phoenix raceway Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ford only had two guys competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with one of them hoisting series championship. It wasn’t Chase Briscoe, but it was Austin Cindric who exited Phoenix Raceway with a championship. Cindric had to earn that sixth win though as an overtime restart bunched the field up and when the dust finally settled, he beat Noah Gragson to capture Saturday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 and another auto racing title for Team Penske. Fittingly enough, what else did you expect fromRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Justin Allgaier leaves it all on the track but falls short in title battle Justin Allgaier and crew chief Jason Burdett tried everything. Under caution on Lap 172 of 200 in Saturday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway, Burdett called Allgaier to pit road for his last set of sticker tires. Even on fresh rubber, Allgaier couldn’t catch race leader Austin Cindric, as the drivers battled for position and the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. When title contender Chase Briscoe spun onRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service In the most challenging year in a history that has spanned more than seven decades, NASCAR racing has emerged stronger in the face of a coronavirus pandemic that interrupted the 2020 season, according to NASCAR president Steve Phelps. “What I would say is that, on March 8th, we were a sport that was coming back, right?” Phelps said on Friday during a Zoom video conference with reporters. “Our ratings had stabilized last year. Our attendance was going in the correct direction. “If you thinkRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Championship finalist Sheldon Creed had already apologized to his race team as his No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado began to fall back in the closing laps of Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway. And then a yellow flag came out – with three laps remaining. Creed gambled on a pit stop for fresh tires even as the race leaders – fellow championship contenders Brett Moffitt and Grant Enfinger stayed on track. CreedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The first leg of the Quadruple Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway wrapped up on cloudy Friday night with the NASCAR Gander RV & Truck Series taking center stage. It was a no remorse, take no prisoner’s race as it went down to the very final lap of the campaign. GMS Racing won the war with Sheldon Creed hoisting his first Truck Series title following a late-race pit call to go for four tires which helped him to win the Lucas Oil 150. Brett Moffitt hadRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service No divided loyalty in Championship 4: It’s all about the team at Team Penske Team Penske owner Roger Penske has two drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race for the first time. Both drivers are former Cup champions. Brad Keselowski won his title in 2012 under the 10-race Chase format. Joey Logano won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to secure the 2018 championship. So how does a team owner allocate his loyalties between his two drivers as they head for Sunday’sRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Joey Logano enters NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race brimming with confidence Chase Elliott may have the illusory “momentum” — thanks to his 11th-hour victory at Martinsville Speedway — but Joey Logano considers himself the favorite to win a second NASCAR Cup Series title in Sunday’s Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Logano’s confidence is founded on facts. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was the winner at Phoenix in March,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Over the past four seasons, Grant Enfinger has piloted the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and from the very beginning, he’s had long time crew Jeff Hensley calling the shots. After five wins, including a victory last week at Martinsville Speedway, the duo is now going to the championship race at Phoenix Raceway with an opportunity to exit this Friday’s race hoisting the series title. Should they get the job done in Arizona, it willRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When Phoenix was announced as the host of the 2020 championship race last year, the NASCAR Cup Series was in the midst of its first season with the new high downforce aero package that wasn’t producing the best results on the short tracks, so naturally there was a lot of stress around Phoenix delivering a race worthy of a championship finale. After Sunday’s FanShield 500 on the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert, everyone is breathing a sigh of relief. Utilizing a lower downforce package, whichRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It was a tale of two stories for Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch in Sunday’s FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway. However, their outcomes were encouraging as the duo finished fourth and sixth respectively. Larson had one of the strongest Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LEs throughout the race-extended 316 lap event (leading two laps), but the bid of getting his primary sponsor McDonald’s first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series win since July 1994 would have to wait yet another day. This was because Larson’s attemptRead More