good sam 500 Tag

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 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 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

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer With one win under his belt in 2016 already, Jimmie Johnson heads into Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix looking to break his winless streak at the desert mile since the track underwent a reconfiguration during the 2011 season. Johnson tops the board statistically among active drivers when looking at career wide numbers, but the six-time series champion has been absent from victory lane in Phoenix over the past six years. Overall, Johnson has four wins (2007, 2008 sweep, and 2009), as well as 15Read More

By NASCAR Wire Service Mother Nature might be the only person who can stop Kevin Harvick from winning at Phoenix International Raceway. Last fall, the No. 4 Chevrolet driver appeared to be on his way to his fourth consecutive victory at the one-mile track, leading 143 of the 219 laps when rain brought out a caution as he was leaving pit road. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was slightly ahead of second-place Harvick on the track, earned the win when NASCAR called the race due to the precipitation. Harvick will tryRead More