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Date: Sunday, March 3
Start Time: 3 p.m. ET
Site: Phoenix International Raceway (1964) -- Avondale, Ariz.
Track: one-mile oval - 1,179 feet (Frontstretch); 1,551 feet (Backstretch)
Laps: 312
Miles: 312 (500 kilometers)
Capacity: 50,000 (Grandstand Seating)
Total purse:
Payouts:
Year: 9th
On TV: FOX
Announcers:
On Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio
Race record: Tony Stewart, 1999 (118.132 mph)
Qualifying record: Kyle Busch, 2012 (138.766 mph)
2012 Finish
Defending champion: Denny Hamlin
Runner up: Kevin Harvick
Pole winner: Mark Martin (136.815 mph)
Top 10:
1. Denny Hamlin (Start: 13)
2. Kevin Harvick (8)
3. Greg Biffle (7)
4. Jimmie Johnson (4)
5. Brad Keselowski (28)
6. Kyle Busch (12)
7. Martin Truex Jr. (25)
8. Jeff Gordon (30)
9. Mark Martin (1)
10. Joey Logano (9)
Average speed: 110.085 mph
Time of race: 2 hrs., 50 mins., 35 secs.
Margin of victory: 7.315 secs.
Caution flags: 7 for 27 laps
Lead changes: 25 among 15 drivers
Past winners
2012 Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 110.085 mph
2011 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 102.961 mph
2010 Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 99.372 mph (600-kilometer race)
2009 Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 108.042 mph
2008 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 103.292 mph
2007 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 107.710 mph
2006 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 107.063 mph
2005 Kurt Busch, Ford, 102.707 mph
Last race
Race: Daytona 500 (Feb. 24)
Site: Daytona International Speedway -- Daytona Beach, Fla.
Miles: 500
Laps: 200
Finish line order: Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman
Time of Race: 3 hrs., 8 mins., 23 secs.
Average speed: 159.250 mph
Margin of victory: 0.129 secs.
Caution flags: 6 for 24 laps
Lead changes: 28 among 14 drivers
Lap leaders: D. Patrick-pole, J. Gordon 1-31, Johnson 32-36, Kenseth 37-39, D. Patrick-pole, J. Gordon 1-31, Johnson 32-36, Kenseth 37-39, Bowyer 40, Kenseth 41-71, Menard 72, Newman 73-74, Waltrip 75, Newman 76, Hamlin 77-85, Kvapil 86, Waltrip 87-89, Patrick 90-91, Hamlin 92, Kenseth 93-126, Patrick 127-129, Logano 130-131, Kenseth 132-149, Hamlin 150-172, Smith 173, Keselowski 174-176, Speed 177-178, Keselowski 179-185, Johnson 186, Keselowski 187, Johnson 188, Keselowski 189-190, Johnson 191-200.
Entry list
#1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/McDonald's Chevrolet
#2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Ford/Miller Lite
#5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/Quakers
#7 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Sany
#9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/DeWalt
#10 Danica Patrick (Roscoe, IL) Chevrolet/GoDaddy.com
#11 * Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Ground
#13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/GEICO
#14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1
#15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy
#16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M/Novec
#17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Olive Branch, MS) Ford/Best Buy
#18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's
#19 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Chevrolet/Plinker Tactical
#20 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Toyota/Home Depot
#22 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Ford/Shell/Pennzoil
#24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Pepsi Max
#27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Serta
#29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Jimmy John's
#30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Swan Racing
#31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Cheerios
#32 Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO) Ford/Safe Skies Locks
#33 Austin Dillon (Welcome, NC) Chevrolet/TBA
#34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/TBA
#35 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/Blockbuster
#36 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/Accell Construction
#38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Long John Silver's
#39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Quicken Loans
#42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target
#43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Farmland
#44 Scott Riggs (Bahama, NC) Ford/No Label Watches
#47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Glad
#48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's
#51 A.J. Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction
#55 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine
#56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Filters
#78 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Furniture Row
#83 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper
#87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/TBA
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/National Guard
#93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King/Dr. Pepper
#95 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Ford/Leavine Family Racing
#98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/Phil Parsons Racing
#99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Subway
Leading contenders
| Name | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | 34 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 11 | Won | |
| Kevin Harvick | 19 | Won | 10 | 19 | 30 | 13 | 4 | 2 |
| Greg Biffle | 41 | 15 | 17 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 20 | 3 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 15 | 7 | 4 | Won | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Brad Keselowski | 16 | 15 | 5 | |||||
| Kyle Busch | 8 | 36 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 22 | 20 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 7 | |
| Jeff Gordon | 12 | 10 | Won | 13 | 25 | 2 | Won | 8 |
| Mark Martin | 16 | 11 | 12 | 5 | Won | 4 | 13 | 9 |
| Joey Logano | 21 | 10 | 33 | 10 | ||||
| Matt Kenseth | 42 | 3 | 5 | 38 | 27 | 6 | 12 | 13 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | 4 | 23 | 19 | 7 | 31 | 12 | 10 | 14 |
| Carl Edwards | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 28 | 17 |
| Ryan Newman | 14 | 39 | 38 | 43 | 16 | Won | 5 | 21 |
| Tony Stewart | 33 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 23 | 7 | 22 |
| Clint Bowyer | 22 | 5 | 22 | 2 | 26 | 9 | 27 | 30 |
| Kasey Kahne | 17 | 6 | 31 | 36 | 13 | 39 | 6 | 34 |
| Danica Patrick |
Notes
The Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway is the second race on the 2013 Sprint Cup Series schedule.
Construction of this racetrack was completed in January 1964. The facility consists a one-mile oval and a 2.5-mile road course. The track underwent its first repave in 2011. In addition to the new surface, variable banking was implemented throughout the oval to ensure the immediate use of two racing grooves. It included 10-11 degrees of banking between turns 1 and 2 as well as the same amount of degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg. Turns 3 and 4 feature 8-9 degrees of banking.
PIR has been on the Sprint Cup schedule each year since 1988. Alan Kulwicki won the inaugural race there on Nov. 6 1988.
There have been 33 Sprint Cup races held at Phoenix, including one event per season from 1988-2004 and two each year since then. The series will return here the second weekend of November for the penultimate race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Jimmie Johnson, the winner of the Daytona 500 this past Sunday, holds the record for most victories at Phoenix with four. Johnson won three straight fall races at this track from 2007-09. He won the spring event there in 2006 as well.
Johnson and Mark Martin have the most top-five finishes at Phoenix with 12 each. Martin's 21 top-10 finishes there is tops among all drivers.
Denny Hamlin won the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix one year ago, and Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag for the most recent event there in November.
Ryan Newman has won the most poles at Phoenix, but Newman has not started first there since the spring event in 2008. Four races have been won from the pole at Phoenix. Carl Edwards in the most recent one to do it in November 2010.
Kyle Busch currently holds the track qualifying record at Phoenix. Busch won the pole there four months ago with a lap at 138.766 mph.
The quickest a Sprint Cup race at Phoenix has been completed occurred in 1999 when then rookie Tony Stewart finished it in 2 hours, 38 minutes and 28 seconds and at an average speed of 118.132 mph.
Since NASCAR began using electronic timing and scoring in 1993, the closest margin of victory in a Cup event at Phoenix occurred in April 2010 when Ryan Newman beat Jeff Gordon to the finish line by just 0.13 seconds.
Two drivers who are competing in this weekend's race made their first career Cup starts at Phoenix: Ryan Newman (November 2000) and Clint Bowyer (April 2005).
Hamlin is the only driver entered in this event that claimed his first career pole in the series (November 2005).
No active driver has scored his or her first Cup win at Phoenix.
Kyle Busch is the youngest driver to win a Cup race at Phoenix. He won there on Nov. 13, 2005 when he was 20 years, 6 months and 11 days old. When Mark Martin was 50 years, 6 months and 11 days old, he became the oldest to win at Phoenix on April 18, 2009.
The next race in the series is the March 10 Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart won last year's event there.
