Round 2: Desert Diamond West Valley, Phoenix Grand Prix. Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale. 1st-2nd April.
After an 11 year absence, this weekend's race marks the return of IndyCar to Phoenix International Raceway. The last IndyCar race held there was the XM Satellite Radio 200, Presented by Argent Mortgage and was won by Sam Hornish Jr, driving a Dallara IR05-Honda HI7R V8 for Team Penske.
The first race ever to be held at Phoenix was in 1915, on a dirt oval at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. In 1950 the American Automobile Association revived the race and when the United States Auto Club became the sanctioning body, the race was added to their calendar in 1956. In 1964, the race was moved to the newly built Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, on the outskirts of Phoenix.
During the USAC era, two races a year were held, one in the Spring and one in the Fall/Autumn. After the split with USAC, the race became a CART event from 1979 to 1995. The track continued to hold two races a year, with the spring race often serving as the season opener but in 1987 the track dropped the Fall race. In 1995, after a dispute between the track owners and CART series officials, the event was dropped from the 1996 CART calendar and immediately switched to the IRL for that year.
This year's return to Phoenix will be a night race.
Some trivia:
Phoenix saw the last career win for Mario Andretti, in 1993.
Only two drivers from the current crop have won at Phoenix, Hélio Castroneves in 2002 and Tony Kanaan in 2003 and 2004.
The driver with most wins: 6, Al Unser Sr, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1979, 1985.
The Team with most wins: 8, Penske Racing/Team Penske, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2005.
Track layout:
The track has both road course and oval configurations. The original road course ran both inside and outside of the oval but was replaced in 1991 with an infield course. The oval gets its unusual layout with the "dogleg", due to a combination of terrain, the original road course and a drag strip. In 2011, the oval underwent significant changes, the most notable were to the front stretch, widened to 62 feet (19 m) and the "dogleg" being moved outward by 95 feet (29 m), as well as its radius being increased to 500 feet (150 m).
Length: 1 Mile (1.6 Km)
Turns: 4
Lap record old configuration: Arie Luyendyck, March 23, 1996. 19.608, 183.599 mph (295.474 km/h), Treadway Racing, Reynard 96i-Ford Cosworth XB, Indy Racing League.
Lap record new configuration: Jimmie Johnson, November 13, 2015. 25.147, 143.158 Mph (230.390 km/h). Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Last IndyCar race winner:
Sam Hornish Jr.
Team Penske.
Dallara IR05-Honda HI7R V8
Laps: 200
Distance: 200 Miles (321.868 Km)
Race Time: 1:30:24
Average Speed: 137.753 Mph (221.69 Km/h)
Race Broadcast:
NBCSN. April 2nd, 8.30pm, EST