|
On November 13 th of this year, the Phoenix International Raceway will be the host of the Checker Auto Parts 500 for the seventh straight year, a race that will be the ninth of ten in the Chase for the Cup. The Phoenix International Raceway is located in Avondale, Arizona, and is an oval shaped course that measures one mile all the way around. The track opened its doors in 1964 and is located near the Salt River and the Gila River at the base of the Estrella Mountains. For the first 17 years the Phoenix International Raceway was a NASCAR host track, it was only able to host race a year, but in 2005, they’ll also be hosting the Subway Fresh 500 on April 23 rd. In last year’s race, Ryan Newman took the pole position with a speed of just over 135 mph. No driver has ever gone on to win the race after starting from the pole but Newman certainly gave it his best shot. In a race that featured 11 caution flags that spanned 63 laps, one of which caused the race to go an additional three laps, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to hold of Newman to claim the checkered flag for the sixth time this season.
NASCAR's green-white checkered flag finish rule forced the drivers to stay out on the course after the scheduled 312 laps to finish the race under the green flag where Junior was able to pull away from Newman, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, and Kasey Kahne, the other finishers in the top five. Kurt Busch, the leader in the points chase heading into the race, was able to claw his way to a tenth place finish to keep a lead of 41 points over Jeff Gordon and 47 points over Earnhardt Jr. Jimmie Johnson’s sixth place finish at the Checker Auto Parts 500 actually moved him closer to Busch in the title chase (48 points back) but behind both Gordon and Junior based on their performances.
Get your Checker 500 Tickets from GetTicketsHere.com |
