The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Phoenix International Raceway for the sport’s penultimate race.
Clint Bowyer is ready to shine in the Valley of the Sun. He has two top-five and six top-10 finishes in 18 starts at the one-mile oval. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver tested his No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota at the track Oct. 14-15 along with teammate Brian Vickers.
Bowyer also has completed 5,619 of 5,694 laps (98.7%) and has led 22 laps at PIR. On Sunday he doesn’t care how many laps he leads, as long as it’s the last lap.
What are the keys to getting around Phoenix?
“Trying to manage rear grip is the key and probably the most challenging thing about that track, especially since the repave a couple of years ago. You will be racing along and your car is stuck like glue, then in an instant the rear end wants to jump out and you’re really in trouble because without much banking in the track, there is no give in it. You either have grip or you feel like you are racing on ice. Trying to manage that rear grip level and keeping your tires underneath you is hard to do there, so that’s what we will be working on all weekend in practice.”
MWR PR
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