![]() It increased the seating area to 30,000, just in time for the November NASCAR event, where fans watched on as Alan Kulwicki took his first victory and celebrated in appropriately quirky style, running a victory lap in the reverse direction so that the driver's side was closest to the fans. New owner Emmett "Buddy" Jobe, who had purchased the track for $2.75million in 1985, had been keen to secure a date for the main series and got his wish when PIR was allocated the race previously held by the defunct Riverside Raceway.Ĭonstruction of a new three-story suite building outside Turn 1 was completed in double-quick time after the original structure was burned to the ground in a lightning strike in 1987. NASCAR held its first races in 1978, when Richard Petty took the first of his three NASCAR Winston West Series wins at the facility, but it was not until 1988 that the Winston Cup cars (now the Sprint Cup) paid their first visit. NASCAR joins the party and soon becomes dominant A total purse of $30,000 was offered for the entire event. ![]() In 1977, the first Copper World Classic was held, a marquee event for USAC midget and Silver Crown cars, featuring two road course races and two oval races. Another claim to fame came in 1970, when Hollywood actor-turned-racer Steve McQueen raced his Porsche 908 from pole position to victory in the 17 lap 'Winter Sprint' SCCA event, setting a new lap record of 1m41.9s in the process. Stock cars also were early visitors to the road course in January 1968, when a USAC event attracted the likes of Parnelli Jones, A.J. Then, in April, Davey MacDonald won an open sports car race. The road course was just as popular as the oval indeed, it staged the the first ever events, an informal SCCA regional on January 4-5, 1964, followed by a divisional on February 15-16. Foyt won the first ever oval race at PIR and added another three USAC wins in later years Mario Andretti was a four-time victor and the Unser dynasty also enjoyed much success here, with six Indycar wins for Al Sr and four for Bobby. Over the years, Phoenix would host 58 Indycar races, with winners forming a who's who of the sport: A.J. USAC began racing at the track in its first year and the venue quickly became a favourite of drivers. PIR was built with the goal of being the western home of open wheel racing, acting as a replacement for the dirt oval at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. Of course, the desert location does have some drawbacks the heat tends to make for a slippery race track, while the local wildlife is also an issue: before each race track officials send 'Snake Wranglers' to scour the speedway grounds and surrounding hills to gather up the rattlesnakes that tend to also make PIR their home. Cheaper ticket prices helped ensure its popularity. Instead, many flock to the hillside alongside turns 3 and 4 (known as Monument Hill) for a unique top-down perspective. ![]() Spectators could often get among the best views of oval racing while at PIR – but not from the grandstands. To accommodate this, the track designers had to incorporate the unique dog-leg on the backstretch, which has become the circuit's signature feature. The road course wound its way around the exterior, departing and rejoining the oval course after Turn One. Harvick ends his career with 60 wins and a record 14 straight playoff appearances, along with a 2014 series championship.Opened in 1964 as Phoenix International Raceway, it was originally two-courses-in-one a 2.7-mile road course and one-mile tri-oval. ![]() The Stewart-Haas driver came close, winding up second behind William Byron at Darlington in May. ![]() Kevin Harvick rode through his final NASCAR season without a victory, despite tributes and remembrances at almost every stop on the circuit. The program got drivers Chris Buescher and Keselowski into the playoffs with Buescher winning three races and advancing to the final eight. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s revival under ex-series champion Brad Keselowski, an owner who helped Jack Roush’s once-great program return to prominence this season. NASCAR has not detailed the contract’s value. The new arrangement is worth $7.7 billion when a previously announced $1.1 billion contract with CW is figured in, according to the Sports Business Journal. NASCAR fans will have several new streaming ways to watch after the sport’s seven-year media rights deal that includes Amazon, TNT and Max. ![]()
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