Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Nascar is traveling to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for his first of two visits to the 1-Mile track this season.
Cup teams have a primary band and an option tire at Phoenix. If things are going well, the plan is for the option tape to become the most important band for teams when they return for the season final in November.
Here’s a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams heading to Phoenix.
23xi Racing – Good news: Tyler Reddick finished in the top three in two of the first three races of the season. … Riley Herbst won the XFinity race at Phoenix last November. … Bubba Wallace ended in the top -10 in two of the last three Phoenix races. Bad news: Herbst finished 17th last season in each of the first three cup races.
Pre -drive Motorport – Good News: Noah Gragson’s eighth place in Cota was his first top 10 in the last 16 cup. … Todd Gilliland comes from a 10th place at Cota. Bad news: Gilliland did not start better than 17th in six cup at Phoenix. … Zane Smith has not started better than the 29th place in three Phoenix Cup.
Katherine Legge makes her cup debut Sunday at Phoenix Raceway with Live Fast Motorsports.
Haas Factory Team – Good News: Cole Custer’s best endpoint at Phoenix is ninth in six cup start there. Bad news: Custer has not scored a top 20 final this season.
Hendrick Motorsports – Good News: William Byron finished in the top two in two of the first three races and leads the points. … Byron is the only driver to lead in the Loots in every race this season. … Kyle Larson ends in the top -10 in four of the last five races in Phoenix. … Chase Elliott gathered to finish fourth place at Cota after being spun on the first corner of the first round. Bad news: In his last 14, Alex Bowman did not finish better than ninth in his last 14.
Kyle Larson and William Byron will drive emerging truck racing with spire motorsports.
Hyak Motorsports – Good News: Ricky Stenhouse jr. Enter 10th in the points over the weekend. … Stenhouse is one of the 11 full -time cup managers who completed each round in the first three races of the season. Bad news: Stenhouse did not start a top -10 at Phoenix in his last 14 cup.
Joe Gibbs Racing – Good News: Christopher Bell has won two races in a row and is the defensive winner of the Spring Phoenix race. … Bell scored 99 points in the two races in Phoenix last year. This is 22 more than any other driver. … Chase Briscoe ended in the top -10, including a win, in each spring Phoenix race with the next Gen Gen. Motor. Bad news: Ty Gibbs finished the thirtieth or worse in two of the first three races this season and in seven of the last eight races, dating from last season. … Denny Hamlin’s last win at Phoenix was November 2019.
Christopher Bell kept William Byron and Tyler Reddick in the last rounds to achieve his 11th career victory.
Kaulig Racing – Good News: AJ All Control starts its 450th career cup this weekend. Bad news: Ty Dillon does not have a top 10 final in 14 cup at Phoenix.
Legacy Motor Club – Good News: John Hunter Nemechek entered 14th in points over the weekend after scoring two top -10s in the first three races of the season. Bad news: Erik Jones has four top -10s at Phoenix, but no one in his last ten starts there.
Richard Childress Racing – Good News: Kyle Busch scored a 46 points at Cota this weekend. … He had the best 2.11 average running position at Cota this weekend. … Busch achieved back-to-back-10 finishes for the first time since September. Bad news: Austin Dillon has never finished better than eighth in the 22 Career Cup at Phoenix. … Dillon finishes a seasonal 35th after the contact of Denny Hamlin ended his race at Cota. … Busch has not led a shot at Phoenix since November 2019.
Christopher Bell was not the only driver who left Cota with reason to feel good about the race.
Rick True Racing – Good News: The organization achieved its best endpoint at Phoenix last spring when Justin Haley finished 24th. Bad news: The organization has already had three DNFs this season.
RFK Racing – Good News: Chris Buescher has three top 10s in a row at Phoenix, including a runner-up result in last spring’s race there. … Brad Keselowski finished fourth in Phoenix this past spring. … Ryan Preece won Phase 2 on Cota. Bad news: Keselowski’s best endpoint in the first three races of the season is the 15th, which came to Cota this past weekend. … Preece finished 30th or worse in two of the first three races of the season.
Some CUP competitors were confused about how Nascar did track limits at Circuit of the Americas.
Spire Motorsports – Good News: Michael McDowell is the only driver to finish in the top -15 in each of the first three races of the season. Its average finish is 11.7, the fifth best in the series. … McDowell enters eighth in points this weekend. … McDowell started two top -10s in his last three Phoenix. … Justin Haley has two top 20 finishes in the first three races this season. … Carson Hcevar had back-to-back-to-15 finishes this weekend. Bad news: Haley does not have a top -15 in eight cups at Phoenix.
Team Penske – Good News: Ryan Blaney achieved seven consecutive top five finishes on Phoenix. This is the second longest line in Phoenix, who chases only Jimmie Johnson’s mark of ten top five in a row there. … Joey Logano is the only driver to win several races at Phoenix with the next Gen car. Bad news: Austin Cindric has not yet had a top 10 final in six cups at Phoenix. … Logano is only the fourth Government Cup champion that did not have a top 10 final in the first three races of the season, and joined Bill Rexford (1951 season), Bill Elliott (1989) and Jimmie Johnson (2017).
Trackhouse Racing – Good News: Ross Chastain has four top -10s, including a win, in the six races in Phoenix with the next Gen Car. … Shane van Gisbergen finished the best sixth last weekend. … Van Gisbergen will start his first Phoenix Cup this weekend. Bad news: Daniel Suarez has finished outside the top 30 over the past two races.
Wood Brothers Racing – Good News: Josh Berry’s best finish at Phoenix is 10th in March 2023 when he for Chase Elliott in the no. 9 -car was. Bad news: Berry has not finished better than 25th this season in the first three races.
