Phoenix International Raceway Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After being announced as the replacement driver for a suspended Matt Kenseth, rookie Erik Jones finished 12th at Texas, but eyes the ultimate upset with a win in the desert as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix. Jones, currently the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship leader, has sat on the front row in both NCWTS starts (second in 2013, pole in 2014) and grabbed victory in each. Phoenix was the site of his first Truck Series victory and it came in just hisRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The National Motorsports Appeals Panel has decided to uphold the two race suspension levied by NASCAR to Matt Kenseth following a hearing earlier today. The first appeal panel consisted of Ken Clapp, Bill Mullis and Dale Pinilis, heard the testimony but came to the following decisions: The Appellant violated the rules set forth in the Penalty notice; The Panel affirms and upholds the original Penalty levied by NASCAR. The second and final appeal was heard by National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer Bryan Moss and came toRead More

The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule was announced on Tuesday and it has been received in both good and bad ways.  But how so? Let’s take a look at both.  First, the good. The schedule has been stretched out by quite a while.  Instead of starting in late March and ending in late August, the series begins in mid-March while ending in mid-September.  This will alleviate many stresses of the series for traveling, especially regarding team members not being at home and also the rest of the IndyCar traveling circus.Read More

After being initially leaked on Sunday, the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule was officially announced this morning. The season will once again kick off in St. Petersburg on March 13th, which has moved up two weeks due to the Easter holiday. Making it’s return in nearly 10 years will be Phoenix International Raceway, which will host a 200-lap Saturday night race on April 2. Phoenix joins Road America as the second classic Amerian Open Wheel Racing venue to return to the schedule. Following Phoenix will be the 42nd Toyota GrandRead More

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Yes, the best car won Sunday’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix International Raceway — but one-man juggernaut Kevin Harvick had to hold off charging Jamie McMurray on the final restart with 12 laps left to notch his fourth straight victory at the one-mile track. The box score will show that the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ led 224 of 312 laps, but McMurray took his best shot on the Lap 301 restart, driving hard to the inside of the race winner and, for the briefest of moments, clearing Harvick’sRead More

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Joey Logano summed up his dominating victory in one word. “Finally!” Logano exclaimed after taking the checkered flag in Saturday’s Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. Logano had reason to be frustrated. He had finished second in his last four XFINITY Series starts, the last three after winning the pole. And the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford hadn’t been to Victory Lane in the series since Sept. 28, 2013 at Dover International Speedway. On Saturday, however, Logano won theRead More

AVONDALE, Ariz.—The most surprising thing about Kevin Harvick’s pole at Phoenix International Raceway was that it was his first one. Riding a tidal wave that carried him to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title last year and continued with two runner-up finishes and a victory in the first three races of the current season, Harvick toured the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert in 25.577 seconds (140.751 mph) during the final round of Friday’s knockout qualifying to win his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season and theRead More

AVONDALE, Ariz. — A victory at Phoenix—and a dominating one at that—was exactly what Kevin Harvick needed to keep his hopes for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship alive. But a second-place finish in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 did Jeff Gordon no good, thanks to a final-lap banzai run by Ryan Newman, who passed rookie Kyle Parson for the 11th position on the final lap to eliminate Gordon from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by a single point. Polesitter Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, whoRead More

NASCAR’s new Chase format is working out just as they hoped it would, but perhaps, it’s working out too well. The Eliminator 8 round in the Chase for the Championship has upped the intensity among the remaining contenders. After Martinsville, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick found themselves in a deficit heading into Texas Motor Speedway. The 1.5-mile oval was the sight of not only six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson’s 70th win, but the most dramatic post-race scuffle of the season between two of NASCAR’s best. The contact It allRead More