Race 2 Win: Arizona 200

Busch Series

News and Results | Point Standings | 2005 Schedule | 2004 Schedule and Results | 2003 Schedule and Results

Arizona 200 - Race Notes

2005 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RACE #34 of 35- Arizona 200 PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, Avondale AZ

Eighth Phoenix Busch race.
Date: November 12, 2005
Race Time: 3:40 P.M. E.T.
Television: TNT
Radio: MRN
Track Size: One mile
Race Distance: 200 miles, 200 laps
Track: Banking: Corners 1 & 2 - 11 degrees
Corners 3 & 4 - 9 degrees
Front Straight - 3 degrees Back Straight - 9 degrees
Straights: Backstretch - 1,551 ft. Frontstretch - 1,179 ft.
2003 Remodel: Turn 2 widened to 60 ft. from 48 ft.

2005 Spring WINNER: Greg Biffle (F)

2004 Fall WINNER: Jamie McMurray (D)

No Phoenix Race has been Won from the Pole. Best - 3rd, ’99 (K. Schrader), ’00 (J. Leffler), ’04 (J. McMurray)

One Phoenix Won from Outside a Top Four Start: 18th, Scott Wimmer, 2002

Most Wins at Phoenix: two - Greg Biffle, 2001 and 4/05

Most Top Fives at Phoenix: four - Greg Biffle

Most Poles at Phoenix: seven drivers @ one each: Ken Schrader, Jason Leffler, Jimmy Spencer, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Kasey Kahne

Qualifying at Phoenix:
Driver (make) Date Speed Time
April Race: Kasey Kahne (D) 04/05 132.091 mph 27.254 sec.
Track Record: Kyle Busch (C) 2004 133.819 mph 26.902 sec.

Phoenix Race Speeds:
2004 Race: Jamie McMurray (D) 96.031 mph 2:08:05
April Race: Greg Biffle (F) 04/05 83.007 mph 2:24:34
Track Record: Jeff Burton (P) 2000 115.145 mph 1:44:13

Phoenix FastFacts:
April winner Greg Biffle has finished in the top 10 in all five of his Phoenix races. In 2004, he finished fifth. Biffle is also the only driver to win more than one race at Phoenix (first win 11/01). He is the only driver to win both a pole (11/02) and a race (11/01) at Phoenix.

Jason Keller is the only driver to compete in all seven Phoenix races.

Nextel Cup Regulars in the Busch Series:
Nextel Cup regulars have won 21 of the 33 races in 2005. Non-Cup regular driver winners are Martin Truex Jr. (6), Clint Bowyer (2), Reed Sorenson (2), Johnny Sauter (1), and David Green (1).

Ryan Newman has five wins in 2005, all consecutive starts; and seven top three finishes in his eight NBS starts in 2005. Average finish 3.4. He is the Series leader in laps led in only eight races.

In seven NBS starts in 2005 Mark Martin has two wins, one pole, and five top seven finishes. Average finish, 9.0.

Texas 2 winner Kevin Harvick has four wins, two poles, and 12 top five finishes in his 19 NBS starts in 2005. Average finish, 7.4.

Many other Nextel Cup regulars have not fared so well in the Busch Series in 2005 – average finish, five or more races: Kasey Kahne, 17.7; Sterling Marlin, 20.5; Jeremy Mayfield, 24.4; Jamie McMurray, 22.3; Joe Nemechek, 15.6; Tony Stewart, 20.1; Michael Waltrip, 23.6.

2005 Busch Series Points Race:
1st place Martin Truex Jr. finished 11th at Texas and lost 16 points to second place. He was third from the pole at Memphis and lost 20 points to winner Clint Boywer. Truex finished 11th at Lowe’s gaining 71 points on second. He was 9th at Kansas, adding 23 points to his lead. Truex finished 12th at Dover, losing 43 points. He was 27th at Richmond, losing 48 points (plus 25 due to penalty). Truex has won at: Mexico, Talladega, Dover, Daytona 2, Loudon and IRP. Average 2005 finish, 10.7. He finished third at Phoenix in 2004, his first race at the track. He was ninth in April at Phoenix.

Clinching the Title: Martin Truex Jr. will clinch his second straight NASCAR Busch Series title at Phoenix if he gains 106 or more points over Clint Bowyer at Phoenix, thereby leading by 190 points or more heading to the last race of 2005. The maximum points that a driver can gain (or lose) in a race is 156. Also, he will win the title if he gains 72 or more points on Clint Bowyer at Phoenix and starts at Miami-Homestead. Conversely, the maximum points a driver can lose in a race is 156. Truex Jr. could leave Phoenix in second place, by as many as 72 points behind Clint Bowyer.

2nd place (-84) Clint Bowyer finished seventh at Texas and gained 16 points on first place. He won at Memphis and gained 20 points. He won Memphis after starting at the tail-end of the field due to a crash in qualifying. It was his second victory of 2005. He was 33rd at Lowe’s, losing 71 points to first. It was his worst finish of 2005. He was 16th at Kansas and lost 23 points to first place. He was second at Dover, gaining 43 points on first place. Bower finished 11th at Richmond, gaining 48 points on first place, plus 25 due to Truex’s penalty. He finished third from the pole and gained 52 points on first place at California. He has 11 top fives and 20 top 10s in 2005. Average 2005 finish, 10.7. He finished 13th in April at Phoenix, his first race at the track.

3rd place (-336) Rookie Carl Edwards finished third at Texas. It was his 15th top five of 2005. He was fifth at Memphis, fourth at Lowe’s, 27th at Kansas, ninth at Dover, and 28th at Richmond, losing a position in the standings. He won his fourth race of the season at California. He finished 29th at Bristol, third at Michigan, 11th at Watkins Glen, 20th at IRP and third at Gateway. Edwards did not compete at Nashville and lost the lead in the standings. He has two poles and four wins in 2005 (Atlanta, Richmond, Kentucky, California 2). Average 2005 finish, 12.3. He finished eighth in the first 2005 Phoenix, his first race at the track.

4th place (-394) Rookie Reed Sorenson finished fourth at Texas. He was 33rd (accident) at Memphis and lost a position in the standings. Sorenson finished 35th (accident) at Lowe’s, ending a streak of consecutive top 10s at three. He was sixth at Kansas, fourth at Dover, and seventh at Richmond, gaining a position in the standings. Sorenson was 12th at California and lost a position. He was 11th at Bristol after starting 42nd due to being designated a DNS in qualifying. He has 18 top 10 finishes in 2005 and 21 top 10 finishes in 38 career races. Average 2005 finish, 13.2. He finished 32nd in the first 2005 Phoenix, his first race at the track.

5th place (-693) Denny Hamlin finished 19th at Texas. He was seventh at Memphis, 30th at Lowe’s, 12th at Kansas, sixth at Dover, and 34th (engine) at Richmond. Hamlin finished 20th at California and 13th at Bristol. Hamlin has one top five (third, Loudon) and 10 top 10s. Average finish, 15.2. He finished 11th in the first 2005 Phoenix, his first race at the track.

2005 Season Statistics:

Average Starting Position of 2005 Race Winners 10.3 vs. 10.6 in 2004

33 Drivers have Scored at Least One Top Five in 2005

The Leader at Halfway has Won 10 of the 33 races.

The Leader of The Most Laps has Won 19 of the 33 races.

49 Drivers Led at Least One Lap in 2005.

Lead Changes per Race: 10.9; 2004 - 10.8. Most - 20, Atlanta

Leaders per Race: 6.91; 2004 - 6.73. Most - 11, Chicago

Cautions per Race: 8.67; 2004 - 6.97. Most – 15 - Memphis

Number of Race Winners: 14; 2004 - 15.

Number of Pole Winners: 16; 2004 - 16.

Caution Laps: 1408; 2004 - 1255.

2005 NASCAR Busch Series Bits:

Derrike Cope’s next NBS start will be the 100th of his career.

Clint Bowyer made the 50th of his NBS career at Texas2; he finished seventh. He has 27 top 10s in his 50 starts.

J.J. Yeley made the 50th of his NBS career at Texas; he finished 25th.

Martin Truex Jr.’s pole win at Memphis was the 10th of his NBS career in 81 starts.

Johnny Sauter passed the $4,000,000 in career money won at Memphis.

Seventh place Paul Menard has finished in the top 10 in 14 of the last 18 races. He was third at Lowe’s. He had a career-best finish of second at Richmond 2. He was 17th at Texas.

At California 2, rookie Reed Sorenson passed the $1,000,000 money won mark for the season.

Mark Martin’s Busch Pole at Richmond 2 was his 28th NBS pole win, tying him for first all-time with Tommy Ellis.

Ryan Newman’s Michigan win marked the first time in 2005 that a driver has scored consecutive victories.

The green-white-checker finish at Memphis was the ninth of the season.

Chevrolet drivers have won 14 of the 33 races in 2005. Chevrolet has clinched the Bill France Performance Standings.

Ryan Newman has won five of the last eight NBS races (Waktins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, and Dover). His Bristol Food City 250 victory marked the first three straight NBS race wins since Dale Earnhardt Jr. won three consecutive Busch Series races in 1999. Three straight wins have been done only six other times in the Busch Series. (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Harry Gant, Larry Pearson , Sam Ard, two times). Ard’s first streak was the all-time Series record four straight race wins, 1983. Newman’s Lowe’s win was his fifth win in his last five starts, which were not consecutive races.

Three drivers have been in the top 10 all season: Carl Edwards, Reed Sorenson, and Martin Truex Jr. Three drivers in the top 10 started the season 33rd or worse: Kenny Wallace (37th), Denny Hamlin (33rd), and David Stremme (40th).

Last season Martin Truex Jr. was running at the end of every races. This season he has had three DNFs.

Jamie McMurray is less than $20,000 away from $3,000,000 in career money won.

Kevin Lepage’s ninth place at Lowe’s 2 was the first Series top 10 finish for MacDonald Motorsports.

News and Results | Point Standings | 2004 Schedule | 2003 Schedule and Results | 2002 Schedule and Results