Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. – As the old aphorism goes, there’s nothing certain except death and taxes.

After Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway, you can add Kevin Harvick at Phoenix to that list.

Harvick beat Kyle Busch to the finish line by .774 seconds to win his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series of the season, the first time a driver has strung three victories together since Joey Logano accomplished the feat in 2015.

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | Stage 1 results | Stage 2 results
SHOP: Harvick gear

The victory was a record ninth for Harvick at the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert and the 40th of his career, third-most among active drivers and tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin for 18th on the all-time victory list.

But the win was more than a statistical triumph for the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Harvick came to Phoenix with a chip on his shoulder, stung by a midweek penalty for issues with the roof braces and right-rear side skirt extension after last week’s race-winning car from Las Vegas. 

The infractions cost Harvick’s team the benefits of the victory in Sin City and deprived him of the services of car chief Robert “Cheddar” Smith. On the flip side, it lit a fire under the whole organization.

“To come here to a race track that is so good for us is a lot of fun, and everyone was just determined this week, and we just wanted to just go stomp them,” Harvick said. “We didn’t stomp them, but we won. That’s all that really matters. Just proud of this team. Put a fire in our belly.”

RELATED: Drivers who have won three straight

As Harvick indicated, it wasn’t the sort of thrashing he engineered at Atlanta and Las Vegas during the winning streak. He started 10th and didn’t lead a lap until he charged past Busch through Turn 4 on Lap 179. All told, Harvick led 38 laps, a distant third behind Busch’s 128 and Kyle Larson’s 54.

A mistake on his final green-flag pit stop cost Busch a chance to win the race. Harvick had come to pit road on Lap 256. Four laps later Busch pitted from the lead, but the jack dropped prematurely on the left side of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, costing the 2015 series champion roughly three seconds.

Busch eventually cycled out into second place after passing third-place finisher Chase Elliott, but the pit road mistake left him too far behind Harvick. At one point in the closing laps, Busch cut Harvick’s advantage to a half-second as the drivers worked traffic, but he could get no closer. 

“Coming into the green flag stops, had a couple guys pit a little bit before us,” Busch said. “I don’t think that hurt us too bad, but the jack dropping certainly did. We lost the race on pit road today. There’s been races where I’ve won it on pit road, too. We’ll just have to go into next week and see what we can do there.”

Denny Hamlin ran fourth, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer. Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Kurt Busch completed the top 10, as both Stewart-Haas and Joe Gibbs Racing put all four of their cars in the top 10—Stewart-Haas for the first time in the organization’s history.

Note: The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Hamlin (finished fourth), the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of Truex Jr. (finished fifth), the No. 12 Team Penske Ford of Ryan Blaney (finished 16th), the No. 22 Team Penske Ford of Joey Logano (finished 19th) and the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (finished 23rd) were all found to have one lug nut not secured post race.

Posted on by Staff Report

Kyle Busch snagged his first stage win of the season when he led after Stage 1 ended on Lap 75 in the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on Sunday.

Busch grabbed the lead on Lap 58 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, passing Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet, to surge into the front.

RELATED: Stage 1 results | Photos from Phoenix | Lap-by-Lap updates

Kevin Harvick, winner of the last two races, finished second in Stage 1 in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Kyle Larson finished third in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five.

Stage 1 featured a competition caution that came on Lap 24 after Corey LaJoie brought out the first caution of the day when the engine appeared to expire on his No. 72 Chevrolet.

The TicketGuardian 500 is scheduled to run 312 laps, 312 miles. Stage 2 ends on Lap 150.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 9
3  Kyle Larson  Chip Ganassi Racing 8
4  Denny Hamlin  Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 6
6  Chase Elliott  Hendrick Motorsports 5
7  Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 4
8  Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9  Joey Logano  Team Penske 2
10  Erik Jones  Joe Gibbs Racing 1

STAGE 2

Kurt Busch earned his second stage win of the season when he won a one-lap shootout at ISM Speedway for the Stage 2 victory in the TicketGuardian 500. The one-lap race for the green-and-white checkered flag came after a caution five laps before the end of the stage.

Busch was among a handful of drivers who did not come to pit road following the Lap 145 caution, positioning him to grab the stage win. Brad Keselowski was second in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch and Michael McDowell rounded out the top five.

Four of the top five stage winners did not come to pit road; Kyle Busch was the only car to pit just before the stage ended.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Stage 2 featured two cautions. The first came out on Lap 121 when Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet spun after he reported his rear tires were “shaking.”

The second was caused by Chris Buescher on Lap 145 when his No. 37 Chevrolet hit the outside wall.

Finish Driver Team Race points
1  Kurt Busch  Stewart-Haas Racing 10
2  Brad Keselowski  Team Penske 9
3  Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Roush Fenway Racing 8
4  Kyle Busch  Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5  Michael McDowell  Front Row Motorsports 6
6  Ty Dillon  Germain Racing 5
7  Kevin Harvick  Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8  Martin Truex Jr.  Furniture Row Racing 3
9  Kasey Kahne  Leavine Family Racing 2
10  Clint Bowyer  Stewart-Haas Racing 1
Posted on by Staff Report

With their respective starts in Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman have moved up to ninth on the all-time consecutive starts list in NASCAR history. Both drivers now stand on 580 consecutive starts as they passed Ken Schrader on Sunday afternoon.

Johnson’s and Newman’s streaks both began with the start of the 2002 season and are two of five drivers with active streaks of over 500 consecutive starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Both Johnson and Newman hold the longest current streaks in the sport as well.

RELATED: Longest active consecutive starts streaks in NASCAR’s top series

David Ragan also celebrated a milestone with his 400th consecutive start on Sunday. Last month, at his home track of Atlanta, Ragan made his 400th career start in the series.

Jeff Gordon holds the longest consecutive starts streak at 797 starts from the last race of 1992 to his last full-time start in 2015.

Take a look below at the longest consecutive starts streaks in NASCAR. (*-denotes an active streak; stats in chart are updated through Sunday’s race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix)

 Rank  Driver  Consecutive starts  Length of streak
 1  Jeff Gordon  797  11/15/92 to 11/22/15
 2  Ricky Rudd  788  1/11/81 to 11/20/05
 3  Bobby Labonte  704  2/14/93 to 6/23/13
 4  Rusty Wallace  697  2/19/84 to 11/20/05
 5  Terry Labonte  655  1/14/79 to 7/23/00
 6  Dale Earnhardt  648  9/9/79 to 2/18/01
 7  Jeff Burton  628  3/24/96 to 11/17/13
 8  Mark Martin  621  2/14/88 to 3/18/07
 t-9  Jimmie Johnson*  580  2/17/02 to current
 t-9  Ryan Newman*  580  2/17/02 to current
 11  Ken Schrader  579  2/17/85 to 7/27/03
 12  Kevin Harvick*  572  4/21/02 to current
 13  Matt Kenseth  571  2/20/00 to 11/1/15
 14  Jamie McMurray*  548  10/27/02 to current
 15  Tony Stewart  521  2/14/99 to 8/4/13
 16  Richard Petty  513  11/14/71 to 3/19/89
 17  Kasey Kahne*  508  2/15/04 to current
 18  Greg Biffle  501  3/9/03 to 11/20/16
 19  Dale Earnhardt Jr.  461  11/21/99 to 10/7/12
 20  Carl Edwards  437  10/24/04 to 11/20/16
 t-21  Clint Bowyer*  436  2/19/06 to current
 t-21  Martin Truex Jr.*  436  2/19/06 to current
 23  Darrell Waltrip  431  1/18/76 to 6/24/90
 24  Dale Jarrett  424  10/9/94 to 4/29/07
 25  David Ragan*  400  2/18/07 to current
Posted on by Staff Report

What channels are NASCAR races on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: Get the NBC Sports App |  How to find FS1, FS2 | Get FOX Sports GO | How to find NBCSN

Monday, March 12
3 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 (re-air), FS1
6 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN

On MRN:
12 p.m.: MRN Motorsports Monday presented by Outback Steakhouse (Hosts: Steve Post, Erin Evernham)

Tuesday, March 13
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
7 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN:
7 p.m.: NASCAR Live (Host: Mike Bagley)

Wednesday, March 14
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
7 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN:
Noon: MRN Crew Call presented by Hercules Tires (Hosts: Dion Williams, Sammi Jo Francis)
4 p.m.: NASCAR Coast to Coast (Hosts: Kyle Rickey, Hannah Newhouse)

Thursday, March 15
5 p.m.: NASCAR America, NBCSN
7 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN:
1 p.m.: Throwback Thursday presented by Sunoco

Friday, March 16
2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO)
3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO)
4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
5:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO)
6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
7 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO)

On MRN:
Noon: Inside Line Fantasy Racing Show (Hosts: Tyler Burnett, Robbie Mays)

Saturday, March 17
3:30 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying (re-air), FS1
12:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN2)
1:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO)
3 p.m.: NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FS1
3:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO)
4:30 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
5 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway, FS1, (Canada: TSN3)
7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show, FS1

Sunday, March 18
3:30 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway (re-air), FS1
1:30 p.m.: NASCAR Race Classic: 1998 Daytona 500, FS1
2 p.m.: NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
3 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pre-Race Show, FOX
3:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400, FOX, FOX Deportes, (Canada: TSN3)

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series head to the final voyage of the NASCAR Goes West part of the schedule, heading to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is off. Check out the tentative full schedule below, subject to change.

Note: All times are ET

Sunday, March 18
3:00 p.m.: Driver Introductions
3:28 p.m.: God Bless America by: Janae Manigault
3:30 p.m.: Intro Presentation of Colors by: California Army National Guard Color Guard
3:30:15 p.m.: Invocation by: Jeff Hamilton, Official Chaplain of Auto Club Speedway
3:31 p.m.: National Anthem by: Cassadee Pope
3:37:30 p.m. “Drivers, Start Your Engines:” Super Troopers
3:47 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 (200 laps, 400 miles), FOX, (Canada: TSN3), (Results)

Press Pass (Watch live)
6:45 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

Friday, March 16
2:35-3:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO), (Results)
3:35-4:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO), (Results)
5:35-6:25 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO), (Results)
7:15 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO), (Results)

Press Pass (Watch live)
1 p.m.: Darrell Wallace Jr.
1:15 p.m.: Kevin Harvick
1:30 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
1:45 p.m.: Kyle Larson
2 p.m.: Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and Ryan Reed
4 p.m.: Kasey Kahne
4:15 p.m.: Erik Jones
4:45 p.m.: Aric Almirola
8:30 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

Saturday, March 17
12:35-1:25p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series second practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN2), (Results)
1:35 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO), (Results)
3:30-4:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1, (Canada: TSN GO), (Results)
5 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Roseanne 300 (150 laps, 300 miles), FS1, (Canada: TSN3), (Results)

Press Pass (Watch live)
7:30 p.m.: Post-Xfinity Series race

Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Neither a speeding penalty nor uncharacteristic rain in the Sonoran Desert could keep Brad Keselowski out of Victory Lane on Saturday at ISM Raceway.

In winning the DC Solar 200 in his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the season, Keselowski picked up his second victory at the one-mile track and the 37th of his career, fifth most all-time.

The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford beat Justin Allgaier to the finish line by .530 seconds in a battle that saw Keselowski, Allgaier, third-place Kyle Busch and fourth-place Christopher Bell all take turns with the upper hand. 

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | Stage 1 results | Stage 2 results

“It was a solid team effort,” said Keselowski, who led 66 laps, second only to Allgaier’s 76. “I wasn’t perfect today by any stretch of the imagination, but the car was really strong.

“Really, really good for about 50-60 laps. The last 20 laps it would fall off pretty good but the guys made it count. I am really proud of them.” 

The end of the first 45-lap stage, won by Allgaier, brought a red flag for rain lasting 1 hour, 34 minutes, 57 seconds. When racing resumed under caution, Keselowski drew a penalty for speeding on pit road and restarted on Lap 53 at the back of the field.

That paved the way for Busch to win Stage 2 — which ended in a one-lap shootout after a rain delay of 25 minutes, 21 seconds — as Keselowski worked his way back to third position. The final stage ran caution-free for 104 laps, with plenty of ebb and flow between the contending drivers.

Staggered pit strategies put Allgaier in the lead for the final restart on Lap 97, but Keselowski overtook him on Lap 143. With an excellent long-run car, Bell fought his way into the lead on Lap 164, passing Keselowski in a side-by-side drag race to the stripe.

But Keselowski regained the top spot on Lap 179 near the end of a long cycle of green flag pit stops and stayed comfortably ahead of Allgaier the rest of the way. 

“It was disheartening to take the lead and fall back after the pit stop,” said Bell, whose car couldn’t keep up with those of his rivals on fresh tires. “I struggled on the short run getting up to speed, and those guys drove away from me.”

Allgaier found a silver lining in his second-place finish.

“I learned something from Brad running behind him,” said Allgaier, who chipped away at Keselowski’s lead before time ran out. “I was able to run him back down from what I learned.”

Allgaier also gained ground on JR Motorsports teammates Elliott Sadler and Tyler Reddick, who entered the race tied for the series lead. Sadler and Reddick started the event from the back of the field, Sadler because of an engine change and Reddick in a backup car after damaging his primary No. 9 Chevrolet during the first round of qualifying on Saturday. 

Sadler, who ran ninth as the first driver one lap down, retained the series lead by one point over Reddick, who finished 10th. Allgaier is third in the standings, seven points back, and Bell trails the leader by eight points in fourth.

Note: The No. 22 (Keselowski, race winner) and No. 18 (Busch, third-place finisher) teams each had one lug nut not secured after post-race inspection.

Posted on by Staff Report

The DC Solar 200 was halted for a rain delay twice Saturday at ISM Raceway.

The second red flag came Lap 87 of the 200-lap race and lasted for 26 minutes. Kyle Busch led the field in his No. 18 Toyota when the red flag came out for the second time of the day at 6:47 p.m. ET.

The race already had one rain delay of one hour, 35 minutes after 47 laps.

The Xfinity Series race, which began at 4 p.m. ET, was scheduled to last 200 laps on the 1-mile track outside Phoenix. Justin Allgaier held the lead when the red flag came out for rain at 4:44 p.m. ET.

The red flag was lifted at 6:19 p.m. ET.

Allgaier started on the pole in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, and won Stage 1 after leading 24 of the first 47 laps.

Television coverage of the DC Solar 200 moved to FS1 at 6 p.m. ET.

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Martin Truex Jr. will start on the pole for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kevin Harvick has the most wins with eight at the track and is searching for his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win early in 2018. With all three practice sessions for this race in the books, we’ve dissected the numbers and 10-lap averages to offer a look at three drivers worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration as you go to make roster decisions for the fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of 2018.

PLAY NOW: Set your Fantasy Live lineup | How the new Fantasy Live works
MORE: Fantasy analysis for Phoenix | Full lineup | ‘NASCAR America’ picks | 10-lap averages

1. Chase Elliott. Elliott was in the the top three in 10-lap averages for both practice sessions on Saturday and has had speed all weekend long as evidenced by his starting spot of third. He led 140 laps in the last two races at the 1-mile track and his 7.8 average finish at ISM Raceway is the best among Sunday’s field.

2. Alex Bowman. He had the fifth-best 10-lap average in final practice and qualified fourth. The Arizona native knows his way around the 1-mile track as he led 194 laps here in the fall of 2016 from the pole en route to a sixth-place finish. Bowman the Showman is a little more on the high risk, high reward side for fantasy players.

RELATED: Bowman has ‘really good notebook’ for home state race

3. Aric Almirola. I touted Almirola as a sleeper heading into the race weekend and I am not backing away from that. He was fourth on the board in final practice and had the third-best 10-lap average in that session. He didn’t qualify well (22nd) but he qualified in that same spot last fall in the No. 43 and finished ninth in that race.

RJ Kraft’s revised Fantasy Live lineup following practices and qualifying:
1: Kevin Harvick
2: Denny Hamlin
3: Chase Elliott
4: Kyle Larson
5: Erik Jones
Garage: Alex Bowman

Analysis: I’m making two changes from my original lineup. One is for Kyle Larson in for Joey Logano, and the other is my garage driver (detailed below). I scripted out certain driver usages and I had Kevin Harvick earmarked for the past three races (Atlanta to Phoenix). He’s too good at Phoenix — his eight wins are the track record — and he posted the best 10-lap average in final practice (while also leading both Saturday practices). Hamlin led 193 laps last fall at Phoenix and topped the 10-lap board in second practice. Outside of short tracks, not sure where else I will use him, so going with the play here. Elliott is strong here — see reasons above — and I have yet to use him. Larson will be on the front row and has two top-three finishes in his last three starts there. Jones has a good record here in his young career and the No. 20 car won this race last fall.

For the garage, I went back and forth between Alex Bowman and Aric Almirola. I expect Almirola to be solid and consistent all year in the No. 10 Ford, where as I think Bowman will have peaks and valleys during the season. I think Phoenix will be a peak for him and so I am sticking him in my garage and will see how he runs in the first two stages.

As for why I am staying away from Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch … I happen to like my opportunities with the Toyota drivers at other tracks coming up — notably Fontana and Martinsville in the next two weeks — a bit better. Because I have gone heavy on Harvick early in 2018, I am trying to be a little more conservative with some of the other top drivers. I plotted out my usage for the defending series champion Truex at the start of the year. While the pole gives me something to think about, I’m inclined to stay the course based on his overall numbers at ISM Raceway. I want him for all the 1.5-mile tracks, plus Darlington, Dover and likely New Hampshire.

Remember to set your roster and bonus picks ahead of Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. ET start time and to keep tabs on your team during the race with the ability to go to the garage locking at the completion of Stage 2.


Posted on by Brad Norman

Peace and quiet … while flying over sand dunes at top speeds.

That’s Kyle Busch’s idea of relaxation.

MORE: Complete Phoenix lineup | Drivers to win in all three national series

The Joe Gibbs driver is making the most of the NASCAR Goes West swing as he took to the desert with his Toyota Racing family in his hometown of Las Vegas.

Samantha Busch even tries her hand behind the wheel. She wasn’t going to let her husband have all the fun.