phoenix raceway Tag

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. – After a season of career-firsts – a maiden victory and a dramatic lap to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race – Ross Chastain insisted he felt more hopeful than disappointed after coming up short of hoisting his first major racing trophy on Sunday. Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet finished third in the Phoenix Raceway season finale – 1.2-seconds behind the winner, and newly-crowed 2022 series champion Joey Logano. After moving forward from a 25th-place starting spot on theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. – Lap 200 was when the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race saw its chaotic shakeup and it involved Chase Elliott. Following a multi-car crash in Turn 4, the field went to war once again with Elliott slowly getting better as the race went on. Compared to his Championship 4 competitors, Elliott’s pit crew were getting the job done and helped him gain valuable track position. Elliott restarted fifth and went on the attack towards the Dogleg, to the point he clipped part of theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Heading into the NASCAR Cup Series season finale, Joey Logano made it clear that his team would be the favorite to bring home the championship when all was said and done. On Sunday, he proved those prophetic words to be true with a dominating run at Phoenix Raceway to score his second title for Team Penske and the No. 22 team. After starting on pole, Logano made it known early on that whoever claimed the championship at the end of the night wouldRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ty Gibbs will not participate in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Phoenix due to the passing of his father, Coy Gibbs Coming a day after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship on the one-mile oval, Gibbs was preparing to complete his relief driving duties for 23XI Racing when the news broke that the 20-year-old would not be in the car. Just prior to the start of the race, Joe Gibbs Racing confirmed that Coy, 49, had passed away in his sleepRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. — 35 races down, one to go. Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track at Phoenix Raceway for the 2022 season finale, bringing this season to a close and crowning a champion. Heading into this year’s championship race, it will be a battle between two former champions and two drivers making their first appearance in the Championship 4 to see who will be hoisting the Bill France Cup when the checkered flag falls. Whittled down from the 16 original title contendersRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Since sustaining a concussion at Texas in late September, Alex Bowman has been on the sidelines, but make his return for his home race Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. The Tuscon, Arizona native detailed the struggles he went through from the week following the crash to the announcement of his return a week ago. Bowman explained that while he felt fine up until mid-week following the Texas crash, his condition quickly went downhill, leading him to seek concussion treatment. “Wednesday night, I realized thatRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. – Much to the chagrin of the fans, Ty Gibbs capped off a dominant victory during Saturday’s finale at Phoenix Raceway. More importantly, the 20-year-old won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship over a hard charging Noah Gragson. It was no secret the Arizona crowd made it known they disliked Gibbs for his actions throughout the season. Even if Gibbs didn’t want the jeers, he had the last laugh. “You know, what I did last week was unacceptable, and I apologize once again, but itRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – JR Motorsports came into Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway with three chances at coming away with the title, but when all was said and done, they would fall short of that goal. Of the three JRM Chevrolets, Noah Gragson came the closest to bringing another championship to the team before moving up to the Cup Series in 2023, but would have to settle for second place, finishing 0.397-seconds behind Ty Gibbs. Gragson, who won eight times in 2022, including atRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – As the grizzled veteran of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4, Joey Logano showed his fellow title contenders how it was done Saturday at Phoenix, scoring the pole for Sunday’s championship deciding race. The 2018 series champion posted a lap of 26.788 seconds, 134.389 mph to jump to the top of the board ahead of his Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney to put himself in the best position possible when the green flag drops. “It keeps the pressure on them,” Logano said. “That’sRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. – Since the implementation of the Championship 4 in 2014, Joey Logano is one of four drivers that’ve made the title-deciding race five times (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022). As much experience as he has with 2018 being the pinnacle of his NASCAR Cup Series career, simply making it to the big dance isn’t enough. Advancing into the Championship 4 following his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway doesn’t satisfy him. Hoisting the Bill France Trophy satisifies the 32-year-old Team Penske driver. HeadingRead More