The Cup series shifts to Phoenix this week. Here's everything you need to know about the track and its history

— Construction was completed in January 1964. The facility consisted of a one-mile oval and a 2.5-mile road
course.

— Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 1988.

— The first spring race was held on April 23, 2005 and also the first night race, which was won by Kurt Busch.

— The track underwent its first repave last year. The construction began in March and concluded in September of 2011.

— The following changes were made during the construction period (March – Sept., 2011):

— Widened the frontstretch from 52 to 62 feet

— Reconfigured pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls

— Pushed the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet

— Tightened the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet

— Implemented variable banking to ensure the immediate use of two racing grooves, including 10-11 degree banking between Turn 1 and Turn 2; 10-11 degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg; and 8-9 degree banking in Turn 4

Notebook

— There have been 31 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, one per season from 1988-2004 and two each season since.

— Geoffrey Bodine won the first pole in 1988.

— There have been 19 different pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four.

— Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards are the only drivers to win consecutive poles. Newman won three straight (2002-04), while Gordon won the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, and Edwards won the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011.

— There have been 22 different race winners, led by Jimmie Johnson, with four.

— The race has been won from the pole four times: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008), Mark Martin (spring 2009) and Carl Edwards (fall 2010).

— The race has been won from a top-10 starting position in 16 of 31 events.

— Denny Hamlin (November, 2005) and AJ Allmendinger (April, 2010) won their first career poles at Phoenix International Raceway.

— Ricky Rudd won the 1995 race from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.

— Matt Kenseth won the 2002 race from the 28th-place starting position, the furthest back an active race winner has started.

— Mark Martin has 12 top-five finishes, more than any other driver. Martin (9.0 average finish) is one of two active drivers who average a top-10 finish. Jimmie Johnson (5.3) is the other.

— Jeff Gordon has the lowest average start amongst active drivers with a 10.4; followed by AJ Allmendinger (10.5) and Carl Edwards (10.8).

— Two perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 have been recorded at Phoenix. Kurt Busch did it with his win in April of 2005, and Kevin Harvick did it in November of 2006.

— Five drivers have won consecutive races at Phoenix: Davey Allison (1991,1992); Jeff Burton (2000, 2001); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003, 2004); Kevin Harvick (swept 2006); Jimmie Johnson is the only one of the five to win three consecutive races (fall 2007, swept 2008).

— Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Phoenix International Raceway winner: Kyle Busch (11/13/2005 – 20 years, 6 months, 11 days)

— Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Phoenix International Raceway winner: Mark Martin (04/18/2009 – 50 years, 3 months, 9 days)

— Of the seven drivers with multiple wins at Phoenix International Raceway, Mark Martin is the only driver to win in two different manufacturers: Ford (1993) and Chevrolet (2009).

Phoenix International Raceway Data

Race: 2 of 36 (3-4-12)

Track Size: 1 mile

— Banking/1 and 2: 10 - 11 degrees

— Banking/3 and 4: 8 - 9 degrees

— Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees

— Banking/Backstretch:9 degrees

— Frontstretch: 1,179 feet

— Backstretch: 1,551 feet

Driver Rating at Phoenix  

Jimmie Johnson — 118.6

Carl Edwards — 101.3

Tony Stewart — 100.9

Kurt Busch — 100.4

Jeff Gordon — 99.8

Mark Martin — 97.8

Denny Hamlin — 96.3

Kyle Busch — 95.5

Kevin Harvick — 94.8

Greg Biffle — 93.1

Ryan Newman — 90.1

Martin Truex Jr. — 88.9

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2011 races (14 total) at Phoenix.

Qualifying/Race Data

2011 pole winner: Carl Edwards (137.279 mph, 26.244 seconds)

2011 race winner: Jeff Gordon

(102.961 mph, 2-27-11)

Track qualifying record: Carl Edwards (137.279 mph, 26.244 seconds, 2-26-11)

Track race record: Tony Stewart (118.132 mph, 11-7-99

Become a fan of the Facebook page NASCARBeyond

Follow me on Twitter:
Follow @MattMyftiu