NASCAR In The Valley: Historical And Significant Events At Phoenix Raceway

·       Construction was completed on Phoenix Raceway in January of 1964. The facility was built by Richard Hogue, an amateur sports car racer. The facility was built in the foothills of the Estrella Mountains and originally consisted of a one-mile oval, a quarter mile drag strip and a 2.5-mile road course.

·       The first race held at Phoenix Raceway was in January of 1968 and the event was run on the 2.5-mile road course and won by Don White.

·       In October of 1970 Hollywood giant Steve McQueen wins the 17 lap 'Winter Sprint' sports car race on the track's road course in Porsche 908 from pole position, setting a new lap record of 1:41.09

·       On Nov. 25, 1973 Phoenix Raceway holds its first USAC Midget race and the event was won by Billy Englehart.

·       The first NASCAR race held at Phoenix Raceway was on November 27, 1977 and it was a NASCAR Winston West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West) race won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough.

·       Sept. 15 1985 – Emmett ‘Buddy’ Jobe purchases Phoenix Raceway from Dennis Wood. At the time, the track featured less than 10,000 reserved seats.

·       April of 1987 - Lightning strikes the track's main grandstand, burning the majority of the structure to the ground. Reconstruction begins.

·       October of 1988 - Construction of a three-story suite building is completed outside Turn 1. Reserved seating capacity is increased to 30,000 at Phoenix Raceway.

·       NASCAR Hall of Famer Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway on November 6, 1988. Kulwicki performed his ‘Polish Victory Lap’ following the event.

·       June of 1991 - During the summer months, the infield course is redesigned to a new configuration with 11 turns and 1.51 miles of track.

·       April of 1997 - International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) purchases Phoenix Raceway from Emmett ‘Buddy’ Jobe.

·       June of 2003 – Upgrades to Phoenix - Turn Two is modified for safety while a tunnel is installed under Turn Four.

·       November of 2004 – Phoenix Raceway installs track lights, which will change the way racing is seen at Phoenix. The lights create 146 million lumens (a typical table lamp is 25 lumens), for a total of 1.5 million watts of power per hour. 

·       April of 2005 - Phoenix Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announces the expansion of the Bobby Allison Grandstand, one of the most extensive construction projects in the history of the track.

·       The first spring NASCAR Cup Series race was held on April 23, 2005 and was also the first night race, which was won by Kurt Busch driving for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

·       The track underwent its first repave in 2011. The construction began in March and concluded in September of that year. The following changes were made during the construction period (March – Sept. 2011):

·       March 1, 2013 - Abraham Calderon captures the checkered flag in the inaugural stateside running of the NASCAR Mexico Series at Phoenix Raceway.

·       2014 – Phoenix Raceway celebrated its 50th anniversary.

·       Following the spring race in 2015 the track added SAFER barrier. The outer wall around the entire track is completely protected by SAFER barrier, the longest stretch of new barrier was on the front stretch which still had portions of brick wall from when the track first opened in 1964.

·       Monument Hill a.k.a. “Rattlesnake Hill”, a part of the Estrella Mountain range, overlooks turns 1 and 2.

·       Following the 2017 season, the track was renamed from Phoenix Raceway to ISM Raceway. Then in 2019 the track was renamed from ISM Raceway back to Phoenix Raceway.

·       March 26, 2019 - The Valley of the Sun will play host to a new championship sporting event as NASCAR announced that the NASCAR Championship Weekend will be held at Phoenix Raceway, November 6-8, 2020, for the first time in the sport’s history.

Latest News at Phoenix Raceway:

·       Phoenix Raceway is turning up the volume for NASCAR’s biggest weekend of the year. Multi-platinum, award-winning country music artist Jordan Davis will headline the pre-race concert ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, November 2, bringing his signature blend of personal storytelling and southern sound to the championship stage. Known for pushing the boundaries of country music, Davis has captivated fans with hits like “Buy Dirt,” “Next Thing You Know,” and the chart-topping “I Ain’t Sayin’,” which recently reached No. 1 on U.S. country radio. Now, he’s bringing the energy of his highly anticipated new album, Learn the Hard Way, to Phoenix Raceway for a performance fans won’t forget.

·       Phoenix Raceway is revving up the high-octane excitement for NASCAR Championship Weekend with an all-new Phoenix Raceway Fan Fest, set for Thursday, October 30. This free, family-friendly event will run from 4-7 p.m. at Civic Space Park in downtown Phoenix and serve as the official kickoff to a thrilling weekend of championship racing and entertainment at Phoenix Raceway, Oct. 31-Nov. 2.