NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Leave The Phoenix Competition in the Dust?
The west coast swing ends for NASCAR on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. The Cup Series just visited the desert four months ago for the championship race. This trip to the one-mile oval will look incredibly different though; a new short track rules package will debut this weekend. The site of the all-important finale again in just eight months, who can stamp themselves as a possible title favorite with a Phoenix win?
Joey Logano
2022’s championship finale at Phoenix was a near-perfect race for Joey Logano. In November the 22 started from pole, led a race-high 187 laps, and won his way to title number two. This marked Logano’s third Phoenix checkered flag; his other victories came in fall 2016 and spring 2020. Aside from the three wins, Logano has also been top-10 at Phoenix in all but one race since 2019. After struggling a week ago at Las Vegas, Logano hopes to right the ship at one of his best tracks.
Joey Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang on the grid ahead of the 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19th. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Kyle Busch
Another three-time Phoenix winner, Kyle Busch has been one of the best in the desert in recent years. In all but two races dating back to 2015, Rowdy has not finished worse than seventh. Busch won the first two races on the newly-reconfigured Phoenix Raceway in fall 2018 and spring 2019. These mark KB’s most recent trips to victory lane in the Grand Canyon State. Busch went through his mindset on restarts at Phoenix, as the new layout makes them much more important.
“Phoenix restarts are fun, they’re challenging but fun,” Busch said. “You know you have that big, wide front straightaway where the dogleg is that you can go all the way to the flat down on the apron and be five, six, seven wide or whatever and then you have to funnel down into a two-wide turn. That gets a little dicey but you know it’s cool when you can run different lines and kind of be out of the crowd a little bit and make some passes on some restarts and get some positions on that. I’ve been fortunate to be fast on some restarts in years past and that kind of helps me get some spots right off the bat on a restart. And then you kind of settle in line and you go racing from there.”
The RCR No. 8 team is still riding high from their Fontana win two weeks ago. Even with a less-than-stellar Las Vegas result, Busch enters Phoenix eyeing another win on the west coast swing.
Kyle Busch’s No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro on the grid ahead of the 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19th. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Kevin Harvick
Retiring star Kevin Harvick has otherworldly stats when it comes to Phoenix Raceway. A nine-time winner in the desert, Harvick also boasts 19-straight top-10s here. This is an all-time NASCAR record streak for a single track. While Harvick has not seen Phoenix victory lane since 2018, he should not be counted out of a winning chance of Sunday.
“We’ve probably dominated Phoenix because we spent so much time there learning and tearing stuff up and doing the things you’re not supposed to do at the racetrack,” Harvick said. “But flat tracks, in general, have always been pretty good for us, just because of the fact that I grew up on so many flat tracks. I’ve spent a lot of time at Phoenix. I know the configuration has changed over the years, but it’s a big part of why the flat-track results have been so good throughout the years because it’s a racetrack that I spent a lot of time on growing up in the early part of my career. It’s a racetrack that we put a lot of emphasis on throughout the years because of the fact that we felt like some of our best racetracks were the flat tracks, and Phoenix was one of those. And for me, it was always kind of a sense of pride to go there and run well because I know I have a lot of fans and friends that come to that racetrack. It’s always fun to tell war stories about Phoenix and the things that you did wrong after you’ve won a race in modern time.”
“Phoenix has always been a good racetrack for me. Growing up on the West Coast, that was really the facility that you wanted to win at the most because we always had our biggest Southwest Tour races there. And in the Winston West Series, they actually had provisionals that would get you into the Cup Series race at that particular time. So you had a lot of Winston West guys who would go over and try to participate in the Cup race. I’ve been able to race in front of fans that I started racing in front of in 1994. I’ve been there through reconfigurations and grandstands moved around and start-finish lines moved, but Phoenix has always been a successful spot for us. And I’m fortunate for that because as a kid I dreamed of going there and winning Late Model races, and then you’re coming back and winning Cup races. So it’s fun to be able to live out a lot of those childhood dreams, and I also remember that while I’ve been successful at Phoenix, it really didn’t start that way. I crashed a lot of cars and Trucks there leading up to finally being successful at that particular racetrack. I think I wrecked in ’94 and ’95, in ’96 we didn’t race, ’97 we did OK, ’98 was OK, and we always just kind of did OK with everything that we had.”
“When they moved the start-finish line, there was nothing really different, other than the restart. The restarts have become much more exciting because of the fact that you can use the apron and everything that happens going into what is now turn one. So, the restarts are the biggest difference since they moved the start-finish line. This configuration of racetrack is much different than what we had in the late ’90s, early 2000s.”
The cactus king hopes to reign supreme once again in Arizona. Harvick is coming off of back-to-back top-10s, and also enters Phoenix not far off the points lead at third in the standings. Should the 4 sniff the front of the field, the rest of the competition could be in serious trouble.
Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang on the grid ahead of the 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19th. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Denny Hamlin
Another quietly-consistent veteran at Phoenix is two-time winner Denny Hamlin. Hamlin most recent bested the Phoenix competition in 2019’s Playoff race, with four top-10s since then. Despite Chevrolet taking the first three races of 2023, Hamlin believes Phoenix will provide a great equalizer for all manufacturers.
“The new short track aero package is going to be a game changer,” Hamlin said. “This is going to be a simulation race. There’s going to be drivers in the sim, there’s going to be engineers working on setups nonstop because this is going to be a big change to what you see with the racing product. It’s roughly 40-percent less downforce than what we’ve had in the past. I know the guys who tested there talked about how much more you’re on edge with less downforce. I am really looking forward to it. It’s going to be exciting.”
“Phoenix is a different type of track than we’ve seen so far this season. I think the setup is going to be one of the biggest factors. I think everyone is right back in the game. I don’t think that there’s any really big aero advantages. Since it’s a shorter track, the speeds are down and the aerodynamics are not as prevalent as they are at a place like Las Vegas.”
Hamlin has been surprisingly average to start 2023, with only one top-10 and not even 30 laps led. The FedEx 11 will hope to end Chevrolet’s stranglehold on victory lane this weekend.
Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx 50 Toyota Camry on the grid ahead of the 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19th. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Kyle Larson
Not that long ago, Kyle Larson capped off his unbelievable 2021 season at Phoenix, grabbing his 10th win that year and the Cup Series Championship. Phoenix has proven to be a playground for Larson as of late, with seven top-10s since 2018. Across both 2022 races here, the 5 was 34th after spring engine issues, and ninth last fall. Larson is optimistic for another strong run on Sunday.
“I enjoy Phoenix (Raceway),” Larson said. “2021 was a great ending for us there, getting the win and the championship. I feel like we’re usually on the cusp of being able to lead laps and win races there. It’s a unique track. Different than any other race track we go to. The shape of it, the size of it, the banking, everything is unique to Phoenix. I also bought a place out here (Scottsdale) a handful of months ago, so it’s kind of like a home race for me now and I really enjoy going there.”
Larson has been locked out of victory lane through 2023’s opening three weeks, but he has been close. The 5 was going for the win on the last lap of the Daytona 500, fast in Auto Club despite being laps down, and a close second in Las Vegas. Larson could very easily make it back-to-back winners for Team Hendrick Sunday at Phoenix.
Kyle Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro on the grid ahead of the 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19th. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Ryan Blaney
Perhaps the only car within reach of Joey Logano in November was his teammate Ryan Blaney. The Penske 12 led 109 laps and won a Stage en route to a runner-up result behind the 22. This all came despite being eliminated from title contention. That P2 effort marked Blaney’s fifth-straight Phoenix top-10 finish. With Playoffs not being an issue for this trip to Phoenix, Blaney may go for broke and end his losing skid.
Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Menards/Blue Def Ford Mustang on the grid ahead of the 65th Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19th. Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
The new aero package makes this Phoenix race especially tough to predict. The six drivers above have all seen great success before on the flat desert mile. They will all be gunning for another win Sunday. Be sure to not miss a lap of action in the United Rental Work United 500. Coverage begins Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR
