SB Nation Atlanta - NASCAR At Phoenix: Kasey Kahne Wins, Three Points Seperate Carl Edwards And Tony Stewarthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46601/atlanta-fave.png2011-11-13T18:14:20-05:00http://atlanta.sbnation.com/rss/stream/23133872011-11-13T18:14:20-05:002011-11-13T18:14:20-05:00NASCAR At Phoenix Results: Kasey Kahne Wins Kobalt Tools 500; Carl Edwards And Tony Stewart Finish Second and Third
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<p>Kasey Kahne took Team Red Bull to victory lane Sunday, winning the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway. It is Kahne's first win since the September 2009 event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and the second-ever victory for the Red Bull team after Brian Vickers win at Michigan in 2009.</p>
<p>The championship battle will go down to the final race of the year with the same margin seperating Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart that stood between them before the race. Edwards finished second to Kahne, while Stewart placed third. Edwards' one-point gain was negated by Stewart's dominant early performance that allowed him to lead the most laps. Three points still separate the duo headed to Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track at which Edwards is the defending race champion.</p>
<p>The top-five was rounded out by Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman. A.J. Allmendinger, David Reutimann, Marcos Ambrose, Paul Menard, and Clint Bowyer completed the top-10.</p>
<p>Jimmie Johnson - along with everyone else behind Stewart - was officially eliminated from championship contention with a rather disappointing 14th place finish. His streak of five-straight Sprint Cup titles will come to an end when Edwards or Stewart hoist the trophy next week.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/11/13/2559461/nascar-at-phoenix-results-kasey-kahne-wins-kobalt-tools-500-carlAaron Rosser2011-11-13T15:47:10-05:002011-11-13T15:47:10-05:00NASCAR At Phoenix Update: Tony Stewart Leads After 40 Laps
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<p>With a bold three-wide pass on the outside, Tony Stewart overtook polesitter Matt Kenseth to grab the lead at lap 36. Stewart charged through the field after starting from the eighth position to overhaul Kenseth, who led the first 35 laps from the top starting spot.</p>
<p>Martin Truex Jr., A..J. Allmendinger, and David Reutimann round out the top five, with Marcos Ambrose sixth. Championship leader Carl Edwards runs 7th after starting ninth. The remainder of the top-10 is Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, and Mark Martin. Cole Whitt, making his Sprint Cup debut, was scored 15th at the time of the caution flag.</p>
<p>The first yellow flew on lap two when David Ragan and Regan Smith both spun and backed into the turn-three wall. Ragan was able to continue despite his damage, while Smith was forced to take his Chevrolet to the garage area for repairs. On the restart from that yellow, Geoff Bodine spun on the frontstretch but was able to avoid contact with the wall.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/11/13/2559133/nascar-at-phoenix-update-tony-stewart-leads-after-40-lapsAaron Rosser2011-11-13T10:02:28-05:002011-11-13T10:02:28-05:00NASCAR At Phoenix: Start Time, Starting Lineup, And Stories T o Watch
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<p>Rain has followed NASCAR around all year long, even to the desert in Avondale, Arizona, home of the Phoenix International Raceway. The forecast calls for a 50% chance of rain today, with with a 20% chance this evening. PIR does have lights, meaning the race could concievably begin and/or end after dark.</p>
<p>The scheduled start time for the Kobalt Tools 500 is 3 p.m. Eastern. The race, whenever it takes place, can be seen on ESPN or heard on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/Affiliates/Affiliates.aspx#showFindStations">your MRN radio affiliate</a>.</p>
<p>Matt Kenseth, still clinging to an outside shot at the 2011 Sprint Cup title, starts from the pole today, alongside A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger's Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Marcos Ambrose rolls off third, followed by Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr. Title contenders Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards start eighth and ninth, respectively.</p>
<p>To see the entire Kobalt Tools 500 starting grid,<a href="http://www.jayski.com/stats/2011/grids/35phx2011grid.htm">head over to Jayski.com</a>.</p>
<p>Here are some stories to watch in today's event:</p>
<p><strong>Can open-wheel-turned-stock car racers sweep the weekend? </strong>Three-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. won Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race for his first ever stock-car triumph. Allmendinger, a former standout in the defunct Champ Car Series, has seemed at his strongest on flat ovals like Phoenix.</p>
<p><strong>Can Mark Martin pull out a win as his time with Hendrick Motorsports comes to a conclusion? </strong>Rick Hendrick drew the beloved veteran out of his part-time schedule to return to full-time competition in 2009. Martin finished second in points that year with five victories (including his second Phoenix victory), but his previous two seasons have left much to be desired. With it already announced he will return to a part-time schedule in 2012 with Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00 Toyota, Martin would no-doubt like to end his career as a full-season racer with at least one more trip to victory lane.</p>
<p><strong>Does Elliott Sadler's Nationwide Series fate befall either Carl Edwards or Tony Stewart? </strong>Sadler, seeking his first national championship in any series, was wrecked by Jason Leffler late in Saturday's Nationwide race, effectively ending the title fight one race early. A similar situation could easily occur Sunday with Edwards or Stewart as they duel for the title. An accident at Phoenix during a title fight is not unprecedented, as Rusty Wallace crashed in the 1989 event. He was still able to hold off Dale Earnhardt for that year's title, but with just a three-point margin in the 2011 fight, any significant misfortune for either driver will likely bring their bid for this year's title to a close.</p>
<p><strong>Can Jeff Gordon sweep the season at Phoenix? </strong>Gordon was supposed to be the driver in Stewart's shoes, contending with Edwards for the title. Instead, he and Stewart's performances effectively flip-flopped, with Gordon struggling throughout the Chase. Flat ovals have been his strong suit all season, though, and a season sweep is not out of the question. If Gordon does not win, it will end a ten-year streak of drivers sweeping the two events at least one track.</p>
<p><strong>Does Kyle Busch make any headlines - good or bad - in his return? </strong>Likely, the No. 18 team would prefer to fly under the radar these last two weeks and enter the offseason quietly. If Busch can come from the rear of the field and win the race or at least record a top-five finish, it would certainly create the positive energy sapped from the team after the Texas debacle.</p>
<p><strong>How does Cole Whitt perform in his Sprint Cup debut? </strong>Whitt is likely one of the stars of the future, but he could certainly leap right into superstardom this afternoon if he could somehow win the Kobalt Tools 500. A more realistic goal for his Sprint Cup debut might be to simply complete the race down as few laps as possible, but there's no reason why the 2011 season can't produce one more surprise.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/11/13/2558339/nascar-at-phoenix-start-time-starting-lineup-and-stories-t-o-watchAaron Rosser2011-11-12T15:16:59-05:002011-11-12T15:16:59-05:00NASCAR At Phoenix Qualifying Results: Matt Kenseth Wins Kobalt Tools 500 Pole
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<p>For the second time in 2011, a potential sweep of the front row by Richard Petty Motorsports teammates A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose was spoiled in the final moments of qualifying. At the Glen, Kyle Busch beat out Allmendinger as the final car to qualify. Saturday, it was Matt Kenseth - the next-to-last driver to qualify - who beat the RPM duo to grab the pole for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway.</p>
<p>After Allmendinger and Ambrose, the top-five is completed by Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr. Jamie McMurray and David Reutimann were sixth and seventh, followed by Sprint Cup championship contenders Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-10.</p>
<p>Kenseth failed to eclipse Edwards track record, which seemed a certainty after Friday's practice saw 23 drivers turn a faster lap in the opening practice that set the qualifying lineup. The difference was a sun-bathed, slick race track that had even five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson - riding a streak of ten-consecutive top-fives at Phoenix - nearly sliding into the wall.</p>
<p>Former USAC standout Cole Whitt, driving a third car for Team Red Bull, qualified 19th. The talented Californian, who has impressed in his first full season of Camping World Truck Series competition this year, will make his Sprint Cup debut Sunday.</p>
<p>Failing to make the show were Scott Riggs, David Stremme, and Andy Lally. Lally spun on his qualifying lap, continuing a frustrating season for the driver soon to be named - effectively by default as he is the only first-year driver to contest the majority of the races - the 2011 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/11/12/2557084/nascar-at-phoenix-qualifying-results-matt-kenseth-wins-kobalt-toolsAaron Rosser2011-11-12T09:32:00-05:002011-11-12T09:32:00-05:00NASCAR At Phoenix: Kobalt Tools 500 Qualifying Time, Network, And Order
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<p>It could be a record-setting day as the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams qualify for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway at 1:30 p.m. on SPEED.</p>
<p>Sprint Cup point leader Carl Edwards has won the last two poles at Phoenix, including a record-setting lap of 137.279 this past February. Thanks to the reconfiguration of the track's backstretch dogleg, that record is likely to fall today. Jamie McMurrayequaled Edwards' lap during Friday's first practice session - while turning only the 24th quickest lap. Jeff Burton was fastest at 140.067 MPH. A pole wouldn't do much to cure the veteran's miserable season, but it would give him the best possible starting position as he seeks his third Phoenix win and his first Sprint Cup victory since 2008.</p>
<p>Kyle Busch, meanwhile, is qualifying for pit position and little else in his first race back from his NASCAR-imposed vacation. Busch's engine failed before he had even pulled out of his garage stall. Because NASCAR mandates that teams only use one engine during a race weekend, the swapout means Busch has to start at the rear of Sunday's field no matter where he qualifies.</p>
<p>To see where your favorite driver will go out in the 46-car qualifying order, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.jayski.com/stats/2011/grids/35phx2011grid.htm">head over to Jayski.com. </a></p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/11/12/2556449/nascar-at-phoenix-kobalt-tools-500-qualifying-time-network-and-orderAaron Rosser2011-11-11T08:01:44-05:002011-11-11T08:01:44-05:00NASCAR At Phoenix: Kobalt Tools 500 Weekend TV Schedule
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<p>Now that we know Kyle Busch in fact <em>will</em> be behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota this weekend and starting the 2012 season, contrary to rumors that have persisted since the debacle last weekend, we can all turn our collective minds towards the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway.</p>
<p>While Busch will likely receive a lion's share of the attention throughout the weekend - as he has since the 13th lap of last Friday's Camping World Truck Series race - the duel between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart for this year's Sprint Cup crown is also a headline-dominator. Edwards is the defending champion of the race, a feat he may have to duplicate if he is to hold off Stewart's sudden surge towards a third championship.</p>
<p>In addition to that trio, there will be 43 other drivers attempting to pick up one of the 43 spots in Sunday's race, equating to 46 individual stories to be told in the penultimate race weekend of the 2011 Sprint Cup season. Storytime begins Friday, with the opening practices on the reconfigured one-mile, D-shaped oval, and thanks to NASCAR broadcast partners SPEED, ESPN2, and ESPN, all of the weekend action will be available for your viewing pleasure.</p>
<p>All times Eastern:</p>
<p>Friday:</p>
<p>Practice - 1:30 p.m, ESPN2</p>
<p>Final practice - 5:30 p.m., ESPN2</p>
<p>Saturday:</p>
<p>Qualifying - 1:30 p.m., SPEED</p>
<p>Sunday:</p>
<p>NASCAR Countdown - 2 p.m., ESPN</p>
<p>Kobalt Tools 500 - 3 p.m., ESPN</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/11/11/2553701/nascar-at-phoenix-kobalt-tools-500-weekend-tv-scheduleAaron Rosser2011-11-09T09:47:45-05:002011-11-09T09:47:45-05:00NASCAR At Phoenix: Jimmie Johnson's Last Stand - For Now
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<p>While the focus will no doubt be on the title fight between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart, Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 will effectively mark the end of Jimmie Johnson's five-consecutive Sprint Cup titles, a record that stands among the greatest in racing history.</p> <p>In all likelyhood, the NASCAR Sprint Cup title will either come down to Carl Edwards or Tony Stewart, They hold a collective 33-point edge on third-placed Kevin Harvick with two races remaining. Unless the unthinkable happens and both drivers suffer a disastrous outting Sunday at the Phoenix International Raceway, that is not a margin that will be made up in two races.</p>
<p>It is also likely that Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 will effectively end Jimmie Johnson's championship reign, though it won't officially come to a close, of course, until the trophy is in the new champion's hand.</p>
<p>The five-time defending series champion sits 55 points behind Edwards and 52 markers back of Stewart. The maximum point gain is 47 points (46 points for winning the race, one bonus point for leading a lap, and another bonus point for leading the most laps, while the leader finishes last), meaning that even if Johnson and his Chad Knaus-led team were to run the table with a dominant performance while Edwards and Stewart finished 42nd and 43rd, he still would not be able to overtake them in the standings.</p>
<p>Furthermore, if Johnson can not knock the margin down to 47 points or less leaving Phoenix, he will officially be eliminated from the title fight with one race remaining for the first time since 2003 - his second season on the Sprint Cup circuit and the last prior to the Chase format.</p>
<p>In effect, one of the most impressive runs of success in sporting history has likely seen its final championship. Johnson's five-consecutive titles are, by two, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record. Cale Yarborough is the only other driver to even record three in a row, which he did from 1976-78.</p>
<p>Critics claim Johnson's streak is not as impressive as - or at least not <em>more</em> impressive than - other dominant stretches in the past, such as David Pearson's three titles in four years from 1966-1969 (in the only three seasons he ran the full schedule), Dale Earnhardt's six championships from 1986-94, or Jeff Gordon's four championships and 56 race wins from 1995-2001. Those titles were all won under full-season formats, while Johnson's titles have all come during the 10-race Chase playoff format instituted for the 2004 season.</p>
<p>In any case, it is still without doubt one of the greatest stretches in stock car racing history and one that very well could be rekindled with a sixth championship in 2012. It has all but assured that the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet will stand in NASCAR lore alongside other famous rides like Richard Petty's No. 43, Earnhardt's No. 3, Gordon's No. 24, or the Wood Brothers No. 21 car.</p>
<p>For now, however, the reign is over and racing pundits and fans alike can finally sit back and take a solid look at a finished picture of the No. 48 team's domination. And even though a title might not be in the cards for this year, don't be surprised if Johnson picks up a win - or two - in the remaining pair of races on the schedule. He has a record four wins at Phoenix, and while he has never won at Homestead, one can likely attribute that to the fact that he has rarely needed to race for a win there.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/11/9/2548853/nascar-phoenix-2011-jimmie-johnsonAaron Rosser