The 2013 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 3, 2013, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 316 laps on the 1-mile (1.6 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the second race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Carl Edwards of Roush Fenway Racing won the race, his first win in 70 races. Jimmie Johnson finished second while Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five.
Report
Background Phoenix International Raceway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway. The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track oval that is long. The track's first two turns are banked from 10 to 11 degrees, while the third and fourth turns have an 8–9 degree banking. The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 3 degrees, and the back stretch has a 10–11 degree banking. The racetrack has seats for 55,000 spectators.
Before the race, Jimmie Johnson was leading the Drivers' Championship with 47 points, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stood in second with 42 points. Mark Martin and Brad Keselowski followed in third and fourth with 41 points each, and was one ahead of Ryan Newman in fifth. Greg Biffle with 38 was one point ahead of Danica Patrick, as Michael McDowell with 35 points was one ahead of J. J. Yeley and Clint Bowyer. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with nine points, three points ahead of their rival Toyota. Ford was in the third position with four points. Denny Hamlin was the race's defending winner.
The race was the first of the season to remove roof cameras to lessen turbulent air impact, and would be removed for two-thirds of the points races.
Entry list DriverTeamManufacturer1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingFord5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord10Danica Patrick (R)Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota13Casey MearsGermain RacingFord14Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet15Clint BowyerMichael Waltrip RacingToyota16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord17Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R)Roush Fenway RacingFord18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota19Mike Bliss (i)Humphery Smith RacingToyota20Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota22Joey LoganoPenske RacingFord24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30David StremmeSwan RacingToyota31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Ken SchraderFAS Lane RacingFord33Landon Cassill (i)Circle SportChevrolet34David RaganFront Row MotorsportsFord35Josh Wise (i)Front Row MotorsportsFord36J. J. YeleyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet38David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord39Ryan NewmanStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord44Scott RiggsXxxtreme MotorsportsChevrolet47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet51A. J. AllmendingerPhoenix RacingChevrolet55Mark MartinMichael Waltrip RacingToyota56Martin Truex Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota78Kurt BuschFurniture Row RacingChevrolet83David ReutimannBK RacingToyota87Joe NemechekNEMCO-Jay Robinson RacingToyota88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet93Travis KvapilBK RacingToyota95Scott SpeedLeavine Family RacingFord98Michael McDowellPhil Parsons RacingFord99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord
Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held before the race on March 1 and March 2, 2013. The first session lasted 85 minutes long, while the second was 55 minutes long. The third session lasted for 50 minutes. Matt Kenseth was quickest with a speed of in the first session, faster than Kyle Busch. Martin was just off Kyle Busch's pace, followed by Hamlin, Carl Edwards, and Johnson. The session was paused temporarily after debris prompted a caution.
Forty-three cars were entered for the qualifying session held on March 1. Martin clinched his fifty-sixth pole position of his career, with a time of 26.073 seconds, which was a new race record. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kasey Kahne. Johnson qualified third, Kyle Busch took fourth, and Gordon started fifth. Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Hamlin, Kenseth, and Newman rounded out the first ten positions.
Post-race
On March 7, NASCAR fined Denny Hamlin $25,000 for saying that the then-new Gen 6 cars did not race as well as the Car of Tomorrow, citing difficulty passing. Because Hamlin publicly refused to pay the fine, NASCAR instead took $25,000 off his race winnings instead.
Results
Qualifying Grid Driver Team Manufacturer 155 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.073 138.074 2 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.113 137.862 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.124 137.804 4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.149 137.673 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.246 137.164 6 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 26.250 137.143 7 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.263 137.075 8 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.292 136.924 9 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.300 136.882 1039 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 26.304 136.861 11 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 26.309 136.835 12 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.329 136.731 13 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.344 136.654 14 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.354 136.602 15 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.377 136.483 16 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.400 136.364 17 16Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.414 136.291 18 43Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 26.419 136.266 19 1Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.483 135.936 20 31Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.492 135.890 21 88Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.496 135.870 22 9Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 26.580 135.440 23 51A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 26.580 135.440 24 34David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.614 135.267 25 78Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 26.618 135.247 26 7Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 26.647 135.100 27 36J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 26.654 135.064 28 95Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 26.683 134.917 29 42Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.702 134.821 30 93Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 26.725 134.705 31 38David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.727 134.695 32 22Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 26.791 134.373 33 47Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 26.797 134.343 34 83David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 26.903 133.814 35 19Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Chevrolet 26.911 133.774 36 35Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.948 133.591 37 30David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 26.952 133.571 38 33Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 26.990 133.383 39 44Scott Riggs Xxxtreme Motorsports Ford 27.084 132.920 40 10Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 27.090 132.890 41 87Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 27.268 132.023 4232 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 27.325 131.747 4313 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 27.421 131.286Source:
Race results
Pos Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 199 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 316 48 248 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 316 43 311 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 316 41 42 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 316 41 588 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 316 40 615 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 316 38 720 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 316 37 814 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 316 36 924 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 316 35 1031 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 316 34 1151A. J. Allmendinger Phoenix Racing Chevrolet316 33 1242Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 316 33 1329 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 316 31 1413 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 316 30 1543Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 316 29 1617 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 316 28 1716Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 316 28 189Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 316 26 195 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 316 252027 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 316 24 2155 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 316 24 221Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 316 22 2318 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 316 21 2447Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 315 20 2583David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 315 19 2622Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 315 18 2778Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 315 17 2836J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 315 16 2993Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 313 15 3030David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 313 14 3187Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 311 – 3233Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 309 12 337Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 306 11 3432 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 300 10 3535Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 295 – 3656 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 284 8 3738David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 237 7 3834David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 186 7 3910Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 184 5 4039 Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 137 4 4195Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 88 3 4219Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Chevrolet 34 – 4344Scott Riggs Xxxtreme Motorsports Ford 19 –Source:
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jimmie Johnson90 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr.82 (–8) 1 3 Brad Keselowski82 (–8) 9 4 Denny Hamlin72 (–18) 5 5 Clint Bowyer72 (–18)
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet14 1 2 Ford14 (–0) 1 3 Toyota10 (–4) Note: Only the first twelve positions are included for the driver standings.
References