The final pass for the lead? That’s happened in the final 10 laps all three weeks too. Down to the wireĪll three races this season have come down to restarts within the final four laps, including overtime periods at both Daytona and Las Vegas. That trend seems very likely to continue Sunday in Phoenix. The Next Gen car has provided plenty of opportunity to pass for the lead through three races, evidenced by 35 lead changes at Daytona, 32 at Auto Club and 23 at Las Vegas. Eight of the last 10 races there have featured at least 15 lead changes. If you like lead changes, you might like this weekend’s race in Phoenix. But for all the different faces in victory lane, only three organizations have gone to Victory Lane: Hendrick Motorsports (Larson and Elliott), Joe Gibbs Racing (Busch, Truex and Hamlin) and Team Penske, which got there via Joey Logano’s triumph in spring 2020.
AL PHOENIX VIEWER DRIVER
The only driver to repeat on the current configuration is Busch, who won the fall 2018 and spring 2019 events. That list includes Larson and Chase Elliott, the past two winners of the fall race to claim their first career titles.
AL PHOENIX VIEWER DRIVERS
In the seven races since the start/finish line was moved to the exit of what was previously Turn 2, six different drivers have gone to victory lane. But what a start for the other guys so far. Surely, the sport’s aforementioned powerhouses will remain as such and might weed out the pretenders from the contenders in short order. The Next Gen car has shown that driver talent matters - at least for now. Sixth in that category is JTG-Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 43 Chevrolet for Petty GMS Motorsports, has the second-best average running position in the series at 11.111, according to NASCAR’s loop data statistics. In consecutive weeks, winless drivers Tyler Reddick (90, Auto Club) and Ross Chastain (83, Vegas) have led the most laps respectively.Įrik Jones, driving the No. And while the faces highest among the leaderboard have been from familiar teams, take a look around at who else has been competitive. Twenty-five drivers with top 10s thus far is an astounding number. On the contrary, these first three Cup races have displayed the most parity in nearly 50 years. Maybe that’s why Larson, Truex, Joey Logano, Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric and Busch hold the top five points positions too.
And the best teams in the sport tend to feature the best wheelmen too.
AL PHOENIX VIEWER HOW TO
Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports are the lone programs to score victories in this young season, and Joe Gibbs Racing found two of its drivers - Truex and Kyle Busch - duking it out for the apparent win before a late caution in Las Vegas.ĭrivers are quickly learning how to balance their cars on the edge of control - some quicker than others. To the shock of very few, the elite teams in NASCAR remain elite. Three races into the new year, it’s time to see who’s building momentum and who’s falling behind entering Phoenix Raceway for Sunday’s race (3:30 p.m. But it was Kyle Larson who claimed his first Cup championship and first win at Phoenix when the series last visited to end the season. was victorious in March 2021 and was part of the Championship 4 chasing a title last November.
The NASCAR Cup Series ends its West Coast Swing with a pivotal trip to Phoenix Raceway, building the notebook for this fall’s championship race.Ĭup teams tested the Next Gen car at the 1-mile, D-shaped oval in late January, the final test before the 2022 season began.
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