Posted on March 15, 2021 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR and Pit Boss® Grills announced today a multiyear extension, continuing the brand’s designation as the “Official Grill of NASCAR.” Pit Boss Grills, one of the fastest growing grill companies in the U.S., entered the sport as an official partner in 2018, marking the brand’s first professional sports property agreement.

“Based on the success of our initial agreement, Pit Boss Grills has since expanded its NASCAR presence with partnerships across the industry, the most effective way to market to our fans.” said Michelle Byron, vice president, partnership marketing, NASCAR. “Our partnership with Pit Boss Grills is built upon our joint family values and the organic connection between our fans and their love for grilling, a staple at any NASCAR race weekend. We are very excited to continue this partnership in the years ahead.”

Pit Boss Grills recently announced a partnership with Speedway Motorsports, which includes a race entitlement at the highly anticipated NASCAR debut at Circuit of the Americas in May – the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pit Boss 250. In addition, Pit Boss Grills partnered with NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola and the No. 10 team of Stewart-Haas Racing, debuting its sponsorship this past weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

“We are blessed to extend our partnership with NASCAR and take our relationship to the next level,” said Dansons President Jeff Thiessen. “Not only do our companies share the same core values and beliefs, but race fans are also our consumers. Both NASCAR and Pit Boss support an atmosphere of family and friendship and are supported by a common community of individuals who are passionate about those same principles. We’ve seen continued successes for our brand within the sport over the last two years and look forward to where the future will take us.”

The NASCAR Official Partnership renewal solidifies the future of Pit Boss Grill’s involvement in the sport. Through the extended partnership, Pit Boss Grills will expand its activation across NASCAR-owned race tracks, bringing its presence to 18 at-track activations across the NASCAR schedule in 2021. Pit Boss Grills will continue to activate at retail and key race events throughout the season for strategic hospitality events.

Pit Boss Grills will continue to participate in the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council, which brings together an exclusive group of more than 50 Official NASCAR Partners to construct business-to-business deals and co-marketing initiatives.

Posted on March 14, 2021March 14, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Phoenix Raceway is hosting two NASCAR race weekends this season. One just happens to include the championship event.

The same was the case last year, but the 18 years before that were a different story. Homestead-Miami Speedway used to host the championship and only the championship. There were no regular-season trials.

Phoenix’s first race is already over. Martin Truex Jr. won Sunday’s Instacart 500. He’s already locked into the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs after having not qualified for the Championship 4 field in 2020.

“I just don’t think people understand how hard it is with no practice, to try to be perfect every week,” said Truex’s crew chief, James Small. “It takes a lot of effort, a lot of refinement, everything we can do just to be good off the truck. … We got back from Phoenix last year, we sucked, we finished 10th. We were unhappy with how we ran.”

So the No. 19 team got to work. Immediately.

Five races into the 2021 slate, that work has already paid off. Truex scored his first career win at Phoenix in 31 starts. More importantly, he gained much-needed confidence for the Nov. 7 finale in Arizona over his competition.

Joey Logano finished second after leading a race-high 143 of the 312 laps. Denny Hamlin was then third, followed by pole-sitter Brad Keselowski and reigning champ Chase Elliott in fourth and fifth, respectively.

“We haven’t had that dominant car like we’ve had during some races last year yet, other than Daytona,” Hamlin said. “I thought our car was very, very good. We’ve just been hanging around that second, third, fourth all year. It’s a good start because we got something to build on here.”

Second, third or fourth may not be enough to win the title. It very well could be, depending how the final results play out. But ever since the elimination Championship 4 format was installed in 2014, the champion doubled as the race winner.

That includes last season when Elliott scored his first Bill France Cup in Phoenix’s first year hosting the championship.

“I think the fastest car is able to win the race,” Logano said. “I think that’s happened probably the last three or four times here, the fastest car has won. I think that’s fair. That’s what we all want. But it’s the opportunity to make something happen if you’re in the hunt towards the end.”

Which is exactly what Truex did. His Toyota wasn’t the fastest. He had the fourth-best car when it came to green-flag speed. Hamlin actually had the best mark, followed by Logano and Keselowski.

Still, Truex was able to navigate his way toward the front of the pack and when a late-race restart came about with 25 laps to go, he capitalized on his front-row opportunity, taking the lead from Logano and holding onto it until the checkered flag.

“As James said, we sucked last year,” Truex said. “Confidence is a big deal. But usually you’re confident because you’ve had past success, you can build on those things, you understand the race track, you understand how to make the car do certain things. I think from that standpoint, this is a big boost for us to knock this one out today, and now know if we can get here in the final four, we know what it takes and we have what it takes to get the job done here.”

Posted on March 14, 2021March 14, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Martin Truex Jr. is the latest NASCAR Cup Series driver to enter the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt is set for March 27 (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“Damn, they spilled the beans?” Truex said. “OK, yeah. We are. We’re going to run the Truck race.”

The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota wheelman confirmed his plans Sunday night during a post-race Zoom. Truex had just won the Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway — his first career win at the 1-mile track.

Truex will drive for teammate Kyle Busch’s team — Kyle Busch Motorsports — which supports three Toyotas.

“I’ll run Kyle’s truck,” Truex said. “He said I can drive it for free, so I did it.”

The appearance — his first in Camping World Trucks since 2006 — will provide prep time for NASCAR Cup Series’ March 28 main event, the first for the circuit on dirt since 1970.

Posted on March 14, 2021March 15, 2021 by Holly Cain

Martin Truex Jr. overcame an early-race brush with the wall and took the lead on the final restart with 25 laps remaining to earn his first victory of 2021 and first in 31 career starts at Phoenix Raceway.

Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ultimately held off Joey Logano’s No. 22 Penske Racing Ford by a convincing 1.698 seconds for the win in the Instacart 500. The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Truex took the race lead from the outside on a bold restart move — pulling away in the closing laps of a spirited race that featured 22 lead changes.

Truex, 40, of New Jersey, is now the fifth different winner in as many NASCAR Cup Series races this season joining Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, William Byron and Kyle Larson, who have also earned spots in the playoffs.

RELATED: Official results | Standings

“Just an awesome job by everybody, (crew chief) James (Small), all the pit crew guys fixing it, just really solid,” said Truex, who now has 28 career wins. “At the beginning of the race I thought we were going to run 15th or so. Man, I just really can’t believe it. I’m kind of speechless.

“This feels pretty amazing. Phoenix has been a tough one for us.

“I wish it was November and I was in the final four,” he added with a smile, referring to the season championship finale at Phoenix Raceway later in the year. “Just so thankful and proud of everyone at JGR, everyone who makes this possible.”

Statistically, Logano’s Ford was the dominant car on the afternoon, leading a race best 143 of the 312 laps and winning Stage 2 — his first stage win of the year. His Penske teammate Ryan Blaney won Stage 1 (also his first stage victory of 2021) and all three Penske Racing cars finished in the top 10. In all, the Penske trio of Logano, Blaney and Keselowski combined to lead 197 laps — out front 63 percent of the day.

Logano started alongside Truex on the front row for the final restart and mounted a challenge for the lead, but he couldn’t hold off Truex even with a more favorable inside starting position.

“I was surprised he was able to hang with me on that (final) start,” a disappointed Logano conceded of Truex’s winning move. “He had a good start, too, but I had a good one on the bottom and I thought might have short-cut it on the dogleg and I thought, boy I might have him cleared. Then we went into that corner still door-to-door and when you’re door-to-door, the outside car has control.

“I’m pretty sure even if I beat him even on that start he was still going to hound me and probably get by me. They had the best car. We had a good car for sure, but once they tuned it in toward the second stage, it was the best car on the race track.”

Truex’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin was third, followed by Logano’s teammate Brad Keselowski and last November’s Phoenix winner Chase Elliott in fifth.

Kevin Harvick, a nine-time Phoenix winner, was sixth, earning his fourth top-10 finish in the season’s opening five races. Last week’s Las Vegas winner Kyle Larson was seventh, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron was eighth followed by JGR driver Christopher Bell and Blaney to round out the top 10.

Even without the victory, it was an impressive showing for the three Hendrick Motorsports cars that rallied to top-10 finishes. Elliott, Larson and Byron all had to start from the rear of the field on Sunday. And the fourth Hendrick car, driven by Alex Bowman, was equally resilient with a 13th-place finish despite hitting the wall and bringing out an early race caution flag.

Larson, in particular put on a lesson in resiliency. He rallied to race among the top 10 — even lead a lap — a third of the way into the race but was sent back to the rear of the lead lap cars twice after that because of pit road speeding violations.

Hamlin, Keselowski and Logano — all still looking for their first 2021 wins — are 1-2-3 in the championship standings with Hamlin holding a 39-point edge over Keselowski as the series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for next weekend’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: The race winning No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. passed NASCAR’s post-race technical inspection. The No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (Kurt Busch), the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Kyle Busch) and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (William Byron) all had one lug nut safe and secure, while the No. 2 Team Penske Ford (Brad Keselowski) and the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet (Daniel Suarez) had two lug nuts not safe and secure.

Contributing: NASCAR.com staff reports

Posted on March 14, 2021March 14, 2021 by Staff Report

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

Note: All times are ET.

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

Monday, March 15
Midnight, NASCAR Cup Series Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS1
3 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1
4 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Phoenix (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta, FS1

Tuesday, March 16
Midnight, NASCAR Cup Series: Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, March 17
5:30 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder (re-air), FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS2
11 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Call 811 Before You Dig 200 presented by Arizona 811 (re-air), FS2

Thursday, March 18
1 a.m., The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder (re-air), FS2
2 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS2
3 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS2
5 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS1
8 p.m., Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN

Friday, March 19
1 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS2
2:35 p.m., IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge: Sebring International Raceway, TrackPass

Saturday, March 20
6:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1
10 a.m., IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship: Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, NBCSN/TrackPass
11 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS1
11:30 a.m., Blink of an Eye (re-air), FS1
Noon, IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship: Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, NBC Sports App
1 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta, FS2
1:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NCWTS at Atlanta, FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Fr8Auctions 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity Series at Atlanta, FS1
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1 (Canada: TSN 2)
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Post-race Show, FS1
7 p.m., IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship: Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, NBCSN
7:30 p.m., Blink of an Eye (re-air), FS1
9:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS1
10 p.m., The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder (re-air), FS1

On MRN:
2 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Fr8Auctions 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

On PRN:
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sunday, March 21
1 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
3 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Fr8Auctions 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder (re-air), FS1
6 a.m., The Day: Atlanta 1992 — Petty’s Last Race (re-air), FS1
7 a.m., NASCAR RaceHub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS1
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2
11 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Atlanta, FS1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Atlanta, FOX
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FOX (Canada: TSN 5)

On PRN:
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Posted on March 14, 2021March 14, 2021 by Staff Report

The most recent winner at Phoenix Raceway and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott will start from the rear of the field for Sunday’s Instacart 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Elliott, who won the fall race at the 1-mile track to clinch his title, was slated to start sixth but will drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments.

Quin Houff and the No. 00 StarCom Racing Chevrolet team will also drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments. Houff was scheduled to start 35th.

Two of Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Kyle Larson and William Byron, will also drop to the rear after failing pre-race inspection twice on Saturday night. Larson and Byron are the series’ two most recent winners at Las Vegas and Miami, respectively. Larson was set to start second, while Byron was slated to start 10th.

Cody Ware’s No. 51 Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet will also have to go to the back. The No. 53 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet will also go to the rear for a driver change as Garrett Smithley will now be behind the wheel. Ware was set to start 31st, while Smithley was going to start 34th.

The race at Phoenix is the series’ fifth points-paying event of the 2021 season. Brad Keselowski is on the pole for Sunday’s race. Joey Logano is the defending winner at the 1-mile track.

Posted on March 13, 2021March 14, 2021 by Terrin Waack

Chaos ensued on the last lap of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway, and as frontrunners started to crash and fade, Brandon Brown navigated his No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet through the mess and safely to the checkered flag. Brown placed third.

It marked his best career finish in 91 starts.

“This is huge,” Brown said. “This is what the sponsors that are on board need to see. This is what potential sponsors need to see.”

Brown started the Call 811 Before You Dig 200 presented by Arizona 811 from the 11th position. He was 15th at the end of Stage 1 and then 12th at the conclusion of Stage 2.

The final result was his fourth top-11 finish in the five races so far this season. Brown was sixth in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, eighth at the Daytona Road Course and then 11th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week. Outside of those, he was 34th at Homestead-Miami Speedway, ending the race prematurely due to overheating.

“Honestly, this was one of those things where we knew we needed a good start,” Brown said. “We didn’t expect this hot of a start, but we knew we needed a good start — better than last year — just because of how stout the Xfinity field is now with cars added, drivers added with a full season. Just one of those things where those spots where we kind of nudged our way in, you’re not going to be able to nudge anymore. You’re going to have to fight more just to meet that same deadline for making the playoffs.”

A deadline he barely met in 2020.

Brown finished 12th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ regular-season finale last year. It was enough to clinch the 12th and final playoff spot based on his points standing. At the time, he called the situation a “dream come true” — which is understandable considering it was the first time he ever qualified for the postseason competition.

It was also the first time for Brandonbilt Motorsports in the postseason, whose shop is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Like Brown, Brandonbilt Motorsports is in its third full-time season.

“When you have a smaller staff size, my role becomes involved in the car getting to the race track,” Brown said. “When I’m not having to focus on that, I can go focus and watch race film, I can watch tape, I can look at data, I can way better prepare myself for each track that we show up to. And it’s so crucial, especially when you’re showing up with no practice, no qualifying; it’s just green-flag racing. … That’s kind of translated to the success, being there and being in that position to make a pounce when something like this happens.”

Posted on March 13, 2021March 14, 2021 by Staff Report

The cars of Kyle Larson and William Byron are among three that will start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Instacart 500 (3:30 p.m. on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after failing pre-race inspection two times Saturday night. Cody Ware’s No. 51 Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet will also have to go to the back.

On Sunday afternoon, it was revealed that the most recent winner at Phoenix Raceway and the NASCAR Cup Series reigning champion Chase Elliott will also start from the rear of the field. Elliott, who won the fall race at the 1-mile track, was slated to start sixth but will drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments.

The No. 53 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet will also go to the rear for a driver change as Garrett Smithley will now be behind the wheel. Quin Houff and the No. 00 StarCom Racing Chevrolet team will also drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments.

Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet are the series’ two most recent winners with victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively, in the last two weekends. Larson was slated to start second, while Byron was going to roll off the grid 10th. Ware was set to start 31st, while Smithley was going to start 34th and Houff 35th.

While neither Larson nor Byron has a Cup win at Phoenix, both have had recent solid runs there. Larson has four straight top-six finishes there, and Byron was one of four drivers to nab top 10s in both races there last year.

The race at Phoenix is the series’ fifth points-paying event of the 2021 season. Brad Keselowski is on the pole for Sunday’s race. Joey Logano is the defending winner at the 1-mile track.

Posted on March 13, 2021March 13, 2021 by Holly Cain

Austin Cindric earned his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win in the opening five races of the 2021 season Saturday – taking a .360-second victory over 18-year-old rookie Ty Gibbs in an action-packed final race restart with two laps remaining at Phoenix Raceway.

It’s the second consecutive win on the 1-mile Phoenix oval for Cindric, who won here last November to claim the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. He led a race-best 119 of the 200 laps en route to the win Saturday – including the final 54 laps, holding off the field on three late-race restarts. The 22-year-old North Carolinian is the only repeat winner so far in 2021.

“You have to work hard the rest of the year to get here,’’ Cindric said of the good showing on the championship race venue. “So that’s where my focus is. I’ve got my name on the wall right there and the goal is to be back with a shot to do it again.’’

The last restart with two laps remaining was not-too-surprisingly the most action-packed and the biggest threat to Cindric’s lead, but several cars running among the top 10 on that start hit the wall or hit one another in a chaotic run to the checkered flag.

Daniel Hemric, who restarted on the front row alongside Cindric, was caught up in the heavy full-contact restart and ended up 23rd. Justin Allgaier, whose No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy started just behind Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford on that last restart, pulled door-to-door hoping to make a move for the win, but he got loose and bounced backward, recovering to finish eighth instead.

Gibbs, who won the ARCA Menards Series race at the track Friday night, drove a steady, if not risk-filled race all afternoon and was able to take advantage of the melee on that last restart to take the runner-up position. In two Xfinity Series starts, Gibbs has a win (Daytona Road Course) and a second-place finish.

Brandon Brown, Riley Herbst and last week’s winner, AJ Allmendinger, rounded out the top five – all taking advantage of the aggressive racing on the last restart. For Brown and Herbst, those finishes are a season best. It was Brown’s career-best finish.

Jeb Burton, Bayley Currey, Allgaier, Brett Moffitt and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top 10. It marked the first top 10 in the 24-year-old Currey’s career. It was the first top 10 for Allgaier this season, and his 32 laps led was a season best as well.

“Just disappointing there,’’ Allgaier said. “Once we got to his outside, I thought we had it, but he just got me out of the PJ1 and into the marbles and unfortunately it all comes up quick when you’re bumped out of the PJ1..

“I’m so proud of everyone at JR Motorsports. I learned a lot I think for when we come back here in the fall and hopefully we’re in the Final Four.’’

Resilience, like it or not, was a dominant theme Saturday.

The final restart was a disappointing outcome for Hemric, who for the second straight week won a stage and proved to be a trophy contender. He rallied from a tough mid-race pit sequence to be back among the top five when it counted most.

His No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which had been strong all day, fell off after a pit stop adjustment after his Stage 2 win. Hemric’s race got more complicated when he was called for speeding on pit road, but he remained calm and raced his way back inside the top 10, then top five. He restarted next to Cindric before getting caught up in the five-wide racing at the end.

It was a similar day of a strong showing gone awry for the defending race winner, Brandon Jones. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was a top-five car early in the race and rebounded from an early pit-road speeding penalty to run top five again – even lead the race for a pair of laps.

However, while running in the front pack of cars with only 33 laps remaining, his Toyota was hit from behind by last week’s race winner, Allmendinger. The damage to Jones’ Toyota was too much and instead of a sure-bet top five and a shot for a second straight spring victory at Phoenix, he finished the race from the garage.

“All in all we had a really good Toyota Supra, looks like I just got run over by A.J. but I keep a notebook of all this stuff,’’ Jones said after emerging from the care center.

The top-five finish for Herbst, 22, was easily his best run of the season in his maiden year driving the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. He had three DNFs in the opening four races.

It has been a similar frustrating early season for championship favorite Noah Gragson. For the third time in the five races this season, Gragson took a DNF. His No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet suffered an engine failure, and he retired on Lap 67. His teammate, Michael Annett, also had engine problems in the No. 1 Chevrolet and finished 38th.

All that, plus the two stage breaks, led to the most cautions — 11 — in a NASCAR Xfinity Series race since 2007.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway next Saturday in the EchoPark 250 (5 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Cindric holds a 47-point lead over Hemric in the championship standings.

Note: The race winning No. 22 Team Penske Ford of Austin Cindric passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection. There were no other issues.

Contributing: NASCAR.com staff reports

Posted on March 13, 2021March 14, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

InstaCart 500 at Phoenix (⏰ 3:30 p.m. ET | 📺 FOX | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)

Everything you need to know for Sunday’s race, the fifth points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.

Where: Phoenix Raceway, a 1-mile layout located in Avondale, Arizona
Green flag: 3:47 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Forecast: Partly sunny with a high near 78, according to NOAA.gov
National anthem: Phoenix Boys Choir
Grand marshal: Jason Biggs
Race Distance: 312 laps, 312 miles
Stages: 75 | 190 | 312
Pit-road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 50 mph
Starting lineup: Kevin Harvick on Busch Pole
Pit stall assignments: See where cars line up | Why Chris Gabehart picked second pit stall
Pre-race inspection: Kyle Larson, William Byron among cars to start at the rear

Christian Petersen | Getty Images

Five to watch

Here are five big story lines we’ll be following.

1. It’s good to be the champion. Chase Elliott heads into Sunday’s race as the odds-on favorite at 5-1 after his fall victory that sealed his first career Cup Series title. Phoenix will be a welcome sight for the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team, too. Outside of Elliott’s second-place finish in the Daytona 500, he has finished 13th or worse in the three races since. In 10 starts at Phoenix, Elliott holds three top fives, six top 10s and an 11.8 average finish.

2. Like most people, Kevin Harvick left Las Vegas empty-handed. Harvick failed to lead a lap after starting on the pole when second-place starter William Byron quickly took the lead from the veteran. From there, Harvick dropped through the field like a rock, finishing 20th when it was all said and done. The No. 4 team, and Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole, were puzzled by the lack of speed and performance. With only 17 laps led this season, there’s no doubt Harvick could get right back on track at a track where he’s the all-time wins leader with nine triumphs.

3. Kyle Busch was not happy with his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota during the majority of last Sunday’s race at Las Vegas, which was apparent with his in-car radio comments. But new crew chief Ben Beshore fought hard to make it better and turned the tide for a finish of third. The lack of practice and qualifying has thrown Busch and team for a loop since it began last season, down on speed off the hauler but working throughout the course of the race to give themselves a fighting chance. Phoenix offers up a good chance to lock himself in the playoffs early, though. Busch owns two wins in the past five races, taking the shine away from Harvick’s dominance recently. We’ll see if it can happen again Sunday.

4. The start of the 2021 season couldn’t have gone much worse for Ryan Blaney. In the first three races, the No. 12 Team Penske driver collected finishes of 30th, 15th and 29th at the Daytona 500, Daytona Road Course and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively. But they were able to reverse course at Las Vegas by finding the front quickly in Stage 1 and staying there for a fifth-place finish. While the team still has some tweaks to make after Blaney noted a lack of raw speed compared to other frontrunners last Sunday, Phoenix could continue the momentum gained. Blaney earned a pair of third-place finishes in 2019 and finished sixth last fall.

5. It may be March, but the focus will also be on November this Sunday. Title-contending teams will be vying for the victory to lock their spot into the postseason while also banking a plethora of notes they can carry over into the championship finale at the 1-mile track. The fifth race of the year gives you a good outlook on which drivers will be the strongest heading into the meat of the regular season and the same holds true for Phoenix. Teams that perform well Sunday will likely do the same in November. But for a quartet of drivers at season’s end, there will be more on the line. You have to be ready for it.

Race-day staples

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Power Rankings: Brad Keselowski continues to be a late-race factor | See the ranks
• Paint Scheme Preview: 2021 Phoenix spring weekend | See the schemes
• Fantasy Fastlane: See which drivers to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice | Set your roster
• Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show

Get in on the action

Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• Betting odds for today’s race | See the odds
• Survey reveals unrealistic expectations of most gamblers | Full betting preview
• Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
• Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ

Track history

Every track has a story to tell. Here’s what we’ve seen go down at Phoenix Raceway in the past.
• Memorable moments at Phoenix | See the moments
• All-time track winners | See the list
• Top 10 lap leaders at Phoenix | See the list
• Throwback: Jeff Gordon vs. Clint Bowyer at Phoenix in 2012 | Watch the video
• Relive Bill Elliott’s dominant performance in 1989 Autoworks 500 from Phoenix | Watch the race

Fast facts

Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driver Kevin Harvick is the all-time wins leader at Phoenix with nine victories, 18 top fives and 25 top 10s in 36 starts.
• Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota driver Kyle Busch has earned two wins and 10 finishes of seventh or better the last 11 Phoenix races.
• Ryan Blaney, the No. 12 Ford driver for Team Penske, finished in the top 10 for the first time in 2021 at Las Vegas. Blaney has three top-six finishes in the past four races at Phoenix.
• No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driver Cole Custer earned the first top-10 finish of his Cup Series career in the Phoenix spring race last season.
• Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski has piloted the No. 2 Ford to a runner-up finish in two of the past five Phoenix races, including last fall. Keselowski has never won at the 1-mile track.

Catch the pack

Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
• Backseat Drivers: Is Hendrick Motorsports the best team right now? | Hear the debate
• NASCAR reveals procedures, details for inaugural Bristol Motor Speedway dirt-track weekend | Read more
• Is it panic time for Aric Almirola? | Read more
• Penalty report: No. 41 crew chief Mike Shiplett suspended one race for Las Vegas lug-nut violation | Read more

Say what?

Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.

“At this point, I don’t think we need to throw a Hail Mary. We’re not in a situation where we need to go do whatever it takes to win; we’re in a situation where we just need a good day.” – Aric Almirola

“That’s a silly question. I think you should go back and look at the first race from last year that we led the most laps and had the fastest car. We wound up finishing second. I would consider us a challenger at just about any race track that you go to, but you’re not gonna be that way all the time, so, I think as we go to Phoenix you expect to go there and perform well.” — Kevin Harvick, when asked if he was a threat to win at Phoenix

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

“I am definitely looking forward to getting back to Phoenix this weekend. Our last trip there was something I will never forget. Obviously, it’s a new season, eyes forward for now and just thinking about what we need to do to be fast and have our car where it needs to be. I also hope we can learn a lot while we are there because you want to be prepared if you are in the Championship 4 at the end of the season.” — Chase Elliott

“Part of me is surprised, but part of me is not. I thought it might take a little bit of time for us to gel as a team. But we had all the tools to run well and battle for wins, and we were able to win at Las Vegas. But that was last Sunday and our focus is now on Phoenix and what we can do to run well and hopefully win there.” — Kyle Larson