The Cup Series heads to Phoenix for the season’s first race at a track 1 mile or less in length.
Teams will debut the new short track/road course package and also have a new tire. It’s all designed to give drivers more maneuverability and opportunities to make passes.
That’s not all that teams face this week. Here’s a look at where things stand for each organization:
23XI Racing — Good news: Tyler Reddick scored 53 points in his second-place finish at Las Vegas to move from 25th to 12th in the points. Also, 23XI Racing is the only team to have had a car finish in the top five in each of the first three races of the year. Bad news: Pit road at Las Vegas. Tyler Reddick’s four-tire pit stop of 10.5437 seconds, according to Racing Insights, ranked 13th quickest among those who stopped at Lap 237 — the final pit stop of the race. On an earlier stop, Reddick had to back up in his stall to exit. Teammate Bubba Wallace’s team lost several laps trying to loosen a lug nut to remove a tire.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Michael McDowell finished ninth at Phoenix last fall, his first top 10 at his hometown track. Bad news: Todd Gilliland is the only driver who has started each of the season’s first three races and has yet to score a top-20 finish this year.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: They say the house always wins in Las Vegas … except when going against this organization, which has won four of the past five Las Vegas races after Kyle Larson’s win last weekend. Bad news: Chase Elliott has not finished in the top 10 in the last seven races. He also has not finished in the top 10 in his three starts at Phoenix in the Next Gen car.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Three of its drivers finished in the top 10 at Las Vegas (Ty Gibbs was fifth, Martin Truex Jr. was seventh and Denny Hamlin was eighth). Bad news: Phoenix is next. JGR has not had a top-five finish in the four races at Phoenix in the Next Gen car era.
JTG Daugherty Racing — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s 17th-place finish last week at Las Vegas was his best result there in the Next Gen car. Bad news: Stenhouse has not had a top-10 finish in his last 12 Phoenix starts.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: Daniel Hemric’s 19th-place finish at Las Vegas gives him three consecutive top-20 finishes to open the season. Also, Phoenix is where Hemric scored his lone Xfinity win in 2021 to claim the series championship. Bad news: Kaulig did not have a car finish better than 20th in either Phoenix race last year.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Both Erik Jones (15th in points) and John Hunter Nemechek (16th) remain in a playoff spot. Bad news: Jones has failed to finish better than 14th in the last eight races at Phoenix.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch is one of seven drivers to finish on the lead lap in all three races this year, joining William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Martin Truex Jr. and John Hunter Nemechek. Bad news: Austin Dillon has finished 12th or worse in his last 10 races at Phoenix and has never led a lap there in 20 Cup starts.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Nine drivers have broken winless droughts of 44 or more races at Phoenix since 2009. Justin Haley is winless in his last 108 Cup starts. Bad news: Haley has one top-20 finish in six starts at Phoenix.
RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski finished a race for the first time this season, placing 13th last week at Las Vegas. Bad news: Chris Buescher did not finish Las Vegas, placing last after his wheel came off and he crashed.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Rookie Carson Hocevar finished 15th at Las Vegas despite a flat tire during the race. Bad news: Rookie Zane Smith hit the wall early at Las Vegas and went on to finish 36th.
Stewart-Haas Racing — Good news: Noah Gragson finished sixth for his second top 10 in the first three races. Bad news: Gragson is 34th in the season standings with 29 points, a result of a 35-point penalty for an infraction with the roof rails at Atlanta.
Team Penske — Good news: Ryan Blaney finished third at Las Vegas. He looks for more this weekend at Phoenix. He has placed second in each of the last three races there. Also, Joey Logano has started on the front row for each of the season’s first three races. Bad news: Logano’s average finish through the first three races is 23.0.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain won the last time the series raced at Phoenix. Bad news: Chastain has been penalized for speeding on pit road in each of the past two races.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: After being eliminated five laps into the Daytona 500 by an accident, Harrison Burton has completed all 467 laps at Atlanta and Las Vegas the past two weeks. Bad news: Burton finished 30th at Las Vegas, six spots worse than his average running position.
