Phoenix International Raceway
Track Data:
Race #: 34 of 36 (11-07-04) Track Size: 1.0 Mile
Event: Checker Auto Parts 500 Number of Laps: 312
Location: Phoenix, AZ Length of Event: 312 Miles
Length of Front Stretch: 1,179 Feet Degree of Banking in Corners: 1-2: 11 degrees
Length of Back Stretch: 1,551 Feet 3-4: 9 degrees
Qualifying Data:
Last years event pole winner: Ryan Newman 133.675 mph 10-31-03 26.931 seconds
Last years event winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. 93.984 mph 11-02-03 3 hrs, 19 min, 11 sec
Track qualifying record: Rusty Wallace 134.178 mph 11-3-00 26.830 seconds
Track record: Tony Stewart 118.132 mph 11-7-99 2 hrs, 38 min, 28 sec
Historical Data:
Previous winners at Phoenix:
Davey Allison (2) Jeff Burton (2) Dale Earnhardt (1) Bill Elliott (1) Bobby Hamilton (1)
Dale Jarrett (1) Alan Kulwicki (1) Mark Martin (1) Terry Labonte (1) Ricky Rudd (1)
Rusty Wallace (1) Tony Stewart (1) Matt Kenseth (1) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1)
Races won from the pole: 0 of 16 events (0%)
Races won from the top 10: 6 of 16 events (38%)
Races won from outside the top 10: 10 of 16 events (62%)
Modern Era Event Victories by Car Make (1972 - Present):
Chevy Ford Olds Pontiac Buick Dodge Mercury Plymouth Matador
3 11 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
Track Milestones
Geoffrey Bodine won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Bud Pole at the Phoenix International Raceway in 1988.
Alan Kulwicki won the inaugural NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at the Phoenix International Raceway, the 1988
Checker 500. It was also Kulwickis first career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory.
Track Update
Mark Martin has posted 13 top-10 finishes in 16 races at Phoenix International Raceway. All of the seven drivers
who have competed in all 16 races at Phoenix have posted at least four top-10 finishes there: Martin (13), Dale Jarrett
(eight), Rusty Wallace (seven), Ricky Rudd (five), Terry Labonte (five), Ken Schrader (four) and Bill Elliott (four).
Only Terry Labonte has completed all 16 Phoenix races without posting a DNF there.
Manufacturer Update
Ford has won 11 of the 16 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Phoenix and has had at least two top-five
finishes in all 16 races. Chevrolet has three victories at Phoenix and Pontiac has two. The highest finishing
Dodge driver in the three races that the manufacturer has competed at Phoenix (2001-2003) was Ryan Newman
Wallace (3rd in 2003).
Qualifying Update
Ken Schrader has posted a top-10 qualifying effort, including two Bud Poles (1989 and 1998), in 12 of the 16
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races held at Phoenix.
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Active Drivers First and Last at this Track
First Start
Wallace, Mike 11-3-91
Newman, Ryan 11-5-00
First Pole
None
First Win
None
Last Pole
Andretti, John 11-5-99
Last Win
Burton, Jeff 10-28-01
Last Victory at This Track
in a Chevrolet ....Dale Earnhardt Jr.....2003 Checkered Auto Parts 500
in a Ford .........Matt Kenseth .........2002 Checker Auto Parts 500
in a Dodge ........None
in a Pontiac ......Tony Stewart .........1999 Checkered Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500
Car Owner Victories at This Track
Jack Roush 4
Robert Yates 3
Alan Kulwicki 1
Melling Racing 1
Richard Childress 1
Rick Hendrick 1
Ricky Rudd 1
Petty Enterprises 1
Roger Penske 1
Joe Gibbs 1
Teresa Earnhardt 1
TOTAL 16
Tire/Fuel Data
Goodyear Tire Codes: Left-side - D-6830; Right-side - D-6832
Other NEXTEL Cup Tracks with Same Tire Combination: New Hampshire International Speedway
Estimated Pit Window: Every 90-100, based on fuel mileage
Speed Limits: Pit Road 45 mph; Caution Car 50 mph
Would You Believe?
Rusty Wallace has posted a top-10 qualifying effort in 15 of 16 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races held at Phoenix,
including three Bud Poles (1990, 1992 and 2000), the most of all drivers. Wallace failed to make the top-10 last season
when he started 29th.
Mr. Phoenix
Mark Martin has posted eight top-five finishes in 16 races at Phoenix, the only active driver to post top-five
finishes in at least half of the 16 Phoenix races.
How Important is Track Position?
The average starting position of the 161 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races winners at Phoenix has been 12.5. Two races
have been won from the 13th-starting position and five have been won from a starting position further back than 13th.
Only six races have been won from a top-10 starting position.
Notebook
There have been 16 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at the Phoenix International Raceway, one per season since the
track hosted its inaugural race in 1988.
There have been 10 different Bud Pole winners in the 16 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Phoenix.
Rusty Wallace leads all other drivers with three Bud Poles at Phoenix. Geoffrey Bodine, Bill Elliott, Ryan
Newman, Ken Schrader each have two Bud Poles at Phoenix.
Ryan Newman is the defending Bud Pole winner for the Checker Auto Parts 500. Newman, the only driver to win
consecutive Bud Poles at Phoenix, is seeking his third straight.
There have been 14 different race winners in the 16 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Phoenix.
The late Davey Allison (1991 and 1992) and Jeff Burton (2000 and 2001) are the only drivers to score two NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup victories at Phoenix.
Twelve drivers have each posted one victory at Phoenix: Alan Kulwicki, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill
Elliott, Bobby Hamilton, Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart
and Rusty Wallace.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., is the defending champion of the Checker Auto Parts 500.
The race has never been won from the Bud Pole at Phoenix. The winner has started in the third-place, starting position
three times and from 11th and 13th place twice each.
Only one NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Phoenix has been won from a front-row starting position.
The race at Phoenix has been won from a top-10 starting position only six of 16 times.
Ricky Rudd won the 1995 Dura-Lube 500 from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has
started at Phoenix.
Mark Martin (13 of 16), Jeff Gordon (nine of 11), Dale Jarrett (eight of 16), Jeff Burton (five of 10), Tony
Stewart (three of five), Matt Kenseth (three of four), Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two of four) are the
active drivers that have posted top-10 finishes in at least half of their races at Phoenix.
Track Update of the Week
Phoenix is one of only four active tracks where Jeff Gordon has not scored a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory.
Chicago, Homestead and Texas are the others. Gordon has posted nine top-10 finishes in 11 races at Phoenix. His best
finish there was third in 2002.
Selected Modern Era Performance at this Track
(Minimum of three starts)
One-hundred-and-thirty-four drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Phoenix.
Category All-time Active Last 10 Races
Starts Seven drivers - 16 Six drivers - 16 15 Drivers - 10
Poles (Races) Rusty Wallace 3 (16) Rusty Wallace 3 (16) Ryan Newman 2 (4)
Wins (Races) Davey Allison 2(5) Jeff Burton 2 (10) Jeff Burton 2 (10)
Jeff Burton 2 (10)
Top Fives Mark Martin - 8 Mark Martin - 8 Mark Martin 5 (10)
Rusty Wallace 5 (10)
Top 10s Mark Martin - 13 Mark Martin - 13 Jeff Gordon 9
Mark Martin - 9
Laps Led Rusty Wallace - 868 Rusty Wallace - 868 Rusty Wallace - 512
DNFs (Races) Kyle Petty 5 (15) Kyle Petty 5 (15) Kyle Petty 4 (9)
Dick Trickle 5 (9)
Average Start (Races) Rusty Wallace 6.437 (16) Rusty Wallace 6.437 (16)
Rusty Wallace 7.40 (10)
Average Finish (Races) Alan Kulwicki 5.20 (5) Mark Martin 8.25 (16) Mark
Martin 6.10 (10)
