Ryan Newman came out victorious after today’s Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway. He had started the race in 14th, but found himself in the right place at the right time following a late race caution the lead to a green-white-checkered finish. For the restart, he was lined up on the front row alongside Jeff Gordon, and quickly took the lead, which he held until the checkered flag waved. This marked Ryan Newman’s 14th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win, his first in Phoenix.

Jeff Gordon, who held the first place position coming into the final restart, finished second, with Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, and Juan Montoya rounding out the top five. A.J. Allmendinger, today’s pole-sitter, finished back in 15th, while Kevin Conway, the leading rookie in the field finished 33rd.

As for the crowd that wasn’t able to finish the race, a number of causes were to blame. Travis Kvapil who finished 36th, had engine troubles, while Joe Nemechek had electrical issues and finished 38th. Max Papis (40th) and Michael McDowell (43rd) both suffered from overheating, while Johnny Sauter (41st) had brake problems, and Dave Blaney (42nd) had rear gear troubles.

Results of the 2010 Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway:

Pos  #  Driver               Make      Laps  Status
 1  39  Ryan Newman          Chevrolet  378  Running
 2  24  Jeff Gordon          Chevrolet  378  Running
 3  48  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet  378  Running
 4   5  Mark Martin          Chevrolet  378  Running
 5  42  Juan Montoya         Chevrolet  378  Running
 6  17  Matt Kenseth         Ford       378  Running
 7  99  Carl Edwards         Ford       378  Running
 8  18  Kyle Busch           Toyota     378  Running
 9  33  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet  378  Running
10  20  Joey Logano          Toyota     378  Running
11  47  Marcos Ambrose       Toyota     378  Running
12  88  Dale Earnhardt Jr.   Chevrolet  378  Running
13  29  Kevin Harvick        Chevrolet  378  Running
14   7  Robby Gordon         Toyota     378  Running
15  43  A.J. Allmendinger    Ford       378  Running
16  12  Brad Keselowski      Dodge      378  Running
17  56  Martin Truex Jr.     Toyota     378  Running
18  77  Sam Hornish Jr.      Dodge      378  Running
19   6  David Ragan          Ford       378  Running
20   0  David Reutimann      Toyota     378  Running
21  82  Scott Speed          Toyota     378  Running
22  16  Greg Biffle          Ford       378  Running
23  14  Tony Stewart         Chevrolet  378  Running
24   1  Jamie McMurray       Chevrolet  378  Running
25  31  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet  378  Running
26  78  Regan Smith          Chevrolet  378  Running
27  71  Bobby Labonte        Chevrolet  378  Running
28 190  Scott Riggs          Chevrolet  377  Running
29  98  Paul Menard          Ford       377  Running
30  11  Denny Hamlin         Toyota     376  Running
31  19  Elliott Sadler       Ford       375  Running
32  37  David Gilliland      Ford       374  Running
33  38  Kevin Conway (R)     Ford       371  Running
34  46  Terry Cook (R)       Dodge      367  Running
35   2  Kurt Busch           Dodge      366  Running
36  34  Travis Kvapil        Ford       309  Engine
37  83  Brian Vickers        Toyota     288  Running
38  87  Joe Nemechek         Toyota     281  Electrical
39   9  Kasey Kahne          Ford       276  Running
40  13  Max Papis            Toyota     214  Overheating
41 135  Johnny Sauter        Chevrolet  161  Brakes
42  55  Dave Blaney          Toyota     160  Rear Gear
43  66  Michael McDowell     Toyota     149  Overheating

The next race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be the Samsung Mobile 500 held at Texas Motor Speedway on April 18, 2010.

Related Links:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Series Information, Schedule, Standings, Past Champions, News, Videos

This week’s race at Phoenix International Raceway was won by the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader, Jimmie Johnson. This win helped Johnson to increase his points lead over the next closest competitor, Mark Martin, from 73 to 108 championship points. Just one race remains in the 2009 season.

Second place in today’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 went to Jeff Burton, with Denny Hamlin, and Mark Martin rounding out the top four. Martin Truex Jr., the pole-sitter, finished 5th.

Top Finishers in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil:

 Pos  No  Driver               Make
   1  48  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet
   2  31  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet
   3  11  Denny Hamlin         Toyota
   4   5  Mark Martin          Chevrolet
   5   1  Martin Truex Jr.     Chevrolet
   6   2  Kurt Busch           Dodge
   7  33  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet
   8  42  Juan Montoya         Chevrolet
   9  24  Jeff Gordon          Chevrolet
  10  00  David Reutimann      Toyota

Top Teams in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship:

 Pos  Driver               Points  Behind
   1  Jimmie Johnson         6492  Leader
   2  Mark Martin            6384    -108
   3  Jeff Gordon            6323    -169
   4  Kurt Busch             6281    -211
   5  Tony Stewart           6207    -285
   6  Juan Montoya           6203    -289
   7  Greg Biffle            6171    -321
   8  Denny Hamlin           6140    -352
   9  Ryan Newman            6081    -411
  10  Kasey Kahne            6016    -476
  11  Carl Edwards           5972    -520
  12  Brian Vickers          5826    -666
        ^Chase for the Sprint Cup^

  13  Kyle Busch             4310   -2182
  14  Matt Kenseth           4265   -2227
  15  Clint Bowyer           4224   -2268

Related Links:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Series Information, Schedule, Standings, Past Champions, News, Videos

This weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Phoenix International Raceway was dominated by Jimmie Johnson and the #48 Lowe’s team. He grabbed the pole position during the qualifying for the race and from there led the most laps. Later he would go on to win Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil.

The top finishing racers included:

1. Jimmie Johnson (#48 Chevrolet)
2. Kurt Busch (#2 Dodge)
3. Jamie McMurray (#26 Ford)
4. Carl Edwards (#99 Ford)
5. Denny Hamlin (#11 Toyota)

The full results from the race have been posted at:

2008 Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Results from Phoenix International Raceway

The updated standings can be found here:

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Standings