NASCAR Daily News Headlines * November 11, 2009

Mark Martin will make his 757th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 26th at Phoenix International Raceway … The 50-year-old Batesville, Ark., native has scored 40 wins and 416 top-10 finishes in 756 Sprint Cup starts, meaning he has finished 10th or better in 55 percent of the races he has entered … Has two wins (October 1993 and April 2009), one pole (April 2009) and 16 top-10 finishes in 25 starts at Phoenix … In two NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at the 1-mile oval, Martin has finished in the top-10 both times … Finished second in November 2006 in his only NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Phoenix … 2009 marks Martin’s 27th season with at least one Sprint Cup start … Has run a full Sprint Cup schedule 20 times and finished a career-best second in points in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 … Won from the pole in the April race at Phoenix … Started seventh and finished fourth last week at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth … Ranks second in Sprint Cup points with five wins, seven poles and 20 top-10 finishes.

Tony Stewart will make his 391st career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 16th at Phoenix International Raceway … The 38-year-old Columbus, Ind., native has scored 37 wins and 230 top-10 finishes in 390 Sprint Cup starts, meaning he has finished 10th or better in 59 percent of races he has entered … Has one win (November 1999) and nine top-10 finishes in 15 starts at Phoenix … Finished fifth in April 2005 in his only NASCAR Nationwide Series start at the 1-mile oval … Has two runner-up finishes in three IndyCar Series starts at Phoenix … 2009 marks Stewart’s 11th year in Sprint Cup and he won the points championship in 2002 and 2005 … Has four point-paying victories in Sprint Cup competition in 2009, making Stewart the first driver/owner to win multiple Sprint Cup races in a season since Ricky Rudd in 1997 … Also won the non-points Sprint All-Star Race in May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C. … Has four runner-up results and 15 top-five finishes in 2009 … Finished second in April race at Phoenix … Started fourth and finished sixth last week at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth … Ranks fifth in Sprint Cup points.

Jeff Gordon will make his 580th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 22nd at Phoenix International Raceway … Gordon has one win (April 2007), three poles and 15 top-10 finishes at Phoenix … The 38-year-old from Vallejo, Calif., has four Sprint Cup championships (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001) and 82 wins in NASCAR’s top division … Has won at every current Sprint Cup venue except Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the season finale … Sits one victory behind Cale Yarborough for fifth on the all-time Sprint Cup win list and two behind Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison, who are tied for third … Has won 68 poles and has 359 top-10 finishes, meaning he has finished 10th or better in 61.8 percent of the races he’s competed in … 2009 marks Gordon’s 17th full year in Sprint Cup and he has finished in the top-five in points on 10 occasions … Finished 25th in April race at Phoenix … Started on the pole and finished 13th last week at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth … Ranks third in Sprint Cup points with one win and 23 top-10 finishes.

Jimmie Johnson has won the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships (2006-2008) and has never finished worse than fifth in points … The 34-year-old from El Cajon, Calif., will make his 289th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 13th at Phoenix International Raceway … Has three wins (November 2007, April 2008 and November 2008) and 10 top-10 finishes in 12 starts at the 1-mile oval … Johnson has won 46 races and has 178 top-10 finishes in 289 Sprint Cup starts, meaning he has finished 10th or better in 61.5 percent of races he has entered … Finished fourth in April race at Phoenix … Started 12th and finished 38th last week at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth … Ranks first in Sprint Cup Series points with six wins and 22 top-10 finishes.

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