AVONDALE, Ariz. — Phoenix International Raceway is filled with bumps and cracks, and has patches on top of patches trying to hold it together for one last race.
It might be falling apart, but one thing it has never lost is speed.
Carl Edwards had the fastest lap on one of the fastest days ever at Phoenix, setting the last of a slew of track records Saturday during the final qualifying session before the surface undergoes a makeover.
“This track is great,” Edwards said. “I talked to [track President Bryan] Sperber earlier and I think the question I asked him seems a lot of people have asked was: Why would you even mess with this? ”
Raceway officials don’t have a lot of choice with the track nearly crumbling.
It’s at least going out with flourish.
On a cloudy, relatively cool day in the desert, 15 drivers eclipsed the previous qualifying record of 136.389 mph, set by Edwards on his way to winning at Phoenix last fall.
Coming off a second-place finish at the Daytona 500, Edwards was the fastest of them all, running a lap of 137.279 mph to barely edge Kurt Busch on the final qualifying session before the track’s repaving project starts.
Kasey Kahne qualified third and Kyle Busch will start next to him for today’s 500-mile race around the crack-filled mile oval.
“It’s the same track I’ve been coming to since 1995,” said Kevin Harvick, who qualified 17th. “It makes me almost want to cry that they’re going to tear it all up.”
The track is just a few days away from the start of a $10 million repaving project that’s supposed to be done before the fall NASCAR Chase race.
Maybe they should leave it alone with all the recordsfalling this weekend.
Clint Bowyer got it started in the trucks Friday, setting a record in qualifying, and Kyle Busch did the same thing in the Nationwide Series on Saturday morning.
Denny Hamlin didn’t take long to set the record for Sprint Cup cars, knocking off the mark before the session was even a quarter of the way through.
A few drivers later, Brad Keselowski knocked Hamlin off, bettering his record by two-tenths of a second. Kasey Kahne took that mark down a few more drivers later, lopping nearly seventh-tenths off Keselowski’s record. Edwards had the record-topping run late in the session, finishing 0.167 ahead of Kurt Busch, one of the last drivers to qualify.
“I was expecting ninth or 10th just with the way the lap felt, but I came over and they said we were second place,” said Kurt Busch, who had the fastest time in Friday’s practice session. “I was relieved to hear that.”
Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne was one of the few drivers who couldn’t generate much speed on the recordsetting day. The 20-year-oldwrecked after his brakes locked up on the first lap of Friday’s opening practice session and ended up qualifying 33rd in his backup car.
“I know I needed more,” Bayne said. “I just didn’t have enough grip. I couldn’t get much more out of the tire out there. I think it’s going to be good on the long run, but for the qualifying it just wasn’t there. We’ll get it - plus I’m learning, too.”
Edwards had a breakthrough his last time at Phoenix in November, ending a 70-race winless streak by saving just enough fuel to cross the finish line and circle back for his patented celebratory backflip in front of the grandstand.
Edwards said at the time he hoped the victory would jump-start his career again. He won at Homestead the following week, opened this season with a second at Daytona - he was unable to get around Bayne at the end - and will start up front again this weekend for one last goround before the track gets its makeover.
“I love this racetrack,” Edwards said. “I know all the drivers love to drive on it. It’s really fun to drive.”NASCAR Sprint Cup lineupSubway Fresh Fit 500 After Saturday qualifying; race today At Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Ariz.
Lap length: 1.0 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 137.279.
2. (22) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 137.112.
3. (4) Kasey Kahne, Toyota, 137.096.
4. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 136.981.
5. (78) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 136.971.
6. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 136.945.
7. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 136.809.
8. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 136.773. 9. (2) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 136.768.
10. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 136.674.
11. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 136.643.
12. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 136.581.
13. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 136.56.
14. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 136.457. 15. (43) A J Allmendinger, Ford, 136.405.
16. (33) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 136.327.
17. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 136.116.
18. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 136.06.
19. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 135.998.
20. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 135.772.
21. (47) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 135.731.
22. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 135.701.
23. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 135.609.
24. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 135.578.
25. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 135.563.
26. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 135.557.
27. (13) Casey Mears, Toyota, 135.527.
28. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 135.496.
29. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 135.471.
30. (34) David Gilliland, Ford, 135.471.
31. (7) Robby Gordon, Dodge, 135.232.
32. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 134.933.
33. (21) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 134.756.
34. (66) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 134.685.
35. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 134.675.
36. (32) Mike Skinner, Ford, 134.273.
37. (60) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 134.048.
38. (46) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 134.043.
39. (09) Bill Elliott, Chevrolet, 133.784.
40. (38) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 133.393.
41. (71) Andy Lally, Chevrolet, 131.926.
42. (37) Tony Raines, Ford, Owner Points.
43. (36) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 133.353.
Failed to Qualify 44. (92) Brian Keselowski, Dodge, 131.238.
Sports, Pages 25 on 02/27/2011