Good Old Days of NASCAR in an Arizona Oasis

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Arizona isn’t at the top of a list of places where NASCAR’s pioneers plied their trade and helped make the sport what it is today. But history teaches Arizona, and Phoenix site of this weeks Sprint Cup event, was on the schedule in the very earliest days of the sport.

The Arizona State Fairgrounds (ASF) are still in operation today. The facility features all the things one comes to expect of that type of operation: carnival rides, a “Midway,” agricultural displays and competitions by the Future Farmers of America.

In January 1951, Bill France announced the NASCAR Grand National division would venture into the Far West for the first time. Johnny Mantz, winner of the 500-mile race at Darlington, was named as the Regional Director of NASCAR events in California.

The same year, the Arizona State Fairgrounds joined NASCAR’s move to the West by staging races on a 1-mile dirt track. Between 1951 and 1960, four sanctioned NASCAR events were held.

Marshall Teague won the first 150-miler at the wheel of a 1951 (Fabulous) Hudson and took home $1,275 for the day's efforts. Thirty cars started that day, but in a war of attrition only six crossed the finish line. Other winners at ASF were Tim Flock (1955), Buck Baker (1956) and John Rostek (1960).

In 1955, NASCAR made a single appearance at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds in an event won by little-known Danny Letner. It was the second of only two NASCAR wins in a career that spanned seven years and 26 starts.

That brings us to the present day and the Phoenix International Raceway. PIR opened in February 16, 1964, with a sports car race won by Davey MacDonald on the infield road course.

It wasn’t until January 1968 that the first stock car event was held. USAC legend Don White won that event on the road course. (White is the all-time USAC stock car champion, winning in 1954, 1955 and 1958.)

In 1978, Richard Petty takes the first of his three NASCAR Winston West Series wins at PIR.

NASCAR’s first Cup event at PIR was held in 1988. The late great Alan Kulwicki won his first career Cup win in his fifth year driving in the top-tier series. The win was witnessed by a then-record crowd of 60,000 and Kulwicki performed the first “Polish Victory Lap,” in honor of his heritage and first Cup win.

Ironically as the “new kid,” Kulwicki arrived on the scene with a then unheard of college degree in mechanical engineering. He ushered in a new era of NASCAR and at the end of the season, Cup champions Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Benny Parsons, and Bobby Allison retired.

In 1990, Dale Earnhardt led all but the first 50 laps as he dominated the Checker 500. Dale Sr. gained the points lead as leading contender Mark Martin ­struggled to finish 10th.

This was the year Martin was penalized 46 points for using an illegal (but non-performance enhancing) carburetor spacer at Richmond. The deduction caused him to lose to Dale Earnhardt by 26 points in the final standings.

In 1991, Davey Allison led the final 60 laps and wins the Pyroil 500. Rusty, Mike, and Kenny Wallace all competed in the race, the first triple brother act in NASCAR Cup racing since 1961.

I believe, but have not confirmed, the brothers were the Fabulous Flock Brothers, Bob, Tim and Fonty. Tim was infamous for racing nine events with a rhesus monkey, Jocko Flocko, as his co-driver.

Allison also won in 1992, taking over the points lead from Alan Kulwicki by 30 points. The race was a precursor to the following epic struggle at Atlanta, with Elliott scoring a narrow victory. Points leader Davey Allison was knocked out of the title hunt by an early crash. Elliott won the race but failed to pick up points on Kulwicki, who clung to a narrow 10-point margin in the final standings.

In 1995, Ricky Rudd scored his first win of the season in the Dura Lube 500 at PIR. Rudd started 29th. It was the first time in NASCAR Winston Cup history that a driver came from 29th place to win a race.

In 1996, Bobby Hamilton drove the Petty Enterprises Pontiac to victory in the Dura Lube 500. It was the first NASCAR Cup victory for Petty Enterprises since Richard’s Charlotte win in 1983.

In 2005, defending champion Kurt Busch won the Subway Fresh 500, the first night race at PIR. It was also the first spring date for Phoenix, in addition to its usual late-season race. Busch also won that event to complete the season sweep at the track.

The next year saw another season sweep in Phoenix, this time by RCR’s Kevin Harvick.

PIR featured a sweep of a different sort in 2007. Hendrick Motor Sports swept both events behind the talents of Jeff Gordon in April and Jimmie Johnson in November.

PIR has a history of favoring the Blue Oval. Ford leads in all-time wins in the desert with 12, followed by Chevy with 9 total. The only other marquee to score a win is Pontiac, Bobby Hamilton for Petty Enterprises in 1996 and Tony Stewart in 1999.

So what are you waiting for? Gas up the RV and stock up on plenty of cold brews and “Jeff Gordon Sucks” signs and head over to PIR for the weekend. Even if the race sucks, and every race does to some people, the night start provides plenty of time for tailgating and the Arizona State coeds provide all the eye candy you need.