Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Three races into the NASCAR Cup Series season, the performance of Kyle Busch’s pit crew hasn’t matched the two-time champion’s prowess on the track.

Following pit road mistakes that cost Busch dearly last Sunday at Las Vegas, Richard Childress Racing made wholesale changes to the over-the-wall crew on the No. 8 Chevrolet.

RELATED: Logano tops Cup practice | Hamlin lands 41st career pole

Shiloh Windsor replaces Michael Russell as front tire changer, Michael Johnson takes Chris Jackson’s spot as rear tire changer, and Doug Warwick replaces Garrett Crall as jackman. All three new crew members are full-time competitors in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, on the cars of Anthony Alfredo, Austin Hill and Parker Kligerman, respectively.

All three also will continue in their Xfinity Series roles. The tire changers will have to adapt to single-lug Cup cars from the Xfinity cars, which still use five lugs per wheel.

You can forgive Busch if he isn’t thoroughly familiar with the circumstances of the changes. Warwick will be the third jackman on the car in four races this season.

“I don’t have any idea of where guys are coming from, what their background is or what their experience is,” Busch said before Friday’s practice at Phoenix. “I always just kind of assume that the Cup guys were the Xfinity guys, so news to me. We’ll find out how good they are come around (3:30 p.m. ET) on Sunday.”

Last Sunday, Busch slid though his pit box as he tried to compensate for the pit crew’s performance. Because the crew serviced the car with the splitter barely over the line, he was penalized for pitting outside the box and relegated to a 26th-place finish.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

During a media availability in late January previewing the 2024 NASCAR season, Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson hyped the manufacturer’s new body with the updated short-track package, fresh for ’24 as well. With Toyota drivers Christopher Bell and Erik Jones being the guinea pigs amidst a two-day test at Phoenix Raceway in December, the manufacturer was quickest in each session, Wilson recalled.

Qualifying, however, was a mixed bag, though Toyota did take up four of the top six spots and won its first pole of the season (and 150th in history) with Denny Hamlin. With extended practice this weekend, heavily consider 10-lap averages when creating a fantasy lineup.

FANTASY: Set your lineup | Phoenix 36 for 36 picks

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Denny Hamlin

Starter 2: Ty Gibbs

Starter 3: Ryan Blaney

Starter 4: William Byron

Starter 5: Ross Chastain

Garage pick: Erik Jones

NEXT IN LINE: Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott

RISING: Legacy Motor Club is on the rise. There were expected growing pains with the organization transitioning from Chevrolet to Toyota, but collectively, this is the most speed the team has shown up to the race track with what feels like forever. John Hunter Nemechek ranked fourth in one-lap speed, while Jones wasn’t far behind in sixth. Their pace didn’t fall off over the long haul, either, ranking third and fifth, respectively. You might want more data points and consistency before using one of their drivers at a track like Phoenix, but Jones has moved into my garage pick.

Granted, it was with last year’s short-track package, but Gibbs dominated the Busch Light Clash on a quarter-mile bullring in the preseason. Phoenix is quadruple the size, but the No. 54 team excelled on short tracks and road courses in Gibbs’ rookie season last year as well. Gibbs will take the green flag from second position, matching his best career starting spot.

FALLING: When a car misses the setup unloading off the hauler, it’s not uncommon for the entire organization to be a step behind. That’s what happened to Richard Childress Racing on Friday. Kyle Busch led the way for RCR, deep down in 26th on 10-lap averages. Austin Dillon clocked in 31st. The good news is Phoenix isn’t an impound race, so adjustments can be made with an eye on improvement for Sunday.

Starting from 17th position at a venue where track position is critical, Larson will have an uphill battle to duplicate his performance from Las Vegas last weekend. He did score maximum points in Sin City, however, in a bout of pure domination. Larson’s numbers at Phoenix are equally unreal, but I’ve moved him to my bench this weekend, knowing he will likely be a threat again at Bristol next week.

FEATURED MATCHUPS:

Ryan Blaney vs. Ross Chastain: Both drivers underdelivered in qualifying, as neither made the final round. Both drivers tracked similarly in practice on the short and long run. Chastain is the most recent winner in the Phoenix desert, but Blaney’s strung together five straight top-five finishes … and also won the championship there last fall. I still believe he’s going to be a factor from 16th; he started 15th last fall, so he’s the pick.

Denny Hamlin vs. Chase Elliott: With how well Hamlin’s car fires off, the No. 11 car is going to be hard to beat on Sunday. That said, Toyota has led a scant 15 laps in the four Next Gen races at Phoenix. Elliott looked solid in practice and possibly overachieved in qualifying, and he will take the green flag from third. Hamlin is the pick, though.

Kyle Busch vs. Christopher Bell: By Joe Gibbs Racing’s standards, Bell’s numbers at Phoenix show relative inconsistency. Toyota has too much speed this weekend to bet against the No. 20 car, however. We highlighted RCR’s struggles in practice, and the No. 8 team welcomed three new members to the pit crew ahead of this weekend. Busch can wheel just about anything around any type of track to the limit, but he starts a distant 31st. Go with Bell.

Ty Gibbs vs. Alex Bowman: It feels like at any moment, Gibbs will strike for his first series victory. This could be the weekend for that. Bowman was average in practice and had a discouraging 25th-place qualifying run. Gibbs is the heavy favorite here.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Denny Hamlin was convinced he had to improve his performance at Phoenix Raceway, and on Saturday afternoon, he took the first step in that direction.

Touring the 1-mile track in 27.138 seconds (132.655 seconds) in the final round of qualifying, Hamlin put his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the pole for Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos | Weekend schedule

Hamlin, who hasn’t won at Phoenix since 2019, beat JGR teammate Ty Gibbs (132.227 mph) by 0.088 seconds for the top starting spot in the fourth NASCAR Cup Series event of the season.

“I’m really trying to get better at this place,” Hamlin said after securing his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his third at Phoenix and the 41st of his career, 13th-most all-time.

“If we want to make a run at a championship — and you’ve got to win it through Phoenix — you’ve got to get better at Phoenix.”

The pole position was the 150th for Toyota in the Cup Series, with Hamlin accounting for 36 of those. His first five poles came in Chevrolets before Joe Gibbs Racing switched to Toyota. Included in that group of five was Hamlin’s first career pole, at Phoenix in 2005.

Unlike the rest of his final-round competitors, who made sharp cuts across the front stretch dogleg, Hamlin took a more conservative approach and benefitted from a more favorable angle into Turn 1 on his money lap.

“I was kind of 50-50 on it,” Hamlin explained. “I didn’t cut it in the first round, but we consistently saw that I was about a half-car-length behind entering Turn 1, but my angle was better.

“That was a very indecisive decision — ‘OK, I won’t go all the way, but I won’t stay where I was,’ and it netted out in a good position where I was able to cut a little bit but also keep my angle into Turn 1.”

Chase Elliott (132.144 mph), winless since the fall Talladega race in 2022, qualified third in his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, followed by Toyota drivers Erik Jones and Daytona 500 winner William Byron.

Tyler Reddick was sixth fastest, ahead of Noah Gragson in the top Ford, followed by Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell and Sunoco rookie Carson Hocevar.

Hamlin’s pole-winning run broke a streak of three straight poles to open the season by Ford drivers.

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Donning a hoodie and jeans, Chase Elliott entered the media center following Friday’s 50-minute Cup Series practice session at Phoenix Raceway insouciant about how the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet fired off the hauler.

Despite putting down the seventh-quickest lap around the 1-mile oval, the 2020 Cup champion trudged through discussing how his car felt and how Sunday’s race would play out (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Instead, Elliott deferred to opening up about where his mindset is early into the 2024 season versus the end of 2023.

RELATED: Phoenix weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

Elliott crossed the finish line of last season 16th at Phoenix and 17th in points after missing the postseason for the first time in his career. While 2023 involved recovery from a fractured leg around this time last year, the numbers were still so-so for the perennial title contender.

Elliott’s best finish in the final four races of 2023 was 15th. After the sun gave way to desert twilight, signaling the end of the 2023 season, Elliott had already started thinking about 2024.

“At that point, obviously, our season was all been over and we were just trying to think about this year, or at least I was, you know and just trying to think about what I could do to drive the car in a better way that suits the way it wants to be driven,” Elliott said. “I wasn’t necessarily spent. Yeah, I was frustrated at different times. But I mean, I could be frustrated today and you wouldn’t know it so it’s some days I might show a little more than others.

“But it’s not because I don’t want to be here. It’s not because I don’t want to do good. In fact, it’s really the exact opposite. It’s because I do want to do well and it’s because I do care. And you know you can take that for whatever you want, but I, I just want to be good at my job.”

Elliott’s casual demeanor slowly turned into one of reminiscing and what drives him to compete.

It’s been 37 races since Elliott’s last trip to Victory Lane at Talladega in the fall of 2022. Any driver wants to get back to winning as soon as possible but as Elliott shares that sentiment, he’s taking every stride with purpose no matter how long it may take him to snag his next checkered flag.

“I’m a pretty realistic person and I kind of look at things for what they are probably too much some days,” Elliott said. “But I think that I recognize that things aren’t just going to get better overnight. I have known that for a period of time now and at the end of the day, I don’t know how many steps there are to getting to where you need to go. I think until you encounter that entire journey, I don’t think anyone really knows. But I’m willing to take however many steps it takes to get there and I think that’s the bottom line of the importance of what matters.”

That first step on the journey came last weekend at Las Vegas as the No. 9 team got the first look at what their car can do outside of a superspeedway this season. A 12th-place finish isn’t the standard neither Elliott nor the team wants but it was a massive improvement over a 32nd-place run at Vegas last fall, and it’s the first point of emphasis marked off the checklist to improve over the course of a 36-race calendar.

“That was our first report card, so I think until we’re just running more races, keep chipping away at it,” Elliott said. “Long ways to go, and hopefully, we can just continue to work in areas that we feel need to be worked on and hope that those areas lend results, and I thought they did a little bit last week. Was it good enough? No. Am I satisfied? No. Was it better than last fall? Yes, it sure was. So I think from that, you know, you just have to take little improvements where you can get them especially when you know you have a lot of work to do.”

With a diverse circuit of tracks every season, Elliott said it’s difficult to pinpoint what individual aspect he wants to improve on most to turn a 12th-place run into a top 10 or better. He’s yet to crack the top 10 on the results sheet through three races this season but consistency has found Elliott seventh in the Cup standings, just 23 points behind points leader and Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson.

On his quest for win No. 19 of his Cup career, Elliott has drawn comparison with another professional athlete — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

MORE: Elliott through the years

In his current victory drought, Elliott can see similarities in the respective drives and chases to be the top guy in their respective sport. Whether it’s coming up short at the track every Sunday or an annual heartbreaking defeat in the postseason at the hands of three-time Super Bowl champion signal-caller Patrick Mahomes, Elliott understands both sides of being the top guy and falling short.

“I think one fortunate piece of my career as we’ve gone through periods of time and we’ve had a lot of success and we’ve also got also gone through periods of time where we haven’t,” Elliott said. “So I think kind of as we’ve gone down this path of having a tough year last year you kind of look at things a little differently and it kind of makes me think about a Josh Allen, a guy that just can’t quite get over that hump, but we all know he’s really good.

“How does he handle having to play Mahomes in the AFC Championship every year? and at some point, he’s gonna beat him. And you know, I think that journey is pretty cool to watch a guy who’s obviously very talented and can do a really good job and works hard at his craft and seems like a good dude. But he’s just just been that little tick off and I think there’s a lot to be learned and gained from that journey probably more so than just watching people dominate.”

Elliott’s current journey is a unique one where he’s not only trying to beat everyone on track but also playing catchup with his teammates as Larson and William Byron have won 13 races combined since Elliott’s last victory, including two of the first three to kickstart 2024.

Getting back to a standard is much easier said than done but Elliott isn’t rushing to force a result and respects the work and discipline it takes for athletes both in and outside of racing to work to the level they want to find.

“I enjoy watching people and I enjoy watching people work hard to be good at their craft and all that’s different,” Elliott said. I enjoy watching it and I respect it because while I might not know everything about it, I know it’s hard and I think that’s all I need to know. It’s hard, and they’re and they’re really good at what they do.”

“Just work hard, you know, make sure you’re putting the time in and pushing yourself in areas that you know you’re weak. You know, I think a lot of times they’re staring you right in the face and you just got to get to push yourself to get uncomfortable.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

AVONDALE, Ariz. — The full-field debut of the 2024 short-track package was the hot topic of conversation after NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday at Phoenix Raceway.

With a simplified rear diffuser and shorter rear spoiler, each vehicle hit the 1-mile tri-oval in advance of Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Drivers were split in how effective the new changes were after 50 minutes of Friday practice.

“I would say that it was probably a little bit better in traffic,” said Denny Hamlin, who was second-fastest in the session. “Very small from what I could tell. Nothing earth-shattering. If you got caught behind somebody, you would really get caught behind someone. But that’s typical of what we had before.”

MORE: Recap Friday’s practice

Martin Truex Jr., his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, felt like the difference may have been negligible at best.

“It felt similar honestly,” Truex said. “I couldn’t really tell. I mean, the teams engineer everything to make the cars close to balanced as they can. So I felt exactly like I did here last fall.”

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, was 25th in single-lap speed but ranked 10th of 18 competitors in 20-lap averages. The spring winner at Phoenix in 2022 said he noticed some different reactions over the course of a run.

“I thought you could run a little more sideways a little bit easier on exit,” Briscoe told NASCAR.com. “And for me, I didn’t get around a lot of cars, but I thought when guys were around me, they could get a little bit closer and not pay as big of a penalty as normal. It’s hard to say until we all get out there. But definitely from where we brake at and all that, I figured that was all going to be backed up. It was the same as always. But yeah, I think it will be better than what we had.”

A closer look at the 2024 aerodynamic package using the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at Phoenix Raceway.
James Armas | For NASCAR.com

In addition to the new aerodynamic package, Goodyear has brought tires with thicker treads to Phoenix designed to keep more heat in the tires on short tracks in hopes to increase lap-time fall-off.

“Any time you can have your lap-time variability from good to bad from new (tires) to old, you’re going to see more passing,” Hamlin said. “So the more we can create that, the better the drivers are going to have a hand in their finish on any given weekend.”

With a new aerodynamic package and tire combination comes renewed work for the crew chiefs tasked with setting up the vehicle for their drivers. Todd Gilliland in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was 30th-best in single-lap speed and ranked the same in 10-lap averages. Crew chief Ryan Bergenty said any obvious differences in how the fresh combo will race will show Sunday rather than during 20-lap runs in practice.

“What we fight is we’re starting to figure out where the line in the sand is for mechanical grip versus aero grip and aero platform,” Bergenty said. “I think as a group, we (Front Row) did a good job coming here with a wide range of what we got. And now we’re in position to be able to hone in to what we think’s gonna be the best for the rest of the weekend.”

Hamlin and his crew chief, Chris Gabehart, ended Friday’s session pleased with the speed in their No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Managing the thicker tire treads will be a priority for everyone come Sunday’s 312-lap feature, but there is a lingering question: How does a driver manage their tires better than the other drivers?

“Certainly, we’re always studying each other, right?” Hamlin said. “I mean, everyone right now is in their hauler studying whoever was the two fastest cars of the day, trying to figure out what they can. Where are they losing speed? Where they need to get their car better to drive like that car that is fastest? So that’s why you see the field so tight.”

“We’re all working in a tighter box and by definition, that makes it easier to converge,” Gabehart added. “And convergence means track position is key. Because physics does matter. So one car behind another, behind another, behind another — the one at the end is gonna go the slowest. Physics is always going to dictate that. So some of this is just what you have. …

“The best drivers will be the best drivers, and the best teams will be the best teams. So I do think this is looking like a step in the right direction.”

A close-up view of Goodyear tires in the Phoenix Raceway garage ahead of NASCAR Cup Series practice.
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR.com

Ford and Toyota each have new bodies for the 2024 season as well, and Friday’s practice proved the Camry XSE to be undeniably quick, with six Toyotas in the top 10 in single-lap speeds and five of the seven best 10-lap averages. Joey Logano, driving the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Dark Horse Mustang, was fastest in single-lap speed and fourth-best on 10-lap averages.

But at what point Sunday will we get a true feel for what these changes have to offer? The first run will be telling, Bergenty and SHR crew chief Rodney Childers said, but Gabehart cautioned it won’t be everything.

“I think this track does tend to tighten up throughout the day, so that first run won’t tell you the whole story, but it will definitely give you an idea,” Gabehart said. “I really think by the second run in Stage 2 — 180 laps into the race, the track’s really took a lot of rubber — that’s when you’ll see the guys that have really got a good handle on this place …  you’ll really see if you’ve got something for them or not.”

Ultimately, Hamlin enters Sunday optimistic for what the on-track product could look like, with hopes for even tighter racing ahead.

“It’s going to be a very, very small change,” Hamlin said, “but anything that can allow us to run closer to each other and to cross each other’s wake without the air-blocking that we’ve seen over the last few weeks, I think that that’ll be a good thing and I certainly think this package (and) this tire is heading in the right direction.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford topped the NASCAR Cup Series leaderboard with a 131.167 mph lap during Friday’s 50-minute practice session at Phoenix Raceway.

Denny Hamlin (131.081 mph), Tyler Reddick (131.066 mph), John Hunter Nemechek (130.985 mph) and Austin Cindric (130.976 mph) rounded out the top five.

RELATED: Practice results | At-track photos

Erik Jones (130.776 mph), Chase Elliott (130.747 mph), Christopher Bell (130.331 mph), Bubba Wallace (130.222 mph) and Carson Hocevar (130.199 mph) completed the top 10.

Practice came to a temporary halt when Daniel Hemric spun his No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, making contact with the outside wall in Turn 4. In the closing minutes of practice, Tyler Reddick went around in Turn 2 after losing control of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota.

This session marked the debut of the 2024 short-track rules package, allowing teams and drivers to have extended time to collect valuable data. A two-day test at the 1-mile Arizona track in December with six teams in attendance additionally provided an opportunity to amass feedback for changes made to the aerodynamic package.

MORE: 2024 Cup Series rules package for short tracks, road courses

The Cup Series will get back on track for qualifying on Saturday (2:10 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Steve Luvender

NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Phoenix Raceway. 

With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: Once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name. 

Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess. 

We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?

Standings after Race 3:

RankNamePointsBehind
T-1Steve Luvender284—
T-1Dustin Albino284—
3Cameron Richardson235-49
4r/NASCAR Community219-65

Race 4 of 36: Phoenix

Las Vegas wasn’t particularly kind to our pickers, as Vegas tends to sometimes go. Steve Luvender’s points lead crumbled a bit after his Kyle Busch pick went south, and the No. 8 finished 26th after leading 18 laps. Dustin Albino, Cameron Richardson and the r/NASCAR subreddit all went with 2022 race winner Alex Bowman, who had a quiet afternoon and came home 18th. 

How will our panel play Phoenix? It’s a unique track — the shortest and flattest so far in 2024 — yet it’s only three points-paying races removed from the 2023 championship race.

Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 12, Ryan Blaney

Dustin’s pick last week (Las Vegas): No. 48, Alex Bowman
Points earned last week: 22 (18th-place finish)
Total season points: 52 (third place)

Dustin: With three mediocre runs to start the 2024 season, it’s time for me to start swinging for the fence. When the Cup Series visited Phoenix in the fall, it was Blaney standing tall as the 2023 Cup Series champion. The last five Phoenix races have all resulted in top-five efforts for the No. 12 team. The last three races have all been runner-up finishes for Blaney. Maybe he’s the next Kevin Harvick of Phoenix?

NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 41, Ryan Preece

Steve’s pick last week (Las Vegas): No. 8, Kyle Busch
Points earned last week: 18 (26th-place finish)
Total season points: 89 (first place)

Steve: Since I got burned last week, I’m returning to my strategy of bargain hunting — identifying a driver with better-than-average results at a particular track. This week, it’s Ryan Preece. Preece drove the No. 41 to a 12th-place finish in last year’s Phoenix spring race and came home 14th in the championship race. He won’t be part of my Fantasy Live lineup, but his recent Phoenix results are markedly better than his 20.8 average finish since joining Stewart-Haas Racing. Preece’s teammate Josh Berry was among those I considered for this week for similar reasons, but I’m planning to save rookie drivers for later in the year when they get a bit more acclimated. For now, it’s Preece Lightning, baby. Head, shoulders, Preece and toes. Sorry, I’ll Preece and desist now.

NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 14, Chase Briscoe

Cameron’s pick last week (Las Vegas): No. 48, Alex Bowman
Points earned last week: 22 (18th-place finish)
Total season points: 40 (fourth place)

Cameron: It’s a long shot for this weekend, but I liked the speed both Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson had at Las Vegas last week. Briscoe has been strong at the 1-mile Phoenix oval, scoring three top 10s in the four Next Gen races at the track, highlighted by his maiden Cup Series victory in the spring of 2022. I’m looking for a big swing in points on Sunday, so hopefully, my fellow competitors won’t follow suit with taking Briscoe.

r/NASCAR Community: No. 14, Chase Briscoe


r/NASCAR’s pick last week (Las Vegas): No. 48, Alex Bowman
Points earned last week: 22 (18th-place finish)
Total season points: 59 (second place)

The NASCAR subreddit went with one of their own in the weekly voting thread — Chase Briscoe, a regular r/NASCAR participant. Briscoe, of course, won at Phoenix in 2022.

u/LeapsFrog: “This is definitely the time to pick Briscoe. Phoenix is his best track and I don’t want to wait till the final race for him. Also Fords are supposed to be stronger on Short Tracks compared to other track types so picking a Stewart Haas driver would be a great start for the first short track.”

u/ChaseTheFalcon: “This is absolutely the correct pick, he’s always in the mix late at this track”

u/michigan_matt: “Briscoe’s one win is at Phoenix and he has three top 7s in his past four races there. In order, his best tracks in terms of driver rating are Road America, Bristol Dirt, Indy Road Course, Martinsville, Phoenix. The top 3 are all now off the schedule, and Martinsville has a multitude of drivers to pick from. This week is Briscoe’s.”

Check back next week to see how our pickers fared at Phoenix as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.

And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!

Posted on by Press Release

PHOENIX — Hot on the (w)heels of Raising Cane’s newly launched campaign featuring NASCAR’s first Arab American female driver Toni Breidinger, the race car driver and Victoria’s Secret model took it back to where it all started in honor of International Women’s Day.

Yesterday morning, Toni and her twin sister Annie – a woman in STEM who’s a car engineer for OEM – hosted 13 aspiring young female drivers at Phoenix Kart Racing Association (PKRA), where the duo raced annually as kids and Toni won her first go-kart race. All with a shared passion for speed, Toni, Annie and the lucky racers spent the morning zipping around the track, eating box combos and sharing personal stories and experiences.

Toni Breidinger
(Photo: Tyler Cresser)

To kick off the event, Toni and Annie conducted a Q&A session and discussed how they got to where they are in their respective careers – both crushing stereotypes and inspiring women around the world as they lead the pack in the male-dominated industries of NASCAR and engineering.

The girls also asked about how Toni handled setbacks throughout her career, who she admired most in the sport, and what the future held for her.

“I truly believe seeing is believing, so being able to get involved and hopefully inspire the next generation of women in motorsports is really special to me,” Breidinger said. “I started my racing journey in Go Karts, so I know what it’s like to be in these girls’ position. I’m excited to share with them what I’ve learned on my journey so far and help them along with theirs.”

Before any rubber met the road, Toni presented the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) with a $100,000 check in honor of both International Women’s Day and Toni, who is a WSF Athlete Ambassador.

Founded by sports icon and social justice pioneer Billie Jean King in 1974, WSF is one of the first organizations to recognize the powerful connection between sports access, equity and society. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the Foundation exists to enable girls and women to reach their potential in sport and life.

Toni, like many impactful women athletes, has worked with WSF for years to help pave the way for the next generation.

Toni Breidinger
(Photo: Tyler Cresser)

“We are honored to have Toni as part of the WSF family, and we will never stop cheering her on as she goes fast, takes chances, and inspires the next generation to keep racing,” said WSF CEO Danette Leighton. “We are grateful for Raising Cane’s donation to our critical work in Toni’s honor that will help us continue to work towards a future where all girls and women can play, compete and lead – this Women’s History Month and beyond – without barriers.”

The event was part of a larger campaign from Raising Cane’s, which features Toni and is focused on speed and accuracy – two things at which Toni excels. As a lifelong fan of Raising Cane’s and good friend of Raising Cane’s owner Todd Graves, the partnership between Toni and the brand was poised for “pole position” right out of the gate.

Toni Breidinger
(Photo: Tyler Cresser)

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to not only partner with Toni again, but begin a partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation, which is close to Toni’s heart and helps young girls realize their potential through sports,” said Graves. “Toni embodies hard work, perseverance and tenacity, and is a role model for women around the world as she continues paving her own way in sports and culture.

“I admire her both as an athlete and friend, and when she mentioned the great work the Women’s Sports Foundation has done and will continue to do, I knew it would be a great fit for us to honor this Foundation for International Women’s Day and in the future.”

Driving a Raising Cane’s-branded car, Toni will race in Friday’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway, where she’s one of four women drivers in the field.

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — TRICON Garage announced today that CARS Tour late model stock car standout Brenden “Butterbean” Queen will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway behind the wheel of the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

The Chesapeake, Virginia, driver had a breakout campaign in 2023 earning four victories, 13 top-fives and 15 top-10s in CARS Tour competition en route to a second-place finish in the series points standings.

Beyond the CARS Tour, Queen captured his second Hampton Heat triumph at Langley Speedway and scored victories in the Battle of the Stars at All-American Speedway and the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park.

Queen’s No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro will carry primary sponsorship from Best Repair Company, a full-service mechanical and electrical repair and maintenance provider based in Norfolk, Virigina. Longtime racing supporter Leith Cars will also be featured in an associate role.

“I have been dreaming of this since I started racing go karts at six years old,” said Queen. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to team up with TRICON and Toyota to make my Truck Series debut at the track that put my name on the map last year.”