Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announced that the track has been awarded two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekends in 2011, marking seven consecutive seasons for PIR to host a pair of nationally-televised event weekends featuring the brightest stars in NASCAR. Phoenix will maintain two NASCAR Sprint Cup weekends in the face of widespread schedule realignment that saw multiple race dates moved amongst multiple facilities. As part of the NASCAR’s schedule realignment, Phoenix International Raceway’s SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 will move from April to February 27 – just one week after NASCAR’s largest event, the Daytona 500. PIR will look to capitalize on the season-opening excitement of Daytona with a new Sunday day-race format, allowing fans to take in the 500 km race in Phoenix with a more traditional local start time of 1 p.m. The SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 will be televised nationally on FOX. Phoenix will continue to host the semi-final race in NASCAR’s playoffs – the Chase for the Sprint Cup – on November 13. The Kobalt Tools 500, a race in which fans have come to expect heavy championship implications, also starts at 1 p.m. locally and will be televised nationally on ESPN. NASCAR will conclude its season the following week at Homestead Miami Speedway in Florida.(PIR)(8-10-2010)
