NASCAR XFINITY Series
Next Race: Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200
The Place: Phoenix International Raceway
The Date: Saturday, March 12
The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: FOX, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200 miles (200 laps)
Suárez Takes Over Points Lead, Hits Major Milestone
On the strength of three consecutive top-tens to start the season, Daniel Suárez took the points lead for the first time in his young – and impressive – career.
It was also the first-time in NASCAR history that a driver born outside the United States has led the standings in any NASCAR national series. The Mexico-born driver also matched his best finish of second last weekend at Las Vegas.
Suárez is now three points ahead of second-place Elliott Sadler and seven points ahead of third-place Ty Dillon and fourth-place Brandon Jones.
Suárez has made two starts at Phoenix, posting one top-five and an average finish of 7.5.
NASCAR’s Loop Data points to Suárez running strong in Phoenix. He ranks in the top-ten in three major statistical categories: seventh in pre-race driver rating (101.1), fifth in average running position (7.4), and first in percentage of laps run in the top 15 (100.0%).
In three starts this season Suárez has posted one top five, three top-tens and an average finish of 5.7.
Top Four in the Standings are Separated by Seven Points
Three races into the 2016 XFINITY Series season, the top-four drivers in the standings have just seven points between them. Daniel Suárez holds the lead – three points ahead of second-place Elliott Sadler, and seven points ahead of third-place Ty Dillon and fourth-place Brandon Jones.
Competition has been tight this season. JR Motorsports’ veteran Elliott Sadler dropped to second in the points this week following his third top-ten finish of the year. Sadler has posted an average finish of 7.0 this season, yet he couldn’t stop Suárez.
Sadler rolls into Phoenix looking to make his 15th series start there. In his previous 14 starts, he has posted one win (2012), four top-fives, seven top-tens and an average finish of 12.4.
Nipping at Sadler’s heels is Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon, whose 2016 season has seen one top-five and two top-tens. Dillon runs well at Phoenix. In four starts at the one-mile oval, he has posted two top-fives, four top-tens and an average finish of 6.2.
Brandon Jones is the highest ranked Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate in the series driver standings. This season, he has posted two top-ten finishes and an average finish of 8.0. He will be making his series track debut at Phoenix this weekend.
Rookies On The Move: Erik Jones, Poole Are Climbing The Series Standings
Two of the biggest movers in the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship points this past weekend were Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates Erik Jones (+four point positions) and Brennan Poole (+four point positions).
Jones has been on a tear the past two weeks. Following Atlanta, Jones vaulted 11 spots in the points from 22nd to 11th. This past weekend, he jumped another four up to seventh; which shouldn’t be surprising because he has rallied off two third-place finishes in his last two starts.
Expect Jones’ ascension in the standings to continue this weekend at Phoenix. In three starts at the one-mile track, he has posted two top-fives and an average finish of 4.7.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Brennan Poole has been playing catch-up these past few weekends due to his 27th-place finish in the season opener at Daytona that buried him in the standings (18th). The resilient Poole finished 14th at Atlanta, jumping three spots in the points and finished 11th last week, moving him up another four spots to 11th.
Poole has made one start at Phoenix, finishing 26th after starting 21st.
Erik Jones leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by six points over second-place Brandon Jones following Las Vegas.
Double Duty: Busch, Elliott, Dillon and Keselowski Will Line up Saturday
Four popular NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will be competing this weekend in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix International Raceway: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, and Brad Keselowski. All four are former series champions who are returning to the series where they made their names.
NASCAR In Arizona
NASCAR has competed in the state of Arizona all the way back to the 1950s. NASCAR has held 100 national series races in the state of Arizona at four different tracks – Phoenix International Raceway (92), Arizona State Fairgrounds (four), Tucson Raceway Park (three) and Tucson Rodeo Grounds (one).
The very first NASCAR race held in Arizona was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Arizona State Fairgrounds in 1951; won by Marshall Teague (Hudson, 60.153 mph, 2:21:16).
The XFINITY Series has put on 28 races in the state of Arizona, all at Phoenix International Raceway. The first NXS race at PIR was in 1999 and Jeff Gordon won (Chevrolet, 115.053 mph, 1:44:18).
Thirty-one drivers who have competed in at least one NASCAR national series race have their home state recorded as Arizona, but none have visited Victory Lane.
Noteworthy XFINITY Series News
Yeley Returns Home – Phoenix native J.J. Yeley, returns home to show off his racing skills in front of the hometown crowd at Phoenix International Raceway. Yeley will be making his 13th series start at PIR where he has posted three top-tens and an average finish of 19.4. He will pilot the No. 14 Tri-Star Motorsports Toyota this weekend.
GMS Racing joins the NXS – For the first time this season GMS Racing will field the No. 21 Chevrolet with driver Spencer Gallagher behind the wheel. Gallagher, a Las Vegas native, will be making his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut this weekend as well. He is also a full-time championship competitor in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.