And your winner is Jeff Gordan, ladies and gentlemen. The guy NASCAR fans love to hate is back holding the checkered flag after 66 failed attempts. Gordan held the lead for most of the laps on the day as he battled with Kyle Busch right up until the later part of the race.
Busch finished second, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Ryan Newman. The win is the 83rd of Gordon's career, which leads active drivers and ties him with Cale Yarborough on the all-time list.
The race was marred by wrecks early: Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, polesitter Carl Edwards, and about 10 other drivers were collected in crashes.
Here is the starting grid for today's Subway Fresh Fit 500. For more lap-by-lap coverage of the race, but sure to visit SB Nation's fantastic NASCAR Ranting and Raving.
The weather was originally questionable for today's race but it seems that the storm blew through last night so everything should be good for an on-time start. The TV Schedule shows a 12:30 p.m. local time green flag on Fox.
Yesterday, Kyle Busch won Phoenix Nationwide Series Performance with a wire-to-wire run in all 200 laps of Saturday afternoon's Bashas' Supermarkets 200. For more on that race, visit SB Nation.com.
NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Subway Fresh Fit 500 Starting Lineup
The Phoenix International Raceway is a top-notch entertainment location this weekend, headlined by the Subway Fresh Fit 500. NASCAR always brings the noise when it comes to town, and this weekend is no exception.
If you're interested in meeting Trevor Bayne, the winner of last weekend's Daytona 500, he is available on Sunday morning at 9:45. Apolo Ohno will be on hand on Sunday as well, and you can ask him why he's at this event.
While there's no huge bands on the schedule, this weekend isn't about that. You can get some autographs, ask some questions, have a few beers, and still catch all the racing action.
The first race of the weekend started at 4:30 this afternoon, the 3 Amigos Organic 100. Tomorrow, the Lucas Oil 150 starts at 6:00 p.m. Saturday night is when the action starts to get hot, when Bashas' Supermarkets 200 is the scene of the second NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the season.
The weekend wraps up with the Subway Fresh Fit 500 on Sunday at 1:00 in the afternoon. Full schedule of fan events can be seen below.
The NASCAR season began this past weekend with the Daytona 500, and the circuit finds itself in Phoenix this Sunday for the Subway Fresh Fit 500. Usually held in April (and at night), NASCAR has determined that moving the race to the second week of the schedule would be a benefit to all parties.
Phoenix is generally a very popular site for NASCAR fans, with a lot of open space to RV/camp and party for several days before the races begin. The ideal weather conditions and the open desert offer a very interesting experience, often seen at a music festival like Country Thunder.
The Phoenix International Raceway expects good attendance for this race, and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will attempt to recreate last weekend's magic in Avondale. After this weekend, PIR will be building up the banks of the course and repaving the entire mile of pavement, which will be unveiled in November at the second-to-last race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season.
The Subway Fresh Fit 500 begins at 1:00 p.m. Arizona time, and will air on FOX.