Analysis: Strong showing at Phoenix sets Kevin Harvick up well for career finale

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Sean Montgomery

It wasn’t the finish Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team wanted on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, but it may have given them the confidence they needed to end Harvick’s career on the highest note possible — with a Cup Series championship.

The 23-year veteran pushed his historic top-10 record even further Sunday, reeling off his 20th consecutive top-10 finish at the Arizona track with 36 laps led and a fifth-place showing. In fact, he was just a handful of laps away from capturing his 10th win and becoming the first driver to reach double-digit trips to Victory Lane at the track before Harrison Burton’s spin ushered out the caution and re-racked the field.

Eventually, the toughest decision of the race hampered Harvick’s chances of earning his first win of the season: four tires in favor of two right-side tires.

But to Harvick, the eventual outcome is hindsight.

“It’s what I would have done,” Harvick said of crew chief Rodney Childers’ four-tire call. “I’d always rather be on offense.

“I just didn’t get a couple cars when that first caution came out. Kind of lost our chance. Still thought I had a chance there at the end. Those cars were quite a bit slower. They get all jammed up. That’s the way it goes. Just smoked ’em up until the caution. They did a great job with our Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang. Didn’t need the caution at the end.”

Still, it’s clear the No. 4 team is on a mission to send the 2014 premier series champion out with another title trophy — it’s not just a farewell tour.

Through four races this season, the team has an average finish of 7.75 compared to 13.75 at this point in 2022. And despite the victory slipping through their fingers at Phoenix, most of their season goals are still in front of them.

If history holds true, the agony of losing a race by such a slim margin will fuel “The Closer” more than anything.

Can’t keep The Closer away for long. pic.twitter.com/1AgS8AA7ZI

— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) March 12, 2023

Though the debut of the revamped short-track package stymied some in the field, Harvick proved his prowess at Phoenix rises above all and continued his decade-long dominance at the 1-mile desert circuit. His records — most wins (nine), most top fives (20), most top 10s (30) and most laps led (1,699) — will likely be untouched for a long time.

ICYMI: Harvick announces his retirement after 2023 | Heading to the FOX Sports booth

Sunday’s success proved that if he can capture his sixth Championship 4 appearance when the series returns in November, he could be in for a storybook ending to a Hall of Fame career. One of NASCAR’s best drivers at his best track may be the perfect recipe for success.

There is still a long way to go this season, but what Sunday revealed is that one thing is clear: To win at Phoenix, you will likely need to beat a hungry Harvick at his best — and though it’s possible, it’s easier said than done.

And in the final race of his two-decade-long career, he will surely be hungrier than ever to reach Victory Lane just one more time.

Posted on March 12, 2023March 12, 2023 by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick hate late-race cautions. William Byron loves them.

After a two-tire call under the fourth caution flag in Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway, Byron surged past Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson in overtime to win his second straight NASCAR Cup Series race.

Byron can thank Ford drivers Aric Almirola and Harrison Burton, who on successive weekends spun with a handful of laps left — at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix, respectively — and gave Byron a chance to capitalize on the opportunity.

As a result, Byron scored his second victory of the season and a guaranteed ticket into the Cup Series Playoffs. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet won for the first time at Phoenix and for the sixth time in his career.

Byron credited crew chief Rudy Fugle with the two-tire call that got him out front with a chance to win.

“Owe the last couple weeks to him,” said Byron, who also won at Las Vegas on two fresh tires. “He’s done a really good job strategy-wise, and execution-wise we’ve done a good job to put ourselves in those positions on the front row with a shot at the end.

“Thanks to everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports, putting together great cars, doing a great job. This is a big credit to them, engine shop, (team owner, Rick) Hendrick, everybody.”

Harvick leaves his best track with a mountain of frustration as tall as spectator-friendly Rattlesnake Hill at the east end of the 1-mile speedway. That he posted his 20th straight top 10 at Phoenix — a Cup Series record for a single track — was of scant consolation.

“It’s what I would have done,” Harvick said of crew chief Rodney Childers’ four-tire call. “I’d always rather be on offense. I just didn’t get a couple cars when that first caution came out. Kind of lost our chance. Still thought I had a chance there at the end. Those cars were quite a bit slower. They get all jammed up.

“That’s the way it goes. Just smoked ’em up until the caution. They did a great job with our Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang. Didn’t need the caution at the end.”

Harvick had a commanding lead when Burton spun at the start/finish line on Lap 302 of 312. Harvick took four new tires on the ensuing pit stop but came out seventh behind Larson, Byron, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin — all of whom opted for two tires.

ANALYSIS: Why Harvick could be set up perfectly for finale

Larson took the lead on a Lap 310 restart, but an accident on the backstretch involving Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger forced overtime, and Byron grabbed the lead after the restart on Lap 316. Blaney and Tyler Reddick, who had taken four tires, also got past Larson during the two-lap overtime to finish second and third, with Larson holding fourth. Harvick came home fifth after leading 36 laps.

For the first two stages, it appeared Larson and Byron would decide the race between them. Byron grabbed the lead from his teammate on Lap 2 and held it thought the end of Stage 1 on Lap 60. During the stage break, Larson regained the top spot under caution, taking advantage of the No. 1 pit stall he earned for winning the pole on Saturday.

Larson dominated the second stage on the way to leading a race-high 201 laps. But Harvick beat Byron off pit road for the second position during the Stage 2 break and kept Larson in his sights. After an exchange of green-flag pit stops that saw Harvick gain considerable ground, Harvick closed on Larson.

With NASCAR’s new lower-downforce competition package in use for the first time, the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet struggled in traffic, and Harvick closed in. When Larson had difficulty passing Justin Haley and Austin Cindric in succession, Harvick was on his bumper.

On Lap 269, Harvick made the pass for the lead and pulled away to an advantage of nearly four seconds before Burton’s spin slowed the field. Though Larson held the lead after one late restart, the second time proved the charm for Byron.

RACE REWIND: Best moments, highlights from dramatic race in Phoenix

For the second straight week, Larson was frustrated. At Las Vegas, he lost a big lead when Almirola hit the wall. At Phoenix, he was mad at himself.

“Restarts are just tough,” Larson said. “I felt like I ran William up pretty high. I was expecting him to lose some grip. But he did a really good job of holding it to my outside, clearing me down the back.

“Yeah, I’m pissed off. Great fight by the team, great car — way better than we were here last year. Yeah, I mean, it’s a long season, but hopefully we’re in the final four (Championship 4 race) when we come back here in November and can have a run similar to that with speed and try to execute a little bit better at the end.”

Christopher Bell ran sixth, and defending race winner Chase Briscoe finished seventh after a slow start. Kyle Busch was eighth, and Hendrick drivers Alex Bowman and Josh Berry (subbing for injured Chase Elliott) were ninth and 10th. Bowman has finished in the top 10 in each of the season’s first four races.

Chevrolet drivers have won all four Cup races this season.

Phoenix concludes the early season West Coast swing, leading up to next weekend’s Ambetter Health 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19. Byron is the defending spring race winner and inaugural winner on the reconfigured and repaved Atlanta layout.

Note: Post-race inspection after the NASCAR Cup Series race concluded without issue, confirming Byron as the winner. The Nos. 20 and 1 will be brought back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on March 12, 2023March 13, 2023 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.

Monday, March 13
1:15 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 2023 United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Tuesday, March 14
4 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: 2023 United Rentals 200 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS2
6 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 2023 United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock

Wednesday, March 15
3 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 2023 United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: 2023 United Rentals 200 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: 75 Years of Racing (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock

Thursday, March 16
9:15 a.m., IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup: Sebring Race 1, Peacock
10 a.m., NASCAR Greatest Races: 2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2
1 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Atlanta (re-air), FS2
1:20 p.m., IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge: Sebring Race, Peacock
2 p.m., The Day: Atlanta 1992 (re-air), FS2
5:35 p.m., IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup: Sebring Race 2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
7 p.m., The Day: Atlanta 1992 (re-air), FS1
9 p.m., The Day: Atlanta 1992 (re-air), FS2

Friday, March 17
9:15 a.m., IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship: Sebring Qualifying, Peacock
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Atlanta (re-air), FS2
Noon, NASCAR Greatest Races: 2005 Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2
Noon, NASCAR Pace Lap, MAVTV
3 p.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR Pace Lap (re-air), MAVTV
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Saturday, March 18
3 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., The Day: Atlanta 1992 (re-air), FS2
10 a.m., IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship: 12 Hours of Sebring Race P1, Peacock
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: 2023 Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Xfinity Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
4:30 p.m., IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship: 12 Hours of Sebring Race P2, USA
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: 2023 RAPTOR 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
11:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: 2023 RAPTOR 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: 2023 Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sunday, March 19
2 a.m., NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: 2023 Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
6:30 a.m., The Day: Atlanta 1992 (re-air), FS1
7:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive: Atlanta (re-air), FS1
8 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: 2023 RAPTOR 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FOX
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 2023 Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FOX

Posted on March 12, 2023March 12, 2023 by Track Release

PHOENIX – This is what you call a trend worth touting.

Phoenix Raceway announced today that the grandstands are sold out for the United Rentals Work United 500. It marks the fourth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series sellout at Phoenix Raceway and serves as a testament to the strong demand for its brand of side-by-side racing.

Now, three of the first four races of this historic 75th anniversary season have sold out, including the season-opening Daytona 500 and the Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

RELATED: Cup schedule | At-track photos: Phoenix

“Not only do we have a world-class facility, we have world-class fans who continue to support it in record strength,” said Phoenix Raceway President Latasha Causey, who made history this weekend as the first African American female track president in NASCAR history. “I’m humbled and honored to serve such a passionate fanbase who began arriving on Monday and have stayed to make this weekend one we’ll remember for a long time to come.”

Fans can still upgrade their tickets today to include the FanShield Infield Experience, and a limited number of Hillside tickets remain and can be purchased on site. They should also act now to secure their seats for NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Nov. 3-5, as last year’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race sold out in May.

Fans looking to buy or sell reserved seats for the United Rentals Work United 500 should visit the Official Ticket Marketplace of NASCAR, SeatGeek. For more information on United Rentals Work United 500 tickets on SeatGeek, visit here.

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Nick Giffen

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

The new low-downforce aerodynamic package is front and center for today’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

With the new package drivers are talking about how the cars are slipping and sliding around. That leaves more to the drivers’ control, while at the same time creating enhanced tire wear compared to past races here.

MORE: Bell on new package: ‘I really like it’ | Explaining the new setup

This means that practice data becomes quite relevant.

Fortunately, we have an abundance of that from the 50-minute practice session NASCAR gave teams on Friday.

Combing through that data, as well as applying track and similar track history, I’ve found one group bet that really stands out based on the latest NASCAR odds.

NASCAR Odds, Pick for Phoenix

Group D at DraftKings consists of the following four drivers, with each’s NASCAR odds to win the group in parenthesis:

Brad Keselowski (+110)
Erik Jones (+240)
Austin Cindric (+450)
Aric Almirola (+500)

To me, Almirola’s price tag stands out like a sore thumb.

First, Almirola is very good at short, flat tracks. He’s finished inside the top 10 in 17 of 35 races (48.6%) at this track type with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

That jumps to 15 of 28 (53.6%) in low-downforce years (removing 2019) and further increases to 12 of 20 races (60%) if we count last year as a higher-downforce year.

Undoubtedly, the short, flat tracks are Almirola’s best track type outside of the superspeedways.

Turning our eyes toward practice, Almirola once again looked competitive compared to this group.

While he didn’t fire off on the short run quite as well as Keselowski, he was in the same range as Cindric and Jones over five consecutive laps.

Where Almirola really shined, though, was on the long run.

Over 15 consecutive laps in practice, Almirola topped this group. What’s more, the falloff in average lap time was the smallest among this quartet.

As a result, Almirola had the second-best 10-lap, and best 15- and 20-lap time in this group.

Books likely lengthened his NASCAR odds here thanks to his 31st-place qualifying effort.

But all of SHR struggled in qualifying, which is likely a result of their focus on the long run.

Should we get a long green flag run to end this, it’s quite possible Almirola tops this group.

I have all four drivers back-to-back in my model in win and top-10 probability, so let’s roll with the one with the longest NASCAR odds.

The Bet: Aric Almirola (+500) to Win Group D | Bet to: +400

Posted on March 12, 2023March 12, 2023 by Andrew Lawrence

Craig Manson has always been fascinated with his great uncle Elias Bowie. Pronounced like buoy (read: not like the car crazy rock god), Bowie was the star in the family, the larger-than-life character who pulled up to gatherings in beautiful Cadillac cars and stepped out dressed head-to-toe in his Sunday finest. Some of Manson’s fondest memories of growing up in the ’50s are of granduncle regaling him with tales of his adventures in and around the Bay Area, where Bowie ran a variety of transportation businesses.

“He loved to speed, he loved his Cadillacs and he loved wearing his fedora,” says 68-year-old Manson — a retired lawyer, judge and professor. And yet he couldn’t help thinking that there was so much more to his great uncle’s story that Bowie had left out.

Photo courtesy of Craig Manson

Manson’s suspicions were finally confirmed in 2006, a year after Bowie’s death at 94. While fact-finding for an extensive family genealogy project, Manson stumbled upon an Aug. 1, 1955, article in the San Mateo (Calif.) Times about a stock-car race that had taken place over the prior weekend at Bay Meadows Speedway — a mile-long dirt oval that opened as a horse racing facility in 1934, and where NASCAR raced on the same track as the ponies.

Lee Petty, Marvin Panch and Buck Baker were just a few of the NASCAR luminaries who started the 250-lap Grand National feature. In the end Tim Flock took the checkers ahead of 33 cars in front of 15,000 spectators. Finishing in 28th place was Bowie, Manson’s father’s uncle. It might not have seemed like much of a result on paper at the time, but its discovery years later would rewrite NASCAR history.

Bowie, you see, was Black. And by finishing that race in San Mateo, that technically makes Bowie six months earlier to NASCAR than Charlie Scott — the man long believed to have been the first Black driver to start a Cup race.

Manson’s discovery does less to correct matters than provide clarity.

“It’s really hard to trace some of that early history of African-American drivers,” says NASCAR historian Ken Martin. “In the first decade or so, a lot of drivers would just show up for one race, and there was no check mark on the entry for your race or ethnicity.”

MORE: NASCAR Diversity

Scott was a typical one-off. He entered the 1956 road-course race on Daytona Beach with Carl Kiekhaefer’s powerhouse outfit as one of their six drivers and finished 19th after qualifying five spots higher. That same day Charlie Scott is photographed shaking hands with Wendell Scott (no relation) — the Cup Series mainstay who is rightly recognized as stock-car racing’s Jackie Robinson.

From the driver’s seat, Charlie Scott shakes hands with Wendell Scott. | Getty Images

And while the photo predates Wendell’s official NASCAR debut in 1961, the Scott family contends Wendell’s career actually started in the late 1940s on short tracks in Virginia and the Carolinas.

“Wendell was already racing all over the South, winning state championships, sportsman championships and things like that,” Martin says. “He was already making a name for himself. He just hadn’t moved up to the Cup Series yet. You never know what that time with Charlie may have meant to Wendell and how he went ahead and developed his career a few years later.”

Manson, though, isn’t interested as much in debating history as he is marking his great uncle’s place in it. Bowie’s race was just the second Grand National event ever held at Bay Meadows, far more famous as a horse-racing venue. “Back in that period,” says Martin, “they’d race just about anywhere — at fairgrounds, on the beach, on a dirt road course at Willow Springs. The sport was just growing, and it was finding a place to compete.”

Bowie really soaked up his moment in the spotlight. According to legendary promoter Ken Clapp, Bowie and his team drove to the track in their Cadillac race car — removing the back seats, taping the headlights and adding a number in the pits. The San Mateo paper credits Bowie with bringing the largest pit crew, which reportedly included “a lanky double-jointed chap in a green fatigue uniform.” It also notes that he finished the race on a single tank of fuel. No doubt the incredible mileage was helped by a slew of yellow flags for accidents — none more spectacular than the single car that flipped into a turn after a tire came loose.

Even though Bowie survived the afternoon unscathed, like Charlie Scott, he never entered another NASCAR race. It’s a shame. Manson says Bowie fell in love with driving as a teen coming of age on the Texas Gulf Coast in the 1930s. There, he worked as an indentured servant to a white family, cooking and driving. After serving in World War II with the Army, Bowie worked odd jobs to finance his dream of building a chauffeur and transportation empire. In the 1960s he landed at a San Francisco gas station, taking over the joint after about four years. He’d parlay that small fortune into a jitney business running fares up and down Market Street. “I can’t remember how long of a ride that was back then,” Manson says, “but my job one summer was to collect a dime from every rider.”

Photo courtesy of Craig Manson

That success eventually spawned a cab company that covered San Francisco called King Cab, named in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. “Cab medallions were really expensive,” Manson notes. “But he somehow got in with the mayor and got a deal, I don’t know how. But I did come across an article just the other day where a columnist in the San Francisco paper was criticizing the mayor because of some shady dealings in the medallion business.”

Before long, he added a sister company in San Jose that Manson’s parents ran while juggling full-time jobs. All the while Bowie reveled in success, lavishing bride Cleola on San Francisco’s Baker Street and buying himself Cadillacs to match. Often, Manson and his family traveled from their New Mexico home to visit Bowie — whom he remembers as garrulous, jovial and warm.

Bowie’s can-do spirit clearly had an impact on Manson — who, among other legal gigs, served as assistant secretary of the interior under President George W. Bush. If Bowie and his kinfolk seem intent on making a way in spaces that weren’t necessarily geared for them, it’s because trailblazing is in the blood. Prominent among their ancestors is James Bowie, a Louisiana free man who owned property at a time when Black Americans were still enslaved.

More than a century later Bowie would seek out his freedom on the open road, usually behind the wheel of a big Cadillac. His speedy road trips to and from Reno, Nevada, casinos were notorious in the family. “Sometimes on the way back,” says Manson, “his tickets would exceed his winnings.”

When San Francisco drew New York in the 1962 World Series, Bowie drove cross-country to take in a few games at Yankee Stadium. Bowie was doing Cannonball Runs before Burt Reynolds and the gang enshrined those races into car culture lore.

Growing up in New Mexico, Manson regarded Bowie like something out of a Dick Tracy comic. When he found out that there was indeed more to the story, he published a blog post with his findings. Ultimately, his story landed on the radar of motorsports journalist Rebecca Gladden. And it was through her reporting that Bowie’s tale reached NASCAR.

Likely, where Bowie slots into NASCAR’s official history will remain an ongoing discussion. That Manson was able to prove some small part was played by his great uncle — who, despite all his talkativeness, never mentioned his on-track exploits to family — is a victory in and of itself.

“It means quite a bit,” Manson says of Bowie’s recognition. “For one thing, given the history of NASCAR, I’m really glad that they have recognized all the early African-American drivers, including Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace now. Even though my granduncle didn’t really do a lot in the sport, he was the first. As a lawyer I appreciate accuracy.

“I know if Elias Bowie were around, he’d appreciate it very much also.”

Posted on March 12, 2023March 12, 2023 by Staff Report

It’s hard not to start with Kevin Harvick when discussing the NASCAR Cup Series coming to Phoenix Raceway. Harvick’s active streak of 19 straight top-10 finishes at the track is not only tops at Phoenix, but they’re also the best all-time for all tracks. (Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt each had a run of 18 consecutive top-10 finishes at North Wilkesboro Speedway, according to Racing Insights.)

Harvick also leads all drivers with nine career wins at Phoenix. However, despite having all of these gaudy numbers in his favor, Harvick isn’t the only driver to keep a close eye on for Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Besides Harvick, the drivers who also finished in the top 10 in both Phoenix races last year in the Next Gen car were Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe and Ross Chastain.

Briscoe won the spring race, while Logano took home the checkered flag in the fall race to clinch the 2022 Cup Series championship. So, what will happen this time in the second year of the Next Gen car at the always-exciting and always-picturesque jewel in the desert that is Phoenix Raceway?

That’s why we lean on our partners at Racing Insights for their expert analysis in the latest edition of Advance to Victory Lane, sponsored by Advance Auto Parts. Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a winner and full race results.

The projections were updated after a 50-minute practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday.

RYAN BLANEY: Blaney had the most laps run in the top five in 2022 at Phoenix with 546. He also holds the second-longest streak of top-10 finishes at Phoenix with five.

JOEY LOGANO: Logano has three victories at Phoenix, which is tied for tops on his list of most wins at one track. He also spent 342 laps running in the top five last year at Phoenix.

KYLE LARSON: Larson is coming off a tough runner-up finish at Las Vegas, but he looks to have perhaps the top car at Phoenix. The Hendrick Motorsports driver paced practice Friday, then followed up with a Busch Light Pole Award run Saturday.

Projections as of Sunday, March 12:

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE UNITED RENTALS WORK UNITED 500

Finish	Car No.	Driver
1	12	Ryan Blaney
2	22	Joey Logano
3	5	Kyle Larson
4	11	Denny Hamlin
5	4	Kevin Harvick
6	24	William Byron
7	1	Ross Chastain
8	19	Martin Truex Jr.
9	20	Christopher Bell
10	6	Brad Keselowski
11	8	Kyle Busch
12	14	Chase Briscoe
13	43	Erik Jones
14	2	Austin Cindric
15	10	Aric Almirola
16	45	Tyler Reddick
17	99	Daniel Suárez
18	48	Alex Bowman
19	23	Bubba Wallace
20	3	Austin Dillon
21	17	Chris Buescher
22	16	AJ Allmendinger
23	34	Michael McDowell
24	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
25	31	Justin Haley
26	21	Harrison Burton
27	41	Ryan Preece
28	7	Corey LaJoie
29	77	Ty Dillon
30	38	Zane Smith
31	15	Todd Gilliland
32	9	Josh Berry
33	54	Ty Gibbs
34	78	BJ McLeod
35	51	Cody Ware
36	42	Noah Gragson

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Brandon White

LUCAMA, N.C. — Southern National Motorsports Park has long been a special place for veteran racer Deac McCaskill.

From his winning four championships at the facility to his having a section of grandstand named after him, the brief history of Southern National has been intertwined with McCaskill’s growth from a track regular into one of the best Late Model Stock competitors in the southeast.

Now 45, McCaskill put together one of his familiar driving performances at Southern National on Saturday by dominating the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour opener for his 10^th career victory and his third with the series at the track.

The triumph carried extra significance for McCaskill, who knew he was still capable of winning at the track that shaped him as a driver despite a prolonged drought.

“Everybody calls [Southern National] my house, but we hadn’t won a race here since [they named the grandstand after me] in 2016,” McCaskill said. “There was a lot of pressure on me to come here and perform well, but we really showed them [on Saturday].”

McCaskill’s efficiency at Southern National has remained a constant while Late Model Stock racing has evolved around him.

When he turned his first laps at Southern National as a 16-year-old in 1994, McCaskill immediately fell in love with what was then a brand-new facility. It would take time for the track to reciprocate those feelings, but McCaskill methodically perfected his craft over the ensuing years to become the hands-on favorite in every Southern National event.

The relentless dedication McCaskill showed rewarded him with a checkered flag in Southern National’s most prestigious race in the Thanksgiving All-Star Classic back in 2006, which McCaskill considers his own version of the Daytona 500.

While McCaskill enjoys every accomplishment he has accumulated at Southern National, he said the best aspects of the track come down to the moments shared with his family and the atmosphere created by track promoter Michael Diaz.

“It’s the memories [I enjoy the most],” McCaskill said. “My kids grew up watching me race here, and they used to play with Mason [Diaz] when he was little. It’s close to home, as well, so we can stay at the house and not buy any hotel rooms. All that makes it special.”

Among Deac McCaskill’s accomplishments at Southern National Motorsports Park include four track titles and a Thanksgiving Classic win in 2006. (Photo: Liz Porter/CARS Tour)

With the wins piling up for McCaskill at Southern National, it was only a matter of time before an opportunity arose that would allow him to take his talents elsewhere.

A one-race deal with Evernham Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series back in 2007 ultimately did not materialize into anything further, but McCaskill would get a chance to showcase his experience in Late Model Stocks with the formation of the CARS Tour in 2015.

It only took McCaskill four races before he earned his first CARS Tour win, which fittingly occurred at Southern National. Since then, McCaskill has tallied nine more victories in the Late Model Stock division and managed to win a series championship at the end of the 2016 season.

Maintaining success in the CARS Tour has been a far from an easy process for McCaskill. He has acted as a caretaker for his wife Sandy through a series of strokes dating back to 2018, all while simultaneously trying to keep his small operation competitive against big-budget teams like JR Motorsports.

Through every single obstacle, which included briefly shutting down his team in 2020 to re-evaluate the speed of his cars, McCaskill has remained steadfast both on and off the track. He also takes more time to enjoy the victories with Sandy and the rest of his family.

Saturday carried mixed emotions for McCaskill. He was elated to finally celebrate another win at Southern National, but he also was in disbelief reflecting on everything he endured to reach that moment.

Home Track. Home Win.

Four-time @SNM_Park champion @Deac08 defends his home turf with a @CARSTour Late Model Stock Car victory Saturday afternoon! pic.twitter.com/PeWMszkwL9

— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) March 11, 2023

“When I crossed the start-finish line [on Saturday], I didn’t get excited, because I couldn’t believe what had happened,” McCaskill said. “We’ve been through a lot with shutting the team down and Sandy going through her strokes, but we’re still digging and bringing fast cars to the track. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going.”

McCaskill firmly believes his car is strong enough to not only earn more victories in 2023, but also claim his second CARS Tour title. Despite the confidence, McCaskill expects the logistics of a 16-race schedule are going to place a tremendous amount of physical, mental and financial strain on him and his crew.

One component different from McCaskill’s title run in 2016 is a technical alliance with R&S Race Cars led by former NASCAR crew chief Marcus Richmond. He credits Richmond’s input for his team’s resurgence, but he still has some reservations about staying competitive through a whole year given the size of his team.

McCaskill has refused to let adversity hinder him at any point during his career and intends to keep that mindset moving forward as he pursues another championship.

Despite dealing with plenty of adversity, Deac McCaskill feels more confident than ever about his ability to excel on the track (Photo: Liz Porter/CARS Tour)

“A second championship would be really crazy, but this is a tough deal,” McCaskill said. “By going to all these different racetracks, you have to stay on top of your game, but we’ll see what happens. Another title would be really cool, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work.”

McCaskill added Sandy’s constant reminders to never give up were the main reason why he was in Victory Lane at Southern National on Saturday.

There were many times over the past several years where McCaskill could have voluntarily ended his career, but the motivation allowed him to create another positive memory at the track that defined him as a driver.

With plenty of confidence and determination on his side, McCaskill plans to create many more Southern National memories before his storied career concludes.

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Brandon White

LUCAMA, N.C. — The first race under the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour’s new ownership group provided plenty of thrills for both drivers and fans.

Southern National Motorsports Park’s abrasive surface turned Saturday’s Puryear Tank Lines 225 into a tire-conservation race, which forced drivers both experienced and inexperienced to be patient and methodical with their strategies in order to progress through the running order.

Two veteran racers ultimately emerged victorious on the afternoon, with 2016 CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour champion taking home a win in front of his hometown crowd, while Mike Hopkins claimed a Pro Late Model Tour feature that was dominated by several on-track incidents.

Deac McCaskill returns to victory in a CARS Tour race at Southern National

One of the most successful drivers in the history of Southern National has been Deac McCaskill.

A four-time track champion, McCaskill put together a vintage performance in a brand new black and white livery for the 2023 season. After conserving his tires, McCaskill took the lead from Ryan Millington on a late restart and never looked back to claim his 10^th career CARS LMSC Tour victory.

“This is awesome,” McCaskill said. “I’m 45 years old, so being able to run with these kids is really special. There are a lot of great teams up and down pit road, but we have great help on our side. It was one of those days where everything worked out good for us.”

McCaskill is no stranger to efficient runs at Southern National in the CARS Tour.

During the inaugural LMSC Tour race at the facility in 2015, McCaskill dominated the entire evening before he was passed for the win by Todd Gilliland with three laps remaining. McCaskill brushed off that frustration a couple months later by leading every single lap at Southern National for his first win in the series.

Only one more of McCaskill’s LMSC Tour victories had occurred at Southern National prior to his triumph in Saturday’s Puryear Tank Lines 225, but the seasoned veteran was determined to show a stacked field of 32 cars that he could still hang with the best at the .400-mile oval in Lucama, North Carolina.

McCaskill is optimistic his win at Southern National will give him some momentum as he pursues a second LMSC Tour title, but expects the next event at Florence Motor Speedway to be more of a challenge given his relative inexperience at the facility.

“Florence is not one of my best tracks,” McCaskill said. “I’m going to have a lot of pressure on me after winning [at Southern National], but hopefully we can pull another win off or at least have a good run. We’re a lot better than I was when we went down there a couple of years ago, so I’m excited to see what we got.”

Carson Kvapil starts title defense with second-place finish

Unlike 2022, Carson Kvapil was not able to start his year on Saturday evening with another big-money victory.

Despite this, the defending CARS LMSC Tour champion still had plenty to enjoy at the end of the 125-lap feature at Southern National, as he brought his car home in second place after starting on the pole, which provided him an ideal start in his pursuit of a second consecutive title.

“I’m happy with how we ran,” Kvapil said. “I honestly thought we were a little better than Deac [McCaskill] at the end, but couldn’t get around [Ryan Millington] fast enough and couldn’t work lapped traffic like he could. We were just looking to have a good run and kick off the season with some confidence, which we did.”

Kvapil intentionally let both Millington and McCaskill past him in the opening stages of Puryear Tank Lines 225, specifically to save tires and get himself in an ideal situation on restarts.

Without the assistance of a second groove up top, Kvapil did everything possible to keep his car glued to the bottom to maintain solid track position. He managed to climb back into the second position but ultimately ran out of laps to challenge McCaskill for the win.

Although he would have preferred a victory, Kvapil emphasized the importance of a strong points day in a field that consists of nearly 20 full-time entries. He added every single mistake is going to prove costly, but trusts himself and JR Motorsports to put together plenty of full weekends just like they did in 2022.

“It’s going to be about having days like this,” Kvapil said. “I got an extra point for winning the pole and leading a lap. You can’t have any races where you wreck out, so you’ve got to have consistent good finishes. If you can do that, it’ll show at the end of the year.”

Mike Hopkins adds CARS PLM Tour win to stellar resume

Among the tracks Mike Hopkins has won at during his career include Richmond Raceway, Seekonk Speedway and Jennerstown Speedway.

The Hermon, Maine native added a CARS PLM Tour win at Southern National to that list of accomplishments on Saturday afternoon. He took the lead from Justin Crider on Lap 43 of the 100-lap feature before surviving a chaotic finish to park his car in Victory Lane.

“This place is phenomenal,” Hopkins said. “It’s fun, it’s racy and there’s a good class of cars. [Michael Diaz] does a phenomenal job along with the CARS Tour. This is only my third CARS Tour race, but winning never gets old, especially when you race part-time like myself.”

Hopkins’ goal for the Puryear Tank Lines 225 was to be smart, as he admitted to losing several races during his career by being too aggressive early.

Even after effectively conserving his tires and pulling away from the field, a rash of late-race cautions forced Hopkins to fend off drivers like Gavan Boschele and Katie Hettinger for the win. He withstood every challenge that came his way and commended the young competitors for racing his cleanly during the restarts.

Hopkins does not know how many more PLM Tour races he will run in 2023 as he competes for several different sanctioning bodies, but he believes his performance at Southern National on Saturday is a sign that he will be competitive on a consistent basis.

“[My confidence] is pretty high,” Hopkins said. “We want to win [as many as we can], but we’re at least starting off with a bang.”

——-

The CARS Tour heads from abrasive track to another in Florence Motor Speedway on March 25. Only the LMSC Tour is running during the weekend, as the PLM Tour will not return to action until Hickory Motor Speedway on April 22.

For more information on the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on Twitter and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour.

Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in
Mooresville, NC, at 704.662.9212.

LMSC Results:

08 Deac McCaskill
8 Carson Kvapil
10 Kaden Honeycutt
77 Connor Hall
15 Ryan Millington
95 Jacob Heafner
03 Brenden Queen
24 Mason Diaz
8B Chase Burrow
6 Bobby McCarty
16 Chad McCumbee
14 Jared Fryar
1 Andrew Grady
2 Brandon Pierce
0 Landon Pembelton
04 Ronnie Bassett Jr.
8F Tate Fogleman
67 Cameron Bolin -1
22 Cale Gale -1
32 Zack Miracle -1
4F Jonathan Findley -1
81 Mini Tyrrell -1
4 Dylon Wilson -1
59 Blake Lothian -1
42 Carson Brown -1
97A Jason Kitzmiller -1
20 Joshua Dickens -1
00 Jody Measamer -2
2W Ryan Wilson – OUT
55 Isabella Robusto – OUT
29 Brian Obiedzenski – OUT
19 Jessica Cann – OUT

PLM Results:

15 Mike Hopkins
19 Bryan Kruczek
49M Luke Morey
7C Justin Crider
81 Katie Hettinger
28 Isabella Robusto
9 Ashton Higgins
96 Caden Kvapil
15 Brett Suggs
77 Logan Jones
13 Austin MacDonald
43 Nick Loden
03 Kyle Campbell
6 George Phillips
24 Carter Langley – OUT
5B Gavan Boschele – OUT
8 Rusty Skewes -1
43H Joshua Horniman -1
44 Justin Whitaker -1
5 Zac Fowler -2
97 Dylan Garner -7
48 Jeff Batten – OUT
29 Logan Boyett – OUT
7 Tristan McKee – OUT

Posted on March 11, 2023March 11, 2023 by Cameron Richardson

AVONDALE, Ariz. — A whirlwind Saturday affair at Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series saw an array of drivers running up front in contention to snag the victory.

When the checkered flag flew, it was Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Sammy Smith and Ryan Truex nabbing the top-two results respectively. The 18-year-old Smith became the youngest winner in the Xfinity Series at the 1-mile Arizona track, but Truex’s runner-up finish marked a pivotal moment for the 30-year-old journeyman as Saturday was one of six starts he’ll make in the No. 19 Toyota Supra during the 2023 season.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“Practice went really well. I thought we were probably the best car here,” Truex said after the race. “Really good on the long run. Missed a little bit on the fire off. He [Smith] was the class of the field today for sure. Man, I don’t know if I just misread the track or what but midway through the race I was pretty terrible and I was feeling pretty bad about it. We were running like 15th. Just couldn’t get out of my own way.

“But [crew chief] Jason Ratcliff made really good adjustments on it. Gave me what I needed at the end there and luckily had a good restart. I was struggling on restarts a little bit all day and kept working on them and kept working on them and finally got it at the end there.”

This season, Ratcliff calls the shots atop the box for a rotation of drivers who will pilot the No. 19 and was paired with Truex for five races last season.

He said he’s confident that Truex can get the job done when he’s got a fast car.

“To come out and have a showing like that builds some confidence and will hopefully build some momentum for the next five or six [races],” Ratcliff told NASCAR.com. “This has been a good track for us, for our group, for our organization. I wish we would’ve had a few more laps there at the end I think he could’ve gotten it done.

“It’s tough behind the wheel especially when you’re only running a few races a year. You want to go out and do well obviously but to get a setback in the middle of the race and overcome that and not lose hope and keep fighting at the end and have a good showing means a lot I think for a driver. I think it shows what kinda strength he has behind the wheel.”

Sixty-nine of the 200 laps were run under the yellow flag, which hindered drivers’ abilities to find a rhythm. Pit stops shook up the field and created hectic restarts that sometimes saw drivers go four-wide and jumble up the field.

Truex said he found it tough throughout the day but got better as the laps wound down.

WATCH: See the final laps at Phoenix

“My car changed so much during the race,” Truex said. “I was pretty happy at the beginning and then the stages the way they worked, they jumbled everything up and I just kept struggling on restarts to make my track position up and after the stage caution, I’d just be way back in traffic. For whatever reason, the set of tires where we ran 80 laps or whatever it was, I was just terrible. No rear grip. Chattering the front tires.

“In that last adjustment, Jason made the right moves and gave me a good set of tires. The rest was up to me. Being aggressive on the restarts and basically being all four [tires] on the apron in [Turns] 3 and 4 every lap, that’s what got me to second place and I did everything I could to catch Sammy but his car was just a little too good there.”

With a limited schedule last year, Truex hasn’t competed in a NASCAR national series event since Atlanta Motor Speedway last July where he finished third in the same car. His second-place result at Phoenix is his best effort since a runner-up finish at the same track in 2019.

Despite not competing on a regular basis, the New Jersey native added that Saturday was a validation for himself that he can come out and compete for wins in the Xfinity Series.

“Man, second again. Sucks, but at least I’m here.”