Phoenix II Event Info:
Date: Sunday, October 18th
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Avondale, Arizona
Format: 312 Laps, 312 miles, Stages: 60-185-312
TV: USA
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 1:30 p.m. ET, Practice (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 2:35 p.m. ET, Qualifying (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 3:00 p.m. ET, Race (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- Phoenix hosts its annual fall date this weekend for the 33rd points race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
- Phoenix is the site of seven of Jack Roush’s Cup wins all-time, and 17 wins across NASCAR’s three series.
6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Mike Skarbowski
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com
17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Body Guard by Fastenal
60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Fry’s / Cottonelle
Keselowski at Phoenix
Starts: 34
Wins: —
Top-10s: 15
Poles: 2 (2014, 2021)
- Keselowski returns to Phoenix Raceway where in this race last season he nearly pulled off the victory, leading 6 laps and finishing 2nd – one of three 2nd place Phoenix finishes.
- Keselowski makes his 35th Cup start in Phoenix this weekend where he has 15 top-10s with an average finish of 13.9.
- He’s led 290 laps in 16 different Phoenix races and has ten top-5 finishes.
- Still seeking his first Phoenix win although his last 11 wins have come on 11 different tracks.
- Keselowski has two poles (2014, 2021) with an average starting position of 15.3. He has started inside the top-10 nine times at Phoenix throughout his career, including three on the front row.
- He is a two-time Xfinity Series winner in Phoenix including winning the 2018 race in the No. 22 entry, and in 2014 for Team Penske. Overall, he has 21 NXS starts with fifteen top-10s. He also made two Truck Series starts in 2005 and 2008 with a best finish of sixth in his own No. 19 truck for BKR.
Buescher at Phoenix
Starts: 21
Wins: —
Top-10s: 5
Poles: —
“For a large part of my career, I wanted to burn Phoenix down to the ground,” said Buescher during his media availability at COTA earlier this season. “We are in a better headspace now because we have been good there. Fixes a lot of things as a race car driver when you go to a track and your more competitive.” – He has three top-5’s there, all in the past three seasons.
- Buescher makes his 22nd Cup start in Phoenix this weekend where he has four top-10 finishes in his last six starts.
- Buescher has an average starting position of 22nd.
- Buescher also made four Xfinity Series starts in Phoenix for Jack Roush with a best finish of 12th (2014).
Preece at Phoenix
Starts: 14
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —
- Preece is set to make his 15th Cup start in Phoenix this weekend.
- His best Phoenix finish was 9th in last season’s finale.
- Has led 38 laps at Phoenix.
- Preece has an average starting position of 24th, including a P12 effort in the 2023 season finale.
- 10 Top 10 finishes this season – 3 Top 10 finishes in 6 Chase races
- 10 Top 10 finishes this season – 8 Top 10 finishes last 15 races
RFK Historically at Phoenix
Cup Wins: 7 (Mark Martin, 1993; Jeff Burton, 2000, 2001; Matt Kenseth, 2002; Kurt Busch, 2005; Carl Edwards, 2010, 2013)
- Hooked on Phoenix: RFK has 318 combined starts at Phoenix, totaling 17 wins, 80 top-five and 142 top-10 finishes. RFK Fords have nine poles and have led 4,094 laps led at the 1-mile track.
- Winning in the Desert: RFK has won at Phoenix in all three of NASCAR’s major divisions, with the organization’s first win coming in the fall of 1993 with NASCAR Hall of Famer and former driver Mark Martin in the NCS. RFK won the second-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix in 2000 and former driver Greg Biffle claimed the organization’s 100th overall NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Phoenix in 2009.
- Former driver Carl Edwards also won at the track that fall to give RFK the season sweep. All in all, six drivers have won NASCAR races for RFK at Phoenix (Martin, Biffle, Edwards, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Joe Ruttman). In addition, Edwards swept Phoenix in the fall of 2010, winning both the NXS and NCS events.
- Xfinity Success: Phoenix was one of the strongest tracks for RFK’s Xfinity program. In 93 starts, the organization won eight times, earned 27 top-5s, 53 top-10s and has led 1,406 laps. RFK most recently went to victory lane with Edwards in Nov. 2010. Its eight wins rank most of any track on the circuit behind only Charlotte (12), Darlington (15), Richmond (9) and Rockingham (10).
RFK Phoenix Wins
1993 Martin Cup
1997-2 Ruttman Truck
2000 Burton Cup
2000 Burton NXS
2001 Biffle Truck
2001 Burton Cup
2001 Biffle NXS
2002 Kenseth Cup
2005-1 Busch Cup
2005-2 Edwards NXS
2006-2 Kenseth NXS
2008-2 Edwards NXS
2009-1 Biffle NXS
2009-2 Edwards NXS
2010-2 Edwards Cup
2010-2 Edwards NXS
2013-1 Edwards Cup
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Charlotte: A loose wheel following a pitstop could’ve completely derailed Chris Buescher’s race but instead, determination and the assistance of Ryan Preece’s pit crew helped Buescher lead the way for Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing in Charlotte. During pitstops between stages one and two a wheel was not completely tightened. Realizing this as he headed back to the track, his team quickly communicated the issue, and Buescher was able to back the car into his teammate’s pit stall where the 60 team remedied the issue. Buescher then stormed from the rear of the field to score a tenth place finish. Preece matched the level of determination, grappling through handling issues to score a 15th place finish. Brad Keselowski sustained unavoidable damage in Stage One, when a car directly in front of him slapped the wall and spun. Despite front splitter damage, Keselowski fought hard for a 29th place finish.
Points Standings: Buescher: 15th, Preece: 16th, Keselowski: 18th
