Chase For The Sprint Cup glance: Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway is the site for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. // Mark Sluder, NASCAR Scene
Related stories: Penske Racing's Kurt Busch conserves fuel to take win as Jimmie Johnson falters at Texas
Mark Martin closes on points lead and says 'still things can happen'
Jeff Gordon can't capitalize on teammate's troubles at Texas
Photos: Jimmie Johnson’s difficult day at Texas Motor Speedway
Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway comes at an opportune time for both Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin.
After a 38th-place finish in Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway, three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Johnson took a substantial hit in NASCAR’s Chase For The Sprint Cup standings and now leads teammate Martin by only 73 points with two races remaining this year. He had entered the event 184 points ahead.
Johnson has run well at Phoenix in the past. He has three wins in the last five races at the track and has finished in the top-five in each of those.
Meanwhile, Martin won the spring race at Phoenix by leading 157 laps after winning the pole position.
And teammate Jeff Gordon is 112 points behind Johnson in the Chase, also bringing a solid record to the track with 15 top-10 finishes, eight of them top-fives.
Here’s a look at how the 12 Chase drivers have fared to date this season and how they've performed at the 1-mile Phoenix track in the past:
1. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet: Johnson, 34, finished 38th at Texas last weekend. He has six wins, 14 top-fives, 22 top-10s and three poles in 34 starts this season, with only one DNF. Johnson has three wins at Phoenix, seven top-fives and 10 top-10s in 12 starts, with an average finish of 5.4.
2. Mark Martin, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (-73): Martin, 50, finished fourth at Texas last weekend. He has five wins, 13 top-fives, 20 top-10s and seven poles in 2009. He has four DNFs. The Batesville, Ark., native has two wins, 10 top-fives and 16 top-10s at Phoenix. His average finish in 25 races at the track is 9.0.
3. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (-112): Gordon, 38, finished 13th at Texas last weekend. The four-time champion has one win, 16 top-fives and 23 top-10s this season, with one DNF. He has one win, eight top-fives and 15 top-10s at Phoenix to go along with his three poles. Gordon’s average finish in 21 races at the track is 10.9.
4. Kurt Busch, No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge (-171): Busch, 31, won his second race of the season and 20th of his career at Texas last weekend. The 2004 champion has nine top-fives and 19 top-10s this season, while recording three DNFs. Busch has four top-fives and seven top-10s in 13 starts at Phoenix and has an average finish of 12.5 over that stretch.
5. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet (-178): Stewart, 38, finished sixth at Texas last weekend. The two-time series champion has four wins, 15 top-fives, 23 top-10s and one DNF in his first season as an owner/driver. Stewart has one win, seven top-fives and nine top-10s at Phoenix, where he boasts an average finish of 10.1 in 15 races.
6. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (-236): Montoya, 34, suffered a major blow by finishing 37th at Texas last weekend. He has seven top-fives, 17 top-10s and two poles this season and has been running at the end of every race. The Colombia native has yet to crack the top 10 at Phoenix in five starts, where he has an average finish of 21.4.
7. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford (-247): Biffle, 39, finished eighth at Texas. He has 10 top-fives, 16 top-10s and two DNFs this season. He has three top-fives and four top-10s in 11 races at Phoenix for an average finish of 14.9.
8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (-322): Hamlin, 28, finished second at Texas last weekend. He has three wins, 13 top-fives and 18 top-10s this season to go along with one pole. He has four DNFs. Hamlin has four top-fives and five top-10s at Texas, with an average finish of 10.4 in eight races.
9. Ryan Newman, No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet (-324): Newman, 31, finished 12th at Texas last weekend. He has five top-fives, 15 top-10s and two poles this season while tallying one DNF. He has three top-fives, three top-10s and four poles at Phoenix, where he has an average finish of 22.9 in 14 races.
10. Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge (-399): Kahne, 29, ran out of fuel and finished 33rd at Texas last weekend. He has two wins, seven top-fives and 14 top-10s this season. He has two DNFs. Kahne has one top-five and three top-10s in 10 starts at Phoenix. Kahne has an average finish of 19.5 over that stretch.
11. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford (-440): Edwards, 30, wrecked and finished 39th at Texas. He has seven top-fives, 13 top-10s and two DNFs in 2009. He has four top-fives and seven top-10s in 10 starts at Texas for an average finish of 13.0.
12. Brian Vickers, No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota (-520): Vickers, 26, finished 26th at Texas last weekend. He has one win, four top-fives, 13 top-10s and six poles this season, and he has failed to finish four times. Vickers has one top-five and one top-10 finish in 10 races at Phoenix, where his average finish is 19.3.
