Phoenix International Raceway
, or just PIR
, is a one mile tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It opened in 1964, as the new home of major open-wheel racing in the Phoenix area, replacing the track at the Arizona State Fairgrounds as an automobile racing venue.
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PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY TICKETS
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History
Due to a change in focus by the track's current owners,
ISC, 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 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 500, considered one of
NASCAR's top annual races.
[1]
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.
[2] 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.
Previous Events
- USAC - Phoenix 150
- Indy Lights - Phoenix 75
- CART - Slick-50 200
- IRL - XM Satellite Radio Indy 200
- Rolex Sports Car Series - The GAINSCO Grand Prix
Current Events
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Subway Fresh Fit 500
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Checker Auto Parts 500
- NASCAR Nationwide Series - Bashas' Supermarkets 200
- NASCAR Nationwide Series - Arizona.Travel 200
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - Phoenix 150
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Records
(As of 104/13/08)
- Most Wins
- (2) - Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, Davey Allison, Jimmie Johnson
- Most Top 5's
- (9) - Mark Martin
- Most Top 10's
- (15) - Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin
- Starts
- (23) - Mark Martin
- Poles
- (4) - Ryan Newman
- Laps Led
- (868) - Rusty Wallace
- Avg Start (Minimum 5 starts)
- (8.1) - Rusty Wallace
- Avg Finish (Minimum 5 starts)
- (5.2) - Alan Kulwicki
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Winners
- (*)Rain Shortened Event
- (**)Race Extended Due to Green-White-Checker Finish
| Season
| Date
| Winning Driver
| Car #
| Sponsor
| Make
| Distance
| Avg Speed
| Margin of Victory
|
| 1988
| November 6
| Alan Kulwicki
| 7
| Zerex
| Ford Thunderbird
| 312 mi
|
| 18.5 sec
|
| 1989
| November 5
| Bill Elliott
| 9
| Coors
| Ford Thunderbird
| 312 mi
|
| 6 cl
|
| 1990
| November 4
| Dale Earnhardt
| 3
| GM Goodwrench
| Chevrolet Lumina
| 312 mi
|
| 0.67 sec
|
| 1991
| November 3
| Davey Allison
| 28
| TexacoHavoline
| Ford Thunderbird
| 312 mi
|
| 11.44 sec
|
| 1992
| November 1
| Davey Allison
| 28
| Havoline
| Ford Thunderbird
| 312 mi
|
| 3.22 sec
|
| 1993
| October 31
| Mark Martin
| 6
| Valvoline
| Ford Thunderbird
| 312 mi
|
| 0.17 sec
|
| 1994
| October 30
| Terry Labonte
| 5
| Kelloggs
| Chevrolet Lumina
| 312 mi
|
| 3.09 sec
|
| 1995
| October 29
| Ricky Rudd
| 10
| Tide
| Ford Thunderbird
| 312 mi
|
| 0.53 sec
|
| 1996
| October 27
| Bobby Hamilton
| 43
| STP
| Pontiac Grand Prix
| 312 mi
|
| 1.23 sec
|
| 1997
| November 2
| Dale Jarrett
| 88
| Quality Care/Ford Credit
| Ford Thunderbird
| 312 mi
|
| 2.105 sec
|
| 1998
| October 25
| Rusty Wallace
| 2
| Miller Lite
| Ford Taurus
| 257 mi*
|
| 0.17 sec
|
| 1999
| November 7
| Tony Stewart
| 20
| Home Depot
| Pontiac Grand Prix
| 312 mi
|
| 2.081 sec
|
| 2000
| November 5
| Jeff Burton
| 99
| Citgo Supergard
| Ford Taurus
| 312 mi
|
| 0.854 sec
|
| 2001
| October 28
| Jeff Burton
| 99
| Citgo Supergard
| Ford Taurus
| 312 mi
|
| 2.645 sec
|
| 2002
| November 10
| Matt Kenseth
| 17
| DeWalt Power Tools
| Ford Taurus
| 312 mi
|
| 1.344 sec
|
| 2003
| November 2
| Dale Earnhardt Jr
| 8
| Budweiser
| Chevrolet Monte Carlo
| 312 mi
|
| 0.735 sec
|
| 2004
| November 7
| Dale Earnhardt Jr
| 8
| Budweiser
| Chevrolet Monte Carlo
| 315 mi**
|
| 1.431 sec
|
| 2005
| April 23
| Kurt Busch
| 97
| Irwin/Sharpie
| Ford Taurus
| 312 mi
|
| 2.315 sec
|
| 2005
| November 13
| Kyle Busch
| 5
| Kelloggs
| Chevrolet Monte Carlo
| 312 mi
|
| 0.609 sec
|
| 2006
| April 22
| Kevin Harvick
| 29
| GM Goodwrench
| Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
| 312 mi
|
| 2.774 sec
|
| 2006
| November 13
| Kevin Harvick
| 29
| Reese's
| Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
| 312 mi
|
| 0.250 sec
|
| 2007
| April 21
| Jeff Gordon
| 24
| DuPont
| Chevrolet Impala SS
| 312 mi
|
| 0.697 sec
|
| 2007
| November 11
| Jimmie Johnson
| 48
| Lowe's
| Chevrolet Impala SS
| 312 mi
|
| 0.870 sec
|
| 2008
| April 12
| Jimmie Johnson
| 48
| Lowe's
| Chevrolet Impala SS
| 312 mi
|
| 7.002 sec
|
Track Records
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying: Ryan Newman, 26.499 sec. (135.854 mph), 2004
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race: Tony Stewart, 2 hrs. 38 min. 28 sec. (118.132 mph), 1999
- NASCAR Nationwide Series Qualifying: Kyle Busch, 26.902 sec. (133.819 mph), 2004
- NASCAR Nationwide Series Race: Jeff Burton, 1 hr. 44 min. 13 sec. (115.145 mph), 2000
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: Johnny Benson, 27.137 sec. (132.660 mph), 2006
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race: Kevin Harvick, 1 hr. 24 min. 26 sec. (108.104 mph), 2002
References
- NASCAR's Best Races
- PIR a front-runner among drivers