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Phoenix 2000


Ron Hornaday, Jeremy Mayfield, and race number 32 from Phoenix International Raceway.





A.J. Foyt Racing........ Ron Hornaday

A.J. Foyt has lived up to his penchant for not hiring "recycled" drivers. Hiring Ron Hornaday to pilot the No. 14 Conceco Pontiac next season has to be one the smartest moves he has made since coming back into Cup racing. He has got a winner with Hornaday! Ron has two wins in the Busch series so far this year. I think he will be a strong contender for next season's Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors.

Rick Mast has been driving the No. 14 for A.J. most of this season, and now he will join the other jobless drivers looking for a ride. Rick qualified 28th at Phoenix, two mph slower than pole sitter Rusty Wallace.





Rumor Has It............. Jeremy Mayfield?

When Larry McClure stated a while ago that he was going to surprise everyone and hire a winning driver to replace Hamilton in the No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet, he could have been referring to Jeremy Mayfield.

That move would create a vacancy in the No. 12 Mobile 1 Ford. It would be interesting to see who Penske Racing (Roger Penske/Rusty Wallace/Don Miller) would choose to fill the ride. Who would Rusty Wallace pick to be his teammate?





Failed to Qualify.................

Stacy Compton was the only rookie who failed to make the Phoenix race. This was the sixth time this season that Stacy has had to load the car in the hauler and head for the house. Robbie Gordon also failed to get up to speed. Robbie has qualified for 16 races this season out of a possible 32, and has one top five and two top tens to his credit for the races he has been able to run.

Steve Grissom has not been able to get a handle on the Petty Enterprise's No. 44 Pontiac, and getting sent home is not giving him much seat time. Steve has five starts so far this season. Hut Stricklin has had seven starts in Junie Dunleavey's No 90 Ford, and this week was not one of them. Dave Marcus has had eleven starts in his No. 71 Realtree Chevrolet, but he failed to get up to speed at Phoenix.





Phoenix...............

Race No. 32 is in the books, and with his fifth place finish, Bobby Labonte is still perched at the top of the pecking order. With a 218 point lead over second place contender Dale Earnhardt, Labonte can clinch the championship next week at Homestead with a performance like he pulled off today at Phoenix. Earnhardt said before the Phoenix race that it would take a miracle for him to win the championship. That miracle did not happen in the southwest desert. Bobby Labonte would have to DNF early at Homestead, and have a terrible day at Atlanta for Earnhardt to win. It is not likely to happen.
The copyright of the article Phoenix 2000 in NASCAR is owned by Thomas M. Sampson. Permission to republish Phoenix 2000 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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