After having an off-weekend to celebrate the Easter holiday, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to the track to do battle in the desert. The Phoenix International Raceway was the site for the eighth race of the season, the Subway Fresh Fit 500. Last year’s winner, Jimmie Johnson, was looking for his fourth consecutive win at this track. Johnson has completed a four-peat before, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, but with the competition getting tighter each week, it would be a tough task.
Friday’s qualifying saw Johnson’s teammate, Mark Martin, take his third pole of the season. Martin has been able to rebound very well from his early-season woes, and judging by how he feels about running a full-time schedule this season, he looks to be at his very best.
Under sunny, twilight skies, Martin led the best 43 drivers to the green flag for a Saturday night, short track shoot out. Right away, Martin set a good pace as he led Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch through the first 50 laps. The first caution of the race came on lap 54 as Sterling Marlin had a tire go down, sending him into the wall in turn 3.
Pit stops were the name of the game right away as most of the drivers were complaining of a loose condition. Because of the track being warm, it was anticipated that the track would be loose, but because the race ends at night under the lights, the track would tighten up as the race progressed.
After the activity on pit road, Martin once again paced the field as the race went back to green. Another long, green flag run ensued as Martin began to run down lapped traffic. Having to battle around the slower cars brought Busch and Stewart, running second and third, to his rear bumper. This would have been a good battle among three very talented drivers, but a caution for debris slowed the field again on lap 104.
On this round of pit stops, it was Busch who led the field followed by Martin and Greg Biffle. Busch kept his Miller Lite Dodge out front as the field saw the third caution flag again on lap 138 as David Stremme went for a spin in the turn 2 grass. The ensuing round of pit stops shook things up more as some of the leaders had trouble. Johnson had problems with a lug nut while Biffle had a slow pit stop due to tire troubles. Busch led the field off pit lane again, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Martin.
The field went back to green on lap 143, but it didn’t take long for the yellow to be shown again. On lap 151, A.J. Allmendinger got loose and hit the wall in turn 2. No leaders came to pit road, having just pitted for service, so again it was Busch pacing the field. Just as quickly as they went to green, the yellow came back out again on lap 167 as Robby Gordon slammed the turn 4 wall following contact with Michael Waltrip.
Many of the leaders came to pit road, but at the same time many cars stayed on the track to gain some positioning. Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided to stay on the track and assumed the lead. Other drivers electing to stay out were Marcus Ambrose, Jeff Gordon and Stremme.
Despite not electing to come down pit lane, Earnhardt Jr. was able to pull out to a 3.5 second lead in a matter of ten laps, but soon it was becoming evident that the newer tires would prevail as Stewart ran down Earnhardt Jr. and took the lead on lap 220, which was the first lead change on the track. Shortly after, many of the drivers who stayed out on the previous caution came in for scheduled service, including Earnhardt Jr., Gordon and Ambrose. Unfortunately for Gordon, he was forced to return to pit road because he left without a lug nut on his left front wheel. The extra stop pinned him a lap down.
During the round of green-flag stops, Martin was able to run down Stewart and make the pass on the outside in turn 4. A couple laps later, Stewart came down pit road for his scheduled stop. Martin yielded the lead on lap 242 for service, giving the lead to Johnson. As Johnson, Brian Vickers and Carl Edwards completed the round of green-flag stops, it was Earnhardt Jr. regaining the lead on lap 244.
However, because Martin pitted later than Earnhardt Jr., he was able to run down his teammate and once again put the Kellogg’s/Car Quest Chevrolet back out front on lap 255. Earnhardt Jr. then began falling back because of his tires, falling a lap down on lap 297.
The race’s final caution flew three laps later, and Earnhardt Jr. was involved as he got tagged by Casey Mears, sending the National Guard Chevrolet into the outside wall. Despite only being 12 laps from the end of the race, the leaders decided to come down pit road one last time for service. Martin led the field off pit road, barely beating Kyle Busch, Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Martin was concerned about having the younger Busch behind him for the restart, however shortly after that thought crossed his mind, NASCAR forced Kyle back down pit road because he was too fast exiting pit road, putting him to the back of the field.
Ryan Newman stayed out on the race track to lead, which may have been by accident. Newman had issues with his car radio all race long where he could not hear his crew giving instructions. The field went green for the final time on lap 306, and Newman was a sitting duck on old tires as Martin went right around him coming out of turn 2. Stewart as well got around, but he couldn’t get close enough to challenge for the lead. For the first time since Kansas in 2005, Mark Martin got to taste victory as he took the checkered flag, winning the Subway Fresh Fit 500.
This was a very popular win not only with the fans, but also many of the drivers and owners. Martin, at age 50, joins an elite group of competitors to win after getting to their 50th birthday. This list includes Bobby Allison, Harry Gant and Morgan Shepherd. Many of Martin’s former teammates, including Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards, his former car owner Jack Roush and NASCAR President Mike Helton all went to victory lane to congratulate him on his win. Considered to be one of the best drivers on the circuit to never win a championship, it was incredible to see Martin back in victory lane.
Next weekend, it is going to get real interesting and crazy as the series makes a trip to the biggest track on the circuit, the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. The cars once again will have restrictor plates on the motors, which will mean tight packs, drafting and many scary moments.
With these kind of conditions, picking a driver to win is difficult. It’s about being in the right position and making the right move at the right time. In one lap, a driver could be leading and suddenly running mid-pack. So, watch for teamwork to be critical all race long. Obviously, you want to watch out for guys like Gordon, Kyle Busch and Stewart who have won the last three races at the track. But, when you think of Talladega, the name Earnhardt always comes to mind. The late Dale Earnhardt won there ten times, while his son has tasted victory five times. If there was ever a race for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win, it’s this one.
Coverage for the Aaron’s 499 starts next Sunday on FOX at 1 p.m.
TOP 10: 1-Martin 2-Stewart 3-Kurt Busch 4-Johnson 5-Biffle 6-Hamlin 7-Truex Jr. 8-Reutimann 9-Hornish Jr. 10-Edwards
NOTABLES: 13-Kahne 15-Burton 17-Kyle Busch 21-Logano 25-Gordon 27-Kenseth 30-Harvick 31-Earnhardt Jr.
CAUTIONS: Six for 34 laps. Lap 54-59, 102-108, 138-142, 151-155, 167-171, 300-305.
LEADERS: 13 lead changes among nine drivers. Martin 1-55, Waltrip 56, Martin 57-103, Labonte 104, Busch 105-168, Earnhardt Jr. 169-219, Stewart 220-237, Martin 238-241, Johnson 242, Vickers 243, Earnhardt Jr. 244-254, Martin 255-301, Newman 302-306, Martin 307-312.
POINTS: 1. Jeff Gordon, 1242 points 2. Jimmie Johnson, -85 3. Kurt Busch, -98 4. Tony Stewart, -104 5. Denny Hamlin, -154 6. Clint Bowyer, -190 7. Kyle Busch, -216 8. Carl Edwards, -219 9. David Reutimann, -250 10. Kasey Kahne, -267 11. Jeff Burton, -289 12. Matt Kenseth, -296