ABOUT US
| TRACK LENGTH | 1 Mile |
|---|---|
| TRACK TYPE | Oval |
| SURFACE | Asphalt |
| BANKING | 0 - 11 degrees |
| CAUTION SPEED |
Construction on Phoenix Raceway is completed. Scottsdale builder Richard Hogue, an amateur sports car racer, designs the track at the foothills of the Estrella Mountains to be known as the “Indianapolis of the West” as it is the only one of its kind outside of Daytona Beach and the only road racing course between the Mississippi and California. The new track includes a uniquely-shaped one-mile oval, a quarter-mile drag strip and a meandering 2.5-mile road course.
The track installs track lights, which will change the way racing is seen at Phoenix Raceway. The following equipment is installed: 32 ground-mounted perimeter poles (70'-110' tall); 34 grandstand and rooftop-mounted poles (10'-50' tall); 153 ground-mounted infield poles (6'-24' tall); 1044 total light fixtures; Combination of 1000w, 1500w, 2000w metal halide light fixtures; 70 miles of wire; 200 tons of concrete; and 27 semi-trailers are required to transport the lighting equipment from Iowa. The lights create 146 million lumens (a typical table lamp is 25 lumens), for a total of 1.5 million watts of power per hour. The new lighting at Phoenix Raceway is the equivalent to 10,357 blocks of residential street lighting.
The W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University releases an economic impact study measuring the effect of Phoenix Raceway on Arizona. The study reports that the track is responsible for the contribution of $473 million annually to the Grand Canyon State, an amount higher than that projected for the Arizona Super Bowl to be held in nearby Glendale in 2008.
Jeff Gordon opens the 20th season of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series action at Phoenix Raceway with a thrilling victory over Tony Stewart in the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™. The victory is Gordon’s first in 17 tries in the desert and the first by a driver from the pole position. It is Gordon’s 76th win, tying him for sixth all-time with Dale Earnhardt on the NEXTEL Cup Series career wins list. Gordon celebrates his win by holding a “3” flag out of his driver’s side window to commemorate the late Earnhardt’s great career.
SPEED Cantina, a one-of-a-kind at-track sports bar and grill, opens outside Turn 2 at Phoenix Raceway. The project, designed by Phoenix-based Detail Design & Fabrication (DD&F), is the result of a collaboration between Phoenix Raceway and the leading motorsports network, SPEED.
Phoenix Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announces new Sprint Cup race dates as part of widespread NASCAR schedule realignment. Phoenix Raceway’s April NASCAR race weekend moves to February – just one week after the Daytona 500 – while its fall race maintains its traditional November date as the semi-final stop in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR’s realignment makes Phoenix Raceway the only West Coast venue with two annual Sprint Cup Series race weekends.
Two more first time winners – Brian Scott (Camping World Trucks) and Joey Logano (Nationwide Series) – found Victory Lane on Friday and Saturday, but the AdvoCare 500 Sprint Cup race was won by a familiar face: Kevin Harvick who scored his eighth major win (four Camping World Trucks, one Nationwide, three Sprint Cup) at Phoenix Raceway. For many fans, the enduring memory of the season will be the collision between Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer and the subsequent shoving match between their crews.
Phoenix Raceway celebrated its 50th Anniversary, recognizing relationships with its fans, community partners and the racing industry. In addition to welcoming back some of the biggest names in Phoenix Raceway racing history, track visitors could tour a one-of-a-kind interactive and three-dimensional race weekend exhibit entitled Memory Lane.
Kevin Harvick solidified his place as the top NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver in the history of Phoenix Raceway, leading 224 of the 312 laps to win The Profit on CNBC 500 – his Sprint Cup win at Phoenix Raceway. Legendary racer A.J. Foyt, who won the inaugural professional race at Phoenix Raceway in 1964, returned to the track and presented the trophy to Harvick in Victory Lane.
Needing a win to advance to the Championship Round of new Chase for the Sprint Cup, Kevin Harvick did just that, leading 264 of 312 laps en route to a dominant victory in the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500. The win was Harvick’s third in a row at Phoenix Raceway, matching him with Jimmie Johnson as the only drivers to “three-peat” at the track, and making Harvick the only driver to sweep both Cup races in a season on two separate occasions – he also swept in 2006. A week later at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick won again to capture his first Sprint Cup Series Championship.
In his first start at Phoenix Raceway, Todd Gilliland becomes the youngest winner of a professional race in the track's 52-year history when he took the lead after a blown right front tire ended J.J. Haley's dominating run with six laps to go in the Casino Arizona 100, the championship race for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series-West title.
In honor of his final race in the Valley of the Sun, Phoenix Raceway is officially renamed Jeff Gordon Raceway for the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 as a way for all fans to celebrate the importance Gordon had on the track, the fans and the sport as a whole. It is the first time that a track has been renamed for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. In qualifying, Jimmie Johnson earned his third pole award in Phoenix by running a track-record lap of 143.158 mph. The semi-final race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup was won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who used pit strategy and the return of rain to win an abbreviated Eliminator Round race.
Kyle Busch wins the AXALTA Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 in dominating fashion to become the lap leader in professional races at Phoenix Raceway, and the first driver to lead over 2,500 laps in the Valley of the Sun. The victory marked Busch's ninth NASCAR XFINITY Series win at Phoenix Raceway - the most of any driver in any professional series at the track.
In the closest margin of victory in Phoenix Raceway's 53-year history, Kevin Harvick wins his 13th major professional race in Phoenix by holding off Carl Edwards by 0.010 of a second in the Good Sam 500. By leading 139 laps in his eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at the one-mile oval - his sixth win of the last seven races in the desert - Harvick joined Kyle Busch as the only two drivers to lead more than 2,000 laps at Phoenix.
Phoenix Raceway announced on October 27, 2015 the return of the Verizon IndyCar Series with the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix race on April 2, 2016. Helio Castroneves became the new Phoenix Raceway "Speed King" after shattering the track record - set in 1996 by Arie Luyendyk (183.599 mph) - by touring the one-mile oval in a two-lap average of 192.324 mph to win the pole. With several IndyCar legends in attendance, the race was won by defending series champion Scott Dixon, who earned a track-record winning speed of 139.822 to take home the first A.J. Foyt Championship Trophy.
After a wild finish, Joey Logano captures his first Sprint Cup win at Phoenix Raceway to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 in Homestead. Tucson native, Alex Bowman sat in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and dominated most of the race by leading 194 of 324 laps. A late caution called for an overtime restart where Alex Bowman and Matt Kenseth collided sending Kenseth into the outside wall as his championship hopes vanished in a cloud of tire smoke. Logano held off Kyle Busch on the last 2 laps of the second overtime to win by 0.587 seconds.
Ryan Newman snaps a 127-race winless streak by taking the checkered flag at the Camping World 500. Newman only led 6 laps of the 314 lap race, but a late-race pit strategy by crew chief Luke Lambert led to Newman’s overtime victory. Joey Logano sat on the pole and led him to capture Stage 1 in Phoenix Raceway’s first ever stage race. Chase Elliott took home Stage 2 after a bold, three wide pass on the outside of Joey Logano and Kyle Larson.
Helio Castroneves successfully defended his Speed King title by breaking his own record by running 194.905 mph in his 2 lap qualifier to earn the pole. Simon Pagenaud captured his first oval track win of his career at the Desert Diamond West Valley Grand Prix. Pagenaud took the lead on lap 137 of the 250 lap race and blazed to victory with a record average speed of 144.058.
Phoenix Raceway and ISM Connect, a pioneer in smart venue technology, announced a multi-year partnership on September 26, 2017 that includes naming rights for the Raceway’s modernized venue as well as the installation of a groundbreaking digital fan engagement experience. Beginning in 2018, the venue will be known as ISM Raceway.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 for Stewart-Haas Racing, became the first driver since 2015 to win three consecutive races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series by claiming the victory in Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway. It was Harvick’s ninth career victory in Phoenix, extending his all-time wins record at the track. The win was also Harvick’s 40th career win, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin for 18th on the career wins list in the Monster Energy Series.
Kyle Busch has become very familiar with ISM Raceway’s new Gatorade Victory Lane, returning to it on Sunday following his victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500, his second win in as many days. Busch captured the iK9 Service Dog 200 to earn his record 11th win at ISM Raceway in the Xfinity Series on Saturday, March 9.
The Valley of the Sun will play host to a new championship sporting event as NASCAR announced today that the NASCAR Championship Weekend will be held at ISM Raceway, November 6-8, 2020, for the first time in the sport’s history. Featuring the deciding races for each of the three NASCAR national touring series, this exciting development was announced in a press conference today from ISM Raceway’s Gatorade Victory Lane, which included track president Julie Giese, NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton and Governor of Arizona Doug Ducey.