Tickets Go On Sale June 1st For The NASCAR Chase For The Spring Cup Semi-Final Race at PIR!

Phoenix International Raceway has waived the green flag for fans to purchase tickets to one of the most exciting race weekends of the NASCAR season, featuring the semi-final race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Tickets to the Nov. 8-11 NASCAR event weekend at PIR go on sale June 1 and can be purchased by visiting PhoenixRaceway.com/Tickets or by calling 1-866-408-RACE (7223).

Last year’s semi-final race at PIR sold out quickly. The capacity crowd witnessed a thrilling race won by Kasey Kahne on PIR’s newly paved track, while Chase points leaders Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart positioned themselves for an historic conclusion to the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“Drivers know they have to lay it all on the line at this race in order to have a shot at the Sprint Cup title,” said Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber. “November’s race will likely be one of the most competitive and aggressive events of the 2012 NASCAR season.”

A fun-filled weekend of family entertainment and Veteran’s Day-related activities on in the fan midway will make for one of the most anticipated annual festival atmospheres throughout the Phoenix area. Four exciting NASCAR races will take place on the track, providing a one-of-a-kind experience to be enjoyed with friends and family members of all ages.

A number of great individual pricing options are available throughout the event weekend. Tickets to the Sunday, Nov. 11 Chase for the Sprint Cup Series Race begin at $25. Prices start as low as $15 for the opportunity to watch two Saturday (Nov. 10) races, the Great Clips 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series Race and the Casino Arizona 50 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Race. Fans can enjoy the Friday, Nov. 9, Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at a price point as low as $7 per ticket. Package deals are also available to fans interested in purchasing tickets to both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races on Saturday and Sunday.

Additional information on tickets and activities scheduled for the entire Nov. 8-11 NASCAR event weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be found by visiting PhoenixRaceway.com, Facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway and Twitter.com/PhoenixRaceway.

Edwards Wins – Johnson Closes Gap – Harvick Still Alive – Hamlin Reeling – A Thrilling Day at PIR!

It was an incredible day of racing at PIR. Just what you’d expect with two races to go and three drivers gunning for a championship. For all those Chase haters out there – I hope you’re taking notice of just what the system can produce as far as drama is concerned.

Carl Edwards staged a fierce battle with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin for six thrilling laps and won a fuel gamble in the closing stages to win the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday afternoon. Edwards locked up a victory when the fuel mileage held up in his Aflac Ford and Hamlin had to pit for fuel with 14 laps to go.

Edwards giddily dashed into a stunned but overjoyed crowd of grandstand fans as he celebrated the end of a 70-race victory drought. Edwards of course treated the faithful fans to his signature victory back flip on the front stretch.

Ryan Newman finished second and Joey Logano third when second-running Juan Pablo Montoya (ended up 16th) ran out of fuel on the last lap.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Spoiler Test At Charlotte Motor Speedway Goes Well!

* Teams Ready For Transition From Wing To Spoiler
* Drivers Cite Stability, Good Looks As Spoiler Positives

Wednesday marked the second day of a two-day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and ended with resounding validation as teams prepare to transition from the wing on the rear of their cars to a spoiler.

This Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Martinsville Speedway marks the first with spoilers on NASCAR’s new car. The wing-to-spoiler switch was one of several rule changes announced earlier this year.

“I really like the spoiler,” said Carl Edwards, one of several drivers who visited Charlotte’s infield media center on Wednesday. “I think it looks great. I think it’s a great move. The fans are gonna like it and it doesn’t seem to make the car feel much different.”

The spoiler to be used at all tracks except Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway will be 64.5 inches in length and four inches tall in the center. It will be affixed at a 70- degree angle and is non-adjustable.

Beginning with the April 16-18 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, a 3.5-inch-tall rear-deck fin will be added to the left side of the car. This fin can either be the full length of the deck-lid or a maximum of eight inches short of the spoiler. With the deck lid fin and its length options, the teams will have some flexibility in adjusting rear side force.

“Overall, this was a very good test for us,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “I think the spoiler, plus the rear deck, are going to make the cars ‘racier.’ ”

The wing replaced the traditional stock-car spoiler on NASCAR’s new car, now in its third fulltime season. NASCAR Sprint Cup teams ran the wing for 93 races, beginning in March 2007 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last week’s spring race at Bristol was the wing’s final event.

“I think the good thing is that there’s nothing large or big jumping out at us saying the spoiler is a lot different,” said Jimmie Johnson, the reigning and four-time series champion.  “We’ve just been kind of working on our race car and working as if this was just a normal test and there was no change at the back of the car with a wing versus a spoiler.”

Normalcy, in fact, was one of the many positive reactions emerging from the two-day test. Opportunity is another.

“I feel like this is a new opportunity to maybe gain some ground, where before some other teams had an advantage on you,” said David Reutimann. “Now, you got something that’s completely new and it’s kind of a clean sheet of paper for almost everybody.  It’s just going to see who can adapt the quickest.”

Crew chief Jimmy Elledge, who oversees driver Scott Speed’s team, concurred.

“I look at things like this as a new challenge and a clean sheet of paper for everybody,” Elledge said. “No one really has any experience with this and the quicker you adapt and learn it, maybe you can get the jump on everyone.”

“Teams will adjust accordingly,” Pemberton said. “It won’t be the same for everybody, and it’ll definitely be something that they’ll have to work towards to get their handling packages correct around other cars during the race, but the drivers like the spoiler and are more comfortable with it and the fans seem to like it, too.”

“Aesthetically, it makes the cars look better,” said Kurt Busch. “There is some fine-tuning available with the rear-deck fin and that’s pretty cool. We’ll have a couple of races with the spoiler under our belts before we get to Texas and that will be our first big test with it.”

This week’s Charlotte test follows last week’s one-day session at Talladega Superspeedway, where approximately 24 teams worked spoilers along with mechanical issues for the April 25 event at Talladega. The Charlotte test addressed only the spoiler.

Both the Charlotte and Talladega tests are exceptions to the current testing policy. For the second consecutive season, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams may not test at facilities that host national-series events. This year, teams may test at tracks that host regional touring series events, but not national series events.

Let The Chase Begin!

The Chase is on! And, I am thirlled!

Kyle Busch is out, as Brian Vickers bumped out the 4-time 09′ race winner with some amazing driving down the stretch. Jeff Gordon is positioned as a solid contender for his 5th crown. Therefore, the only thing that would have made the race at Richmond International Raceway any better would have been if Juan Pablo Montoya had crashed and missed the chase along with KyBusch.

Now, Twenty-six races into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, it comes down to 12 drivers with a chance to win the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Local native Denny Hamlin from Chesapeake finally won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at his home track after coming “oh, so close” so many times before. He also did it in convincing style, battling door-to-door with Jeff Gordon along the way. It was Hamlin’s second win of the season in his FedEx Toyota. He won earlier this year at Pocono.

Hamlin is one of the 12 Chase participants but his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch didn’t make it. Hamlin had locked in a spot before the race but Kyle needed to finish well ahead of Brian Vickers to make it. Kyle finished fifth but Vickers was seventh and wound up grabbing the 12th spot by eight points over Busch.

Kurt Busch finished second and made the Chase. Jeff Gordon was third and in The Chase.

Everybody’s favorite, Mark Martin, was fourth and secured a Chase spot and there wasn’t a happier man in Virginia on Saturday night when this race ended.

Kyle finished fifth and Clint Bowyer was sixth. Vickers was seventh and former Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish finished eighth. Kevin Harvick was ninth and Ryan Newman 10th, which earned him a slot in the Chase, along with his car owner Tony Stewart, who had a rough night and wound up 17th.

Jimmy Johnson finished 11th and he’s in the Chase, along with 12th-place finisher Kasey Kahne and 13th-place finisher Greg Biffle. Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya also made the Chase. It will be Montoya’s first Chase as well as the first for team owner Chip Ganassi.

Former series champion Matt Kenseth finished 25th and failed to qualify for the Chase for the first time.

The first race in the Chase begins Sunday, Sept. 20 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Go 24 Go!

Able Body Labor Joins PIR’s Team of Partners

Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber has announced that Able Body Labor has joined PIR’s team of corporate partners and will be the title sponsor of the track’s November NASCAR Nationwide Series race – the Able Body Labor 200. The race entitlement is the first such partnership for Able Body Labor in NASCAR.  They will also focus on promoting comprehensive staffing solutions at the track.

The Able Body Labor 200 is scheduled as the feature event for the third day of racing in PIR’s November NASCAR race weekend. The green flag drops on the Able Body Labor 200 at 2:30 p.m. MST on Saturday, November 14, as Carl Edwards will look to defend his victory in the race from 2008.

“Our team is extremely pleased to welcome Able Body Labor into PIR’s family of corporate partners,” Sperber said. “We are excited to work with the great people at ABL to put on a thrilling event for NASCAR fans at Phoenix International Raceway this November.”

Able Body Labor is a family-owned and operated company that originated more than 23 years ago from a single location in Largo, Florida.  Today, Able Body and its affiliated companies employ more than 125,000 workers each year while providing comprehensive staffing solutions for thousands of customers across many industries including construction, light industrial, manufacturing, distribution, event staffing, hospitality, and disaster recovery. With more than 170 locations in 25 states, Able Body Labor has made its mark as being an industry leader in temporary staffing for workers across the United States by maintaining their commitment to their clients, their employees, and the community.

“We are very excited to be a part of this great event in partnership with Phoenix International Raceway and International Speedway Corporation,” said Able Body co-chair Frank Mongelluzzi. “As a sport, NASCAR has always been about their fans. We are a company whose heart and soul is our people, so naturally it seems like a great fit.”

More information on Able Body Labor can be found at www.ablebody.com.

Tickets for the Able Body Labor 200 and the remainder of the November NASCAR event weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be purchased online at www.phoenixraceway.com, or over the phone at 1-866-408-RACE (7223).