good sam 500 Tag

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Heading into this past Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, Matt DiBenedetto, who drives the No. 83 Toyota Camry for BK Racing, had only recorded one top-20 in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event (Talladega 2015). DiBenedetto put himself in great position to nab a good finish this week by securing the 23rd starting spot in qualifying early in the weekend, but when the race started his racecar was on the tight side of the handling spectrum. DiBenedetto’s crew chief, Gene Nead wouldRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz. – The Good Sam 500 has been one for the ages and gave Phoenix International Raceway its closest finish ever in the track’s history and seventh closest all-time in the history of NASCAR. With that said, it is time to break down some of the biggest stories from Sunday’s race. 1) Harvick continues his reign in the desert There may not be anyone more automatic at a race track like Kevin Harvick is at Phoenix International Raceway. The NASCAR on FOX group have labeledRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – In recent years, Kevin Harvick has exercised his dominance at Phoenix International Raceway by crushing the competition. In Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert, he maintained his mastery by a matter of inches, banging fenders with Carl Edwards in a side-by side overtime battle on the way to the finish line. After the drivers traded shots on the way to the stripe, Harvick pulled ahead to win the fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race ofRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer After Friday’s bizarre qualifying session for the Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway left Dale Earnhardt Jr. starting in the 26th position, Jimmie Johnson in a back up car, and Kasey Kahne needing a new engine, all three drivers needed to rebound in Sunday’s Good Sam 500. Both Johnson and Kahne relinquished their starting positions and started in the rear per the NASCAR rulebook. When the green flag waved, both Johnson and Kahne quickly worked their way up through the field. Within 30 laps,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer With one of the best rookie classes in recent memory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series occurring during the 2016 season, each week we’ll take a look at the five rookies battling for Rookie of the Year and track their progress throughout the season. In this week’s edition of the “Rookie Report,” the focus is on Phoenix International Raceway and Sunday’s Good Sam 500, a 312 lap battle around the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert that showcased another great run for the rookies. WhileRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor On a bright, sunny day at Phoenix International Raceway, brake heat altered the day for several drivers and teams. Two drivers — Ryan Newman and Paul Menard — who are looking at returning to the playoffs after making the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2015, took big hits to their 2016 post-season hopes Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Both drivers, who are teammates at Richard Childress Racing, slammed into the outside wall hard in separate accidents in the Good Sam 500. Newman, who entered the day 17th inRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz – Coming off a sixth place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and momentum in his corner, Ryan Blaney isn’t looking like a rookie, but rather a driver on the rise, a driver on the cusp of breaking through for his first win in the Sprint Cup Series. With the Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway set to get underway Sunday, it’s important to know how this season began. The 2016 season began with refreshing news that Wood Brothers Racing, one of NASCAR’sRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz – Jimmie Johnson met with the media early this morning to clarify the accident he had in qualifying, which forced the team to go to a backup car for Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The accident happened in Turn 2 during the final round of knockout qualifying. In an interview yesterday, Johnson could not confirm what happened, only saying “I don’t know for sure.” Johnson, 40, would later confirm through Twitter that the steering wheel came off. This morning the six-timeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief AVONDALE, Ariz –  Qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday afternoon turned into one of the more odd sessions of the early season, and it became all the more interesting after Jimmie Johnson wrecked in Turn 2 during the final round. The six-time Sprint Cup Series champion put down a lap that ended fifth best on the timesheets, but following the hard crash Johnson will have to start the Good Sam 500 in a backup car at the rear of the field. Johnson, 40, spoke aboutRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Running the fastest lap of the day when it counted most, Kyle Busch paced a Joe Gibbs Racing sweep of the top three starting spots for Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET). Busch covered the one-mile distance in 26.014 seconds (138.387 mph) in Friday’s final round of knockout qualifying, a session interrupted by Jimmie Johnson’s hard wreck against the Turn 2 wall. The Coors Light Pole Award was Busch’s first of the season (after an inspectionRead More