FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: PHOENIX PLAYOFF NOTES
The NASCAR season comes to an end this weekend as Phoenix Raceway hosts all three playoff finales, beginning with Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. That will be followed by the NASCAR XFINITY Series on Saturday and NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday.
This Week’s Schedule:
Friday, November 5 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 8 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, November 6 – NASCAR XFINITY Series, 8:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)
Sunday, November 7 – NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. ET (NBC)
FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT PHOENIX
- Ford has 17 series wins at Phoenix Raceway.
- Alan Kulwicki won the first series race at Phoenix Raceway in 1988.
- Current Ford drivers Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman have series wins.
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT PHOENIX
- Ford leads all manufacturers with 15 series wins at Phoenix Raceway.
- Ford has won at least once at Phoenix Raceway in three of the last four seasons.Austin Cindric has won the last two series races at Phoenix Raceway.
FORD IN THE NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES AT PHOENIX
- Ford has 3 series wins at Phoenix Raceway.
- Jack Roush has two of those series wins with Joe Ruttman and Greg Biffle.
- Greg Biffle and Matt Crafton have won series championships with Ford.
CINDRIC GOING FOR SECOND STRAIGHT NXS TITLE
Austin Cindric has never been lower than second in the point standings after winning five times this season and posting 21 top-5 and 25 top-10 finishes in 32 starts. He comes into this weekend’s finale having won each of the last two races held at Phoenix Raceway, including last year’s championship event in which he passed Noah Gragson on the final lap to win in overtime. Cindric is looking to become the eighth driver to win back-to-back series championships and the second Ford driver after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. did it in 2011-2012.
BACK-TO-BACK NXS SERIES CHAMPIONS
Sam Ard (1983-48), Larry Pearson (1986-87), Randy LaJoie (1996-97), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998-99), Martin Truex Jr. (2004-05), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2011-12), Tyler Reddick (2018-19).
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 22 Carshop Ford Mustang – Team Penske
Austin Cindric will be making his third career Championship 4 appearance, and second straight in the NASCAR XFINITY Series…Cindric was part of the title race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2017 and finished fifth in the race, which was good for third in the final standings…He captured the championship last year after winning the season finale with a last-lap overtime pass…In seven NXS series starts at Phoenix, Cindric has two wins, four top-5 and six top-10 finishes.
FORD’S NXS CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVERS
2002 – Greg Biffle
2007 – Carl Edwards
2011 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2012 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2015 – Chris Buescher
2020 – Austin Cindric
MUSTANG LOOKING TO ADD ANOTHER TITLE
Mustang has dominated the NASCAR XFINITY Series since it joined the circuit full-time in 2011, winning at least one championship in eight of its first 10 seasons. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won back-to-back drivers’ championships in 2011 and 2012 while Chris Buescher (2015) and Austin Cindric (2020) have one series title each. Roger Penske has dominated the owner’s championship, winning five times in the last eight seasons, including three in a row from 2013-15. Overall, Mustang has won 11 driver’s and owner’s championships combined going into Saturday’s final event at Phoenix Raceway.
MUSTANG NASCAR XFINITY CHAMPIONSHIP STREAK
2011 — Driver’s Championship (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.)
2011 — Owner’s Championship (Jack Roush, No. 6)
2012 — Driver’s Championship (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.)
2013 — Owner’s Championship (Roger Penske, No. 22)
2014 — Owner’s Championship (Roger Penske, No. 22)
2015 — Driver’s Championship (Chris Buescher)
2015 — Owner’s Championship (Roger Penske, No. 22)
2017 — Owner’s Championship (Roger Penske, No. 22)
2018 – Owner’s Championship (Stewart-Haas, No. 00)
2020 – Driver’s Championship (Austin Cindric)
2020 – Owner’s Championship (Roger Penske, No. 22)
GILLILAND GOING FOR TRUCK SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Even though Todd Gilliland was eliminated from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver’s championship, he’ll still be racing to give Front Row Motorsports its first NASCAR title as he runs for the owner’s crown Friday night. In four career Phoenix starts, Gilliland has two top-10 finishes, including a ninth place run one year ago. He will be battling Zane Smith (21), Ben Rhodes (99) and John Hunter Nemechek (4) while hoping to give Ford its first championship in the series since Matt Crafton won the driver’s title two years ago.
FORD’S NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVERS
2000 – Greg Biffle
2019 – Matt Crafton
FORD NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT PHOENIX
1988 – Alan Kulwicki
1989 – Bill Elliott
1991 – Davey Allison
1992 – Davey Allison
1993 – Mark Martin
1995 – Ricky Rudd
1997 – Dale Jarrett
1998 – Rusty Wallace
2000 – Jeff Burton
2001 – Jeff Burton
2002 – Matt Kenseth
2005 – Kurt Busch (1)
2010 – Carl Edwards (2)
2013 – Carl Edwards (1)
2016 – Joey Logano (2)
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1)
2020 – Joey Logano (1)
FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT PHOENIX
2000 – Jeff Burton
2001 – Greg Biffle
2003 – Bobby Hamilton Jr.
2005 – Greg Biffle (1) and Carl Edwards (2)
2006 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2008 – Carl Edwards (2)
2009 – Greg Biffle (1) and Carl Edwards (2)
2010 – Carl Edwards (2)
2014 – Brad Keselowski (2)
2015 – Joey Logano (1)
2018 – Brad Keselowski (1)
2020 – Austin Cindric (2)
2021 – Austin Cindric (1)
FORD NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT PHOENIX
1997 – Joe Ruttman (2)
1998 – Mike Bliss (2)
2001 – Greg Biffle
