Will Phoenix produce a fifth different Xfinity Series winner to open 2021?

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Holly Cain

There have been four different winners in as many NASCAR Xfinity Series races this season and plenty reason to expect a fifth in Saturday’s Call 811 Before You Dig 200 presented by Arizona 811 (5:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Championship leader Austin Cindric, who won the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, arrives at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway as the most recent race winner. His victory there last November earned the 22-year-old his first NASCAR championship and has by all accounts, helped put Cindric on a high-octane performance course in 2021.

He is the only driver to earn top-five finishes in every race this season and his 163 laps led is nearly double that of any other driver. Last week’s Las Vegas race winner, AJ Allmendinger is second with 93 laps out front.

Both Cindric and Allmendinger are well aware that their stiffest competition this weekend may well come from 24-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones, who is ranked third in the Xfinity Series championship standings.

The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is the defending winner of the Phoenix spring race, finished third in the season finale race. And Jones has finished top 10 in four of his last five starts on the desert oval. His 3.556-second win over Harrison Burton last March was the largest margin of victory in nine Xfinity Series races at Phoenix – since Kyle Busch dominated the race by more than 6-seconds in November, 2016.

“Our 19 Toyota team is thrilled to be heading back to Phoenix,” Jones said. “We had a pivotal win there last spring when we won against our teammate Kyle Busch. You take that strong win and mix it with us coming off our third consecutive top-four finish in the past three races. This momentum gives us the confidence to build on and focus on winning at Phoenix Raceway.

“As we look at data and notes from last year, I have already picked up on several areas where I can improve. This is an important weekend for our team to learn as much as possible; with Phoenix being the track that will hold the title to the Xfinity Series Championship later this year.”

They will undoubtedly face a challenge from series veteran and JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier, a two-time Phoenix race winner – the only current full-time Xfinity Series driver with multiple wins (2017 and 2020) at the 1-mile track. His 461 laps led at Phoenix is most among series regulars and he’s scored top-10 finishes in nine of the last 12 races.

Another Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Daniel Hemric shows up in Phoenix extremely motivated. He finished runner-up to Allmendinger at Las Vegas last weekend – the eighth second-place finish in the series for the well-liked North Carolinian. He has three top-five finishes in four races this year and his effort last week will put him in pole position this week at Phoenix, where he has a pair of top-five finishes in six Xfinity Series starts; including a runner-up in fall of 2018.

This weekend marks the second NASCAR Xfinity Series start for 18-year-old Ty Gibbs, grandson to NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, who showed some serious competitive mettle by winning at the Daytona Road Course in February – in his series debut in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Gibbs earned one ARCA Menards Series West victory (then-NASCAR K&N Pro Series West) at Phoenix in 2019. If Gibbs were to win in his first two consecutive races he would become the first driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history to accomplish the feat.

The rookie’s veteran team has every expectation for another solid outing.

“The No. 54 team is excited to go back to the racetrack with Ty Gibbs in Phoenix,” said the team’s crew chief Chris Gayle. “Ty did such an exceptional job at the Daytona Road Course of being cautious and learning as a rookie driver, mixed with being very aggressive late in the race when he was in position to win the event. He’s really good at Phoenix and we’re looking forward to helping him progress and learn more at his first oval event for this team. Not every event will go as smoothly or successfully as DRC (Daytona Road Course), but it’s important we remain focused on helping Ty get valuable experience at a variety of racetracks and continue to develop his skills behind the wheel.”

Other drivers deserving a watch this week include 22-year-old JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson, who had a rough start to the 2021 season but rebounded last week with a fifth-place finish at his home track in Las Vegas – his first top five of the year. Gragson has never finished worse than 11th in four Phoenix starts with results of seventh in this race last year and a runner-up in the November finale.

Jeb Burton, who is competing in his first full-time season in the series with Kaulig Racing, has been ranked among the top-five in the standings all season. The 28-year-old son of former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton, has finished top-10 in every race this year with best showings of fourth-place at the Daytona International Speedway season-opener and at Homestead-Miami Speedway in South Florida two weeks ago. He finished 17th in his only Xfinity Series start at Phoenix back in 2016.

Posted on March 11, 2021March 11, 2021 by Holly Cain

This is an especially important weekend on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule as teams compete Sunday in the Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – the historic 50th race at the recently-renovated venue that will host Championship Weekend in November.

Not only is there a trophy to win, but teams will use the race to help prepare for the title-stop later in the season.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin arrives in Phoenix leading the driver standings by 38 points over Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski. However, neither driver has hoisted a trophy yet this season.

Four different drivers – Michael McDowell (Daytona 500), Christopher Bell (Daytona road course), William Byron (Homestead-Miami) and last weekend’s winner, Kyle Larson (Las Vegas) – have won a race to start the season and secured a position in the June 13 NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. Plus, they have locked themselves into the NASCAR Playoffs.

Should a fifth different driver win this weekend it would mark the first time since 2017 a season has opened with five different winners. The record is 10 different winners – launching the 2000 schedule.

Only one of these 2021 winners – Byron – made the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs. That leaves the more typical headline makers such as Hamlin, an seven-time winner in 2020 and the 2012 season champion Keselowski, a four-race winner last year still vying for their first trip to Victory Lane. Count the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott and perennial title-chasers Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch among those still driving for a victory in 2021 as well.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano is the defending race winner of this week’s Phoenix event, which marked the last regularly-scheduled race to run in 2020 before the sport took a time-out for COVID-19 and the resulting new competitive reality.

Among those without a victory this year, Harvick, the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, has a particular stellar record at Phoenix with a series leading nine victories, 18 top fives and 25 top 10s in 36 starts. He leads the series in pre-race driver rating (110.6) at Phoenix and has the best average finish (8.917) as well.

A win this weekend would make him one of only six drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history to earn a double-digit victory total at a track – joining an esteemed list that also includes Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson, David Pearson and Dale Earnhardt.

Harvick started the year with three top-10 finishes, but suffered a 20th-place showing last week at Las Vegas. The last time he finished outside the top 10 in Phoenix was in early 2013 – 16 races ago. He was runner-up to Logano last March and finished seventh in November. His last win at the 1-mile track was spring 2018.

With a $178 million facility renovation at Phoenix – from track surface and configuration to grandstands and parking – Harvick is eager to restore his winning ways.

“Our Jimmy John’s team won several races on this configuration,” said Harvick, who is seventh in the Cup standings. “It’s still the same racetrack that we’ve won the majority of our races on. The only thing that’s changed is the start-finish line. As you look at last year, we ran really well at the first race and really poorly at the second race. A lot of that just depends on where the grip level is and where your car settings are for that particular weekend. But it’s still a racetrack where we expect to go and contend for a win every time and, if we don’t, the expectations were not met.”

Hamlin, the points leader, has four top-five finishes in the last six Phoenix races including one of his two career wins there (Playoffs, 2019). The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was 20th in this spring race last year and fourth in the season finale. Twice (2010 and 2017) he’s led more than 190 laps but didn’t win the race.

Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, is racing for his first win at Phoenix. He has a pair of runner-up finishes in the last five events, including the Championship Finale last November.

Elliott, who claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series title with a win at Phoenix last November, has only one top-10 finish in 2021 – a runner-up in the Daytona 500 – even though he’s led laps in all four races. Certainly, the fact two of his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates have won already this season is encouraging for his No. 9 Chevrolet team as well.

Elliott has six top-10 finishes in 10 Phoenix starts and in the two races last year led 246 of the 628 laps.

“I am definitely looking forward to getting back to Phoenix this weekend,” Elliott said. “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.”

Posted on March 11, 2021March 12, 2021 by Staff Report

It’s time to gear up for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Sunday afternoon’s showdown marks the 50th time that NASCAR is holding a premier series event at the track since the inaugural Phoenix race in 1988.

NASCAR RaceDay begins pre-race coverage at 2 p.m. ET on FS1 and transitions to FOX at 3 p.m. ET.

BETTING ODDS

Can the reigning Cup Series champion put another feather in his cap at Phoenix? Oddsmakers think so.

Chase Elliott opens as a 5-1 favorite to burn it down in Victory Lane this weekend, settling in just ahead of Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin, who each appear at 6-1.

Where does your favorite driver land? Who are the biggest sleepers? Check out the full list of BetMGM odds.

TICKETS AND PROTOCOLS

Grandstand seating for the Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 14 is sold out. However, camping and premium packages may still remain for fans who wish to attend. For more information and to check availability, visit the Phoenix Raceway ticket site.

Already purchased a ticket? Read up on the NASCAR race weekend protocols before heading to the track.

WHO’S ON THE POLE THIS SUNDAY?

Seeking his first career win at the Arizona track, Brad Keselowski leads the field to green Sunday from the Busch Pole position. Last weekend’s Vegas winner Kyle Larson joins him on the front row, followed by Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. to round out the top five. See the full starting lineup and how it was chosen.

RULES PACKAGE

The short oval and road course package returns this weekend, featuring a significantly shorter rear spoiler and front splitter. Cars are fitted with a tapered-spacer engine targeting around 750 horsepower and emphasizing lower downforce due to aerodynamic changes.

GOODYEAR TIRES

Cup Series teams have nine sets of Goodyear Eagle Intermediate radials for the 312-lap race on the one-miler. The minimum recommended inflation for the left side tires is 14 psi coupled with 32 psi for the right front and 30 psi for the right rear. Tire management should come into play later in the race, particularly on late-race restarts.

Stage 1 ends on Lap 75, Stage 2 on Lap 190 and the Final Stage is scheduled to end on Lap 312.

CUP SERIES’ 50TH RACE AT PHOENIX RACEWAY

— Phoenix has hosted a race every season since 1988 and two races per season since 2005. Kevin Harvick is the all-time leader with 9 wins and is tied at the top with Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman with 36 starts there among active full-time drivers.

— Five organizations have won the last 15 Phoenix races: Stewart-Haas (5), Joe Gibbs Racing (4), Hendrick Motorsports (2), Richard Childress Racing (2) and Team Penske (2).

— The last eight Phoenix races were won by seven different drivers. Kyle Busch is the only driver to win multiple races at Phoenix in that time with victories in 2018 and 2019.

— Phoenix is known for overtime finishes with nine all-time.

Source: Racing Insights

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Checkout NASCAR Fantasy Live. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew chief instincts! It’s not too late to join in on the competition!

The 2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Denny Hamlin (187), Brad Keselowski (149) and Kyle Larson (143).

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available – as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more – and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on March 11, 2021March 13, 2021 by Jerry Bonkowski

A look of shock comes across Juan Pablo Montoya’s face when he is reminded it has been seven years since he last raced in NASCAR.

“That’s crazy, it’s been that much already?” Montoya said with a laugh in a recent interview with NASCAR.com. “When you look back at it, you go, ‘Oh, my God, it’s crazy that it was that long ago. It’s the same thing with F1, which is worse because you can add another (six years before that). People still remember, people still talk about it (his time in NASCAR). It’s good.”

RELATED: Career stats

From 2006 through 2014, Montoya was one of the bigger stars in NASCAR, known for his fiery competitiveness, tenacity, and being one of the toughest drivers to pass on a race track.

But he was also unconventional. He didn’t fit the typical mold of a NASCAR driver.

Whereas most of his peers grew up racing stock cars, Montoya was already a world-class driver — a bonafide international celebrity — when he came to NASCAR.

He won the CART championship as a rookie in 1999. He won the Indianapolis 500 the following year (and again 15 years later, one year removed from his last go-round on the NASCAR circuit).

After conquering CART, he moved to Formula One from 2001 through 2006, earning seven wins and twice finishing third in the championship battle.

He struggled in his final F1 season (2006), yet still finished eighth in the standings for Team McLaren despite competing in only 10 of 18 races.

It was time for a new challenge for the Colombian native, and NASCAR beckoned. He was one of several international drivers of that era who also emigrated to America’s premier racing series, including Scotsman Dario Franchitti and Canadians Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier. But while the others came and went, Montoya was the only one who had staying power.

Montoya came to NASCAR to race for Chip Ganassi Racing. His first full season, 2007, was also his breakthrough season, earning an Xfinity Series win at Mexico City in early March and following that up three and a half months later with his first Cup Series triumph at Sonoma Raceway.

That his first two NASCAR wins came on road courses was not surprising due to his prior road racing proficiency — five of his 10 wins in CART and all seven of his wins in F1 were on road courses.

While Montoya was always a formidable opponent in the Cup Series, his aggressive style at times proved his undoing. Of the 28 DNFs he recorded in his 255 Cup starts, 24 of those were due to crashes — although to be fair, not all were his fault.

Montoya’s best season statistically was 2009. While he did not reach Victory Lane, he had a career-best seven top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 36 starts.

It was also the only season he made the NASCAR Playoffs, finishing a career-best eighth.

“You know, I really enjoyed NASCAR, and when I worked with Brian Pattie (Montoya’s crew chief from 2008-2011), it was very good,” Montoya said. “We had a really good relationship and we made a lot of good things.

“We worked really well together, we understood each other … we had a shot at the championship and everything (which) not a lot of people do. We did good with what we had.”

Jason Smith | Getty Images

Montoya would earn one more Cup win for Ganassi in 2010 — also on a road course (Watkins Glen) — before eventually parting ways after the 2013 season. He’d return to his open-wheel roots with Team Penske’s IndyCar program from 2014 through 2016, earning five wins in that period.

He also competed in two final Cup races for Penske in 2014.

“I had a few opportunities to go to different teams, but I felt loyalty to Chip (Ganassi) was more important,” Montoya said. “In hindsight, if I wanted to stay in NASCAR, I should have made the move. But for me, I felt loyalty was more important.”

Following his return to IndyCar, Montoya shifted to the IMSA Series for Penske, including winning the Prototype championship and three races in 2019 with teammate Dane Cameron.

These days, the 45-year-old Montoya remains busy and competitive, racing in three different series:

* Scheduled to drive seven races for DragonSpeed Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

* Slated for at least three IMSA Series races for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, including January’s Rolex 24 Hours (finished fourth), next Sunday at Sebring and the season-ending event in Atlanta at Petit Le Mans.

* In a one-off start for Arrow McLaren SP, he returns to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 2017, seeking his third career win in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

“Honestly, I’m to the point I still enjoy racing, I’m still competitive,” he said. “As long as I have a drive to do it, I mean, it’s crazy because some people say you know with time you lose the drive, and this and that.”

But not Montoya. He continues to thrive on competition.

The other important part of his life these days is overseeing the development of son Sebastian’s racing career. Sebastian, who turns 16 on April 11, is in his second season of racing in Formula 4 in Europe for Italian team Prema Powertrain.

“He’s very, very quick, he’s crazy fast,” Montoya says of his son. “I think he is a lot smarter than me in a lot of ways. And I think he can race just as good as me, I think, or even better sometimes.

“You know, looking from the outside, I think he just needs a little bit of luck for things to go his way. And once things start clicking, it’ll be like a non-stop thing. I’m pretty excited. I think this year, he’s got an opportunity to make that happen. And if he takes advantage of this situation, it could be an amazing year for him.”

Like his father, the younger Montoya aspires to race one day in F1.

“His number one thing is F1, for sure,” Montoya said of his son. “Probably number two would be like IndyCar. But honestly, he wants to race. He wants to race whatever he can race on.

“He loves it and he works hard and he trains hard and he does whatever. If you tell him he needs to run 20 miles a day, that it’s going to make him quicker, he’ll go and run 20 miles a day. Last year he was very timid and I think he was a little behind everybody when we started the year, mentally and everything. He’s matured a lot. And you can see it within.”

Because of his son’s budding career, Montoya is moving the family from its longtime base in Miami, when he first came to NASCAR, to Monaco in the coming weeks.

While a smattering of grey has started to creep into his boyish mop of dark hair, the impish grin on Montoya’s face is still there. But don’t expect him to return to NASCAR in the twilight years of his racing career.

“Not to disrespect anybody and I did it for seven years, I loved it,” Montoya said. “But when you run 30 something weeks a year, you really don’t have a life. I mean, you really miss a lot of things in life that when you’re doing it, you think it’s fine. And then when you stop, you realize, ‘Oh, my God. Why?’”

When NASCAR raced last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as on most days, Montoya could be found riding his road bike around Miami, pedaling over 20 miles from his home toward the track. But instead of renewing acquaintances with his former NASCAR brethren, he stopped about a mile short, turned around and rode back home.

Even though it’s now at a distance, Montoya still keeps up with NASCAR.

“They’ve always been focused on trying to make a better show and they do,” he said. “The races are always close and everything.”

While other racing series were significantly impacted last season due to COVID-19, Montoya applauds how NASCAR successfully weathered the pandemic and put on a full 36-race schedule as originally planned.

“It was a huge challenge and they did a good job,” he said. “Something that I think right that came out of that is the shorter weekends. At some point, they’re going to have to do some short races … and they’re going to realize you don’t need to be doing three-and-a-half-hour races anymore.”

In addition to missing many of his former rivals, Montoya especially misses NASCAR fans.

“NASCAR fans in general, they’ve always been very good to me,” he said.

Then, he adds with a laugh, “But for some reason, I’ve always been the bad guy. … I think it was funny when I came to NASCAR, everybody was so welcoming until I started running well. It was like, ‘Yes, we want you here, but we don’t want you to win.’

“But it was good. I really enjoyed my time in NASCAR. I don’t have any regrets whatsoever. I mean, it’s a shame we didn’t do more. But I think with what we had, I did pretty damn good.”

With his 46th birthday looming in September, Montoya brushes off talk of retirement from racing anytime soon.

“Honestly, I’m at this point in my career where I’m really happy to be driving, excited to be competitive,” he said. “And that’s really what it’s always been for me. I mean, go get in the car, go fast and that’s it.”

The Juan Pablo Montoya file:
https://www.racing-reference.info/driver/Juan_Pablo_Montoya

* Age: 45

* Hometown: Bogota, Colombia. Has lived in Miami since 2006 but will be moving shortly to Monaco.

* NASCAR Cup career: Seven full-time seasons (2007-2013) – two wins, 24 top-five and 59 top-10 finishes; also made two starts in 2014 for Roger Penske at Michigan and Brickyard 400.

* NASCAR Xfinity career: 23 starts between 2006-2008 – one win, one top-five, three top-10 finishes.

* Best NASCAR season: 2009, finished eighth in the Chase for the Cup.

Other career highlights:

CART: 40 races over two seasons (1999-2000) – won championship as rookie – 10 wins (including 7 in first season, plus 2000 Indianapolis 500), 13 podiums, 14 poles.

INDYCAR: 53 starts – 5 wins (including 2015 Indianapolis 500), 13 podiums, 1 pole – best season finish was second in 2015.

FORMULA ONE: — 94 starts – 7 wins, 30 podiums, 13 poles – best season finish was third in 2002 and 2003.

ROLEX Grand-Am Series – 8 starts (7 in Rolex 24 and 1 on Indianapolis GP road course) – 3 wins, 5 podiums, 1 pole.

IMSA – 31 starts – 3 wins, 15 podiums, 9 poles – won championship in 2019.

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is writing a number of Where Are They Now? stories this year for NASCAR.com. Check out stories he’s already done on Mark Martin and Marcos Ambrose. Also, follow Jerry on Twitter @JerryBonkowski, his podcasts on BLEAV.com, and his email newsletter, TheRacingBeat.substack.com.

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick and Ryan Preece have added to their 2021 racing calendars, with Harvick scheduling a start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ race on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track.

Harvick is set to drive David Gilliland Racing’s No. 17 Ford in the Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt (Saturday, March 27, 8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with sponsorship from Hunt Brothers Pizza. The appearance — his first in Camping World Trucks since 2015 — will provide prep time for Cup Series’ March 28 event, the first for the circuit on dirt since 1970.

Harvick also added three NASCAR Xfinity Series races at three road courses that are new to the Cup Series. He’ll drive a Stewart-Haas Racing Ford at Circuit of the Americas (May 22), Road America (July 3) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course (Aug. 14). Car number and sponsors for the Xfinity entry will be announced at a later date, according to the driver’s KHI Management agency, which also represents Preece.

Preece, in his third full Cup Series season with JTG Daugherty Racing, has added two Camping World Truck Series races to his schedule. He’s set to pilot Gilliland’s No. 17 at Nashville Superspeedway (June 18) then return the next week to compete at Pocono Raceway (June 26). Hunt Brothers will sponsor his Nashville go, and Morton Buildings will back his Pocono start.

“I tell all of the drivers we represent at KHI Management that nothing beats seat time, and that goes for me as well,” Harvick said in a news release. “I can learn and have some fun, all at the same time. Road-course racing and dirt-track racing is a challenge, and I’m always up for a challenge.”

Posted on March 10, 2021March 11, 2021 by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit for Sunday’s Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Holly Cain

It was this time last year when Phoenix Raceway president Julie Giese was painstakingly preparing the facility for its upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race. Later in the 2020 season, the newly remodeled facility was scheduled to host the all-important season-ending Championship Weekend – a first for the track – and it felt appropriate for everyone to raise their game in anticipation.

Giese remembers the atmosphere was palpably upbeat. Phoenix Raceway was ready. The springtime race weekend played out to packed new grandstands with Joey Logano edging Kevin Harvick by a blink of an eye – .276 seconds – to win the NASCAR Cup Series race on March 8.

RELATED: Phoenix weekend schedule

Giese and her team’s work at the facility drew rave reviews, as did the racing on the track. The race teams, the fans, the industry – most everyone was looking forward to the potential of deciding a title at the historic desert oval later in the year.

And then COVID-19 hit. Hard.

NASCAR took bold, unprecedented steps in pausing the season, and the sport’s racing reality was altered when competition began again. Even so, the Championship Weekend in November was a huge success competitively – with multi-time Most Popular Driver Chase Elliott earning his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series title.

This weekend, as the country continues its medical protocols and vaccine distribution, Phoenix Raceway will welcome a limited number of fans to the track. For Giese, it’s another significant opportunity – her facility is hoping to fortify a NASCAR example for more normalized times ahead.

It’s been that kind of hit-the-ground-running tenure for Giese, who was named Phoenix Raceway president in October of 2018. But her confidence in her team and optimism about the future is unmistakable.

“I joke with the team that I missed the class in college on how to plan a championship during a pandemic,’’ Giese said.

“There’s a lot of things we want to accomplish out here and had hoped to accomplish already. You think about last year’s championship and that first championship in this market, in the state of Arizona, and we had such big dreams and big plans. They are still in play and we will do that down the road. We’re excited to have the opportunity but given the pandemic and the way the city, community and state rallied around this event last November was tremendous.’’

Christian Petersen | Getty Images

The Phoenix Raceway team worked that Championship Weekend as if it were fully normalized – from track preparation to raising the profile locally. And they did it with the full blessing of the community, which has recognized what a significant event this is.

“I still hear from people about the minute you stepped off the airplane into the airport, and we were allowed carte blanche from a signage perspective and then you get in the car and all the highway message boards and message boards about NASCAR championship weekend,’’ Giese said. “You get off onto Avondale Boulevard [by the track] and all the crosswalks are in checkerboard pattern. They put championship decals on the roadways.

“That excites me because we did all that during a pandemic with limitations. So, you think about, once we get past that what this community can do.”

As unforeseen as the circumstances were, Giese was as prepared as anyone could be. The Wisconsin native grew up on a family dairy farm, but her sights were always set on finding a career in racing – a sport that her whole family long loved.

Her second job out of college was with International Speedway Corporation, which quickly discovered that Giese was highly motivated, multi-talented and willing to take on any project. And projects she got – major ones from the “reimagining” remodel at the sport’s marquee Daytona International Speedway to a similarly massive $180 million project overseeing the Phoenix Raceway makeover immediately afterward.

The hard work and great potential was rewarded. At just 43 years old, Giese and former NASCAR executive Jill Gregory (now executive VP and general manager at Sonoma Raceway in California) are the only two women heading up the operations of major racing facilities on the NASCAR premier series schedule.

MORE: Honoring pioneering women in NASCAR

“Honestly in my 20 years now in this industry, I cannot think of one moment where I felt like I was at a disadvantage because I was a female in this sport,’’ Giese says emphatically. “I grew up in this sport. It was my second job out of college. I was raised a race fan and I wanted to just do anything I could, starting at Watkins Glen then Daytona.

“I don’t think I ever encountered someone that didn’t want me to be successful. Instead they are all standing beside me and cheering me on and supporting whatever I needed,” Giese continued. “And I think that goes across all cross sections of our industry. I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many different people and create those relationships that I’ve felt nothing but support. People that want to see me succeed and Phoenix Raceway succeed. There’s a lot of good people in this industry.”

This week, Phoenix Raceway again takes center stage in NASCAR. And the facility is primed and ready largely because of Giese’s leadership and attitude. It’s been an unprecedented tenure already, but meeting the challenges of the past have only magnified the possibilities ahead.

“I think we’ve all embraced it,” Giese said. “The team here is absolutely tremendous and everybody rose to the occasion.”

Posted on March 10, 2021March 13, 2021 by Staff Report

Brad Keselowski has won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Instacart 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Phoenix Raceway.

Series officials released the starting lineup Wednesday morning. Keselowski will drive his No. 2 Team Penske Ford from the pole position with Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sharing the front row. It marks Keselowski’s first pole start of the 2021 season.

Additionally, Daniel Hemric will start his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota from the pole in Saturday’s Call 811 Before You Dig 200 presented by Arizona 811 (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) for the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

As NASCAR adapted to COVID-19 protocols last season, practice and qualifying were eliminated at a majority of national-series events to limit at-track time, exposure and to cut race weekend costs. To determine starting lineups, competition officials used grouped draws, added inversions for weekend doubleheaders, and eventually adopted a performance-metrics formula. That metrics format remains in place this season, drawing on performance from both individual races and season-long results.

NASCAR’s metrics formula for 2021 weighs:

25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
35 percent: Team owner points ranking
15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

See the full lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series race below.

Start pos.	Driver	Car #	Team
1	Brad Keselowski	2	Team Penske
2	Kyle Larson	5	Hendrick Motorsports
3	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing
4	Christopher Bell	20	Joe Gibbs Racing
5	Martin Truex Jr.	19	Joe Gibbs Racing
6	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports
7	Kyle Busch	18	Joe Gibbs Racing
8	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske
9	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske
10	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports
11	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	JTG Daugherty Racing
12	Kurt Busch	1	Chip Ganassi Racing
13	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing
14	Erik Jones	43	Richard Petty Motorsports
15	Ryan Preece	37	JTG Daugherty Racing
16	Michael McDowell	34	Front Row Motorsports
17	Chris Buescher	17	Roush Fenway Racing
18	Kevin Harvick	4	Stewart-Haas Racing
19	Ryan Newman	6	Roush Fenway Racing
20	Matt DiBenedetto	21	Wood Brothers Racing
21	Alex Bowman	48	Hendrick Motorsports
22	Ross Chastain	42	Chip Ganassi Racing
23	Tyler Reddick	8	Richard Childress Racing
24	Cole Custer	41	Stewart-Haas Racing
25	Bubba Wallace	23	23XI Racing
26	Chase Briscoe	14	Stewart-Haas Racing
27	Daniel Suarez	99	Trackhouse Racing Team
28	Anthony Alfredo	38	Front Row Motorsports
29	Justin Haley	77	Spire Motorsports
30	BJ McLeod	78	Live Fast Motorsports
31	Cody Ware	51	Rick Ware Racing
32	Aric Almirola	10	Stewart-Haas Racing
33	Corey LaJoie	7	Spire Motorsports
34	Garrett Smithley	53	Rick Ware Racing
35	Quin Houff	00	StarCom Racing
36	Josh Bilicki	52	Rick Ware Racing
37	Timmy Hill	66	MBM Motorsports
38	James Davison	15	Rick Ware Racing

Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Busch Pole Qualifying was held for the season-opening Daytona 500; the next race with time trials scheduled is the March 28 event at Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track.

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR issued penalties to six Cup Series teams Tuesday for lug-nut infractions, including a one-race suspension for Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Mike Shiplett after last weekend’s events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Weekend schedule for Phoenix

The SHR No. 41 Ford driven by Cole Custer was found with two unsecured lug nuts after Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at the Nevada track, a violation of Section 10.9.10.4 in the NASCAR rule book. That penalty also came with a $20,000 fine to Shiplett, who is in his second year paired with Custer on the No. 41 team.

Five other Cup Series teams were penalized after officials found one unsecured lug nut for each in a post-race check. The crew chiefs for the following teams were each fined $10,000:

• No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (crew chief Rodney Childers, driver Kevin Harvick)
• No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford (crew chief Luke Lambert, driver Chris Buescher)
• No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (crew chief Ben Beshore, driver Kyle Busch)
• No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (crew chief James Small, driver Martin Truex Jr.)
• No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford (crew chief Greg Erwin, driver Matt DiBenedetto)

One team in each the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series were also fined for single-lug infractions. In Xfinity, Jason Trinchere — crew chief of the race-winning No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger — was fined $5,000. In the Camping World Trucks, Trip Bruce — crew chief of the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota for driver Stewart Friesen — was fined $2,500.

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Staff Report

FOX’s Cherries Wild host Jason Biggs will serve as the Grand Marshal for Sunday’s Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Biggs’ previous roles include the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black,” movie “American Pie” and most recently in the FOX comedy “Outmatched.”

Cherries Wild is a fast-paced, half-hour trivia game show by creator and executive producer Wes Kauble. The show features two rounds of pop culture trivia gameplay, during which a team of two contestants will try and “Solve the Slots” in hopes of getting one step closer to winning the life-changing $250,000 jackpot. At the end of each episode, when they spin the reels on the enormous, three-story slot machine, contestants will attempt to capture all five Wild Cherries to win the ultimate cash prize. Kauble is also the executive producer of “Supermarket Sweep” and the co-creator of FOX’s music game show “Beat Shazam.” His first claim to fame was winning the game show “The Weakest Link” in high school.

You can watch Cherries Wild on FOX following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at 7 p.m. ET.