Posted on by Data Skrive

Kyle Larson finished fourth in the FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway Sunday.

Larson’s top five finish added 35 points to his season total.

Larson qualified in fourth position at 137.604 mph and led two laps in the race. The eighth-year driver has tallied six career victories, with 56 top-five finishes and 101 results inside the top 10.

The fourth place result for Larson marks the fifth time he has finished in the top five at Phoenix Raceway and his seventh top 10.

The Elk Grove, California native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 10 spots higher than his career mark of 14.3 and completing the race 12 places ahead of his 16.2 career average finish.

Larson battled against a field of 38 drivers on the way to his fourth-place finish. The race endured 12 cautions and 73 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 20 lead changes.

Joey Logano secured the win in the race, followed by Kevin Harvick in the No. 2 spot and Kyle Busch in third. Larson secured fourth ahead of Clint Bowyer’s No. 5 finish.

After Harvick won the first stage, Brad Keselowski drove the No. 2 car to victory in Stage 2.

Kyle Larson Driver Page | Get Kyle Larson Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Kevin Harvick finished second in the FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway Sunday.

Harvick’s top five finish added 54 points to his season total.

Harvick qualified in second position at 137.878 mph and led 67 laps in the race, holding the lead a total of four times. The 20th-year driver has earned 49 career victories, with 208 top-five finishes and 366 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Phoenix Raceway is a familiar place for Harvick, who has nine career wins at the track. His second-place finish also marks the 18th time he has finished in the top five at Phoenix and his 24th top 10.

The Bakersfield, California native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting 13 spots higher than his career mark of 14.6 and completing the race 11 places ahead of his 12.7 career average finish.

Harvick battled against a field of 38 drivers on the way to his second-place finish. The race endured 12 cautions and 73 caution laps. There were 20 lead changes.

Joey Logano earned the win in the race, followed by Harvick’s second-place finish. Kyle Busch crossed in third, Kyle Larson secured fourth place, and Clint Bowyer took the No. 5 spot.

After Kevin Harvick won the first stage, Brad Keselowski drove the No. 2 car to victory in Stage 2.

Kevin Harvick Driver Page | Get Kevin Harvick Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Tyler Reddick’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet wasn’t running at the finish of Sunday’s FanShield 500, but the top finishers in the NASCAR Cup Series event certainly knew he had been there.

Reddick started 29th in a field of 38, but by the time the second stage ended on Lap 190, he had worked his way up to fourth, having passed Kyle Busch for the position. But after a two-tire call and a second-place restart on Lap 222, Reddick was shuffled back in the running order.

RELATED: Race results

A flat tire on Lap 265 sent Reddick rocketing into the Turn 2 wall and ended a promising race for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender.

“Well, we lost a tire there in (Turns) 1 and 2,” said Reddick, who was racing at Phoenix in the Cup Series for the first time. “I really don’t know what led to that. I don’t know if I just caught something on the race track or it just wasn’t meant to be. Our Chevrolet was really, really good today. I just made a couple of mistakes there that cost us track position.

“I don’t know if that’s what ultimately would have kept us from cutting a tire, but we were in really good shape there, and I just made a rookie mistake and fell back to the back half of the top 10, and from there, we had our flat tire, and that was the end of our day, unfortunately.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Spoiler alert: If Sunday’s race was any indication, fans are in for a treat of a title race at Phoenix Raceway come November.

This weekend’s FanShield 500 NASCAR Cup Series event was the first to feature the revamped 2020 short-track and road-course package, which heralds a shorter rear spoiler (from 8 to 2.75 inches), a front splitter overhang reduction from 2 inches to 0.25 inches and alterations to the radiator pan.

MORE: 2020 short track and road course package explained | See photos of spoilers

In short, it worked.

“I think you certainly want to see a lot of what we saw today: a lot of lead changes. And this comes from a lot of work from the entire industry, going back to Nashville (Tennessee), getting everybody together, talking about what could we collectively do for the good of the sport and specifically for this race track,” NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell said on pit road after the race. “The race teams came together, the drivers, Goodyear and I think all that played a part today. Not only tire wear, PJ1 that was applied but the rules package as well. We saw a lot of different things happen during the race, some emotions run pretty high, which is what you want. A lot of comers and goers and ultimately a really good race.

“I think you saw some dominant cars for sure, but not only were drivers and teams able to catch the leader but even when someone was passed for the lead, they were able to go back and re-take the lead, which is always something you like to see and multiple cars were able to do that.”

The top five wound up with familiar Phoenix names – Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer – but the top 10 was in flux seemingly the whole race.

RELATED: Full Phoenix race results | Logano holds off Harvick in OT

Pole-winner Chase Elliott had the dominant car early, leading a race-high 93 laps before a loose wheel sidelined his car during green-flag runs … and he wound up seventh. Brad Keselowski had arguably the car to beat, but a decision to stay out on slightly used tires relegated him to 11th after 82 laps led.

The “Cactus King,” Harvick, then had his turn at the front of the pack, swapping the lead back and forth with Logano to the tune of 67 laps led, and NASCAR potentially could have seen a neck-and-neck finish had a string of late cautions not come and the race stayed green.

Heck, for a quick minute there, even rookie Tyler Reddick was outpacing Harvick and gunning for a legitimate top-five finish and putting on a show while doing it.

Drivers were pleased with the direction the package has short-track racing headed in, as well.

“You could definitely follow (other cars) a lot closer,” Busch said. “You could get up into a guy’s left rear and be close enough to their left rear and follow them close enough that you could try to make a move on them or make a run on them up off the corner. Get them a little loose to be able to make a move on them. I felt like there was certainly some positives.”

The only question that remains is where things go from here and how does NASCAR build off a successful first run with these rules. There’s a long way to go before the Cup Series field is back racing in the desert nearly nine months from now.

“We’ve got the best engineers in the world, so they’ll go back and study what worked and where they maybe could make a difference,” said O’Donnell. “Lot of racing to go, but certainly this is a good platform to start off our short-track package and what we wanted to see this weekend. So we’ll head off to Martinsville (Speedway) and Richmond (Raceway) and see what we can do there, but all in all, thought it was really good.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 22 Team Penske Ford of Joey Logano has passed post-race technical inspection after winning Sunday’s FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

Logano’s race-winning No. 22 car was only found with one lug nut not safely secured in a post-race check, but otherwise it was compliant with the 2020 NASCAR Rule Book after the 316-lap event at the 1-mile track in Arizona. His second win of the season and the 25th of his NASCAR Cup Series career are now official after the post-race teardown.

RELATED: Official race results

This is the second year of a post-race process to bring a more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced before the 2019 season thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the NASCAR Research & Development Center. Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions.

NASCAR will still inspect cars at the R&D Center as needed to monitor trends and parts compliance. Officials indicated post-race the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet of Kyle Larson would be taken to the R&D Center for further evaluation this week.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Joey Logano expected a bump from Kevin Harvick in the two-lap overtime Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, but the bump never came.

Instead, Harvick pulled up beside Logano in the center of Turns 1 and 2 on the final lap of the FanShield 500, but Logano sped away with a hard charge off Turn 2 and cruised to the finish line with a margin of .276 seconds.

RELATED: Race results | Stages recap | Joey Logano gear

With the victory — his second at Phoenix and the 25th of his career — Logano is the first multiple winner of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, having previously taken the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the year’s second event.

Logano won Sunday at the 1-mile track in the Sonoran Desert despite snafus that might have thwarted a lesser driver. On Lap 133, Logano’s crew was flagged for an uncontrolled tire, sending the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford to the rear of the field for a restart on Lap 138.

After Logano drove through the field and regained his track position, a broken jack during a yellow-flag pit stop on Lap 268 dropped him to 18th for a Lap 272 restart. By staying on the track while other lead-lap cars pitted under caution on Lap 279, Logano moved up to third in the running order, and on Lap 293, he passed teammate Brad Keselowski for the lead and took control of the race.

“Man, we had a really good car, really good Shell‑Pennzoil Mustang,” said Logano, who won for the second time with new crew chief Paul Wolfe after an offseason personnel shakeup at Team Penske. “We had more things go wrong today. Unfortunate situation with the jack breaking. No one’s fault.

“Had some good restarts, got ourselves back up there, being aggressive, having some tires there towards the end. I knew racing Kevin was going to be hard. I was figuring I was going to get hit, so I throttled up in the corner so much, I thought he was going to give me the bump‑and‑run, which I expected, wouldn’t blame him for.”

With arguably the fastest car, Harvick got bottled up in traffic on the Lap 272 restart and never regained the top spot. Logano controlled the final two restarts, including the overtime, chose the bottom lane and cut the dogleg just beyond the start-finish line to maintain his lead.

“He just had control of the race,” Harvick said. “After we pitted there (on Lap 268), I got stuck behind a couple of cars there, lost five or six spots. He got by and got control of the race. He got to restart where he wanted to.

“Our Jimmy John’s Ford was better, especially when we could put it in front of his. We just didn’t get the control of the race back there, and he was able to get by us on that restart where I got hung up.”

Kyle Busch ran third, as NASCAR’s new low-downforce competition package provided lively action throughout the afternoon.

“There at the end, obviously, making up some good spots on the bottom when everybody would get bottled up there mid-pack… but once you get closer to the front, it’s hard to make up those spots anymore on the bottom anymore like we were,” Busch said. “The guys did a great job. We weren’t very good when we unloaded (on Friday), we made a lot of ground, but still not enough ground as I would have wanted to race with some of the top guys. I felt like we were a fifth- or sixth-place car probably, and we were able to come out with a third. Good for us with that effort. We need some points right now. We have to climb the ladder back and get back where we need to be.”

Kyle Larson ran fourth, followed by Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch in order. Pole-winner Chase Elliott led a race-high 93 laps, but his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was forced to pit road for an unplanned stop under green on Lap 156 because of a loose wheel, and Elliott never recovered. He finished seventh after regaining the lead lap under caution on Lap 195.

Ninth-place finisher Cole Custer was the top Sunoco rookie in the race, posting his first career top 10 in the Cup Series. Aric Almirola and William Byron were eighth and 10th, respective, to round out the top 10.

Harvick won the first stage, and Keselowski was the winner of the second stage.

Overall, Logano led 60 of 316 laps, fourth most behind Elliott, Keselowski (82) and Harvick (67).

“I’m out of breath,” Logano said. “That was a pretty intense last 30 minutes or hour of the race. A lot going on. Couldn’t be more proud of this team. Two wins already in the books. We’ve got to keep this thing rocking.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, March 9
1 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, March 10
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday,  March 11
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
1 p.m., NASCAR Coast to Coast

Thursday, March 12
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, March 13
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 2019 Xfinity Series race at Atlanta (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 2019 NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
2:30 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 2020 FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Saturday, March 14
10 a.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 2019 NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
1 p.m., NASCAR Presents: This Racing Life (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 2019 Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Atlanta (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Presents: Neil Bonnett (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
4 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 2019 Xfinity Series race at Atlanta (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 1998 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: 2019 Xfinity Series race at Atlanta (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Sunday, March 15
12:30 p.m., Beyond the Wheel (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Posted on by Staff Report

Brad Keselowski benefitted from a loose wheel for Chase Elliott to take the lead on Lap 156 and cruise to the Stage 2 win in the FanShield 500 on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. For Keselowski, it was his first stage win of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season and marked quite a comeback from a Stage 1 incident that also involved Denny Hamlin and knocked Ryan Blaney out of the race.

Kevin Harvick, the winner of Stage 1, continued to show speed in Stage 2 by finishing second. Harvick lost the lead on Lap 132 to Elliott because of a slow pit stop, dropping back to sixth place, but he rebounded nicely toward the end of the stage.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Speaking of comebacks and rebounding, Martin Truex Jr. finished third in Stage 2 after starting the race at the rear for an engine change earlier in the weekend. Truex briefly held the lead in Stage 2 (Laps 138-140) when he passed to the inside of Keselowski and Elliott, who came close to banging doors while battling on the outside for the lead.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Tyler Reddick continued to impress with a fourth-place showing in Stage 2, while Kyle Busch finished fifth. Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson and Cole Custer rounded out the top 10.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 10
2 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing 7
5 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 5
7 Joey Logano Team Penske 4
8 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing 2
10 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing 1


Stage 1

Kevin Harvick took the lead from Chase Elliott on pit road and held on to win Stage 1 in Sunday’s FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway. The “Cactus King” was back in the lead at a track at which he already has nine NASCAR Cup Series victories.

Harvick jumped in front of Elliott with a fast pit stop after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brought out the race’s first caution flag on Lap 58 when he spun in Turn 2 and damaged the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Harvick won the stage, his first at Phoenix, despite Elliott leading 60 of the first 75 laps.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Elliott came in second in the stage with Joey Logano third, Matt DiBenedetto fourth and Kyle Busch fifth. Last week’s winner, Alex Bowman, was sixth, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones to round out the top 10. Truex dropped to the rear at the start because of an engine change earlier in the weekend.

Points leader Ryan Blaney saw his day come to an early end after he collided with Denny Hamlin, who hit Brad Keselowski, coming out of Turn 3 on Lap 64. Blaney, the points leader, was in line to finish 37th while Keselowski and Hamlin remained on the track despite the damage.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 10
2 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Joey Logano Team Penske 8
4 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing 7
5 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 5
7 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing 4
8 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing 2
10 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

A multi-car crash damaged three early contenders Sunday at Phoenix Raceway as contact between the cars of Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski collected and knocked Ryan Blaney out of the NASCAR Cup Series points lead.

RELATED: Race results

The melee caused the second caution period in the FanShield 500. Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford made contact as the two entered Turn 3 on Lap 64. Both cars slid out of the groove, gathering up Blaney’s No. 12 Penske Ford.

All three cars swept into the outside retaining wall. Hamlin and Keselowski continued, but Blaney took his damaged car to the garage, ending his day.

“From the car, I couldn’t really see,” Blaney said after an evaluation at the infield care center. “A couple of us were three-wide. I was happy to be on the top. I thought we were going to roll the top pretty good through (Turns) 3 and 4 there. It looks like the 11 tried to send it in there below the 2 and got loose and hit him and then overcorrected and got us. We got up in the dirt, and we just ran right into the fence. Just an innocent bystander there. It sucks to have it end so early like that and have that happen so early in the race.

“I do really hate it for Menards and Tarkett and Ford. We didn’t even have a chance to work on our car. We weren’t great the first run, but we made a big swing at it and we don’t know how that change was. It stinks when you are taken out like that. We will just go on to Atlanta (Motor Speedway) and see what we can do.”

Blaney entered the event atop the Cup Series standings, but he absorbed a 37th-place finish and his first DNF since last October at Dover International Speedway. Hamlin continued at a reduced pace and finished 20th.

Keselowski fared the best, recovering nicely with minor damage and charging back to win Stage 2. He led 82 laps but slipped to an 11th-place result after a series of late restarts gummed up his team’s pit strategy and victory chances.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

It’s Race 4 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season: the FanShield 500 (Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Chase Elliott scored the Busch Pole Award, but is he worth the start in Fantasy Live? NASCAR.com’s RJ Kraft offers his race-day lineup and bonus picks below.

RJ Kraft race-day lineup for FanShield 500:
1: Kevin Harvick
2: Chase Elliott
3: Aric Almirola
4: Denny Hamlin
5: Brad Keselowski
Garage: Kyle Busch

Just missing the cut: William Byron, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones and Matt DiBenedetto.

Cars dropping to the rear: Martin Truex Jr. and John Hunter Nemechek.

MORE: Engine change sends Truex to back of the field

RELATED: Lap averages, practice results, more | Fantasy preview coming into Phoenix

Analysis: Harvick has nine wins at Phoenix, had the best 10-lap average and was one of the best cars on the long run in final practice. I’ve concocted my strategy around heavy Harvick usage early, so I’ll worry about his uses later in the season. Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Almirola is a sneaky play here with four top 10s in his last five starts and the fourth-best 20-lap average in final practice.

Elliott is on the pole, and I have toyed with using him in recent weeks but haven’t pulled the trigger. Entering the week, he and Larson were neck-and-neck for a spot in my lineup, but I like Elliott’s averages a bit more. The Hendrick driver placed in the top two in both practices. Hamlin won here in the fall and had the fourth-best 10-lap average in final practice. I’m a little worried about the drop-off on the averages board over 15- and 20-lap runs, but I’m willing to accept that risk since I have not used him this season. Keselowski gets the fifth spot in my lineup thanks to his leading the 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-lap averages. He’s another driver I’ve yet to use.

I debated the garage pick with a focus on the Busch brothers, Byron and Larson. For now, I’ve settled on Kyle Busch. I know he’s off to a slow start in 2020, but he has been the best driver here over the past three races — also since the 1-mile track was reconfigured. He has finished in the top two in all three of those races. I don’t like that I don’t have any long-run data from him, but I trust in the history.

Bonus picks: I’m taking Elliott to win Stage 1 with Harvick winning Stage 2 and the race. I’m taking Ford for the manufacturer pick.