FanHouse Phoenix International Raceway

Here's a glance at Mark Martin's first victory since 2005 Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway as FanHouse takes you by the Sprint Cup Numbers:


.005 - Amount of elapsed time Kyle Busch exceeded NASCAR's pit road speed limit by on the final pit stop. The penalty took him from Martin's bumper as the nearest challenger to the back of the pack.

.734 - Seconds Martin finished ahead of second-place Tony Stewart

2.135 - Martin's average running position Saturday night, best of all drivers.

In one of the best statistical finds of the weekend, ThatsRacin's Jim Utter noted during his race preview for Saturday night's race that each of the three longest winless streaks of Jeff Gordon's career were followed up by two consecutive wins.

That trend ended brutally Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway.

But despite a disappointing night filled with tire rubs and pit road problems that led to a 25th-place finish, should the No. 24 team have something more important -- like the health of their driver -- to worry about later in 2009?

It took 97 races, nearly four years and lot of decision-making but 50-year-old Mark Martin is back in NASCAR Sprint Cup victory lane.

Martin led the most laps of the Subway Fresh Fit 500k -- he also started from the pole position -- to win Saturday night's 312-miler at Phoenix International Raceway during his first season back as a full-time driver with Hendrick Motorsports.

Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle rounded out Top-5 of the afternoon-to-evening event.

Where: Phoenix Int'l Raceway
Time: Saturday 8:46 p.m./EDT
TV/Radio: FOX Sports, MRN Radio
Forecast: Clear, Lows in the 50s
Distance: 312 laps (312 miles, 500k)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson


Mark Martin has gotten awful good at starting Sprint Cup races from the front in 2009 in his new Hendrick Motorsports ride, but its the whole finishing part that hasn't gone as planned.

Jump in as FH's Holly Cain & Geoffrey Miller go Wheel2Wheel on a variety of racing topics.

Is Saturday night racing good for NASCAR?

Holly Cain: It is a valid concern that Saturday night NASCAR Sprint Cup racing hurts ticket sales at local short tracks, NASCAR's grassroots. But it's a not an argument the short tracks will win. Going night racing is one of the best moves NASCAR has ever made and I think there should be more races under the lights.

If NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams were looking to snap a two-race win streak by Hendrick Motorsports this Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway, they aren't exactly picking a good location.

In fact, with the way things have gone in the last few years, it may well be the worst track to tackle the recent success of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

Why, you ask? It's easy -- the last four races at the track have ended with either the No. 24 or the No. 48 in victory lane.

We've heard plenty about "Coltgate" lately and the accusations that the Indianapolis Colts had pumped in crowd noise during the New England Patriots game two weeks ago.

CBS took the rap for the incident, but ESPN's NASCAR coverage apparently took note of the idea.

Judging from the TV I watched it on (ABC-HD with surround sound), it sounded to me like ESPN on ABC was definitely pumping in some crowd noise during each restart of last Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500. Take a listen for yourself on the video below, as there are several instances that you can hear the not-too-natural noises.

Take note at 1:30, 5:48, 8:24, and 9:30 on the video, then continue reading for more.



I understand completely that the YouTube video isn't exactly the highest quality, but on the other hand, I've been to my fair share of races. People just don't cheer like that during restarts. Here's what they do cheer for:

The Essentials
Coverage: ESPN on ABC @ 3:00pm/ET
Green Flag: 3:45pm/ET
Distance: 312 laps/312 miles/500 kilometers
Other: Follow it on ESPN360 if available
Venue: Phoenix Int'l Raceway, sold out

Keep These in Mind...
1) Chasing Dreams - The second-to-last round of the Jeff and Jimmie Show: 2007 gets underway with the green flag. It's simple, Jeff Gordon has to overcome a 30-point margin in the next two races to win his fifth Nextel Cup title. Johnson has to beat him to claim his second.

Johnson averages a finish of one spot higher than Gordon at Phoenix, but Gordon was the last to win at the track in April.

2) Three-peat? Kyle Busch could become the first driver in NASCAR history to win in all three divisions on the same weekend. Busch took the victory in Friday night's Craftsman Truck Series race and followed that up with a Busch Series win Saturday night at PIR.

He starts 38th Sunday at Phoenix in the Nextel Cup race.

3) A Flavor of Indy in the Desert - For just the third time in history (thanks, Jayski!), three former winners of the Indianapolis 500 are in Sunday's race. Sam Hornish Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, and Jacques Villeneuve all made the field.

Add in former open wheel drivers Patrick Carpentier, Casey Mears, Robby Gordon, and Tony Stewart and you see very quickly how quickly NASCAR has become the all-around proving ground for drivers.

4) Truex Strong in Practice - Martin Truex Jr. starts second at Phoenix but had the car to beat in Happy Hour practice yesterday. He ran the fastest lap of the session, followed by Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears, David Stremme and Jeff Gordon.

Chase point leader Jimmie Johnson was seventh on the time sheet.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France really loves the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

And because of that, don't expect any major amends to the format, or a complete reversal back to the standard point system -- regardless if many fans and at least one top driver questions how it affects the sport's future integrity.

France cited the increased point amounts for winning a race as a major reason why the Chase is working so well.

Example 1-A? Jimmie Johnson last week at Texas Motor Speedway.

"I actually called Jimmie Johnson on the phone and told him that [afterward]," France said. "By going after that win, he risked a lot -- because he knew how close it was and he knew that those bonus points were maybe going to be necessary to win it all. I think in the old days, a couple years ago, somebody might have settled for second."

Sure, you can't argue with the fact that adding 10 points to the winner's prize for a race was a good move. In fact, that number should be 20 to 30 points higher.

But are winning championships in the 10-race Chase playoff comparable to the "old" point system? Jeff Gordon doesn't see it that way.

Last week at Texas Motor Speedway, we heard plenty about how Jeff Gordon didn't have a good-handling car in the Saturday practice sessions leading up to the Dickie's 500.

And if Jeff Gordon wants any chance at re-capturing that Nextel Cup point lead and his fifth series championship, the No. 24 team is indeed going to have to make amends on how well they get the car dialed in.

"We're doing a great job on Friday qualifying and we need to do that again here today and next week in Homestead. But Saturday getting prepared for the race, we got to do a little bit better job," said Gordon Friday before qualifying at Phoenix.

Starting positions haven't been a problem for Gordon in the past few weeks. Gordon started second at Texas last week and at Atlanta two weeks back, he rolled off eighth. He starts third Sunday at Phoenix.

In each race, Gordon has finished seventh after battling a race car that often wanted to find contact with the SAFER barrier instead of with victory lane. Unfortunately for Gordon fans, the strong effort to salvage a decent finish has been significantly trumped by two-straight wins by teammate and Chase contender Jimmie Johnson.

It's definitely not lost on Gordon that the Saturday program needs to improve immediately at Phoenix and next week at Homestead if the No. 24 team wants any shot at Jimmie Johnson.

"We've got to step it up. There's no hiding that and I hope we can pull that off right here in Phoenix," said Gordon.