Ruoff Mortgage 500 Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Pole sitter Ryan Blaney had an up and down afternoon during Sunday’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Despite leading a race-high 143 of 312 laps, Blaney wound up fourth. When things appear to go well for the Penske driver, a few setbacks plagued the veteran from being a contender for the win. During the first 25 laps, Blaney was in control but once the competition caution came out, his day became challenging. Although Blaney had a solid pit stop, he was caught speeding on pitRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service There was no shortage of motivation as three drivers all vying for their first-career victory in the marquee NASCAR Cup Series decided the dramatic outcome at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe had to hold off the field on not one, not two, but three late race restarts on the one-mile desert oval, including the final restart with three laps remaining to earn his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in the Ruoff Mortgage 500. The 27-year-old Briscoe is the 200thRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney earned his third career Phoenix Raceway pole position on Saturday afternoon and will line up alongside Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin to lead the field to green in Sunday’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 (3:30 p.m., FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It is the best race start of the season for both drivers, who are eager to rebound after uncharacteristic tough luck in the opening three races of 2022. Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford has only aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season has seen the Next Gen car put through its paces on a variety of tracks, now it heads to Phoenix Raceway and Sunday’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 for what could be its most important race yet. The one-mile oval in the Arizona desert played host to a two-day test in late January, but there is still a cloud of uncertainty about how the car will race come Sunday, making the very limited track time available like gold forRead More