With his win at Texas Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards joined Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Bill Elliott as active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers to win three of the first seven races of a season.
Johnson did it last year, and went on to win the championship.
Gordon has accomplished the feat three times, following it up with championships in two of those seasons – 1995 and 1997 (he finished second in the final points standings in 1996, the other year he won three of the first seven).
Elliott has done it twice – in 1985 and 1992 – and finished second in the final standings both times.
In other words, Edwards’ performance could lead to the title – it has happened before.
Likely, the key for Edwards will be his performance on tracks less than 1.5 miles in length. Of his 10 career victories, only two have come on tracks less than 1.5 miles in length (Dover and Bristol last year).
This Saturday night, Edwards will get a chance to prove his mettle on the smaller one-mile Phoenix International Raceway layout.
He has been solid there. Last November, he led 87 laps, but engine problems relegated him to a 42nd-place finish. Prior to that, Edwards finished in the top 10 in four of the previous five Phoenix races.
Since 2005, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 102.1 (seventh-best), an Average Running Position of 13.6 and 130 Fastest Laps Run (third) at Phoenix.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2008 Top 12 at Phoenix International Raceway
Driver
Races
Poles
Wins
Top Fives
Top 10s
DNFs
Average Finish
Driver Rating
1
Jeff Burton
17
0
2
5
9
0
11.4
86.1
2
Kevin Harvick
10
0
2
3
5
0
13.2
110.3
3
Kyle Busch
6
1
1
1
4
0
16.3
88.9
4
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
11
0
2
4
5
3
19.0
82.7
5
Tony Stewart
12
0
1
6
8
0
9.4
103.5
6
Jimmie Johnson
9
0
1
4
7
0
6.6
115.9
7
Denny Hamlin
5
1
0
2
2
0
13.8
89.8
8
Ryan Newman
11
3
0
3
3
3
20.6
87.3
9
Greg Biffle,
8
0
0
2
2
1
17.4
102.4
10
Carl Edwards
7
1
0
2
4
1
16.0
102.1
11
Clint Bowyer
5
0
0
1
1
1
18.6
82.5
12
Kasey Kahne
7
0
0
1
3
1
19.0
71.2
Selected Driver Highlights – Phoenix International Raceway-specific
Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Phoenix International Raceway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last six races at Phoenix. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.
Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford)
• Two top fives
• Average finish of 17.4
• Average Running Position of 15.3, 16th-best
• Driver Rating of 102.4, sixth-best
• Series-high 214 Fastest Laps Run
• 1,120 (59.8%) Laps in the Top 15, 11th-most
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• One win, two top fives, five top 10s
• Average finish of 13.4
• Average Running Position of 8.4, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 103.7, fourth-best
• 121 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• 1,328 (85.1%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-best percentage
• 114 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), sixth-most
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford)
• Two top fives, four top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 16.0
• Average Running Position of 13.6, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 102.1, seventh-best
• 130 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• 1,373 (73.3%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most
• 122 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• One win, eight top fives, 15 top 10s; three poles
• Average finish of 8.3
• Average Running Position of 8.0, third-best
• Driver Rating of 107.0, third-best
• 60 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
• 1,666 (89.0%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
• 99 Quality Passes, 11th-most
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• Two wins, three top fives, five top 10s
• Average finish of 13.2
• Average Running Position of 7.0, second-best
• Driver Rating of 110.3, second-best
• 127 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• 1,669 (89.2%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
• 125 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• One win, four top fives, seven top 10s
• Average finish of 6.6
• Series-best Average Running Position of 5.7
• Series-high Driver Rating of 115.9
• 155 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Series-high 1,758 (93.9%) Laps in the Top 15
• 133 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
• One win, five top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 17.0
• Average Running Position of 14.3, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 97.0, eighth-best
• 103 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
• 1,329 (71.0%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
• 153 Quality Passes, third-most
Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet)
• One top 10
• Average finish of 15.3
• Average Running Position of 11.5, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 93.0, ninth-best
• 58 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
• 921 (73.8%) Laps in the Top 15, seventh-highest percentage
• 66 Quality Passes (16.5 per race), tied for 13th-best per race figure
Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
• One win, six top fives, eight top 10s
• Average finish of 9.4
• Average Running Position of 10.1, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 103.5, fifth-best
• 80 Fastest Laps Run, seventh
• 1,450 (77.5%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
• 148 Quality Passes, fourth-most
At Phoenix International Raceway:
History
• Construction on Phoenix International Raceway was completed in January 1964. The configuration consisted of a one-mile oval and a 2.5-mile road course.
• Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 1988.
• The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuted at Phoenix on Feb. 5, 1995. Mike Skinner became the series’ first winner.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix was on Nov. 11, 1999.
• The first spring race at PIR was held on April 23, 2005. Also the first night race, it was won by Kurt Busch.
Notebook
• There have been 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, one per season from 1988 through 2004 and two each season since.
• Geoffrey Bodine won the first pole at the Phoenix International Raceway in 1988.
• Alan Kulwicki won the inaugural race at Phoenix in 1988.
• There have been 14 different pole winners at Phoenix, led by Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace – each with three.
• Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon are the only drivers to win consecutive poles at Phoenix. Newman won three straight (2002-04) while Gordon won the fall of 2006 and spring 2007.
• There have been 19 different race winners at Phoenix.
• Davey Allison (1991 and 1992), Jeff Burton (2000 and 2001), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003 and 2004) and Kevin Harvick (both 2006) are the only drivers to score two victories at Phoenix. All posted back-to-back victories.
• Roush Fenway Racing has won five races at Phoenix, more than any other organization.
• The race has been won from the pole just once at Phoenix: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007).
• The race at Phoenix has been won from a top-10 starting position only 11 of 23 times.
• Ricky Rudd won in 1995 from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started at Phoenix.
• Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon both have posted eight top-five finishes at Phoenix, more than any other driver. Martin has one victory and five second-place finishes in his 22 races, while Gordon has one victory and three third-place runs in his 18 appearances in the Arizona desert. Gordon (15) leads Martin in top-10 finishes by one. Both have just one DNF at Phoenix – both coming in their respective first race there.
The Local Flavor
• There have been 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Arizona.
• 24 NASCAR drivers (all-time) have their home state recorded as Arizona. There have been no race winners on the top-three NASCAR series from Arizona:
Phoenix International Raceway Data
Race # 8 of 36 (4-12-08)
Track Size: 1 mile
• Banking/1 and 2: 11 degrees
• Banking/3 and 4: 9 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
• Frontstretch: 1,179 feet
• Backstretch: 1,551 feet
Driver Rating at Phoenix
Jimmie Johnson 115.9
Kevin Harvick 110.3
Jeff Gordon 107.0
Kurt Busch 103.7
Tony Stewart 103.5
Greg Biffle 102.4
Carl Edwards 102.1
Matt Kenseth 97.0
Martin Truex Jr. 93.0
Mark Martin 90.1
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2007 races (6 total) at Phoenix.
Qualifying/Race Data
2007 pole winner: Jeff Gordon (133.136 mph, 27.040 seconds)
2007 race winner: Jeff Gordon, 107.710 mph, 4-21-07)
Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman (135.854 mph, 26.499 seconds, 11-5-04)
Track race record: Tony Stewart (118.132 mph, 11-7-99)
Pit Window: Every 70-78 laps, based on fuel mileage
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