What to Watch For: Phoenix International Raceway
CONCORD, N.C. -- The Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup comes to an end this Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.
Four drivers will advance to Homestead-Miami Speedway with a shot at a championship -- and Jeff Gordon is currently in fourth place in the standings.
Before the race, which is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on ESPN, check out some key notes to keep an eye on.
THIS WEEK'S PAINT SCHEMES: This week, Gordon will drive his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet SS, albeit with a new design. Take a look at the paint scheme taking shape in the race shop. Jimmie Johnson will race a patriotic-themed No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS, which he also drove in Charlotte -- one of his four wins this season -- and Daytona in July. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will man the No. 88 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS, and Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS.
HENDRICK AT PHOENIX: In 132 starts at Phoenix, Hendrick Motorsports has nine wins, 40 top-five finishes and 67 top-10s. Gordon recorded the organization’s most recent Phoenix victory in February 2011, prior to the repave of the one-mile oval.
DOUBLE-DIGIT: Hendrick Motorsports has 10 or more victories at 10 tracks on the Cup circuit. A win at Phoenix would give the organization 10 there and would match its current total of 10 at Richmond International Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway.
APPROACHING 200: This weekend, Hendrick Motorsports could reach yet another milestone. With one more Sprint Cup Series pole position, the organization will have earned 200 in its 30-year history. Currently, Hendrick Motorsports sits at 199 poles, with Gordon and Johnson combining for three so far in the 2014 season.
POINTS UPDATE: Late-race contact that flattened the left-rear tire on the No. 24 Chevrolet SS resulted in a spin and a 29th-place finish for Gordon at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion fell to fourth in the Sprint Cup Series point standings, 12 out of the lead. Following this Sunday’s Phoenix International Raceway event, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field will be reduced to the four drivers that will battle for the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 16.
GORDON AT PHOENIX: Gordon has two wins, three poles, 11 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s in 31 starts at the Arizona track while he has an 11.3 average finishing position and a 10.9 average starting position. Gordon's first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Phoenix International Raceway occurred on April 21, 2007, and was his 76th career win in NASCAR's premier division. That win tied him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt for sixth on NASCAR's all-time wins list.
ONE AWAY FROM MARTIN: During his 22-year Sprint Cup career, the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevy SS has collected 452 top-10s. Gordon is third all-time in that statistical category, one behind Mark Martin (453) and 260 behind Richard Petty (712). Gordon has collected 21 this season, which is tied for the series-best.
KAHNE AT PHOENIX: In 20 Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix, Kahne has one win, four top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He has qualified inside the top 10 six times during the last seven races at the one-mile, Avondale, Arizona, oval, making his average start 6.7 in these past seven events. A year ago in this race, Kahne started seventh, led 41 laps and finished second.
PHOENIX WINNER: Kahne became the first Sprint Cup Series driver to reach Victory Lane at the reconfigured Phoenix International Raceway in November 2011 prior to his arrival at Hendrick Motorsports. He took the checkered flag in the Kobalt Tools 500 after starting 10th and spending most of the race running in the top 10 before leading the final 14 laps on his way to his first Sprint Cup win at the one-mile oval.
JOHNSON AT PHOENIX: In 22 starts at Phoenix, Johnson has four wins, 14 top five-finishes and 18 top 10s. He has led 933 circuits around the track in the desert. Johnson has started from the pole position twice and has a series-leading average finish of 6.3. He is the only active driver with an average finish inside the top 10.
HITTING THE ‘70’ MARK: With his win last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson reached 70 Cup wins in his career. Of those wins, 39 have come at speedways between one and two miles in length. He has won 18 times at superspeedways of two or more miles, 12 times on short tracks less than a mile in length and once on a road course. He leads Cup drivers all-time with 13 wins on one-mile tracks, which is the length of Phoenix International Raceway, the site of this Sunday’s race. Johnson is currently eighth on the all-time Sprint Cup Series win list.
EARNHARDT AT PHOENIX: In 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix International Raceway, Earnhardt has earned two wins, seven top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. He also has led 509 laps at the one-mile track. He scored his two wins there back-to-back, going to Victory Lane in November 2003 and November 2004 when Phoenix hosted one Cup event per season.
PHOENIX STATS: Among drivers all-time, Earnhardt’s two wins rank him tied for third at Phoenix. Among active drivers, Earnhardt ranks tied for fifth in the laps led category with 509 laps, and he is tied for seventh with seven top-five finishes. He ranks ninth with 11 top-10s at the one-mile desert oval.