2 months agoMichael McDowell finished eighth in Sunday's race at Phoenix Raceway. Starting from ninth, McDowell quietly remained in the Top 10 for the first stage by placing eighth. McDowell, however, faded back during the second stage to the middle of the pack and nearly went a lap down as a result. During the final stage of Sunday's race, McDowell would eventually work his way back into the Top 10 after cautions and pit strategy shuffled the field around and held off the field for his second top-10 result of the year. The No.34 Front Row Motorsports driver's second Phoenix top-10 finish is now his best career result at the site in 27 starts. After nabbing two top-10 finishes in the last three Cup races this season, McDowell heads to Bristol, where he has three finishes of 11th or better in his previous four starts.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoTy Gibbs finished third at the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. During Sunday's race, Gibbs was the early dominator, leading most of the first stage before falling to second behind Tyler Reddick. After falling behind in the second stage, the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver took advantage of a two-tire call on pit road and drove his way into the Top 3. After scoring his first career top-5 finish at Phoenix, Gibbs has the best average finish of all drivers this year after four races (8.8) with three top-10 finishes. As the Cup Series heads to Bristol, Gibbs will be one to watch as he led 105 laps and finished fifth in his last race at the site.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoIn the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway, Ross Chastain obtained a quality sixth-place finish. After starting 12th, Chastain would run around his starting position and compete for a top-10 finish for most of the day. Despite failing to collect stage points during the race, Chastain would take advantage of pit strategy later to compete for a better finish, similar to Las Vegas last week, where he placed fourth. Chastain would end the race as the only Chevrolet driver to finish in the Top 10 after the manufacturer struggled to find their way to the front this week. With his third-consecutive top-10 result of the year, which was his fourth overall at Phoenix, Chastain is proving to be one of the top drivers after four races. However, next week's race at Bristol will be a challenge for the Trackhouse Racing driver with only one top-10 finish in his Cup career despite six finishes with positive place differential.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoIn Sunday's race at Phoenix, Chase Briscoe finished ninth after starting eighth. The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford looked solid during the early portion of Sunday's Cup event at the Arizona track and racked up stage points at the end of the first stage. After falling back in the middle portion of the race, Briscoe worked through the field with pit strategy to score his second top-10 result in four races and his best finish of the season. With his fourth top-10 finish in the last five races, Phoenix becomes the second Cup track where Briscoe obtained at least four top-10 finishes. After starting with two top-10 finishes in the first four races for the second time in his Cup career, Briscoe heads to Bristol, where he has two top-15 finishes in three Cup races.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoMartin Truex, Jr. was the fastest driver in Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 race at Phoenix, just as he was at Atlanta, making him the first NASCAR Cup driver to have the fastest average speed twice this season. Truex leads all drivers with a speed percentile of 95.71, but his chances for victory were thwarted by an ill-fated decision by Truex himself to stay out on the race's sixth caution after his teammate Denny Hamlin spun. He did so because he assumed the race would have several subsequent cautions to allow him to stretch his fuel mileage. Those cautions never came, though. Truex bailed early on this pit strategy and made his final pit stop with 40 laps to go. Although it cost him the win, Truex unlapped himself and made a furious charge back to seventh, thereby explaining his blinding speed. Truex might need to let James Small make the pit call next time.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoDespite winning the pole at Phoenix, Denny Hamlin was somewhat disappointing as he had an 0-3 lead change record, being passed once by his teammate Ty Gibbs on Lap 1 and twice by his driver Tyler Reddick after taking the lead in the pits twice due to having the best pit stall. Early in Stage 3, Hamlin attempted to retake the lead from Reddick but his car broke loose while alongside and he bounced off Reddick's car before spinning out and bringing out the caution. Luckily, there was no damage to his car nor the car he owned (Reddick's) and Hamlin rallied back for an 11th-place finish. Hamlin still tied Reddick for the most laps led in the race and ranked second overall with a speed percentile of 92.51, so his performance was certainly still solid. However, since Toyota drivers swept the top five positions in average speed in the race, he had to be expecting more when it came to finishing position.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoIn qualifying for the Shriners Children's 500, Bubba Wallace collected a starting position of 22nd. This marks Wallace's second starting position outside of the Top 20 going into the fourth race of the year. In 12 Phoenix starts, Wallace has six top-20 finishes, including top-15 finishes in both races at the site last year. The driver of the No. 23 Toyota also obtained two top-5 finishes this season and led in two different Cup events. In practice, Wallace's speeds were among the Top 5 fastest in most categories, and he had the fastest 10-consecutive lap average. Despite the mediocre qualifying effort, Wallace has one of the fastest cars set for longer green flag runs. As a result, Wallace is one driver who is easy to recommend as a DFS start for Phoenix despite the track history not being as strong as others in the same salary tier.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoFor the Shriners Children's 500, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start from the 20th position. In 22 Phoenix starts, Stenhouse has 11 top-20 finishes but only placed inside the Top 10 twice. The driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet has been inconsistent recently, with two top-20 finishes in his last eight Cup races at PR. Through three races this season, Stenhouse has two top-20 finishes, both acquired during the previous two Cup events. In practice, Stenhouse's speeds were ranked in the Top 20 in the single, five, and 10-consecutive lap average categories. Stenhouse's middle-of-the-pack start position makes him usable for DFS lineups, but his practice speeds and Phoenix history suggest he's not the best option for the salary range.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months ago23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick obtained a starting position of sixth after qualifying for Phoenix. In eight starts at the Arizona track, Reddick has two top-5 finishes, both of which were scored in the last two March races. The driver of the No. 45 Toyota also has four finishes with positive Place Differential in his Cup career at PR. Outside of five consecutive lap averages, Reddick was among the top 10 fastest drivers in all categories in terms of speed in practice. With plenty of momentum from finishing as the runner-up last week at Las Vegas, fantasy players should feel comfortable taking a chance on Reddick at Phoenix despite little PD upside.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoDerek Kraus is returning to the No. 16 Chevrolet this week for Phoenix after finishing 28th in his Cup Series debut last week at Las Vegas. As a result of his qualifying run, he will start Sunday's race at PR from 26th position. Most of Kraus' previous NASCAR experience at Phoenix is from the Truck Series where he has three top-15 finishes in six starts. Kraus also has one Xfinity start at the site, where he ran 84 laps before crashing and placing 37th in November 2023. The No. 16 Chevrolet was one of the slowest cars in practice, being among the Top 3 slowest in every category on speed. With Kraus' inexperience in a Cup car, mediocre results in lower Series, and a slow car in pre-race events, fantasy players should fade him this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoWilliam Byron obtained a starting position of fifth in qualifying for the Shriners Children's 500, his second top-5 start position of the year after starting fourth at Las Vegas. In 12 starts at Phoenix, Byron has seven top-10 finishes, including each of the last three Cup events there, and is the defending race winner in Sunday's race. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet has the best average finish of all drivers (9.6) and scored two top-10 finishes through three races so far this year. Despite his car not showing as much speed in pre-race events as some, Byron still had the seventh-best overall lap average in practice. Byron's comprehensive history at Phoenix, his 2024 performance so far through three races, and top-notch Hendrick Motorsports equipment make him a favorite to consider this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoStewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe will start this week's Cup race at Phoenix Raceway from the eighth position. With his starting position this week, Briscoe continues his streak of top-10 starts, with his third in a row this year going into the fourth race of the year. Historically, Phoenix is one of Briscoe's best tracks. It is the site of his only Cup win so far, and he also captured three top-10 finishes and led 114 laps there. The driver of the No. 14 Ford also has five finishes with positive place differential in six starts at PR. In practice, Briscoe showcased a car that is fastest on longer green flag runs as he ranked among the Top 10 in 20,25, and 30-consecutive lap averages. Although his strong history at Phoenix points to a favorable run, Briscoe's high starting position and inconsistent results through three races this year make him a risky tournament play for DFS.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoIn this week's qualifying session for Phoenix, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell scored a starting position of 13th. This will be Bell's second consecutive race at Phoenix, starting from the 13th position after he failed to finish due to an incident last November. In eight starts at PR, the driver of the No. 20 Toyota has four top-10 finishes, all of which were gained in his previous six races at the Arizona track. Bell's practice times bode well for another top-10 finish as he ranked second in the five and 10-consecutive lap averages, while he had the fastest 15,20,25, and 30-consecutive lap averages. Despite no lead lap finishes in the last two races this year and no prior top-5 finishes at Phoenix in his career, Bell's car through pre-race events indicates that he will be one of the favorites competing for the win.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoThe last time the NASCAR Cup Series raced at Phoenix Raceway, Ross Chastain led 157 of the 312 laps en route to his fourth career victory in the sport's top series. Chastain was able to do this after qualifying eighth and having a great long-run race car. This weekend, for the Shriners Children's 500, Chastain qualified 12th and once again has a great long-run car, as the No. 1 Chevrolet continued to be fast as the laps ticked off in practice, winding up inside the top five when it came to 15-, 20-, and 25-lap average. Even better for DFS players is the fact that DraftKings put the Trackhouse Racing driver's salary at just $9,000 this weekend, making Chastain one of the best plays on the slate with his race-winning potential upside.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
2 months agoJoey Logano's No. 22 Ford was the fastest car in practice at Phoenix on Friday afternoon, but the Penske Racing driver wasn't able to replicate that speed during qualifying on Saturday. When the Shriners Children's 500 goes green on Sunday, Logano will roll off the starting grid from 23rd-place. Although that is not the worst thing in the world, it is definitely a bit of a disadvantage, as track position is very important when it comes to the racing at Phoenix Raceway. Still, Logano had one of the fastest cars on the track during practice this weekend, ranking second-fastest in both 15- and 20-lap average on Friday. At Phoenix, Joey is a three-time winner, but he struggled in the two races here last season, coming home with finishes of 11th- and 18th-place. It looks like the No. 22 Ford will be faster than that this weekend, though, and Logano should be able to contend for a top-10 result (if not better).
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
RADIO
