Working On My Redneck ™ » PIR

Phoenix International Raceway History

Leon — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 01:32:19 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

In 1964 Dave MacDonald won the first race at PIR – a 155 mile sports car event on the 2.5 mi road course. A.J. Foyt won the first oval race – a 100-mile USAC event at an average speed of 107.536 mph.

Due to a change in focus by the track’s current owners, ISC (International Speedway Corp.), the Phoenix area’s long history of hosting Indy-style racing (only Indianapolis itself and Milwaukee have had more) came to an abrupt end in 2005, when PIR failed to host an Indy Racing League event for the first time. Ironically, stock car racing’s top series, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, didn’t even run at PIR until 1988. Their inaugural race was won by the late Alan Kulwicki, who debuted his Polish Victory Lap here after taking the checkered flag.

PIR has a unique tri-oval shape, with a curve in middle of its backstretch between turns two and three, commonly referred to as “the dogleg”. This exists because the original builders were constrained by both the rocky hills located on the property and their incorporation of an external road course and dragstrip into PIR’s design. Once nearby Firebird International Raceway became a regular stop on drag racing tours, PIR’s dragstrip was rarely used. The external road course, which was used mainly for private testing and as parking lot access roads during oval events, was later replaced by the current infield road circuit. Prior to construction of a tunnel under turn four in 2002–03, the only access to the PIR’s infield during events was via crossovers, where the old external road course and dragstrip intersected the oval. Once the tunnel was built, the crossovers were permanently sealed off.

The other notable feature of PIR is the presence of the “Hillside”, a fan-favorite viewing area located on “Monument Hill” just outside of turn four. At the top of this hill lies a USGS bench marker known as Gila and Salt River Meridian that is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Long before PIR existed, this spot was the original land survey point for all of what later became the state of Arizona. The original surveyors chose this location to begin their work because it is the nearest high ground from the confluence of the Salt River and the Gila River, and offered a great view after only a gentle climb.

The present-day Avondale Boulevard (formerly known as 115th Avenue) marks the north-south meridian of that original survey, while the aptly-named Baseline Road runs east-west along the surveyors’ baseline. The survey benchmark also denotes the western boundary of the Gila River Indian Community. In PIR’s earlier years, residents of this neighboring Native American community were rumored to have sometimes sold concessions through the fence to hungry race fans unwilling to walk back down to the track’s food and beverage stands.

Until 2005, PIR’s oval annually hosted at least one major Indy-style racing event, dating back to its initial construction. It is still used year-round by various Indy Racing League teams for private testing as well as for the filming of television commercials featuring that series’ cars.

The infield road course, originally built for IMSA was most recently used by the Grand American Road Racing Association.

The oval also remains home to what was traditionally called the Copper World Classic, a weekend of predominantly open-wheel competition with USAC midget and Silver Crown cars as well as modifieds. From 2002–04, the event was incorporated into early-spring the Indy Car Series / Indy Pro Series weekend, but with the departure of IRL, the Copper World event has returned to its original late-winter date on PIR’s racing schedule.

In 2004, the track installed lights for the upcoming inaugural spring race to be held at night. In 2005, the track hosted a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race event, replacing the spring race formerly held at Darlington Raceway, in South Carolina. The track currently hosts the annual Subway Fresh Fit 600, considered one of NASCAR’s top annual races.

In a recent poll conducted by Sports Illustrated, 12 percent of NASCAR drivers voted PIR as their favorite track. That was enough for a second place tie with Atlanta Motor Speedway. David Reutimann said he “loves that place. It’s just a weird-shaped racetrack, and I grew up racing on stuff that was odd-shaped. I think I like it because it’s not the normal track. It’s flat and fast.”

Scenes from the movie Taxi were filmed at the track.

On January 14, 2010 it was announced that due to NASCAR’s standard time rule, Phoenix’s April race would be extended from a 312 lap to a 375 lap race to guarantee a nighttime finish. The extra 63 laps (100 km) will change the race name to the Subway Fresh Fit 600.

NASCAR announced on August 10, 2010, that Phoenix’s spring date will move to February beginning in 2010. The race will be reduced back to 500 km in length and will be run the week following the Daytona 500 instead of the early April date the race had occupied since its inception in 2005. Like Phoenix’s fall race, the spring race will be run during the day.

I looked it up so you wouldn’t have to!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Phoenix Increases Distance Of Race

Leon — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:07:19 +0000

(photo courtesy Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

When there has been some talk on NASCAR’s part to shorten some of the races, the exact opposite has occurred at Phoenix this weekend. The Subway Fresh Fit 500 has been increased 100 kilometers to The Subway Fresh Fit 600. Phoenix likes to measure their races in kilometers! It makes is sound like a longer race, when 600 kilometers is really only 375 laps/miles. That is an increase of 64 laps for the race.

That means that the race will take about 30 -45 minutes longer to run than the previous races. Since NASCAR standardized all the race times, that new policy moved the Phoenix race time one hour earlier than in previous years. In keeping with the notion that this is the first night race of the season, the Phoenix promoters asked NASCAR for permission to lengthen the race to 600 kilometers so that it would, in fact, end under the lights.

Will the adjusted start time and/or the increased distance make a significant difference? That all depends on who you talk to in the garage area. The opinions are equally divided among crew chiefs and drivers alike.

The one thing that is for sure, the racing will be fast, furious, and aggressive. Guaranteed there are going to be some hurt feelings, tempers lost, blown fuses, and a some of “HELMET FIRES” with a driver or two!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Turn Out The Lights…..!

Leon — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:55:08 +0000

(photo courtesy Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy driven by Jimmie Johnson rebounded in the ultimate fashion Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway’s Checkers O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 in Avondale, AZ! In what has come to be traditional #48 Lowe’s Chevy Chase productivity, the team responded after a horrible previous race at Texas with a dominating win at Phoenix! The win Sunday has all but put an exclamation point on what most definitely will be that team’s fourth consecutive championship!

That’s right folks, you can tear down the tents, wipe the grease paint off of the clowns faces, the “fat lady” is tuning up and going to sing her Auria! Turn out the lights, the part is over! What we have witnessed has been truly amazing. Not only have we witnessed “Tornado Jimmie”, but also we have witnessed one of the greatest disappearing acts by nine of the competitors in recent NASCAR history!

Ten weeks ago we were touting this group of 12 drivers as the best of the best. Now nine of those drivers have faded like a pair of Levi jeans! Jeff Gordon in the HMS #24 Dupont Chevy is in third place, back a distant 169 points. His chances fade immediately to black as soon as Jimmie Johnson fires up that 800hp HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy on Sunday. That will leave only Mark Martin in the HMS #5 Kellogg’s/Carquest Chevy as the only driver to have the remotest of chances in catching “Tornado Jimmie”! Martin is 108 points behind Johnson with just the lone race at Homestead to run.

So what started out as twelve drivers, ten races, one championship is now one driver, one race, and one champion…… Jimmie Johnson!

The Hendrick Motorsports #48 Lowe’s Chevy rewrites the NASCAR history books at Homestead this Sunday!

(Can anyone direct me to a good restaurant that serves crow on their menu?)

Congratulations to the whole Hendrick Motorsports organization! It appears that they will have a 1,2,3 finish in the Chase points in 2009. That is also another first for NASCAR history.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!