In The Loop’ At Phoenix International Raceway

Phoenix: The House Of Dominance
Johnson Looks To Continue Phoenix Success


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 9, 2008) – Twice a driver has scored a perfect Driver Rating at Phoenix International Raceway.

Kurt Busch accomplished the rare feat – it has happened six times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since the stat’s inception in 2005 – during the spring Phoenix race in 2005. Kevin Harvick did it a year later in the fall race of 2006. Both checked in with dominant statistics in their respective races. Below are the top five drivers in post-race stats for those races:

4/05 Phoenix
Driver Rating
1 Kurt Busch 150.0
2 Brian Vickers 118.4
3 Michael Waltrip 118.0
4 Bobby Labonte 105.7
5 Greg Biffle 97.1

4/05 Phoenix
Avg. Running Position
1 Kurt Busch 1.9
2 Brian Vickers 4.1
3 Kevin Harvick 5.9
4 Michael Waltrip 6.0
5 Bobby Labonte 8.7

4/05 Phoenix
Fastest Laps Run
1 Kurt Busch 76
2 Michael Waltrip 42
3 Carl Edwards 25
4 Greg Biffle 20
5 Matt Kenseth 14

11/06 Phoenix
Driver Rating
1 Kevin Harvick 150.0
2 Jimmie Johnson 123.1
3 Jeff Gordon 117.7
4 Carl Edwards 117.6
5 Denny Hamlin 108.7

11/06 Phoenix
Avg. Running Position
1 Kevin Harvick 1.2
2 Jeff Gordon 3.8
3 Carl Edwards 4.1
4 Jimmie Johnson 5.2
5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 6.6

11/06 Phoenix
Fastest Laps Run
1 Kevin Harvick 72
2 Jimmie Johnson 64
3 Carl Edwards 30
4 Denny Hamlin 14
5 Mark Martin 11

Can it happen again?

Possibly – and if someone’s going to do it, it just might be Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has been phenomenal at Phoenix, winning there last November and finishing in the top 10 in seven of his nine starts there.

Below is Johnson’s race-by-race log at Phoenix over the past six races there (see all driver race logs at nascarmedia.com):

Jimmie Johnson at Phoenix (2005-2007)
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15 DR
4/05 15 11 5 76.9% 92.6
11/05 7 6 0 97.8% 106.9
4/06 7 5 24 97.8% 117.3
11/06 2 5 64 91.0% 123.1
4/07 4 3 37 100% 122.8
11/07 1 3 25 100% 132.4
Total 6.0 5.7 155 93.9% 115.9
ARP: Average Running Position
FLR: Fastest Laps Run
LT15: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15
DR: Driver Rating

Johnson leads the series in all of the above combined stats except for Fastest Laps Run, where he’s second to Greg Biffle’s 214.

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On the other side of the equation sits Kasey Kahne, perilously close to losing his spot in the top 12. He’s in 12th right now, 54 points ahead of 13th-place Matt Kenseth. Kahne flopped at Phoenix last season, finishing 31st and 40th.

Kasey Kahne at Phoenix – 2007
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15 DR
4/07 31 29 0 4.5% 49.8
11/07 40 32 0 3.5% 49.5
Total 35.5 30.5 0 4.0% 49.7
ARP: Average Running Position
FLR: Fastest Laps Run
LT15: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15
DR: Driver Rating