 2007 @ 04:05 PM EasternEnt Car Driver Team Name Owner 1 00 Michael McDowell TBA Toyota Michael Waltrip 2 0 Eric McClure Hefty Chevy Keith Duesenberg 3 01 Kertus Davis TBA Chevy Johnny Davis 4 1 J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resort Chevy James Finch 5 2 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevy Richard Childress 6 5 Kyle Busch Spectracide/Lowe’s Chevy Rick Hendrick 7 6 David Ragan Discount Tire Ford Jack Roush 8 7 Mike Wallace GEICO Chevy James Finch 9 9 Kasey Kahne Doublemint Dodge Ray Evernham 10 10 Brian Vickers Fort McDowell Resort Destination Toyota Greg Pollex 11 11 Jason Keller TBA Chevy Bryan Mullet 12 12 Sam Hornish Jr Kodak Dodge Roger Penske 13 13 Todd Souza Central Coast Cabinets Chevy Kelly Souza 14 14 Kyle Krisiloff Lilly/Walgreens Ford Greg Pollex 15 16 Greg Biffle 3M Scotch Tape Ford Jack Roush 16 17 Matt Kenseth Arby’s Ford Jack Roush 17 18 Brad Coleman Carino’s Italian Grill Chevy Joe Gibbs 18 20 Denny Hamlin Rockwell Automation Chevy Joe Gibbs 19 21 Kevin Harvick Auto Zone Chevy Richard Childress 20 22 Mike Bliss Supercuts Dodge Armando Fitz 21 24 Landon Cassill National Guard Chevy Rick Hendrick 22 25 Richard Johns FreeCreditReport.com Ford Ed Rensi 23 26 Jamie McMurray Dish Network Ford Jack Roush 24 27 Robby Gordon Kleenex Ford Tammy Brewer 25 28 Derrike Cope Kibbles & Bits/Milkbone/9 Lives Chevy Joe Custer 26 29 Scott Wimmer Holiday Inn Chevy Richard Childress 27 30 Stanton Barrett Rhytter Phone/Interush Chevy Stanton Barrett 28 33 Tony Raines RoadLoans Chevy Delana Harvick 29 34 Brian Pannone REF Motorsports Ford Bob Farmer 30 35 Bobby Hamilton Jr McDonald’s Ford Gary Weisbaum 31 36 Jeremy Clements TBA Chevy John McGill 32 37 John Graham Kick Butt Amped Energy Ballz Ford Clarence Brewer 33 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota Todd Braun 34 41 AJ Allmendinger Imation Dodge Chip Ganassi 35 42 Dario Franchitti Target Dodge Floyd Ganassi 36 44 Jennifer Jo Cobb TBA Chevy Donnie Richardson 37 47 Kelly Bires Clorox / American Red Cross Ford Jodi Geschickter 38 52 Scott Gaylord TBA Ford Jimmy Means 39 56 Frank Kreyer Culver’s Chevy John McNelly 40 59 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford Ford Tad Geschickter 41 60 Carl Edwards World Financial Group Ford Jack Roush 42 66 Steve Wallace Homelife Communities Dodge Rusty Wallace 43 72 D.J. Kennington Northern Provincial Pipelines Dodge Pat MacDonald 44 77 Ron Hornaday Jr Dollar General Chevy Delana Harvick 45 88 Brad Keselowski U.S. Navy Chevy Dale Earnhardt Jr. 46 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Dodge Cindy Shepherd 47 90 Stephen Leicht Citifinancial Ford Robert Yates 48 99 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Michael Waltrip
NASCAR Busch Series News And Notes – PhoenixNow that Carl Edwards (#60 World Financial Group Ford) has clinched the NASCAR Busch Series driver title, his team can let out a collective breath and focus on wins in the last two races of the season.
And to start the final sprint, his record at Phoenix International Raceway bodes well.
Edwards won the 2005 fall race from the pole and has four top fives and five top-10 finishes overall in his five races at Phoenix.
The #60 team also has extra motivation. Its leader, crew chief Pierre “PK” Kuettel, is a Phoenix native who would covet a win at his home track. The crew also has to swallow that it likely won’t win the owner championship to go along with Edwards’ driver title.
The #29 Richard Childress Racing team is the frontrunner for the owner crown. So the impetus for wins is paramount to the #60 crew these final two races.
The #29 Holiday Inn Chevy comes to Phoenix leading the owner standings by 113 points over the #20 Chevy of Joe Gibbs Racing. In order to clinch the owner title, the #29, to be driven by Scott Wimmer at Phoenix, needs leave this weekend with a 196-point advantage over the #20 – an 83-point gain.
The split title has happened only once before in NASCAR national series competition – in 2003, Brian Vickers won the driver championship but RCR won the owner title with the driver duo of Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter. Jeff Burton has shared the #29 ride with Wimmer this year.
Either way, the battle between the two teams should be electrifying at Phoenix. The last five races at the one-mile track have been won by Roush Fenway Racing or RCR. Matt Kenseth (#17 Arby’s Ford) is the defending race winner while Clint Bowyer (#2 BB&T Chevy) won last April.
Time Ticking Away For Drivers To Avoid Top 10 Tumble
Following his fifth-place finish at Texas last Saturday, Matt Kenseth was able to slice into the lead held by Mike Wallace (#7 GEICO Chevy) for 10th place in the standings.
Wallace – who finished 21st at Texas dropping 22 points to Kenseth – comes to Phoenix 52 points ahead of the defending race winner.
But Wallace isn’t the only driver in a precarious position with two races to go.
Even with Kenseth on his bumper, Wallace is in a similar stalking role with ninth-place Marcos Ambrose (#59 Kingsford Ford). Ambrose is 37 points ahead of Wallace and has been struggling to hold on to his top-10 standing over the last four races where his average finish has been 28.3.
Despite Ambrose’s slump, Greg Biffle (#16 3M Scotch Tape Ford) is feeling some pressure from the Aussie. Biffle’s eighth-place standing is secure by only 31 points over Ambrose. Biffle, like Kenseth, is a two-time winner at the one-mile track.
Meanwhile, Jason Leffler (#38 Great Clips Toyota), who won the pole at Phoenix for the April 2005 race, is fighting to stave off reigning series champion Kevin Harvick (#21 AutoZone Chevy). Leffler’s hold on third is in jeopardy as fourth-place Harvick trails by just 20 points.
In The Loop: Bowyer, Kenseth Set Up For Duel In the Desert
Brilliant. Dominant. Unstoppable.
Any of the above could be used to describe Clint Bowyer during last April’s NASCAR Busch Series Race at Phoenix International Raceway.
In that event, Bowyer led 120 of the 200 laps and racked up some impressive stats in the process. In spending all 200 laps in the top 15, he earned a Driver Rating of 148.5 (a perfect Driver Rating is 150.0), an Average Running Position of 1.4 and had 52 Fastest Laps Run.
Over his five career-series races at Phoenix, Bowyer has an average Driver Rating of 110.4, an Average Running Position of 9.1 and 125 Fastest Laps Run (more than any other driver). He has also spent 81.2% of the total laps run in the top 15.
But since 2005, no driver has enjoyed more success than Matt Kenseth. Over his last four Phoenix races, he has three top fives, including a win from the Busch Pole at this race last year.
His Loop Data statistics are phenomenal: a Driver Rating of 123.9, an Average Running Position of 4.0, 90 Fastest Laps Run, and has spent 99.3% of the laps the top 15.
Also, watch for series regular Jason Leffler to shine at Phoenix. He finished seventh at this race in 2005 and among the regulars, heads most of the stat lists.
In his four Phoenix races since 2005, Leffler has a Driver Rating of 95.2, an Average Running Position of 12.6, 52 Fastest Laps Run and he has spent 60.4% of the total laps run in the top 15.
Scott Wimmer will try to keep the momentum going for the #29 team as it inches closer to the 2007 owner championship. But Phoenix has presented a speed bump of sorts for Wimmer.
Driving for a different team, he finished 42nd at this race last season. On the bright side, he does have a Phoenix win on his resume (2002). Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin will pilot the #20. Hamlin has two consecutive top-five finishes at Phoenix, and a Phoenix Driver Rating of 98.7.
NBS, Etc.
• Phoenix Homecomings, Part II: Although born near Toronto, Canada, Pierre Kuettel moved to Phoenix shortly thereafter and calls the area home. Other happy Phoenix returns feature J.J. Yeley (#1 Miccosukee Resort Chevy). He has three top-10s in six career series races at his home track and craves a win there. Also, Michael McDowell (#00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota), who made his series debut last week at Texas where he finished 20th, was born in Phoenix. McDowell, 22, is scheduled to race for Michael Waltrip Racing in the final two races of the year. He made his NASCAR debut two weeks ago at Martinsville in the Craftsman Truck Series (30th) and has won four times on the ARCA circuit this season. Additionally, Stephen Leicht spent an abbreviated time as an Arizona resident, living in the city of Ahwatukee, a suburb of Phoenix between the ages of three and five. He began racing go-karts in Arizona before his family made a permanent move to Asheville, N.C.
• Harvick Stands Alone In Second: Kevin Harvick’s win at Texas last week not only made him the all-time series leader in victories at the track with four, but also moved him out of a second-place tie with Jack Ingram for second on the all-time win list. Harvick’s win gives him 32 in 190 races; Ingram had 31 in 274 events. Mark Martin is the career leader with 47 victories in 224 races. Harvick will join Kyle Busch (#5 Sta-Green/Lowe’s Chevy) with triple-duty driving at Phoenix. Both are entered in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
• Keselowski Gaining Ground: Brad Keselowski (#88 U.S. NAVY Chevy) is staging a hard charge in the series’ Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. Since joining JR Motorsports in mid-July, Keselowski has gone from fifth place and 66 points behind third place (then Juan Pablo Montoya) to fourth-but more importantly-only one point behind Kyle Krisiloff (#14 Lily/Walgreens Ford) in third. Keselowski has been one of the hottest series regulars in the season’s second half, posting five top 10s and his career-best finish, a sixth-place effort last Saturday at Texas where 17 double-duty drivers were entered.
• Coleman’s JGR Swan Song: Brad Coleman (#18 Carino’s Chevy), the 19-year-old from Houston, Texas who fashioned solid finishes while running a partial 16-race schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing this year, makes his final start for the team before moving to Brewco Motorsports and a full-time ride in 2008. Coleman claimed his first career pole at Talladega in addition to registering three top fives and five top 10s this year. Coleman will also run a limited NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule next year for Hall of Fame Racing, whose team owner, Tom Garfinkel, is executive vice president of the Phoenix-based Arizona Diamondbacks. The #18 team will also host Steve McCarty (R), who wrote the Steve Miller Band hit “Fly Like an Eagle,” in their pit on Saturday.
• Of Note — Phoenix: Jason Leffler will have a busy schedule this week at Phoenix, competing in four races in three days. He will run the USAC Midget and Silver Crown races on Thursday night, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night and the Arizona.Travel 200 on Saturday afternoon. … This Veterans Day weekend the #88 U.S. NAVY team will honor the casualties and survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor with a special Pearl Harbor Survivors Association decal on the car. On Dec. 7, 1941, 2,390 U.S. personnel were killed and 1,178 were wounded in the attack. The association was formed in 1958 with the goal to “Remember Pearl Harbor – Keep America Alert.” Also Team Rensi’s cars – the #35 McDonald’s Ford of Bobby Hamilton Jr. and the #25 FreeCreditReport.com Ford of Richard Johns – will adorn a special logo for a non-profit organization, Freedom Is Not Free, aimed at “aiding wounded service members, their families and the families of the fatally wounded.”
The Director’s Take: Phoenix
Phoenix is a track of compromises.
At a track like Hometead, where both ends are equally shaped, teams can pick one setup and put it on the car.
But at a track like Phoenix where the radius of the corner and the banking is different on each end, some teams set the car up to be very good in Turns 1 and 2 – and it is what it is in 3 and 4 – or vice versa. Or, they will compromise and find something that will work on both ends.
Phoenix almost races like it has a fifth turn due to the dogleg on the backstretch, so the teams will be working on balancing the car to get the driver comfortable.
One of the unique features of racing at Phoenix is the start time. Due to the proximity to sunset, it can be tough for the drivers going into Turn 1. They’ll use either a tinted tear-off on their helmet or they’ll put tape on the inside of the winshield to peel off as the sun sets and the race progresses.
2007 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGSDriver Points
1. David Ragan 233
2. Marcos Ambrose 202
3. Kyle Krisiloff 180
4. Brad Keselowski 179
5. Juan Pablo Montoya 165
6. Brad Coleman 163
7. Robert Richardson Jr. 114
8. Justin Diercks 51ESPN2
ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series with live racing from Phoenix International Raceway. The telecast of the 200-mile race begins at 4 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown.
Dr. Jerry Punch will anchor ESPN2’s coverage with analysis by 1989 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake will report from the pits.
Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown. Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion and one of the founding drivers of the NASCAR Busch Series, will join Bestwick in the ESPN Pit Studio along with Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
2007 At-A-Glance: NASCAR Busch Series Leaders After 33 Of 35 Races:
Season Traditional Statistics:
Driver points – Edwards (4,494#)
Victories – Harvick (6)
Races led – Edwards (20)
Laps led – Ky. Busch (968)
Top-five finishes – Edwards (14)
Top-10 finishes – Edwards, Harvick (14)
Owner points – Richard Childress Racing (#29) – (4,753)
Money Won – Edwards ($1,116,060)
Miles led – Ky. Busch (1,301.08)
Busch Poles – Hamlin (5)
Closest to 10th – M. Wallace 10th (3,188 pts)
11th – Kenseth (- 52)
Consecutive Weeks in Top 10 – Edwards, Harvick (33)Season Loop Data Statistics:
Driver Rating – Edwards (105.7)
Average Running Position – Edwards (10.0)
Fastest Laps Run – Edwards (529 fastest laps)
Quality Passes – Edwards (964)
Laps In Top 15 – Edwards (5,022 of a possible (6,153)# – clinched driver championship
Showdown Out West Between Dodge, Toyota; Ford Seeks Third Straight Phoenix Fall Win
With two races left in the season, it’s a two-manufacturer race for third in the final Bill France Performance Cup rankings. Dodge has a nine-point led over Toyota for the third-place spot heading to Phoenix.
Dodge has one win at Phoenix – Jamie McMurray’s 2004 victory. Toyota’s first series start at the track was last April when its three drivers placed 10th, 12th and 18th. Dodge had two divers in the top 18 last spring.
Those two manufacturers also have the stout record of Ford has at Phoenix to contend with – six wins in the previous 11 races. Clint Bowyer won last April in a Chevy.
Chevy claimed its series-leading 14th title back in September and Ford has held steady in second for the bulk of the season. Kevin Harvick’s win at Texas Motor Speedway last Saturday was the 20th for Chevy this season, the seventh time in its 26-year NASCAR Busch Series tenure that it has reached the 20-victory plateau.Pontiac, with 21 wins in the inaugural series season in 1982, is the only other manufacturer to eclipse 20 wins in a season. Chevy holds the record with 24 in 1999.
Manufacturers’ Championship
2007 Point Standings
Chevy 229
Ford 192
Dodge 147
Toyota 138Up Next: Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
The final race of the 2007 season – and the final race for the series sponsor, Anheuser-Busch’s Busch Beer brand after 26 years – takes center stage at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 17. The broadcast will begin at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Carl Edwards will officially be crowned as the 19th – and last – NASCAR Busch Series champion, while the series owner title could still be on the line between the #29 RCR Chevy and the #20 JGR Chevy.
A pair of former series champions holds the win and pole marks at Homestead. Florida native Joe Nemechek, the 1992 series champion, has three wins, while 2000 champ Jeff Green’s two poles are the standard.
Matt Kenseth, whose 23 wins are sixth all-time in series history, is the defending race winner while two-time series champion Kevin Harvick sat on the pole last November.
Fast Facts
The Race: Arizona.Travel 200
The Place: Phoenix International Raceway
The Date: Nov. 10, 20071
The Time: 4:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 4 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1-mile D-shaped oval
Race Purse: $1,408,944
2006 Winner: Matt Kenseth
2006 Pole: Matt Kenseth2007 Point Standings
Pos. Driver Points
1 Edwards 4,944#
2 Reutimann 3,942
3 Leffler 3,733
4 Harvick 3,713
5 Ragan 3,567
6 Hamilton Jr. 3,434
7 Leicht 3,337
8 Biffle 3,256
9 Ambrose 3,225
10 Wallace 3,188
# Cliched TitlePre-Race Schedule:
Friday – Practice, 10-11:20 a.m.; Rookie Practice, 1:05-1:30 p.m.; Final Practice, 1:35-2:35 p.m. Saturday – Qualifying, 10:05 a.m. (impound).
- Additional Phoenix Busch Race Info at:
phoenixraceway.com
ESPN.com Busch page
TheHotLap.com
Catchfence.com Busch site
NASCAR.com