Phoenix: NASCAR Sprint Cup Starting Line-up & Race Preview Posted by: MSulka on Nov 15, 2009 - 08:17 AM

Phoenix: NASCAR Sprint Cup Starting Line-up & Race Preview By Mike Sulka The NASCAR Sprint Cup series has been racing at Phoenix International Raceway since 1988. In all, 26 races have been run on the 1.0-mile D-shaped tri-oval with the Cup series making two trips a year since 2005. PIR's corners are significantly different with turns one/two featuring 11 degrees of banking, and turns three/four featuring 9 degrees of banking. To make the track even more odd, the back-stretch banking is 9 degrees while the front-stretch is a mere 3 degrees. Usually, our focus is on who is going to win the race, and it still might have been had NASCAR's most popular driver currently - Sam Hornish Jr - hadn't helped heat up the 'Chase' after touching points leader Jimmie Johnson at Texas and sending his No. 48 scrambling.

You see the last five races at Phoenix have all been won by Hendrick drivers. In fact, the aforementioned Johnson has three of those five wins. Johnson took the Fall Phoenix in 2007 race on the way to his second NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, and the Fall Phoenix race in 2008 on his way to his third Cup title. He also added a Summer win at Phoenix in 2008.

In April of 2009, Johnson finally was beat to the checkered flag as he finished fourth. Instead, Mark Martin - who happens to be second in the 'Chase', just 73 points back - won the Spring race.

And Martin will need to do it again if he is going to keep his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in sight, and keep Johnson from recording a record fourth-straight 'Chase' title.

So as much as the numbers say Johnson should be the easy pick for the win today, we'd suggest he'll be racing for points and we are going with Mark Martin to repeat his Spring feat.

But, keep an eye on Tony Stewart who finished second in the Spring and has finished in the top-five 5 times in his last eight trips to Arizona, and Denny Hamlin who has scored the second most points over the last six races at the track.

Also keep an eye on Kurt Busch who kept his championship hopes alive - currently fourth in the points - with a win at Texas. Busch finished third in the Spring affair.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup championship title could be decided or delayed today! And although we are rooting for NASCAR history to be made, we also aren't ready for Johnson to make history this weekend.

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