This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series makes their first visit of the year to the desert in Arizona. Coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children’s 500k will start with NASCAR RaceDay on FOX Sports 1 at 2 p.m. ET. At 2:30 p.m. ET, the show will move to FOX. Race coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:45 p.m. ET. Radio coverage will be provided by local MRN Radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
 

Records and facts

Last year's United Rentals Work United 500k saw Kyle Larson dominate for much of the day. The 2021 Cup champion led 201 laps and was in good position to pick up the win. Then, AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs collided in turn 2 to bring out a yellow and put the race into overtime.

On the restart, William Byron was able to get past his teammate to take the lead. From there, Byron held on to win for the second week in a row.

Byron won by .330 seconds over Ryan Blaney. Tyler Reddick was third, while Larson had to settle for fourth. Kevin Harvick was fifth.

Harvick is the winningest driver at Phoenix International Raceway all-time with nine victories on the tricky tri-oval. Jimmie Johnson has four victories in his own right, while Logano, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. each have three.

Nine drivers have two victories in Phoenix. Denny Hamlin is the only active driver in the group. The others are Davey Allison, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman.

Track Facts 
Track / Race Length: 1 mile tri-oval, 312 laps (312 miles, 502.32 kilometers)
Banking: 10-11 degrees in the Dogleg (flat below the yellow line), 8-9 degrees in turns 1-2, 10-11 degrees in turns 3-4.

Frontstretch: 1,551 ft., banked 9-11 degrees
Backstretch: 1,179 ft., banked 3 degrees
Grandstand Seating: 45,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 50 mph
Opened: 1964 (first Cup race in 1988)

Website: http://www.phoenixraceway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/phoenixraceway

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Friday, March 8, 5 - 5:50 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

Qualifying: Saturday, March 9, 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

Say What!

"Phoenix is very straightforward-looking, but the two ends are so different that it’s a big challenge to get your car working good, especially with the NextGen car having come around, and we are shifting a bit. It’s definitely a fun place and it’s been really racy there the last couple of years and I enjoy going there. I feel like we had a strong run overall in Vegas and hopefully we have that this weekend in Phoenix with our Bass Pro Shops Camry XSE.
 

"I don’t know a whole lot about it as far as what it’s going to be like. Fortunately, we’re going to get a full practice session on Friday, so that’ll be nice to kind of go through some things and try to see where it’s all different and what it does. I certainly think this package on paper is going to put a lot more in the driver’s hands. We should be slipping and sliding around a lot more. I think it’s going to be easier to pass guys, you’re going to see a lot more comers and goers. From a racing standpoint on the short tracks, I definitely think it’s going to make it better. So that’s exciting to think about. Any time the drivers can get more things put in their hands, they like that. I’m looking forward to it. We’ve had a pretty good package there in the past. We’re going to change that package, so that’s a little concerning, kind of knowing that we’ve always been pretty good there. Just trying to understand how all that’s going to apply. There’s lot of moving targets and variables, but it’s still a racecar and you’ve still got to get it around the racetrack as fast as you can, so that’s what we’ll have to do." - Chase Briscoe

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.  Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.