James Buescher's pit crew works on his car April 11. Photo by Jed Strahm

NASCAR makes first of two stops in the Valley in 2008

By Eric Lorenz
West Times Staff

NASCAR raced into Phoenix International Raceway on April 11-12 for two races featuring the famous faces of Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and the rest of NASCAR’s elite.

April 11 was the running of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200, with Nationwide Series standout Clint Bowyer looking for a win at Phoenix to further his claim to the top spot in the standings. It would not happen for him as Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards battled it out for top spot that Friday under the lights. Bowyer finished eighth.

Edwards passed Busch on Lap 159 and held the lead until Lap 178, when the cars pitted for the last time due to a caution flag brought on by debris on the track. Busch won the race off Pit Row between him and Edwards, putting him out front at the restart at Lap 184. The last few laps were marred by cautions, keeping Edwards from being able to mount a serious charge. Edwards would finish second, with Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and David Ragan rounding out the top five.

That led up to Saturday’s Sprint Series race, where the biggest names the sport has to offer came out to race in the Subway Fresh Fit 500. Ryan Newman started in pole position but spent only 37 laps in the lead.

That is because Jimmie Johnson, who sat in sixth place in the Sprint standings entering the race, led 120 of the 312 laps and cruised – literally – to victory.

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus elected not to pit on Lap 304 as the rest of the field chose to and instead gambled that they’d have enough fuel to make it across the finish line. They did, backing off the gas pedal, and Johnson won the race 7.002 seconds ahead of Bowyer, who also took a chance on fuel with Johnson and finished second. Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Mark Martin rounded out the top five on Saturday.

Johnson won for the first time this season and for the second time in two races at PIR. The win also gave Hendrick Motorsports its first win of the 2008 campaign.