- The Sprint Cup Series heads to the desert this weekend for the season’s second-last event, Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Mark Martin will be looking to put another big dent in teammate Jimmie Johnson’s lead in the driver standings on Sunday. Martin finished fourth over the weekend in the Dickies 500 at Texas, while Johnson ended up well back in 38th place in that race.
Kurt Busch took the checkered flag in Texas, while Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth followed him across the finish line. Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, and A.J. Allmendinger also had Top-10 results in the Dickies 500.
Johnson now leads Martin by 73 points in the driver standings after eight of 10 Chase events. Jeff Gordon, who ended up in 13th place in the Dickies 500, is 112 points back of the leader in third place in the standings. Kurt Busch and Stewart are fourth and fifth.
Martin won the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix back in April, and Johnson had taken the checkered flag in each of the previous three Cup races at the venue.
Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have each won twice at Phoenix International Raceway in their Cup careers. Gordon, Stewart, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Kurt Busch have one win apiece on the track.
After racing in Phoenix the drivers of the Sprint Cup Series will head back east to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the season finale, the Ford 400, on November 22.
