PIR, a front-runner among drivers

The quirky 1-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway ranks among the more popular with NASCAR drivers.

In a midseason survey conducted by Sports Illustrated, 12 percent of NASCAR drivers voted PIR as their favorite on the circuit. That tied with Atlanta Motor Speedway for second place. Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee (18 percent) was voted No. 1.

The poll was anonymous, but it's a safe guess that the unorthodox layout of PIR's fast 1-mile track resonates with drivers. The track features 11 degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2 and 9 degrees in Turns 3 and 4, plus a dogleg on the backstretch. It was put under the microscope in April when the Subway Fresh Fit 500 was contested in the new Car of Tomorrow, a race won by four-time series champion Jeff Gordon. He snapped a jinx in that race as he won a Cup race in the Valley for the first time.

The track, while relatively flat, often proves to be a baffling opponent.

Rookie David Reutimann said he "loves that place. It's just a weird-shaped racetrack, and I grew up racing on stuff that was odd-shaped. I think I like it because it's not the normal track. It's flat and fast."

Jeff Burton, who captured back-to-back wins in 2000-01, understands and appreciates PIR's nuances.

"I love going to Phoenix. It's one of the fun racetracks we go to," Jeff Burton said. "For a flat racetrack, it puts on great races. The track has multiple grooves. The grooves change all the time. You never know what racetrack you are going to get and, to me, that makes it a lot of fun."

Tony Stewart has two Nextel Cup crowns and won at PIR in 1999. He considers PIR a "home away from home."

"When we come out to Phoenix two times a year, it's like a homecoming each time," Tony Stewart said. "I know every inch of that racetrack.

"I've driven six different types of cars there, and between all those cars I've run at least five different lines. I feel like I know it better than most of the other folks who've just run stock cars there.

"I really do feel like it's my West Coast home away from home."

The second PIR race will be the Nov. 11 Checker Auto Parts 500.

Kevin Harvick swept the Nextel Cup races at PIR in 2006, and it's a track that helped the Bakersfield, Calif., native evolve as a driver.

His favorite things about PIR? "Cactus, blue walls, and we win there a lot."

See more at www.azcentral.com