The 2015 CampingWorld.com 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that was held on March 15, 2015, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the asphalt oval, it was the fourth race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Kevin Harvick won the race, his second of the season, while Jamie McMurray finished second. Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
Harvick won the pole for the race and led a race high of 224 laps, en route to a 30th career victory and his seventh at Phoenix. The race had eight lead changes among four different drivers, as well as ten caution flag periods for 53 laps.
Recording the fourth win at the track for Stewart–Haas Racing, Harvick increased his points lead over Joey Logano to 22. Chevrolet increased their lead over Ford to 20 points in the manufacturers' standings.
The CampingWorld.com 500 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast of the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Report Background
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
Kevin Harvick entered Phoenix with a nine-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. following his win the week before at Las Vegas. Joey Logano entered eleven points back of Harvick in third, with Martin Truex Jr. a further five points back in fourth. A. J. Allmendinger entered 34 points back in fifth.
New inspection rule Following the inspection issues during qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks prior, NASCAR implemented a new technical inspection rule from Phoenix onwards. Instead of teams rolling through the laser inspection platform multiple times until passing, they will now only get two attempts to pass without consequence. Should they fail both times, the car will be forced to sit on pit road for 15 minutes in the next practice session before being allowed to go on track. Also, if a car fails its first attempt, it must wait until all the other cars have gone through the station at least once.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Alex Kennedy Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 44 Travis Kvapil (i) Team XTREME Racing Chevrolet 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 66 Tanner Berryhill (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing FordOfficial initial entry listOfficial updated entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional
First practice Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 25.942 and a speed of . Kurt Busch making his first start since returning from a three-week suspension, was 17th fastest with a time of 26.222 and a speed .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 25.942 138.771 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 25.946 138.750 3 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 26.007 138.424Official first practice results
Qualifying
Kevin Harvick won the pole with a time of 25.577 and a speed of . He commented that he felt Phoenix International Raceway "is a pretty special place [...] for the fact that [he and his family] used to bring [their] Southwest Tour cars here and [their] Winston West cars" and that it was "pretty special to be a part of a group of guys like this". Third place qualifier Jamie McMurray felt that he did "everything perfect, but ended up 0.060 seconds behind Harvick". In his first race coming off a three-week suspension, Kurt Busch qualified eighth with a time of 25.776 and a speed of . He was delighted to "get back in the seat and shake hands with all the guys" and that "the car seems fast".
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.074 25.616 25.577 2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 26.142 25.654 25.615 3 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 25.977 25.735 25.637 4 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 25.991 25.707 25.701 5 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 25.949 25.746 25.745 6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.111 25.738 25.748 7 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.088 25.729 25.755 8 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 25.969 25.794 25.776 9 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.963 25.639 25.780 10 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.115 25.854 25.800 11 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.046 25.855 25.905 12 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.010 25.806 25.945 13 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 25.922 25.870 — 14 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.094 25.873 — 15 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 26.170 25.921 — 16 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.009 25.934 — 17 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.067 25.952 — 18 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.041 25.964 — 19 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.041 25.990 — 20 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.080 25.996 — 21 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.074 25.997 — 22 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.060 26.006 — 23 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.124 26.031 — 24 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 26.158 26.113 — 25 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.170 — — 26 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 26.208 — — 27 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 26.237 — — 28 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 26.340 — — 29 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.357 — — 30 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.364 — — 31 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 26.380 — — 32 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 26.392 — — 33 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 26.419 — — 34 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 26.423 — — 35 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 26.503 — — 36 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.534 — — 37 32 Mike Bliss (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 26.645 — — 38 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.661 — — 39 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.677 — — 40 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 26.741 — — 41 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 26.784 — — 42 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 26.983 — — 43 33 Alex Kennedy Hillman–Circle Sport Chevrolet 27.207 — —Failed to qualify 44 66 Tanner Berryhill Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 27.163 — — 45 44 Travis Kvapil (i) Team XTREME Racing Chevrolet 27.255 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying) Second practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 26.322 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.322 136.768 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.397 136.379 3 4 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 26.432 136.199Official second practice results
Final practice Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.363 and a speed of . A. J. Allmendinger changed engines during this session and was forced to start from the rear. Allmendinger commented that his JTG Daugherty Racing team "saw something they didn't like" and that they "have just got to make the Kingsford Chevy better". Allmendinger's crew chief, Brian Burns, stated that the team "didn't qualify as well as we wanted to anyway, so we decided to take the opportunity to change it now and eliminate any doubts" and that they were "just taking some precautionary measures to make sure we are good to go to the end".
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 4 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 26.363 136.555 2 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.412 136.302 3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.414 136.291Official final practice results
Race First-half The race was scheduled to start at 3:45 p.m. but started three minutes later and Kevin Harvick led the field to the green. However, he did not lead the first lap as Joey Logano, on the inside line, passed him to lead the first lap. Coming to the line, Brian Vickers was turned into the wall by Jimmie Johnson, destroying the wheel axle of Vickers' car and he hit the wall in turn 1, bringing out the race's first caution period. Upon exiting his car in the garage, Vickers stated that it was "a shame" to hit the wall, and pointed out that, in his opinion, it was "kind of early to be using the bumper". The race restarted on lap six with Logano leading the way. It ran green for another ten laps before the second caution of the race flew for Alex Kennedy cutting down a tire and spinning in turn 4.
The race restarted on lap 20, with Logano and Harvick battling for the lead. Logano held the lead until lap 25, when Harvick re-assumed first place. Harvick led the next segment of the race, and on lap 49, he led his one-thousandth lap in races at Phoenix International Raceway, the most of any driver. Debris in turn 1 brought out the third caution on lap 67. Denny Hamlin was forced to drop to the tail end of the field for his crew being over the wall too soon. The race restarted on lap 72, and over the course of the following 30 laps, Harvick pulled out to a 2.5-second lead over Logano. The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 117 after Sam Hornish Jr. had a right-rear tire blowout and spun out on the backstretch. Brad Keselowski took just two tires and exited pit road with the lead, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. dropped to the tail end of the field, after he was caught speeding on pit road. The race restarted on lap 126. Kevin Harvick restarted the race eighth and drove his way back to second by lap 157.
Second-half Restart after Caution 4