7 historic facts you need to know about Phoenix International Raceway
The low-banked 1.022-mile tri-oval track in the desert foothills in the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona was built in the mid-1960s but didn’t see NASCAR’s Premier Series on the track until the late-1980s.
Check out these seven historic facts about Phoenix International Raceway:
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A racing oasis
When it was designed and opened in 1964, Phoenix International Raceway provided a unique display of racing opportunity as the only track between Mississippi and California to offer a road course, oval track, and drag strip for varied racing options.
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The view from the hillside
The location of the track at the foothills of the Estrella Mountains allow for fans to perch atop the hillside next to the track and have a truly unique experience watching the action down below them. PIR sells tickets to fans for the view at NASCAR races.
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Super Tex wins in the West
In the first race on PIR’s 1.022-mile oval in 1964, A.J. Foyt won the 100-mile USAC event. It was the opening event of the season and Foyt’s first of seven-straight victories in the series on his way to the USAC championship.
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The King of Cool
Steve McQueen, Hollywood legend and notorious speed demon, won the 17-lap ‘Winter Sprint’ sports car event in 1970 at the track’s road course in his Porsche 908 and set a new lap record for the course.
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NASCAR's first appearance at PIR
In 1977, Cale Yarborough wins the first NASCAR Winston West Series race at PIR. It was part of an effort by NASCAR to do some testing at the low-banked tri-oval before moving the Premier Series there in the late 1980s.
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A Polish victory in the desert
Alan Kulwicki wins the first Premier Series event at the desert tri-oval and debuts the ‘Polish Victory Lap’ by driving the opposite way the cars go, slowly saluting the 60,000 fans in attendance.
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A new track name, for a day
In 2015, as Jeff Gordon was driving on his retirement tour, among the various gifts and mementos he received from race tracks, nobody went quite as far as Phoenix who renamed the track Jeff Gordon Raceway for the Quicken Loans 500 Race for Heroes.
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