NASCAR Cup

Phoenix: GM Racing preview

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S IMPALA SS HEADS TO PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (PIR) AS DEFENDING RACE WINNER. THE THREE-TIME AND DEFENDING NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS)CHAMPION HAS WON THE LAST THREE CONSECUTIVE RACES HELD AT PIR, MORE THAN ANY ...

Published: Jun 19, 2009, 7:50 PM

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JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S IMPALA SS HEADS TO PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (PIR) AS DEFENDING RACE WINNER. THE THREE-TIME AND DEFENDING NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS)CHAMPION HAS WON THE LAST THREE CONSECUTIVE RACES HELD AT PIR, MORE THAN ANY OTHER DRIVER

TEAM CHEVY IMPALA SS - INSIDE THE GARAGE AT PIR -- PAT SUHY, GM RACING NASCAR GROUP MANAGER: "Team Chevy has had great success at Phoenix by winning the last seven (7) races there, and Jimmie Johnson has taken the trophy for the past three consecutive races on the fairly flat one-mile tri-oval. With six Chevy drivers among the top 10 in NASCAR's statistical driver rating leading into Phoenix, I'd like to think that there will be a Chevy Impala SS leading the way when the checkered flag flies.

"Among short tracks, Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) is unique. Turns 1 and 2 are tighter and flatter, at 9 degrees of banking, than Turns 3 and 4, which have 11 degrees of banking. That means the teams will have to make trade-off decisions that maximize overall speed. The driver and crew chief will have to agree to give up speed on one end to maximize it on the other. And traffic considerations mean that they will have to work pretty hard on both a qualifying setup and a different one for the race on Saturday.

"One tool that they'll use to help with those decisions is sophisticated vehicle dynamics simulation. While our teams are second to none in terms of these capabilities, it's good to know that we have the best manufacturers based support among NASCAR competitors in that area as well. Our group has a broad range of skills and engineering tools that complement our teams' internal resources in that area. It's a combination that has helped make Chevy the winningest manufacturer in NASCAR."

-credit: gm racing

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