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Phoenix International Raceway
Basha's 200
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Location: Avondale,
AZ
Shape: Oval
Distance: 1
mile
Banking, Turns:
11 degrees in Turns 1 and 2
9 degrees in Turns 3 and 4
Front Straight: 1,179
feet
Banking, Front Straight: None
Back Straight: 1,551
feet
Banking, Back Straight: None |
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Phoenix International Raceway
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By the time I got to Phoenix...
 By the time I get to Phoenix, I am ready for some nice weather.
Phoenix International Raceway, which is located in the Valley of the
Sun, never disappoints. It's always a nice place to race especially
after a long season on the NASCAR circuit.
This race was a lot of fun because I had Robby Gordon as my spotter.
Robby, who had driven Indy cars for my father, had arranged it with
my crew chief Lance Ferno. When I asked Lance who was spotting for
me, he told me it was a surprise.
We qualified the Harrah's Chevrolet in 28th but unfortunately we had
to start 36th. There was a miscommunication about the time the
driver's meeting started and I ended up missing it, which meant I
move to the back of the qualified cars. I was busy greeting guests
of my sponsor Harrah's when I should have been at the meeting, so it
just made my job a little harder.
I got a pretty good start and was moving up through the field. When
the car began to slide around a lot because the tires were wearing
out, Robby made suggestions on throttle control and different lines
to take on the track. He also advised about the other cars I was
coming up to pass. And it all helped.
One time though he messed me up because he told me to take an
outside line and didn't realize there was a slower car that had
drifted up there so I lost about five positions as I got hung out to
dry. But overall, his suggestions were really good and I think it
helped having his second set of experienced eyes there.
I did have a problem though when I was racing for position with
Brian Vickers. We were racing very hard side by side for several
laps and I made a mistake and drove down into turn one too hard. The
back end snapped loose and before I knew it, I was in the wall.
 I apologized to my guys, but A.J. came over the radio and said,
"Don't worry about it because you were racing hard."
My Harrah's crew did a great job of getting the fenders banged out
and getting me back on the track. I lost a lap initially and then
lost a second lap near the end because my "modified" car, held
together with bungee cords and duct tape, was not as quick as it had
been.
Still we ended up 25th and moved up a position in points and we are
now 19th.
We have one race to go – this weekend in Miami – and then I'm off to
Jamaica for a cruise with other NASCAR drivers and race fans. I am
really looking forward to that because as soon as I return, we'll
start working on next year.
See you at the races!
Notes & Quotes:
 Larry
Foyt on Phoenix: "I like Phoenix because it is a fun place to go. I
have run there in both an open wheel car and my Harrah's stock car
and there is nothing similar about the experience except that it is
on the same piece of real estate. In the Formula 2000 car, you run
wide open all around the track and in the stock car you use a lot of
brake to try to get it to turn. One is very different from the
other. I like the track too because there is so much history there
with my dad A.J."
A.J. Foyt won four times at Phoenix International Raceway including
the first Indy car race held there when the paved track opened in
1964 (his last victory there came in 1975). He also won on the one
mile dirt oval at the Fairgrounds in 1960 to claim the fourth of his
record 67 Indy car victories.
Last year at PIR, Foyt appeared headed for his first top-10 finish
in the NASCAR Busch Series when he got caught up in Ken Schrader's
troubles. Foyt had come from 30th to ninth in the Harrah's Chevy
when Schrader blew a tire, hit the wall and slid in front of Foyt
who could not avoid hitting him. Foyt went to the garage for repairs
and returned to the race 36 laps down; he placed 34th.
Foyt is 20th in the NASCAR Busch Series standings; he has earned
$544,955.
Last Race (Rockingham): Foyt started 35th and finished 24th at North
Carolina Speedway. Foyt and his team struggled with the No. 14 car's
handling problems throughout the weekend.
Best 2002 Start: 5th at Nashville (Apr. 13) and Kentucky
(June 15)
Best 2002 Finish: 8th at Talladega (Apr. 20) |
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