Ryan Newman Breaks Drought with Late-Race Strategy at Phoenix

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When the winner of Sunday’s Camping World 500 was announced, officials might have thought for a moment that they got the wrong envelope, à la Warren Beatty at the Oscars.

But, no, there was no mistake. Ryan Newman was the unexpected winner of the fourth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season after a late caution gave his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team the chance to break a drought dating to 2013. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series DC Solar 200 at Phoenix Preview

Aside

NASCAR XFINITY Series’ teams will race the DC Solar 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, March 18th at 4 pm ET. FOX is providing television coverage with MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio also providing radio coverage.

The DC Solar 200 is 200 miles over 200 laps with Stage 1 ending on lap 60 and Stage 2 ending on lap 120. Continue reading

Joey Logano Edges Ryan Blaney for Pole Position at Phoenix

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camping World 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 17, 2017 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Apparently unfazed by last week’s controversy at Las Vegas, Joey Logano put his No. 22 Team Penske Ford on the pole for Sunday’s Camping World 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix International raceway at 3:30 pm ET on FOX.

In winning his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season, his first at Phoenix and the 18th of his career, Logano saved his best lap for the third and decisive round, streaking around the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert in 26.216 seconds (137.321 mph). Continue reading

Another Solid Run Leaves Kyle Larson Near the Series’ Lead

Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, races during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 12, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Those looking for an in-depth understanding of NASCAR’s stage-based competition format can take a lesson from Kyle Larson.

With his runner-up finish in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson recorded his second straight second-place run in the young Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Continue reading

Opportunistic Logano claims victory in wild Clash at Daytona

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin collided in turn two on the final lap of Sunday’s rain-delayed Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, Joey Logano was there to seize the moment.

Charging to the outside and grabbing the lead near the entry to the Superstretch at the 2.5-mile speedway, Logano took the checkered flag 1.121 seconds ahead of runner-up Kyle Busch, who beat third-place finisher Alex Bowman to the stripe by 0.018 seconds.

Danica Patrick dodged the turn two mêlée to surge from tenth to fourth on the final lap to post her first top-five finish in any Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, though the result is not official because the Clash is an exhibition event with a limited field. Continue reading