This Week in Motorsports: March 8-14, 2021
· NCS/NXS/ARCA: Phoenix Raceway – March 12-14
PLANO, Texas (March 10, 2021) – Three series take on Phoenix Raceway this weekend as the ARCA Menards Series West kicks off their season while the Cup and Xfinity Series visit the track where the championship trophy will be lifted at later this year.
NASCAR National Series – NCS| NXS
Points leader Hamlin looking for first win of the season… Denny Hamlin scored another top-five finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to extend his NASCAR Cup Series points lead. Hamlin has yet to win this season as the Virginia-native looks to add to his Phoenix Raceway trophy collection. Hamlin owns two victories at the track (March 2012, November 2019).
Back-to-back Busch… Kyle Busch comes into Phoenix off his best finish of the season, a third-place effort in Las Vegas on Sunday. Busch has three victories at Phoenix, winning the last two in back-to-back fashion in November 2018 and March 2019.
Jones delivers big for Toyota… Brandon Jones delivered a milestone for Toyota in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) event at Phoenix Raceway one year ago. Jones drove to his second-career victory, which was also Toyota’s 500th NASCAR win. Jones has since added two additional victories and is coming off his third straight top-five finish this season.
Hemric continues strong start… Daniel Hemric has continued to run strong in the opening parts of the 2021 season. In Vegas, Hemric led over 70 laps in the No. 18 Supra and drove to a runner-up finish. He has finished each of the first four races inside the top-10.
Ferrucci impresses in early efforts… Santino Ferrucci scored a top-15 finish in just his second career NASCAR start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday. Ferrucci will race in the No. 26 Supra this weekend in Phoenix with the Sam Hunt Racing team, which holds a top-15 spot in the overall Xfinity Series owner standings.
Gibbs back behind the wheel… Ty Gibbs is back for his second Xfinity Series start this weekend in Phoenix after an impressive victory in his Xfinity Series debut on the road course at Daytona International Speedway last month. Gibbs will also compete for another win in the ARCA Menards Series race on Friday evening.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA
Love looking to repeat… The ARCA Menards Series West kick off its season on Friday evening and Toyota development driver Jesse Love is the defending champion. The 16-year-old driver became the youngest champion in NASCAR history last fall when he clinched the title at Phoenix Raceway in November.
Heim plans to continue strong start… Friday’s ARCA Menards Series race is also the second race of the national ARCA schedule, where Corey Heim comes in on a two-race winning streak. Heim scored Toyota’s 100th ARCA victory in Kansas last fall in the 2020 season finale and followed that up with a dominating performance at Daytona International Speedway in February.
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