Phoenix International Raceway

PHOENIX

“Dominick is a true Arizona success story and we are proud of the style and class with which he represents our entire region,” said Sperber. “We are excited to have him headline the weekend activities that kickoff the start of the 2012 NASCAR season at PIR.”

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Cruz, 26, has ascended to the top of his profession, compiling a 19-1-0 professional record that includes wins over the likes of Demetrious Johnson, Urijah Faber, Scott Jorgensen, Joseph Benavidez and Brian Bowles. Cruz and Faber will face each other as opposing coaches in the upcoming season of“The Ultimate Fighter Live®” premiering on FX before squaring off in the Octagon® for the third time following the program’s season finale.

“Having been a long-time fan of PIR and NASCAR, I am honored to be part of one of the most exciting sporting events in the Phoenix area,” said Cruz. “Similar to whenever I step into the ring, these drivers go out there and put it all on the line to win the race and give the fans a great show.”

Cruz will participate in pre-race ceremonies and will make appearances onsite at PIR on Sunday, March 4. Additional information on race weekend activities is available on Phoenix International Raceway’s official website at www.phoenixraceway.com.

About Phoenix International Raceway

Since 1964, Phoenix International Raceway has served race fans as the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest. Watch the brightest stars in NASCAR take on PIR’s one-mile oval on March 4, 2012 in the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™. Tickets for the entire SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™ NASCAR weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be purchased online at PhoenixRaceway.com/Tickets or by calling 1-866-408-RACE (7223). For more information, visit PhoenixRaceway.com, Facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway and Twitter.com/PhoenixRaceway.

Source: Phoenix International Raceway, Press Release

Turn One Racing

China Grove, NC (January 20, 2012) –

“This is a great opportunity for Turn One Racing,” said Team Owner, Stacy Compton.  “It has always been our objective to grow the team and this is just the next step in that plan.  We have a great group of partners behind us and feel like we are taking all the right steps to build a very competitive Sprint Cup team.”

Compton’s team has purchased cars from Richard Childress Racing and plans are in the works to race eight to ten events in their freshman year.  The team will attempt the remaining races, excluding the 200-lap Daytona 500.  “We have partnered with one of our long-time supporters to run a handful of races this year.  We’re also working on additional sponsorship that would enable us to run more races throughout the year.”

The team is also in the process of putting together a full season program for the No. 60 truck.  The driver, crew chief, and sponsor lineup for both teams will be announced at a later date.

About Turn One Racing:  Turn One Racing was founded in 2006 by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Stacy Compton.  Turn One Racing was designed to develop and promote young drivers of exceptional talent in the late model divisions across the Southeast.  In 2009, Turn One Racing expanded its involvement in motorsports by purchasing the assets of the highly successful NASCAR Camping World Car Series team of Wyler Racing, which had accomplished three wins, 20 top-five, and 35 top-10 finishes in 90 starts.  Up until recently, Turn One Racing operated as Wyler Racing, where they garnered two top-five, 15 top-10 finishes and 54 starts.  Since rebranding as Turn One Racing, the team has captured two pole positions, two additional top-five’s, and 14 top-10 finishes in 47 starts. The company is based outside “Race City  USA” in China Grove, North Carolina.

Source: Turn One Racing, Press Release

NASCAR Nationwide Series Logo

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2011) –

The No. 7 car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20A-2.3A (improperly attached weight) of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series rule book. The infraction occurred during the race on Nov. 12.

As a result of the violations, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. has been fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until March 28, 2012.

- NASCAR, Press Release

Richard Childress Racing (RCR)

RCR Post Race Report — Phoenix International Raceway

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

RACE: Kobalt Tools 500

TRACK: Phoenix International Raceway

DATE: November 13, 2011

Race Highlights:

• Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fourth (Jeff Burton), ninth, (Paul Menard), 10th (Clint Bowyer) and 19th (Kevin Harvick) in the Kobalt Tools 500.
• Burton’s average running position during the 312-lap affair of 10.93 ranks him ninth amongst the 43-car field according to NASCAR Loop Data statistics.
• Burton was the top-ranking driver in the NASCAR Loop Data category Green-Flag Passes (78). Burton also topped the field with 48 passes while running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions, ranking him first in the category Quality Passes and was the race’s best Closer, charging from 15th to fourth in the final 10 percent of the race (32 laps).
• Menard ran as high as second and as low as 25th, maintaining an average running position of 14.369 before scoring his first top-10 finish at Phoenix International Raceway.
• By passing a car while running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions on 22 occasions, Menard ranked 11th in the NASCAR Loop Data category Quality Passes.
• Bowyer recorded his 15th top-10 finish of the 2011 NSCS season.
• Bowyer made 75 green-flag passes, second-most of any driver in the 43-car field, during the race according to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics.
• Harvick ran as high as 11th and as low as 22nd, maintaining an average running position of 16.776 during the 312-lap Kobalt Tools 500.
• Gaining 24 positions in the final 10 percent (32 laps) of the race, Harvick was ranked sixth in the NASCAR Loop Data category Closers.
• The next NSCS race is the season finale Homestead 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 20 and will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 2 p.m. EST.

Top-10 Finish for Menard and the No. 27 Peak/Menards Team at Phoenix

Richard Childress Racing’s Paul Menard recorded his best finish at Phoenix International Raceway with his ninth-place result in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500. Despite a light rain that blanketed the Avondale, Ariz. area in the morning hours, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was able to start the 312-lap event on schedule with the No. 27 Peak/Menards Chevrolet in the 11th position as the 43-car field took the green flag. Menard climbed as high as eighth before settling just outside the top 10 in the 11th position. During the lap-40 competition caution period mandated by NASCAR, he reported to crew chief Slugger Labbe the bright yellow machine was a little tight. Menard hit pit road for four Goodyear tires, a full tank of Sunoco fuel, chassis and air pressure adjustments on lap 41. With many teams opting to take only two tires, the No. 27 team restarted mid-pack in 19th on lap 45. The Eau Claire, Wis., native remained in the top 20, reporting his Chevrolet Impala started out extremely free, but was more balanced at the end of green-flag runs. The No. 27 Chevrolet was entering pit road for service on lap 159 under green-flag conditions when the yellow flag was again displayed. Menard bypassed his pit stall in hopes of staying ahead of the leader, but was trapped one lap down. He returned to pit road for air pressure and track bar adjustments. The Peak/Menards Chevrolet restarted in the 24th position when the field returned to green-flag racing on lap 164 and was scored the first car one lap down to the leader. When the yellow flag was displayed five laps later, the 31-year-old driver was the recipient of the “Lucky Dog” award and returned to the lead lap. Menard climbed back into the top 20 following a spotless lap-179 pit stop while under caution, restarting in the 18th position on lap 182. Labbe’s two-tire call during a lap-221 visit to pit road launched the No. 27 machine from the 18th position to second for the lap-225 restart. For the remainder of the event, Menard continued to battle a loose-off condition, but maintained position in the top 10, taking the checkered flag in ninth and scoring his eighth top-10 of the 2011 season.

Start – 11 Finish – 9 Laps Led – 0 Points – 18

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:

“This Peak/Menards team did a great job all weekend. The car just got better and better on Friday, and we thought we had a shot at the pole position after final practice. The track was very different on Saturday. It slowed down a lot and we were really loose. We had no idea what to expect during the race, especially with the rain that rolled through here (Phoenix International Raceway). This is our first top 10 on a flat track as a team, so that was a solid accomplishment for us. We typically struggle on tracks like this, so to hit on something and have a solid weekend at Phoenix is very important. We’ll carry that with us into next season.”

Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Team Forced to Settle for Top 20 at Phoenix

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team were forced to settle for a 19th-place result in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway after late-race pit strategy didn’t play out in their favor. Harvick started the race from 27th position and quickly raced his way into the top 20 by the time the competition caution that was issued by NASCAR was thrown at lap 40. Harvick reported to his team the car was “tight in the middle and loose off,” so crew chief Gil Martin called for a two-tire stop at lap 42. Harvick restarted in the 14th position when the field took the green flag at lap 45 but the tight-handling condition persisted. Harvick climbed as high as the 11th position before reporting a vibration on lap 138. He brought the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet to pit road under green-flag conditions five laps later for a four-tire stop but the vibration continued to worsen. The team checked all the tires following the pit stop and determined that the vibration must have come from the brakes as a number of teams were reporting brake issues. Martin noted that the team planned to remove tape on the next trip to pit road to help cool off the brakes. Harvick was running in the 26th position when the caution flag waved on lap 158 and was caught a lap down as many of the leaders had yet to make pit stops. The No. 29 team elected to take the wave-around pass to get back on the lead lap, restarting 22nd on lap 163. Harvick made it up to the 15th position, but lost one spot as he continued to wrestle the tight-handling machine around the one-mile Avondale, Ariz. facility. The No. 29 team elected to pit early for their final stop of the race for four tires and fuel at lap 272 to try to help the handling of the Budweiser Chevrolet . As green-flag stops cycled through, many of the leaders pitted late and took two tires or just fuel only on their final stops, dropping Harvick back several spots as the No. 29 team had spent more time on pit road for their four-tire stop, costing them considerable track position. Harvick took the checkered flag in 19th position, one lap down to the leader.

Start – 27 Finish – 19 Laps Led – 0 Points – 3

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:

“It was a tough day for the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team. We didn’t quite know what to expect with the new surface and the weather this weekend. We took some gambles today and it didn’t work out in the end. We’ll head to Homestead next weekend and try to end the season on a better note.”

Top-Five Finish at Phoenix for Caterpillar Global Mining Racing Team

Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Global Mining Race team continued their late-season run of strong finishes with a fourth-place showing in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The No. 31 Cat Global Mining Chevrolet Impala was quickest in Friday’s first practice session which made them the 46th and final car to qualify Saturday morning. Burton’s run of 26.608 seconds at an average speed of 135.298 mph on the reconfigured one-mile oval was good enough for the 14th starting spot in Sunday’s 500k event. Two cautions in the first six laps and a NASCAR-mandated competition caution on lap 40 kept the leaderboard mostly in check. Burton made a steady march toward the top 10, which he achieved on lap 86. The 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner moved into sixth place on lap 112, but 25 laps later told crew chief Luke Lambert he felt a vibration. Burton made a green-flag stop on lap 151 for fresh tires, where it was determined immediately afterward the vibration was caused by one of the rear tires had spun on the wheel, moving the wheel weights and throwing the tire out of balance. Burton was furthered hampered by a caution just eight laps after his green-flag stop. However, he received the “Lucky Dog” to get back on the lead lap and again made his charge toward the front. The Cat Global Mining Chevy was in the 10th position on lap 210 and after a strong pit stop on lap 221 picked up two more positions. Burton was sixth on lap 242 and maintained that spot until grabbing the fourth position shortly before the green flag waved.

Start – 14 Finish – 4 Laps Led – 0 Points – 22

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

“We got really tight there at the end and he (Tony Stewart) had a lot of momentum. I didn’t slam into him or anything, but I wasn’t going to give him the spot. He earned it and he got it. The Caterpillar Global Mining Chevrolet was good, really, all day. I’m real proud of everybody. When things are tough, you find out what people are made of. My group has just kept digging and kept their heads up. Nobody has quit on this team, not once. I’m real proud of that.”

“We have always worked hard and we didn’t get in this hole because of one person. We were just looking at things wrong. We’ve started changing how we are looking at things. I’ve gotten a little more involved in trying to understand exactly what is in the cars because that is really a departure for me not to be involved. So, I’ve become a little more involved. But that hasn’t had much to do with it other than me understanding what is in the car. I think that does matter. So, just a lot of work, a lot of effort and just everybody hitting the right buttons right now.”

Bowyer Scores 15th Top-10 Finish of 2011 season with 10th-Place Result at Phoenix

Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team, sporting a special USO “Send Cheer” paint scheme to honor military families whose loved ones are serving our country, scored their 15th top-10 finish of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season by bringing home a hard-fought 10th-place effort in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The 32-year-old Bowyer, starting in the 28th position after a lackluster qualifying performance on Saturday, began the 312-lap event by steadily moving his Chevrolet Impala through the field from the drop of the green flag. The Emporia Kan., native found himself in 21st-place by lap 15 and advanced five more positions before the mandatory competition caution on lap 40. Under the ensuing caution period, crew chief Shane Wilson decided to take four fresh Goodyear tires and Sunoco E15 fuel instead of only two tires like most other teams regulating Bowyer to the 22nd position for the restart. Over the next 110 laps, the Richard Childress Racing driver fought hard and worked his way up to the 18th position. On a routine four-tire pit stop under green-flag conditions on lap 160, the caution flag was displayed for an accident while the No. 33 Chevrolet was being serviced on pit road, trapping the five-time Sprint Cup Series race winner one lap down to the leader. Bowyer restarted in the 25th position while competing with other drivers for the “lucky dog” free pass. Finally after 58 laps and three caution-flag periods, Bowyer was awarded the “lucky dog” and was scored on the lead lap. By lap 230, the yellow and blue machine was back in the top 20 and entered the top 15 at lap 270. On the final green-flag pit stop of the day on lap 290, Wilson played pit strategy and instructed the “Helping Hands” pit crew to change left-side tires on the No. 33 Chevrolet. The remainder of the event ran under green-flag conditions with Bowyer entering the top 15 on lap 293 and then the top 10 with 10 laps to go. The RCR driver continued to post some of the fastest lap times in the entire 43-car field over the final 10 circuits to secure the 10th-place finish. Bowyer remains 13th in NSCS driver championship point standings with one race remaining in the 2011 season.

Start – 28 Finish – 10 Laps Led – 0 Points – 13

CLINT BOWYER QUOTE:

“I think we definitely had a top-five car today if we wouldn’t have gotten stuck one lap down halfway through the race. It was a solid race and feels good to at least bring home a top-10 finish for Cheerios and the USO.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release

Regan Smith - Photo Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

The incident was costly for Smith who finished 38th, his second-worst result of the season.

The concerns that every driver faced with the newly-paved track surface came to reality for Smith early as he and David Ragan got tangled in Turn 3 as the 43-car field was completing Lap 2 of 312.

“It wasn’t a good deal and it’s really frustrating because based on our practice sessions we were confident of producing a strong result today for Furniture Row Racing,” said Smith. “It hasn’t been a good year for us in Phoenix, we also got involved in an accident here in the second race of the season (finished 34th).”

After spinning and crashing into the wall, Smith was able to drive the No. 78 Chevrolet to the garage where the Furniture Row crew immediately went to work to repair the heavy damage. Smith was able to get back on track on Lap 125, but only could complete another 60 laps before retiring from the race.

“It was basically a race-ending accident on Lap 2,” noted Smith. “It looks like some other cars also had trouble today. We have one more race to show our mettle.”

Other drivers who had atypical results were: Kyle Busch (36th), Matt Kenseth (34th) and Jeff Gordon (32nd).

The race winner was Kasey Kahne. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman.

The final race of the season is Sunday (Nov. 20) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing, Press Release

Casey Mears - GEICO Racing

Avondale, AZ (November 13, 2011)

Taking to the racetrack on Friday afternoon, Mears ended up 39th in the opening practice session. Final practice saw the #13 GEICO Camry improve ten spots to 29th as the team headed into qualifying. When qualifying got underway on Saturday, Mears wheeled around the newly paved 1-mile oval in 27.062-seconds, landing him 38th on Sunday’s starting grid.

Though Mears started in the rear of the field, he did not remain their long once the green flag waved on Sunday afternoon. Starting 38th, Mears jumped to 33rd on the opening lap and had captured 31st before the event’s first caution flag of the day was displayed on lap two. He restarted 30th on lap five and would continue moving the #13 GEICO Camry through the field. He spent most of the day skirting the Top 25 before cracking the Top 20 on lap 173.

Mears eventually muscled his way into the Top 15 before heartbreak struck the GEICO driver. He was running in the 14th position with just 27 laps remaining in the race when he radioed to crew chief Bootie Barker that his fuel tank was empty. With no power in his GEICO Camry as he entered pit road, Mears was rendered helpless in determining his pit road speed. His situation became more complicated when NASCAR issued Mears a speeding penalty for being too fast on entry. After the GEICO crew replenished his racecar with much needed Sunoco racing fuel, Mears was forced to serve a pass-through penalty, sending the #13 GEICO Camry three laps down to the field.

After running 14th on the lead lap with just a couple of dozen laps to go, Mears was relegated to a 26th place finish when the checkered flag halted the field on Sunday afternoon. The finish allowed the Germain Racing team to retain their 32nd position in the Owner Point standings.

“It’s very frustrating because we had such a great run going today; maybe one of the best of the year,” Mears said after exiting the GEICO Camry. “We honestly didn’t know how today would turn out, but the #13 GEICO Camry was really good and we were there at the end. Unfortunately, racing issues you some tough breaks sometimes and today we experienced one. We have had a great four weeks now, and today will not take away from that. Even though we ended up 26th, we were definitely headed for a Top 15 finish. I wish we could go to Homestead tomorrow. We’re excited to get down there and continue building the momentum for 2012. Our team is in a good place right now.”

Next week, Mears and the GEICO team travel to Homestead, FL, for the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Mears and the #13 GEICO Toyota Camry will hit the 1.5-mile oval of Homestead-Miami Speedway for the opening practice session on Friday, November 18th, at 3:00 PM (ET). Qualifying will follow on Saturday, November 19th, at 2:40 PM (ET).

The Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race is on Sunday, November 20th, and it will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 3:00 PM (ET). The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

Please visit the Casey Mears Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/caseymearsracing

- Player Management International, Inc., for GEICO Racing, Press Release

Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

Mobil 1/Office Depot Driver Finishes Third at Phoenix, Remains Three Points Behind Edwards

Date: Nov. 13, 2011
Event: Kobalt Tools 500k (Round 35 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 8th/3rd (Running, completed 312 of 312 laps)
Winner: Kasey Kahne of Red Bull Racing (Toyota)

Tony Stewart kept the pressure on championship point leader Carl Edwards by leading five times for a race-high 160 laps en route to a third-place finish in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Stewart came into Phoenix only three points behind Edwards in the championship standings, and even though Edwards finished just one spot ahead of Stewart, the one bonus point Stewart earned for leading the most laps kept the title race tight heading into next Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“We led the most laps and did everything we could do. We missed it by two spots, but it was still an awesome day for the Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevy,” Stewart said. “We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. We have a third and two wins in the last three races, so we’re going to keep the pressure on him (Edwards) and we’ll make him sweat it out.”

Three races ago at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Stewart overpowered five-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson in the final two laps to score his third win of the season. In the next race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Stewart led seven times for a race-high 173 en route to the ninth back-to-back victory of his career. Along the way, Stewart lopped 16 points off Edwards’ lead.

And after starting eighth at Phoenix – one spot ahead of Edwards – Stewart picked up right where he left off at Texas. After only 36 laps, Stewart was leading the 43-car field. He set the pace for seven laps until pit stops jumbled the running order. It proved of little matter, however, as Stewart proceeded to lead for four more stints – laps 46-94, 98-157, 182-221 and 291-294.

The race’s second-to-last round of pit stops came during a caution period on lap 221. Stewart took four tires and fuel, with the lone adjustment being a tweak to the air pressure in the right-front tire.

Stewart emerged in third place, first among the drivers who opted for four tires. Paul Menard and Kurt Busch restarted 1-2 after taking only two tires. Edwards was just behind Stewart in fourth.

“We got out of balance on the second-to-last stop and just lost that little bit that we needed to stay up there and keep Carl honest,” Stewart said. “We just made an air pressure change and got too far on it.”

Stewart fell to fourth while Edwards made a charge for the lead, finally taking the top spot on lap 279 and staying there for 12 circuits around the 1-mile oval. Soon, however, a final round of pit stops was necessary to fuel each car to the finish.

After leading laps 291-294, Stewart pitted for fuel only. He returned to the track in fourth, and then doggedly pursued third-place Jeff Burton, finally passing him on the next-to-last lap.

Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne, silently strong all day, augmented his fast racecar with smart pit strategy to take the lead on lap 299. Edwards was a distant second, with Burton serving as his buffer against Stewart.

Once Stewart passed Burton, the buffer was gone. Stewart’s one bonus point for leading a lap and second bonus point for leading the most laps kept Edwards in check. Even though Edwards finished ahead of Stewart, Stewart’s bonus point tally of two to one kept Edwards’ margin the same as it was when the two entered Phoenix – a scant three points.

“We had an awesome day. We just came up two spots shy,” said Stewart after recording his eighth top-five finish of 2011 and his eighth top-five result in 20 career Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix. “I don’t know how you could’ve asked for a better day, really. We led the most laps and we were on the same pace we were last week. Just fought as hard as we could all day.”

Also fighting hard was Stewart’s teammate, Ryan Newman. The driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Veterans Day Chevrolet Impala for SHR rallied from his 30th-place starting spot to finish fifth. It was Newman’s ninth top-five result of 2011 and his seventh top-five in 19 career Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix.

The last time both SHR drivers finished in the top-five was in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon when Newman won and Stewart finished second.

Kahne won the Kobalt Tools 500k to score his 12th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his first at Phoenix.

Edwards finished .802 of a second behind Kahne in the runner-up spot, while Stewart, Burton and Newman rounded out the top-five. A.J. Allmendinger, David Reutimann, Marcos Ambrose, Menard and Clint Bowyer comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 30 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish the 312-lap race.

Stewart and Newman are both in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup and came into Phoenix second and 12th, respectively, in the Chase standings. Stewart was three points behind Chase leader Edwards while Newman was 103 points out of the top spot. Stewart leaves Phoenix still in second and still three points behind Edwards. Newman moved up three spots to ninth in the standings and is now 107 points out of first. Both Newman and Kurt Busch have 2,252 points, but because Busch has two wins this season compared to just one for Newman, Busch is awarded eighth place.

Just one race remains before a champion is crowned following the Nov. 20 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Heading into the season finale, the top-12 Chase drivers rank as follows, with only Edwards and Stewart still eligible for the title.

1. Carl Edwards (2,359 points)

2. Tony Stewart (2,356 points, -3)

3. Kevin Harvick (2,308 points, -51)

4. Brad Keselowski (2,294 points, -65)

5. Jimmie Johnson (2,291 points, -68)

6. Matt Kenseth (2,289 points, -70)

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,257 points, -102)

8. Kurt Busch (2,252 points, -107)

9. Ryan Newman (2,252 points, -107)

10. Denny Hamlin (2,249 points, -110)

11. Jeff Gordon (2,247 points, -112)

12. Kyle Busch (2,224 points, -135)

The Ford 400 begins at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 2 p.m.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

Kasey Kahne Does a Victory Donut at PIR

DRIVERS:

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kasey Kahne left a lovely parting gift, winning the Kobalt Tools 500 for Red Bull Racing Team’s second victory in NASCAR.

“Some of these guys haven’t won before and it felt like I haven’t won,” Kahne said. “It’s been a long season. The guys haven’t given up. We keep getting better as the season goes and it takes time to finish things up and get better when you come to something new. These guys have done an unbelievable job. It feels really good to get Red Bull in victory lane — I just wanted to win for them really bad.”

For Red Bull Racing Team, it was the second victory in the team’s five-year history and first since Brian Vickers won at Michigan in August 2009. For Kahne, the 12th victory of his Sprint Cup career ended an 81-race winless streak dating back to Atlanta in September 2009. It was his first victory and fifth top 10 in 15 races at Phoenix International Raceway.

“It feels so good. Been a long time coming,” said Kahne, the season’s 18th different winner.

Wrapping up a one-year deal in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, Kahne has been the pesky fly that won’t go away as the Chase and the championship come down to the final race at Homestead. Last week at Texas, Kahne finished third behind Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. This week, it was two positions better ahead of Edwards and Stewart, capping a late-season run that has Kahne running right with the championship contenders.

Kahne’s average finish in the nine Chase races is 7.89 — with five top fives — and he’s been the highest-finishing non-Chase driver in five of the past seven events.

“Just not giving up. I think one big thing is working with Kenny,” Kahne said of crew chief Kenny Francis. “That guy, as hard as he works, I want to work as hard and I want to do as much as I can to be up front. I know Keith (Rodden, race engineer) is the same way and all these Red Bull guys are behind him.”

As one of the longest standing driver-crew chief tandems in the Sprint Cup garage, Kahne and Francis are in their sixth season together in 2011. The two have combined for 11 wins, 38 top fives and 12 poles. They also own nonpoints victories in the 2008 All-Star event and 2010 Duels at Daytona.

“Couldn’t be prouder of the shop and Red Bull Racing,” Francis said. “As hard as these guys have worked all year … putting the cars together and building just superb equipment. I’m so proud we could win this. This is the biggest win ever for me, personally.”

The race at Phoenix, with its newly paved and reconfigured surface, came down to fuel mileage. The field pitted under the eighth and final caution period with 92 laps to go, and the race took on a one-more-stop strategy as it went green to the finish.

Kurt Busch stretched his fuel mileage a bit too far and pitted from the lead with 33 laps to go. Edwards assumed first, with Kahne in tow. And they all followed suit: Kahne pitted, Edwards, Stewart and Brad Keselowski. As the exchange cycled through, Kahne picked up about two seconds and found himself in the lead, which he held for the final 14 laps before finishing .802 seconds ahead of Edwards.

“If we didn’t have that little bit of a lead, we wouldn’t have been able to hang on,” Kahne said. “It was big to pop in there early, try to get ahead of Carl and then hang on at that point.

“We fell back a little bit early in the race and then came back and just kept getting it better. It was slippery early, but as the tires built heat and got rubber on the track, the tires came in pretty good. We just made adjustments, made the right adjustments. And the guys, they just kept working, thinking about it and they figured it out after a while. I felt Friday we were one of the best cars and by the end of the race today we were one of the best cars.”

Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth re-introduced themselves on lap 177, when Vickers’ No. 83 Red Bull Toyota connected with Kenseth’s No. 17 in turn three. Payback for the Martinsville incident, when Kenseth plowed Vickers? “I wasn’t planning on paying him back,” Vickers said. “He wrecked me at Martinsville, he got wrecked here. I’m not saying I wasn’t going to pay him back, I’m just saying that wasn’t it.”

Kenseth got the worst end of it, and the damage was bad enough to drop Vickers to the back of the lead lap. NASCAR then tagged the No. 83 with “too fast exiting” the pits late in the race, and Vickers finished one lap down in 23rd.

After qualifying 19th, 20-year-old Cole Whitt made his Sprint Cup debut in a third Red Bull Racing Team Toyota, the No. 84.

At the start of the race, the Camping World Truck Series rookie called Sunday a “big learning day.” He felt his first tight Sprint Cup car for most of the race, spun on the backstretch just past halfway and fought to get in free-pass position. Welcome to Sprint Cup with a respectable 25th-place finish.

UP NEXT: Homestead 400, Sunday, Nov. 20, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.

- Red Bull Racing Team, Press Release

Carl Edwards - Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR

AVONDALE, Ariz. (Nov. 13, 2011) –

“We have never gone into Homestead with the points lead,” said Edwards after the race. “You know they give a boat away if you win that thing. I saw that boat and I would like to go down there and win it. That would be fun to put a cap on this season. That is what our mission is. We feel we have the cars and pit crew and have shown that we can gut it out on these really tough days when maybe we don’t have the fastest car. This is going to be good.

“It was a long day,” added Edwards. “It was interesting. I was real calm but it is hard to watch that 14 crew and Tony do so well. They have really stepped it up. They are making us perform the best we ever have and we are doing the same to them. I followed him for about 40 laps. It felt like I was working him over and really paying attention to what he does. I determined he is a pretty good driver. If we can win this thing beating him that would be really cool.”

Greg Biffle finished 13th in the race and David Ragan was 33rd after getting involved in an early accident. Matt Kenseth, who won the pole for the race, led 49 laps and looked poised to win the race before getting wrecked by the No. 83 car, finished 34th.

Roush Fenway Racing has won seven times in the Sprint Cup Series and three times in the Nationwide Series at Homestead-Miami.

Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series with drivers Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne. Celebrating 25 winning years in 2012, Roush Fenway is the leader in NASCAR marketing solutions with its exclusive Roush Fenway OnTrack sponsorship measurement services, motorsport’s only team-focused TV show, and its social marketing channel RickyvsTrevor.com bringing unmatched brand opportunities to sponsors. Visit www.RoushFenway.com, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/roushfenway and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway. For sponsorship inquiries call John Younger at 704.720.4620.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

2011 NSCS Tony Stewart in Car - Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

AVONDALE, AZ – (November 13, 2011) –

The two-time NSCS champion captured the very valuable bonus point for most laps led after starting the 312-lap/312-mile/500K Kobalt Tools 500 from the eight place on the 43-car grid.

Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Global Mining Chevrolet, finished fourth followed by Ryan Newman in fifth behind the wheel of the U.S. Army Veteran’s Day Chevrolet.

Paul Menard, No. 27 Peak/Menards Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, No. 33 USO/Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, finished ninth and 10th respectively to give Team Chevy five of the top-10 finishing positions in today’s race.

All remaining 10 drivers who qualified for this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup have been mathematically eliminated from a chance at the championship after today’s race.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, remains third in the standings after battling handling issues today that netted him a 19th place finish.

Five-time defending NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, moved up to fifth in the standings with a very hard-fought 14th place finish today.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Retro Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, remains seventh in points. He too fought handling issues to take the checkered flag in 24th position.

Newman’s strong run today moved him three places in the standings to ninth place.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, battled brake issues for the majority of the race to settle for a disappointing 32nd place finish. He is now 11th in the standings heading to South Florida.

Kasey Kahne was the race winner followed by point’s leader Carl Edwards to complete the top-five finishers.

The 36th and final round of the 2011 season will be November 20, 2011.

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 MOBIL 1/OFFICE DEPOT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3^RD

POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

THE MODERATOR: We are welcomed in the media center by Tony Stewart who finished third in today’s race.

Tony, talk a little bit about this race here today, going into Homestead next week, three points behind in the championship. It’s between you and Carl. All other drivers were officially eliminated today. This is the third closest championship race going into the final race ever in the history of NASCAR.

TONY STEWART: I’m not thinking of that. I’m just thinking of the three points.

No, we had an awesome day. We came up two spots shy. I don’t know how you could have asked for a better day really. I mean, you figure we led the most laps, we were on the same pace we were last week just to have a perfect day. Just fought as hard as we could all day. Got out of balance the second to last stop and just lost that little bit that we needed to stay up there and keep Carl (Edwards) honest.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.

Q. The last couple weeks it literally has been you and Carl lap after lap. What is that like for you? Where does this rank as far as championship battles that you’ve been in?

TONY STEWART: Well, it’s fun. He’s keeping me honest, I’m keeping him honest. It’s fun when we’re first and second in the points and we’re running first and second on the racetrack the last two weeks. It shows why we’re both in this position.

We just got to keep doing what we’re doing. We got to keep the pressure on. Two weeks in a row we’ve led the most laps. Really proud of that. Proud of the pressure we’re putting on him. A lot can happen in 400 miles next week.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s a dead heat going in there. We just got to do our job like we’ve been doing. To have three top three finishes in the last three weeks, pretty proud of that.

I’m still pumped up. I want to go to Homestead tomorrow and start. I want tomorrow to be Friday. I’m pumped up, I’m excited about it and ready to go.

Q. Where does this rank?

TONY STEWART: I don’t know. Shoot, after 31 years of racing, I’ve been through so many championship battles. We’ve had somewhere we never won a race, we were the third guy in the Silver Crown deal in ’95, just mathematically in it, won it by two points the last race because the two guys in front of us, one blew up, one crashed out with 15 to go.

Under the circumstances I don’t know. It’s hard to rank anything. I’m more worried about where we rank after Sunday next week.

Q. Tony, how do you handicap this? Do either of you have an advantage?

TONY STEWART: I don’t think so. I think we both have momentum. We both had two really good weeks in a row. I still think our mile and a half program has come a long way this summer. You look at how we ran at Chicago, Kentucky, Charlotte, Texas last week. We’ve been good on the mile and a half’s. I’m excited about it.

I like Homestead. It’s a place that we had a lot of success when it was flat. We haven’t got that win with it banked. I like the way that track races right now. I’m pretty excited about it.

I don’t know where to handicap it. Doesn’t matter to me. It’s just about getting four more points than he does. That’s all that matters.

Q. Do you see any Jedi mind tricks in the next couple days?

TONY STEWART: I don’t even see any Jedis.

Q. Any verbal throw downs?

TONY STEWART: Does it matter? It’s still going to matter what happens on the racetrack. I don’t think it really matters right now.

Q. What will you do this week? Are you going to think about racing? Try to get away from it?

TONY STEWART: I’ve got a busy week. Office Depot’s headquarters are in Florida. We’ve got a store appearance on Tuesday. We’re going down to Office Depot’s campus in Boca Raton on Wednesday. We’re going to have a pretty busy week. That’s kind of what I like. I’m better off being busy this week and going down to Florida early and getting ready.

Q. After all of the prerace talk about how the track would race, what are your thoughts on how the race actually did unfold and how the track did? Tony, could you comment on your ability to pass on the outside line on restarts.

TONY STEWART: I mean, I think a bunch of the credit has to go to Randy LaJoie, Steve, Tim, the guys that came early this week, Kimmel. I think if it were not for those guys, we wouldn’t have had a two groove racetrack today.

We have to thank those guys for getting that cleaned off, getting that base of rubber in there to where we could actually get up there and run the last couple days.

I still wouldn’t have changed the shape the way they did. I guess the computers are smarter than the drivers these days. But I thought it was a good race. I didn’t get to see all of it. From where we’re at, we get to see the part we’re involved in.

You did have the flexibility to move up and down. Really that’s all you can ask for. I didn’t think there was any dramas with it today.

Q. Were you surprised you were able to pass on the outside on the restarts?

TONY STEWART: Yes and no. I mean, our car was a little loose on restarts, but it just seemed like we were actually better on the outside than we were on the inside. Once the groove moved up, once they got rubber up there, I don’t think it was a reason to be surprised.

The racetrack was wide enough you could run two wide then.

Q. Been a long time since the first and second in points have battled not only for the win but also in points. Can you talk about how that feels going into Homestead. Will there be any distractions?

TONY STEWART: I don’t know what distractions you would be talking about. It is kind of fun to be in this scenario where you got guys that are three points apart. Last week we were running first and second in the race. Today we ran first and second. It does make it fun. We’re both having to earn what we get.

No matter how it ends up next weekend, it’s not going to have been given to you. We’re going to have to definitely earn it and fight for it, for sure.

Q. We watch you come in and sit down next to each other after battling on the track. What is it like to sit down and have to talk about your race and the Chase next to the guy you’re battling?

TONY STEWART: We’ve been doing this how long together? I mean, it’s no different. Our demeanor isn’t any different than we always are. It’s you guys and ESPN that loves to try to build that crap in between everybody. The total drama network, for sure. At least they’re consistent about it. Everybody at ESPN is consistent about it.

I don’t see it being any different than normal. If you want, we can eliminate the chair, if that will make you feel better.

I think that answers your question, though, doesn’t it? Can you make sure everybody at ESPN understands that? Thank you.

Q. It’s not coincidental that you are battling like this side by side. How fun is it that you’re battling for a championship?

TONY STEWART: We saw what happened at Texas in (Ron) Hornaday’s championship run. We saw what happened with Elliott Sadler’s championship run. I want to beat a guy because you did a better job, not because a circumstance happens that takes somebody out of it. To race Carl for the lead in the races, for the points championship, that’s going to mean something at the end of the year. That’s going to add to whoever wins this.

We both had to fight and fight and fight to get every point we can get up to this point. I think it makes it more gratifying, the results, at the end of the day. I feel like I’m working towards something and I feel like if we accomplish this, we have worked for it, not had it handed to us, not had it given to us. That’s all you can ask for as a driver, is to be in that position.

I think it’s pretty honorable to be in that situation right now. It’s an awesome championship battle. So I don’t know how you could ask for more than what we got.

Q. Tony, you’ve talked a lot about driver etiquette this season. In light of this points battle being close, certainly at the end of the season there are times where guys use Homestead as a way to get back. Because this points race is so close, should drivers have a little bit more respect for this championship battle and put that stuff on hold? How should that issue be addressed? Obviously something could happen.

TONY STEWART: It’s a mile and a half track. Wherever I’m at, wherever he’s at on the racetrack, as long as it doesn’t happen around us, I don’t care what they do around each other. You can’t control the other 41 guys in the race. It’s just you hope one of those 41 guys doesn’t do something that impacts the championship.

I don’t care what they do; just don’t do it around us.

Q. Jimmie’s run came to an end today. Winning five straight, do you think anybody will ever do that again?

TONY STEWART:

I haven’t won two straight so I have no clue what five straight feels like.

I don’t see anybody doing it again. I think it’s been absolutely remarkable to begin with for Jimmie to put five in a row together. I know this year hasn’t ended up the way he’s wanted by any means. I think he goes to Vegas and holds his head up high knowing what they’ve accomplished. The fact that there’s a real good possibility in the history of the sport for eternity that it could never happen again.

The competition gets tighter and tighter, tougher and tougher. I just think it’s amazing. You understand why people didn’t want him to win a sixth one. At the same time, I’ve said it from day one, how do you knock down a guy that’s going out and doing what he’s supposed to do? If we could trade places with him, we’d do it in a heartbeat, go out and win five in a row.

I think you’ve got to tip your hat to him. I think that’s something in NASCAR history that I would put my money on that it will never happen again. I’m willing to put that bet with anybody in this room right now. I just think it’s remarkable at this level to do what he’s done, what that team’s done. I know this year hasn’t ended the way they wanted, but I still think they have to have a lot of pride in knowing they’ve done something in the history of the sport that most likely will never be duplicated.

Q. You have scored exactly the same amount of points in the Chase. Kasey Kahne has scored the second most points. Have you noticed him turn it up and come on the last nine weeks?

TONY STEWART: I’ll be honest, I haven’t worried about it. Haven’t really thought about it and paid attention. I don’t know that anybody doesn’t see that coming. Kasey had bad luck like we did the first half of the year, just stupid stuff happening. He’s put together some really good runs here recently, run consistent.

Obviously if he was staying with that organization next year, I think we’d all be more worried. It’s kind of a question mark now that he’s switching to a different organization. Going to have to try to find their way over there.

But couldn’t happen to a better guy. I think Kasey is a guy that has fought through a lot of adversity this year to be able to rifle off these finishes.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Good luck next weekend.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .

- Team Chevy, Press Release

Ryan Newman in Car - Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images

PHOENIX (Nov. 13, 2011) –

Newman, whose No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet was carrying more than 350 faces of Vietnam Soldiers as a Veteran Day tribute, started the 312-lap race from the 30th position. He muscled his way through the field to post his ninth top-five finish of the season and his 17th top-10.

Newman’s Soldier-like true-grit performance lifted him three spots in the point standings from 12th to ninth. He is actually tied for eighth with Kurt Busch, but Busch beats him on the tiebreaker for most wins.

Newman’s teammate, Tony Stewart, finished third and heads into next week’s final race three points behind Chase leader Carl Edwards.

Despite a poor starting position on a tricky, newly-paved track surface, Newman’s savvy driving skills came into play as he managed to aggressively gain track position without any incidents on the 1-mile oval.

“Our goal was to give our Army Strong Vietnam Veterans the recognition that they deserve and I hope we made them proud with our come-from-behind performance today,” said Newman. “I want to personally thank everyone of those Vietnam Veterans on our car for the inspiration they provided our U.S. Army team this weekend. I was born after the conflict in Southeast Asia ended, but history tells us the adversity these Soldiers went through in the fight for democracy was nothing but heroic.”

NASCAR’s post-race lap summary chart tracked Newman’s steady progression. After starting 30th, he was running in 25th place on Lap 45, 15th on Lap 105, eighth on Lap 180 and fifth on Lap 240.

“That was an amazing comeback for us to come from 30th to fifth,” stated Newman. “I’m really proud of that. We had a good day on pit road and to come back from where we started to end up talking to you (media) is a good day. This is what our brave Soldiers do every day — they never quit and keep on fighting until the mission is completed.”
The race winner was Kasey Kahne. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Edwards, Stewart, Jeff Burton and Newman.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale is slated for Sunday (Nov. 20) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

- DMF Communications for U.S. Army Racing, Press Release

Kasey Kahne celebrates winning the 24th Annual Kobalt Tools 500, his 12th victory in 287 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Last win was Sept. 6, 2009 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This breaks an 81-race winless streak. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship hangs in the balance with one race left in 2011 season

(PHOENIX, Ariz.) – Kasey Kahne claimed his first victory of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season while Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart spent the afternoon in such close proximity at Phoenix International Raceway that they maintained the same three-point margin of their thrilling battle in the tightest Chase in history.

Edwards finished second to Kahne and leads by a trio of points over Stewart, who passed Jeff Burton for third place on the next to last lap. Stewart saved a point for himself by leading the most laps this afternoon.

During post-race interviews, the two drivers sat side-by-side, in similar proximity to their racing fashion during the day. They joked about settling the championship at a dirt track if they finish tied at Homestead-Miami next week in the season’s finale.

“He’s keeping me honest, and I’m keeping him honest,” said Stewart. “A lot can happen in 400 miles next week,” he added.

Proud of his team’s performance, Edwards also agreed the two teams have been terrific competitors: “It’s great to be racing Tony and their team at their best.”

Edwards also complimented PIR’s new racing surface and configuration, saying, “I think once the track sits for awhile, and we come back for the Subway Fresh Fit 500™ (in March) and also a year from now, it will be awesome. I’m a convert.”

Things started quickly in the Kobalt Tools 500 as the “Ragan and Regan Wreck” came on lap 2: David Ragan got badly loose off turn 3 and collected Regan Smith for the race’s first caution. But that was only a prelude to the two top drivers in the Chase posting their car numbers at the top of the scoring pylon. Stewart, who started eighth, passed pole sitter Matt Kenseth for the lead on lap 37, and Edwards took second from Kenseth on lap 50. But A.J. Allmendinger and Kenseth would have more to say about second place as each owned it during the first half of the race behind a dominating Stewart. Meanwhile, Edwards bided his time in the top five.

Running in fifth place, Kenseth slowed badly on laps 173-174 and was tagged from behind by Brian Vickers, the same driver who damaged the chances of the no. 17 Crown Royal Ford recently at Martinsville. Kenseth had to retire his car to the garage for repairs and limped to 34th to end his hopes for the Sprint Cup title. In fact all contenders were eliminated except for Edwards and Stewart. That included Jimmie Johnson, who came home in 14th place; it spelled the end to his team’s remarkable five straight championships since 2006.

Stewart and Edwards were left to duke it out in the top two positions with few threats except from Allmendinger and Kurt Busch. Kyle Busch’s opportunity to win went awry when his engine went sour while he ran in third place on lap 188. Kurt Busch showed the way after a lap 224 restart but lost his engine on the last pit stop almost 60 laps later.

All teams pitted for the last time under green between laps 273 and 298. And it was Kahne who came away with the lead, one he would keep. Stewart had faded slightly, loose on entry to the turns over the closing laps. But, he got around Burton in the late going to save the narrow margin in the Chase.

So, while Kahne celebrated in Gatorade Victory Lane, others were anxious to go to south Florida to settle the championship next week.

About Phoenix International Raceway
Since 1964, Phoenix International Raceway has served race fans as the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest. Be there for the Kobalt Tools 500 on November 13 to watch the brightest stars in NASCAR take on PIR’s brand new one-mile oval in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Tickets for the entire Kobalt Tools 500 weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be purchased online at PhoenixRaceway.com/Tickets or by calling 1-866-408-RACE (7223). For more, visit PhoenixRaceway.com, Facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway and Twitter.com/PhoenixRaceway.

- Phoenix International Raceway, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Kahne led the final 14 laps (of 312) to record his 12th career NSCS victory. It was also the first Sprint Cup Series victory at Phoenix for the Camry.

David Reutimann (seventh) also earned a top-10 result in the race at the one-mile oval.

Cole Whitt (25th) made his first career NSCS start in Sunday’s race. Other Toyota drivers in the field included Joey Logano (11th), Denny Hamlin (12th), Martin Truex Jr. (20th), Bobby Labonte (21st), Brian Vickers (23rd), Casey Mears (26th), Kyle Busch (36th), Michael McDowell (40th) and Joe Nemechek (41st).

KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position: 1st

How does it feel to be back in victory lane? “It feels so good. It’s been a long time coming. This whole Red Bull team has done an unbelievable job to keep working hard. Kenny Francis (crew chief) keeps on it — everybody at Red Bull, the car, the Toyota engine. It was a great run today. The guys did an awesome job. We fell back a little bit early and then came back and just kept getting it better. These guys haven’t given up in the last three months. It’s been really cool. It was really, really cool. It was slippery early, but as the tires built heat and got rubber on the track, the Goodyear tires came in pretty good. It ended up being a great race. I’m really excited.”

What has been the reason for your team’s recent resurgence this season? “I think just not giving up. I think one big thing is working with Kenny Francis (crew chief). That guy, as hard as he works, I want to work as hard and I want to do as much as I can to be up front. I know Keith’s (Rodden, engineer) the same way, and all these Red Bull guys are behind him. It’s been really exciting to do that. I want to also say this to my grandma. We lost my great grandpa last week — and it’s for her and my mom. It feels good to win for sure. He was a huge fan — a huge supporter.”

What does this win mean to you and the Red Bull Racing Team? “It means a lot. Some of these guys haven’t won before and it felt like I haven’t won. Kenny (Francis, crew chief) and the whole team that’s been together for a while that’s over at Red Bull, working with the Red Bull guys. It’s been a long season. The guys haven’t given up. We keep getting better as the season goes and it takes time to finish things up and get better when you come to something new. These guys have done an unbelievable job. It feels really good to get Red Bull in victory lane — I just wanted to win for them really bad before the switch. Man, they’ve been a big part of NASCAR. I hope in some way they are still a big part of NASCAR because I know everyone really enjoys them being here.”

Was the pit stop timing your race-winning strategy? “Oh, it definitely did for me. If we didn’t have that little bit of a lead, we wouldn’t have been able to hang on. It was big to pop in there early, try to get ahead of Carl (Edwards) and then hang on at that point.”

How have you put this streak together with the pressure of knowing the team is closing down after the season? “Well, we’re lucky that everybody kept working hard and has stayed after it, preparing great race cars. We’re bringing awesome cars to the track. Brand-new car. I wouldn’t say there’s anyone out there that’s building better cars at this time. The Red Bull guys are doing an awesome job and they haven’t given up It’s tough to hear you say it’s shutting down in eight days. Over the last three months, you have one of the top-five cars in NASCAR shutting down and that’s crazy. I think it’s just the people. They haven’t given up. They’re doing a great job. We’ve been able to stay focused. I love racing. If I’m in a race car, I want to do the best that I can. Kenny Francis has given me some cars in the last few months that we’ve been able to perform with and run with Carl (Edwards) and Tony (Stewart), who have been probably the two best.”

What are your impressions of the new Phoenix race track? “To me, other than the track being slippery, and that’s a hard tire a brand-new surface, it takes time to rubber in, takes time to get old and gritty and things. So, the entry to the c orners are slippery. The car slides a little bit more than you would like. That’s part of this place. It’s actually like that with the old track, too. It’s flat when you turn off the wall. It’s somewhat of a slippery, technical track at times. As the rubber went onto the racetrack, I really think this place is cool and I think it’s only going to get better as time goes on. I think it raced probably the best I can remember a brand-new race surface racing on the first race. I think it’s only going to get better, be a pretty exciting track. I think you’re going to have a lot of the drivers, teams, fans, looking forward to racing at Phoenix, looking forward to coming to Phoenix twice a year.”

What is the difference between your performance the results of your teammate Brian Vickers this year? “I think coming to Red Bull, it was exciting for me. It was something new, a change. I was really looking forward to coming over here and having one strong year here. I’ve been able to work with Kenny (Francis, crew chief) and Keith (Rodden, engineer). We just keep trying to get a little bit better each week. They keep trying to give me things to make me be able to go around the track as fast as I can. I’m not sure how Brian (Vickers) and those guys go at it, but he’s been a great teammate. Ryan Pemberton (No. 83 crew chief) has been great to work with. Always has a ton of enthusiasm. They’re both in victory lane after the race congratulating us. They’re right there in all of our debriefs and things. It’s been a lot of fun working with those guys. Like I said, I was excited to go to Red Bull this year, to be able to have fun and have a good teammate and work with a lot of good people over there. It’s been cool. It’s been a lot of fun.”

KENNY FRANCIS, crew chief, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team

How was your view of the race? “From the pit box, the track changed a lot. It wasn’t really surprising. I think everyone knew it was going to do something, we just didn’t know what. Everyone was kind of guessing. We started, went in one direction, then had to turn around and go back in the other direction to get the car to work. All in all we made a lot of adjustments on the car. Actually got it reasonable and pretty fast at the end. So we were pretty happy with it.”

What are your impressions of the new Phoenix race track? “For my part of the question, what kind of information we had to work with. We had the test back in October where we gathered a lot of information, ran a lot of laps here. Kind of got an idea what we thought the car kind of liked as far as the setup, which was different than what we had run here in the past, because we ran good here in the spring here on the old track that was completely different from that. We felt like it was sort of similar to Loudon and we used that kind of as a basis for our thoughts. We raced a different setup than we tested. We raced a different setup than Loudon. You’re thinking in those kind of directions. Once we started the race, we knew the track was going to be a lot different than how we practiced. We knew it was going to change through the day, we just didn’t know what it was going to do. We we re fortunate to be able to adjust correctly and get our car pretty good.”

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 TUMS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 7th

How was your race? “We had a good race today in the TUMS Toyota. The new layout and surface made things a little interesting, but we qualified in the top-10 and we were able to stay up there all day long. I’m proud of the crew guys for the job they did today. They really stuck with me and turned out some great pit stops. And, I have to thank Pat Tryson (interim crew chief) for stepping in to help us out — he called a great race today. This team is capable of racing like this all the time, but for one reason or another we just haven’t shown it much this year. This is a great group of guys! Probably one of the best in the garage and they have been with me a long time. We have one more week together and I was to go out on a high note at Homestead.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 11th

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 12th

What are your thoughts on the race track? “Nobody could pass anyone — so it was really, really difficult from that aspect. We did the best that we could with what we had. We just missed the set-up pretty bad today. We just didn’t run that well.”

Was there a problem with the front end of your race car after the race? “(I) was running in off that apron. Just trying to get a look and see if it bent the splitter or anything. It looks like it just got side skirts and that was about it.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 20th

BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Wounded Warrior Project Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Finishing Position: 21st

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position: 23rd

COLE WHITT, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position: 25th

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Finishing Position: 26th

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 36th

Did you have any warning that something was wrong with your race car? “No, no indication this time, just a catastrophic failure. Just really, really unfortunate, too. These guys work their butts off two weeks in a row — all season long. It’s just devastating. To go through turmoil like this, all you can do is group together and pull through it and try to persevere and move on. We have one more chance, one more opportunity next week to win a race before the year is out to end it on a high note. Look forward to next year with everything going on. Can’t say enough about all these guys on this Interstate Batteries team this weekend, too. Changing the engine, starting behind, coming through, how to worry about qualifying and just getting in the show. All the way to third, you know, we had a shot. We were there. It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to finish the race today.”

What happened to your race car? “Catastrophic engine failure. It’s terrible to have one in a weekend, let alone two in a weekend. I can’t say enough about this whole team. All these Interstate Batteries guys do such a phenomenal job and you know, it’s times like these where you feel like you’re down in the dumps and all you can do is try to pull together, persevere and move on through it. It’s certainly a tough few weeks and all we can do is look forward to next week at Homestead. It’s the season finale, but it’s a great opportunity for us to go out there and win a race in the final outing and get ready to build upon for 2012. Again, I hate it for these guys. They just don’t deserve this. All we can do is work forward.”

How did the track evolve during the race? “It’s slick. Man, you’re on tip-toes all the time. It’s tough, it’s very tough but some of us make it look easy, but it might be because we’re all considered the best in the business. Again, that’s a great point. I can’t say enough about my guys for giving me a great race car, too. We were up to third, we battled through the field and up from the back pack. We were running third there behind the 14 (Tony Stewart) and 99 (Carl Edwards) — the two championship contenders — we were right there with those guys having our own story battling out front and possibly having a shot for the win, which meant a lot to these guys.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 66 HP Racing, LLC Toyota Camry, HP Racing Finishing Position: 40th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Finishing Position: 41st

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Team Chevy Logo

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 MOBIL 1/OFFICE DEPOT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3^RD:

YOUR CREW CHIEF, DARIAN GRUBB, APOLOGIZED FOR AN ADJUSTMENT; WHAT HAPPENED?

“Well, he shouldn’t apologize for it. We just made another air pressure change and we finally got too far on it. So, we had an awesome Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevy today and the Coca-Cola program, we’re proud of that; and Sprint and everybody; it was just an awesome day. We did almost everything we needed to do. We led a lap; led the most laps, and just came up two spots shy. But it was just a little bit too loose on entry the last two runs there. I thought Darian made a really good call there with just gas only at the end and we were able to run Jeff (Burton) down there and get back to third. So, we’re keeping him (Carl Edwards, point leader) honest.”

TALK ABOUT THAT FINAL PASS WITH NINE LAPS TO GO WHEN YOU RAN JEFF BURTON DOWN AND MADE THE PASS. HOW IMPORTANT WAS THAT?

“Well, we’ll see next week. It could come down to that. Every point counts right now. That’s why we raced Carl (Edwards) so hard and Kasey (Kahne) so hard. We led enough laps to lead the most laps today so we’re going for every single point we can get right now.”

THREE POINTS AWAY, HOW DO YOU WIN IT AT HOMESTEAD NEXT WEEK?

“We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. We have a third and two wins in the last three races so we’re going to keep the pressure on him (Carl Edwards) and we’ll make him sweat it out.”

ON THE RACE:

“Oh, we had a great day. We led the most laps and did everything we could do. So, we missed it by two spots but it was still an awesome day for the Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevy.”

HOW HARD DID YOU WORK TO MAKE THAT LAST LAP PASS ON JEFF BURTON?

“I over-drove it in two corners before that but it just looked like he got a little tight and I was able to get rotated in the center and get underneath him. But I don’t think he pushed the issue really hard; I think he raced us with respect there and so I appreciate that.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET – FINISHED 14^TH:

YOU HAVE BEEN MATHEMATICALLY ELIMINATED FROM THE DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT YOU ACCOMPLISHED THIS YEAR?

“Yeah, I’m definitely disappointed that we won’t be able to go to Homestead and race for our sixth (consecutive driver’s championship) but that’s motorsports. It’s a very tough business. What we did over the last five years was absolutely spectacular and I’ve just got to thank Lowe’s. I’ve got to thank Hendrick Motorsports, Chad Knaus (crew chief), and this whole race team for giving me everything they’ve had these 10 years. Even though we’re not in position to win the championship now, we’re going to go to Homestead and try to have our best race down there that we can and finish as high as we can in the points.”

A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY YOU ARE GOING TO COME BACK EVEN STRONGER NEXT YEAR. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE ONE THING YOU WANT TO TAKE FROM THIS AS YOU MOVE FORWARD?

“We’ll definitely learn. To a certain degree being on top for as long as we have been takes a lot of effort to maintain that. It just takes a lot out of you. So this winter will be a nice winter to unplug and relax and really look internally and dissect the different areas of the race team and what we do and come back stronger. I’ve always learned more from tougher moments and by no means is this a tough moment. Yes, the streak is gone but we’ve still got a shot at a top-five in points and that would be a big year still.”

WILL YOU HAVE A LITTLE MORE FUN AT HOMESTEAD THIS TIME THAN YOU’VE HAD IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS?

“Yeah, I’ll definitely have more fun and get a lot of sleep going in there. I’ll bet you the No. 99 (Carl Edwards) and the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) won’t. I’ll have fun watching from the sidelines.”

WAS THIS A CHALLENGING RACE LIKE EVERYONE THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE?

“Yeah, we were really, really far off. We kind of had that in practice and throughout different points of the weekend. Unfortunately we just couldn’t get the car balanced right. As a whole, if you look at our Hendrick cars, unfortunately we all struggled. The only Hendrick affiliated car that did any good was the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) and the rest of us looked like mid-packers all weekend long.”

WILL TONIGHT BE THE NIGHT YOU REFLECT ON WHAT YOU’VE ACCOMPLISHED?

“It might be. There’s definitely disappointment. I think that will be the emotion I deal with first. And then over the off-season, I’m sure it will kick-in some and reflect. I’ll reflect then, but still; in order for us to be where we want to be next year, we’ve got to work very, very hard during this off-season to understand what’s up and that’s not going to make it all that relaxed. So, I’m up for the challenge. This team is. My guys work so hard and we’ll learn and grow from this.”

IS IT GOING TO SEEM WEIRD THAT YOU’RE NOT THE CHAMPION?

“”I’ve been racing 30 years; shoot, 31 years and I’ve won probably two other big championship along the way. So, seven out of 31 years; this is normal. What we did over the last five years is abnormal. And then now we’ll get a taste of normalcy.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY VETERANS DAY CHEVROLET – FINISHED 5^TH:

“The guys on the U.S. Army Chevrolet with the Veteran’s Day special paint scheme; that was an amazing comeback for us to come from 30^th to fifth. I’m really proud of that. Tony (Stewart) kept himself in the hunt and we’re just doing all we can. That was a good run for us today. We had a good day on pit road. We’ve had some struggles here during the championship Chase on pit road, but to come back from what we did and start from where we did and end up talking to you (media) now is a good day.”

FROM 30TH TO 5TH ON THE TRACK, GOOD RUN: “It was interesting. The back stretch was the most interesting part the race track today. The guys did a good job on the US Army Chevrolet and this special Veteran’s Day paint scheme. I don’t think we hurt anybody on the car (smiles). Just proud of the No. 14 to do what they did. Thanks to all the fans for coming out. Hope it was an interesting race. For us to come from 30th to fifth, I’m proud of the effort. Wish we could have picked up four more.”

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 RETRO DIET MOUNTAIN DEW/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET, FINISHED 24^TH: NOT THE DAY YOU WERE HOPING FOR TODAY: “No. We pitted there and got caught with the caution out there and lost a couple of laps and just never got a chance to get it back. We had an ok car. Maybe a top-20 car. But, we changed the whole set-up last night. We put the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) setup in; we didn’t even practice it and we missed it. We didn’t hit it. The car was laying all over the race track. We just spent all day long trying to fix that. We should have just stuck with what we working with in practice and made the best of that and I think we could have done ok.”

HOW WAS THE TRACK? “It was alright. It’s too smooth. There’s not enough rocks in the asphalt, it’s too smooth. It’s all tar. It is really smooth. Hopefully it will age pretty quick though. But they need more rocks in the race track.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET, FINISHED 32^ND: PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR DAY, THIS PLACE ON BRAKES IS SO CRITICAL: “Yes. You know, I’m questioning what we had going on there because it seems like something contributed to that. I don’t know. Disappointing day. Disappointing weekend. We weren’t good here in the test. We weren’t good when we got here. We made a little of gains there and worked our way up there a little bit, but the restarts were hurting us really bad. It’s really slick out there and we were fighting and battling but then the brake problem happening and that pretty much ruined our day.”

DID YOU SEE ANYTHING PHYSICALLY WRONG WITH THE BRAKES? “Nope.”

YOU HAD SUCH HIGH HOPES COMING INTO THIS CHASE; THIS HAS TO BE DISAPPOINTING THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. “We knew we were out of it, but you want to close the season out on a positive note and carry some momentum into the off season as well as more as high in the points as you can. It hasn’t been our Chase at all and not the kind of year we wanted or the way we wanted to close out the year. This is a very good team and we’ve got a lot to look forward to in the future.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT IS LIKE TO RUN THIS TRACK WITHOUT BRAKES? “I had brakes, I just didn’t’ have enough to go fast. Every time I tried a little faster and use a little more brakes, then all of a sudden the pedal would start going to the floor and then I’d just have to back off and cool them back down. Just something we have to look into because we had a lot of opening to cool them. It shouldn’t have gotten hot.”

CAN YOU GIVE US YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TRACK? “I think the corners are not bad; but that dogleg in the back is ridiculous. It’s almost dangerous. I’m not a fan of that. But I think they are going to have a really nice race track here. The surface I liked as it moved into a wider groove. As it wears, Goodyear will be able to build a tire than can wear and have a little more grip so that we can race a little bit better.”

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR GLOBAL MINING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 4^TH: “We got really tight there at the end and he (Tony Stewart) had a lot of momentum. I didn’t slam into him or anything, but I wasn’t going to give him the spot. He earned it and he got it. The Caterpillar Chevrolet was good, really, all day. Real proud of everybody. When things are tough, you find out what people are made. My group has just kept digging and kept their heads up. Real proud of everybody. Nobody has quit on this team, not once. I’m real proud of that.”

WHAT HAS TURNED IT AROUND FOR YOU GUYS? “We have always worked hard and we didn’t get in this hole because of one person. We were just looking at things wrong. We’ve started changing how we are looking at things. I’ve gotten a little more involved in trying to understand exactly what is in the cars because that is really a departure for me not to be involved. So, I’ve become a little more involved. But that hasn’t had much to do with it other than me understanding what is in the car. I think that does matter. So, just a lot of work; a lot of effort and just everybody is just hitting the right buttons right now.”

VERY SOLID DAY: “We ran well all day. This is just a difficult race track. It is hard to pass and we did a nice job today. We played our cards right. You can always look back and think you could have done something different. We weren’t quite as good as one or two cars on the average of the total run, it would get a little tighter than we wanted. It was a good day for us. It was what we needed and what makes me comfortable. We’ve run really well the last month and hopefully we will build some momentum going into next year.”

CAN YOU CARRY THAT MOMENTUM OVER TO NEXT YEAR? “Well I hope so. I think we are learning. I know this sounds silly but we learned an awful lot of what not to do about what not to do earlier in the year and it just took us forever to recover from it. We started working on things that just weren’t the right things to work on and not we’re starting to work on stuff that is making a difference. This sport is hard. It wasn’t one person’s fault. We collectively weren’t doing a good job as a team but real proud of everybody with the Caterpillar Chevrolet and real proud of all of sponsors. Caterpillar, Chevrolet, SKF, Menards…everybody…Coca Cola for sticking with us. This has been very difficult for us and them too. But they’ve all stuck with us and real excited and proud of that. Makes me want to work harder for them.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19^TH: ON HIS DAY: “It was a tough day for the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team. We didn’t quite know what to expect with the new surface and the weather this weekend. We took some gambles today and it didn’t work out in the end. We’ll head to Homestead next weekend and try to end the season on a better note.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .

- Team Chevy, Press Release

Ford Racing

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion — PIT LANE INTERVIEW

THAT LAST PASS GOT YOU THE POINTS TO END WHERE YOU DID. “It was a long day. It was interesting. I was real calm but it is hard to watch that 14 crew and Tony do so well. They have really stepped it up. They are making us perform the best we ever have and we are doing the same to them. I followed him for about 40 laps. It felt like I was working him over and really paying attention to what he does. I determined he is a pretty good driver. If we can win this thing beating him that would be really cool.”

Bob Osborne, Crew Chief No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion – “We finished in front of Tony. We would have like to increase the points lead but we didn’t because he was able to lead so many laps early on. We had a great car and they had a great day too. It is going to be exciting going into Homestead. We were guarding against cautions and getting caught there staying out a little longer, guarding against a caution and that let the 4 car get in front of us. It felt like we had a better car than they did. Kenny just juked me today. I will have to congratulate him on that when I see him. I can’t say enough about them. The 4 car had a great car actually. They were very fast all day long. My hat is off to them and the 14 also. It is going to be a lot of fun at Homestead.”

YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU STAND FOR HOMESTEAD. WHAT IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR MIND FOR THAT RACE? “We will go there and try to repeat what we did last year. I feel like we have a good opportunity to do that this year. The car had the speed to do it today. The way the race played out here and my decision to wait a little bit longer cost us the win today. I think we will go into Homestead trying to sit on the pole and win the race and put a dot on this championship hopefully.”

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Crown Royal Ford — WALK US THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED. EVERYONE IS SAYING IT WAS RETALIATION FROM MARTINSVILLE. “Well yeah, obviously it is retaliation for retaliation I guess. I was out of brakes and I was up on everybody and I saw him coming and I lifted at least 10 car lengths before where I would normally lift and he drove in there at 165 miles per hour and cleaned us out. I don’t know. If NASCAR is going to start parking people for being mad 25 second after you wreck and wrecking somebody then you would park somebody for that. You have someone that has been telling everybody for four or five that as soon as he got a chance at a fast race track he was going to make it hurt and wipe us out and they do nothing about it. It was so premeditated it just surprises me that they didn’t do anything. I am disappointed but I expected it. We aren’t racing street stocks at a quarter mile track so they need to figure out how to get the drivers to settle their difference in a different way and talk about it or figure it out or do something instead of using your car as a battering ram somewhere this fast.”

WAS THERE ANY TEMPTATION WHEN YOU WENT BACK OUT TO TAKE IT UP ONE MORE NOTCH? “No, not at all. I don’t stoop to that level. When we had our problem at Martinsville it was heat of the moment and he hit me eight or nine times and he hit me once. Hindsight I should have let him go and left him alone because you realize who he is and what he is and all that. You probably should leave him alone and go on. I would never sit down there and wait for somebody and take a cheap shot like that. You can hurt someone like that and that isn’t sportsmanlike and that isn’t something I would do.”

WHAT NOW? DO YOU TALK ABOUT IT? “Nothing. We go race at Homestead.”

Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 DeWalt Ford – “We had a good car today. We just needed a bit of clean air to get the nose down and feeling good. I am proud of my DeWalt team, they did a good job and we were solid all day long.”

THIS CONTINUES A REALLY GOOD SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON FOR YOU. “Yeah, it bodes even better for the first half of next season.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 43 WIX Filters Ford – “It is a credit to all the guys on the 43 and at RPM. The test was really good and we came back really good. Man, I don’t know. We lost on that one restart. I don’t know. The tires chattered a little bit. The tires were so sensitive and they chattered and got hung out. I overdrove one lap and got in the dirt and that killed us from there. Sixth is okay but I feel like we deserved better. We have to work on our pit stops. Thanks to the 6 guys, our Ford teammates coming over and pitting the last two stops. That was a big difference.”

WHAT WAS BEHIND THAT CALL? “We were bad. We were losing four or five spots on a stop. You can’t do that and win a race and those guys are pretty good. They did a good job.”

J.J. Yeley, No. 38 Vampt Ford Fusion – “The guys did a good job with our No. 38 Vampt Ford Fusion all day. We had a terrible qualifying run so we had the challenge of starting in the back. And we knew that was going to be tough with the single-file racing that we’ve seen so far here. But the guys kept making it better all day, gave us some good pit stops, and Jay Guy made a good call on two tires at the end. We were all really proud to have Scott Bates here with us. It was a really special day for him, seeing the paint scheme that he created, in person, and also being recognized on stage during pre-race ceremonies. We’re all very grateful to veterans like him for their service to our country.”

David Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford – “That was a tough race. Starting from the back of the pack, we knew we had to have a pretty good car to be able to move up at this place. But we had some issues with the suspension. The car was bouncing and we were just adjusting on the shocks and stuff all day. I’m really looking forward to going to Homestead, though. I love racing there and we’ll look to end our season on a high note.”

CARL EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE

CAN YOU GIVE US OPENING STATEMENT GOING INTO HOMESTEAD WITH TONY THREE POINTS BEHIND YOU, YOU ARE THE ONLY TWO IN CONTENTION AND THIS IS THE THIRD CLOSEST CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE GOING INTO HOMESTEAD IN NASCAR HISTORY. “That is cool. I couldn’t ask for anything more. It is going to be fun. It is neat to go to Homestead and race it out. I am sure these guys are going to be good down there. They are fast at the mile-and-a-half tracks. I love that place. I am proud of my guys today. They did a great job on pit road. Tony was really fast and we got our car tuned in and we were able to race with them and compete. It was a good hard fought day. I am really pumped for Homestead, I think it is going to be a good time.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW THE TRACK WAS TODAY? “I think what Tony said is absolutely correct. All those guys that came out here and spent that time helped a ton. I think Brian recognizing the issue we were potentially going to have and addressing it was huge. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. The groove moved out wider and wider. I started to remember the old Phoenix when I would drive down in one and slide up and catch some rubber. I believe after it sits awhile and we come back here for the Subway 500 in the spring, and even a year from now, I think it will be awesome. I am a convert. I was ready to put a tombstone up and say goodbye to the place, but I think it is going to be good.”

I NOTICED YOU FOLLOWED TONY FOR A BIT, WAS THAT PART OF YOUR STRATEGY AND WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY FOR THE LAST RACE? “That is exactly what I was doing, just hanging out back there trying to keep his blood pressure up. No, I was having fun. I think our car was a tick faster right then. I was watching what Tony was doing and searching around and doing what I could. That was really fun. It was neat to be able to race like that. I think if it would have gone green from there, which I know the chances of that are virtually nil, that would have been a fun race. We would have battled it out. The way this has turned out for us to be running 1-2 and racing like this is really cool.”

GIVEN YOUR SUCCESS AT HOMESTEAD, IS THERE ANY PLACE YOU WOULD RATHER HAVE THE SEASON FINALE? “There are some dirt tracks I grew up on that would be fine with me. (laughter) If we tie, we should go to one of the dirt tracks down in Florida, that would be pretty fun. Homestead is going to be a lot of fun. I really enjoy racing there. The cool thing about Homestead is we are going to go there and you will be able to move around and pass and you won’t get hung up as badly in traffic as you would at other race tracks. For the sport in general, I don’t know that there is a better place to go than Homestead to fight for this championship.”

LAST YEAR JIMMIE JOHNSON WOULD STAY OUTSIDE WHEN DENNY WAS TALKING. YOU DID COME IN HERE AND ARE SITTING WITH TONY. HOW IS YOUR MINDSET AND NERVES RIGHT NOW? “They are really good. I am fortunate I guess. There is the potential for me to get really nervous there at Homestead, you never know what will happen. The thing for me is I have always been fortunate enough to just get in the race car and go race and there is no time for me that is more calm or I feel better than in that race car. I understand what all this stuff is. I understand we come up here and answer questions and that is part of our sport. When it comes down to it though, both of us know we have to just go race each other. It is truly neat, like you said it is my first time to come into this not just tied but with a little points advantage in this final race, it is fun. I am just enjoying it. It really, truly doesn’t matter what anyone says or what anyone’s predictions are. It gets done on the race track and that is when we will see.”

WHAT WILL YOU DO THIS WEEK? “I don’t know what I am going to do this week. I don’t have a very busy schedule so that is good. I can always find something to do. I will just go hang out and do what I normally do. I will spend a little time hopefully with the guys and talk a bit with Bob and keep doing what we have been doing all year and go down there and enjoy it.”

HOW COOL IS IT TO BE BATTLING EACH OTHER FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND ALSO BE SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER AND RACING EACH OTHER SO TIGHTLY THE LAST FEW WEEKS? “This is kind of strange to say right now because we are battling and it is a zero sum game, one of us will win and one of us will lose, but it is neat to me that Tony and the guys on the 14 have been running so well and have won so many races and are performing at such a high level. It is going to mean more if we are able to beat them in this championship because of that. To be racing these guys at their peak, for us I can say completely truthfully this is the best Chase we have ever had. We haven’t gone out and got the trophies we have in other Chase’s put we have performed better than we ever had. If they beat us they are beating us at our best and that is pretty neat.”

YOU’VE BEEN A PART OF ALMOST ALL THE CHASE’S. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS BEING ON THE INSIDE LOOKING AT IT? “It’s the best points battle I have been a part of at this level. It is fun for me. I still don’t understand why we are both running so good. It seems like subconsciously we are both able to dig down and our teams are able to give us what we need and everyone is performing at a real high level. It has been neat that this battle has brought out the best in us.”

YOU GUYS HAVE RACED HARD WITH EACH OTHER. HOW MUCH HARDER DOES IT GET. WHERE IS THAT LINE AT? “Heck, I’m gonna trip him when we walk out of this room. No, I think we are going to go race as hard as we can and both of us I believe want to win this thing because we are the best out there next weekend and that is all we can do, go out there and race hard like we have for years. There would be nothing better than coming down the last lap, side by side, racing for the win. That would be really fun.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON’S RUN OF FIVE STRAIGHT TITLES CAME TO AN END TODAY. CAN YOU PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE? “I would say that if anyone is going to go out and do it again it would be those guys. They have as good a shot as anyone at starting again next year. It is very impressive. I agree with what Tony said.”

KASEY KAHNE HAS SCORED THE SECOND MOST POINTS IN THE CHASE. HAVE YOU NOTICED HIM TURNING IT UP? “He kind of snuck up on me as well. I didn’t realize that statistic. We got to work with those guys really closely when he was driving a Ford and he is a really impressive driver. Those guys are going to be tough for a long time if they can find a groove and he can stick with one team and have people rally around him. I think he is going to be really tough for a long time.”

AS PRECIOUS AS THE POINTS ARE. WAS IT AT ALL DEFLATING WHEN YOU REALIZED AT THE END THAT KASEY HAD THE RACE AND YOU DIDN’T? “Yeah, but I felt that the strategy we went with, we had to do it that way. To pit early with him and leave the opportunity be to be a lap down and mired back in the field if there were a restart I believe Bob did the right thing. If we would have had a caution there at the end, I felt like our car was a little faster than his and we would have had a good shot at the win still. I would have loved to won this race for sure. That is what we all do this for. We still did our jobs. I think we did a really good job today. I am not certain if we had the fastest car but we performed well with it and got a good result.”

- PCGCampbell for Ford Racing, Press Release