Dale Earnhardt Jr.: ‘Nothing’s Like Phoenix’ Race Track
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Jamie Squire/Getty Images(PHOENIX) — Fresh off his Daytona 500 victory last Sunday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is looking forward to racing at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend.
“The shape of the track is unlike anything else,” Earhardt Jr. said. “You go to a lot of tracks and you feel like you see some of the same things, a lot of different race tracks, especially the mile-and-a-halfs, they’re all kind of very similar.”
“Nothing’s like Phoenix, nothing has the dog legs and the back straightaway and all that stuff,” he added.
The frontstretch of the race track is 3 degrees and backstretch 10-11 degrees.
“It’s a fun challenge for the crew chiefs and the team’s to try and set a car up to get around those different corners and different style of banking,” he continued. “The track is recently paved so it’s a real challenge to pass, which can be fun.”
The fastest lap around the track was 118.132 mph set back in 1999 by Tony Stewart.
“It’s a challenge. The tire there is super hard, really slick, and can get out from under real easy,” Earnhardt said. “You have to respect the race track quite a bit.”
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