It’s time for short-track racing, as the series lands at Phoenix Raceway for a preview of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 venue.
With the long-awaited debut of the new short-track package and the season off to an electrifying start, take a look at all the information you should know before Sunday’s FanShield 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
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TRACK DETAILS
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile desert track with an asphalt surface that was constructed in 1964 and repaved in 2011. The start-finish line was relocated to the previous exit of Turn 2 in 2018.
The track features a 1,551-foot front stretch and a 1,179-foot backstretch with a unique dogleg, allowing for bold moves and wide racing. Turns 1 and 2 have 8-9 degrees of variable banking, while Turns 3 and 4 have a 10-11 degree variation.
Sunday’s race marks the 48th time the Cup Series has run at Phoenix, with Alan Kulwicki winning the inaugural race in 1988.
STAGE LENGTHS
Stage 1 is set to end at Lap 75, Stage 2 Lap 190, and the Final Stage slated to conclude on Lap 312.
RULES PACKAGE
The enhanced 2020 short oval and road course package will be in effect for the first time this year, featuring a significantly shorter rear spoiler and front splitter.
Maintaining tapered-spacer engines with a targeted 750 horsepower, new aerodynamic changes factor in for less downforce to further emphasize handling and driver performance.
Bristol, Dover, Martinsville, New Hampshire and Richmond — as well as the three road courses — will operate under this rules package.
MORE: Full weekend schedule | How to watch the race
GOODYEAR TIRES
As Cup Series action switches to a short track for the first time this season, it marks the season debut of the Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials.
Teams will be allowed three sets of Goodyear tires for practice, one set for qualifying and nine sets for the race (eight new sets plus one transferred from practice or qualifying).
Brand new tire developments to accompany the lower downforce run at Phoenix include increased wear and more stagger to help offer better balance and handling in the turns.
“We were involved in the decision on the 2020 short track package,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “At that meeting with all the industry leaders, integrating tire performance into a reduced downforce package was a key part of the conversations. Our experience with the 2018 rules package, along with recent compound testing on the Next Gen vehicle at Phoenix, gave us a good baseline on increasing mechanical grip through the tires to compliment the reduced aero loading. This decision process was truly a joint effort — stakeholders from all areas coming together to make the sport better.”
STATS TO KNOW
— Phoenix Raceway is now the site of the championship race. The track that has hosted the season finale has hosted an earlier race 22 times throughout Cup Series history’s modern era: Atlanta (14), Riverside (6), Rockingham (1), New Hampshire (1).
— The driver who went on to win the first race at the finale track has only went on to win the championship three times: Terry Labonte (1984), Dale Earnhardt (1990), and Jeff Gordon (1995).
— With a recent Phoenix trend of late-race cautions and restarts, five of the last nine races have had a final green-flag stretch of three laps or less.
— Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have won four of the last five Phoenix races and led the most laps in each of the last six races.
Source: Racing Insights
LIVE COVERAGE
Tune in to television coverage from Phoenix Raceway on FS1 and the FOX Sports App starting at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday — then switch over the FOX for the remainder of pre-race and in-race action. For complete radio coverage, listen in to MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on-air at 2:30 p.m.
For a more interactive experience, head over to NASCAR.com or the NASCAR app to check out an enhanced Race Center, live Lap-by-Lap coverage, the customizable live leaderboard with Scanner, and the return of Drive (featuring in-car cameras).
Be sure to set your lineup in Fantasy Live and make your picks in the NASCAR Finish Line App!
2019 RACE WINNER
Kyle Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Toyota to a dominant win in the 2019 FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Busch led 177 laps — his most since the career-high mark of 237 set in 2012 — en route to his third career win in the Phoenix desert.
RELATED: Odds, lines for Phoenix
ACTIVE PHOENIX WINNERS
Kevin Harvick (nine); Jimmie Johnson (four); Kyle Busch (three); Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman* (two each); Joey Logano and Kurt Busch (one each). Note: Newman remains sidelined for this weekend’s race at Phoenix.