The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) heads to Phoenix Raceway for the Shriners Children’s 500 on Sunday, March 9th at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). This weekend will be the 58th running of a NCS race at the track.
In November, Joey Logano elevated his status to another level and in an elite category of three-time champions in NASCAR’s premier series by claiming a dominant victory in the 2024 finale at Phoenix Raceway. By winning the season finale, Logano notched his fourth Cup Series victory of the 2024 season, his third at Phoenix and the 36th of his career.
Katherine Legge, from Guildford, England, will become the eighth female driver in a NASCAR race in the Modern Era (1972-2025). Before this weekend, Danica Patrick, who made 11 starts, was the only female driver in the NCS who had competed at Phoenix. Patrick’s best finish was 16th in 2015.
The NCS Practice and Busch Light Pole qualifying can be seen on Amazon Prime at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 8th.
Track & Race Information
Race #: 04 of 36
Purse: $11,055,250
Track Size: 1-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 9 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 11 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
Race Length: 312 laps / 312 Miles / 500 Kilometers
Stage 1 Length: 60 laps
Stage 2 Length: 125 laps (Ends on Lap 185)
Final Stage Length: 127 laps (Ends on Lap 312)
Also see: NASCAR at Phoenix Raceway – Schedule & Highlights
Who and what should you look out for at Phoenix?
Who might start up front? Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin won the pole in the spring with a lap of 132.655 mph (27.138 secs.). Chase Elliott leads the NCS in average starting position at Phoenix with a 6.235 in 17 starts, then Kyle Larson with 6.667 in 21 starts and Ryan Blaney with an average of 7.278 in 18 starts. Also Hendrick Motorsports leads the NCS in poles at Phoenix Raceway with 15 poles among 10 drivers with active drivers, Alex Bowman (2016), Chase Elliott (2020), Kyle Larson (2021, 2023) and William Byron (2023).
Eight of the 57 NCS races at Phoenix have been won from the pole and 11 of the 57 races have been won from the front row.
Who might win? Joey Logano leads all active NCS drivers in wins at Phoenix Raceway with four (2016, 2020, 2022, 2024). In March 2024, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell won the spring race and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron won the spring race on March 12, 2023. Hendrick Motorsports leads the NCS in wins at Phoenix with 13 victories among nine drivers. Kyle Busch is coming into the race after some great runs. Busch won consecutive NCS races at Phoenix in 2018 and 2019. Chase Elliott leads average starting position at Phoenix with a 6.235 in 17 starts.
Best Average Finish:
| Driver | Races | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Driver Rating | Average Finish |
| Ryan Blaney | 18 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 100.2 | 10.4 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 36 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 22 | 2 | 102.8 | 10.7 |
| William Byron | 14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 95.2 | 11.1 |
| Chase Elliott | 17 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 103.2 | 12.4 |
| Joey Logano | 32 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 5 | 94.7 | 13.1 |
| Tyler Reddick | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 84.5 | 16.7 |
| Daniel Suarez | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 65.3 | 18.1 |
| Erik Jones | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 74.3 | 18.7 |
| Chris Buescher | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 61.5 | 19.3 |
| Ty Dillon | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55.2 | 20.6 |
| Alex Bowman | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 69 | 21.9 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 61.2 | 22 |
| Ty Gibbs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 65.4 | 23 |
| Austin Cindric | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 56.3 | 24 |
| John H. Nemechek | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 26.6 |
| Michael McDowell | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 47.2 | 28.4 |
