NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Phoenix Numbers Somewhat Jumbled
Jimmie Johnson has better record at PIR, but ‘new’ surface changes landscape…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted November 05, 2012   Charlotte, NC
The control tower is seen during NASCAR testing at Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)
The statistics make Brad Keselowski’s already-tough assignment – catch and pass Jimmie Johnson in the Chase race – look even more difficult this week at Phoenix International Raceway.

Johnson, who leads the points by seven going into Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 at PIR, has a head-of-the-class record at Phoenix. In 18 races, he has four wins and 12 top fives, with an excellent average finish of 5.3.

Keselowski? Not so much. In six races, he has no wins and a single top five. His average finish is 22.2.

Those numbers are a bit deceiving, however, because Sunday’s Sprint Cup field will be competing on a PIR track that is very different from the landscape upon which most of those statistics were recorded. The track was resurfaced and reconfigured last year, turning the one-mile facility into basically a new speedway.

Track officials have made additional improvements to the surface this year, using a tire rotator machine to put additional rubber into the new surface, a process designed to improve the racing groove. The same process was used prior to the March race at the track.

“We have received great feedback from the drivers who have said our process has helped improve the quality of racing at PIR,” said Larry Crispe, executive vice president of operations for Bandimere Speedway, which handled the machine work. “We are proud to again be a part of the preparations for what will be another great race in Phoenix.”

The weekend focus will be on Johnson and Keselowski. Johnson won Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway to post his fifth victory of the season, tying Keselowski in that column.

That total would be important in the unlikely event that Johnson and Keselowski repeat the points finish that Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards produced last year. Stewart and Edwards tied in points, with Stewart winning the championship on the tiebreaker – race victories.

If Johnson and Keselowski tie in points and in numbers of wins, the next tiebreaker is second-place finishes. Johnson currently leads that category 5-3.

Sprint Cup activity at Phoenix is scheduled to begin Friday. The weekend’s opening practice is scheduled at 2 p.m. (ET), and qualifying is set for 6:10 p.m.

There will be a pair of practices (at 11:30 a.m. and 2:35 p.m.) Saturday. The race is scheduled at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Then teams will move on to Homestead, FL for the final race of the season.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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