NASCAR Cup Series

The No. 51 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has been penalized for a rules infraction discovered during post-race inspection March 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

This Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, Kasey Kahne will make his 400th career Cup start. In 399 career starts to this point, Kahne has accumulated 17 wins, 83 top-five finishes and 147 top-10 finishes. One of those wins occurred at Phoenix in 2011.

Sam Hornish Jr. is no stranger to Phoenix International Raceway. In fact, he's had great success at the one-mile track. In 2011, he became the first-ever driver to win at Phoenix in both the IndyCar Series and a major NASCAR event when he won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race in November of that year.

“We were really consistent at Phoenix in the XFINITY Series these last couple of years. Hopefully that past success can lead to good things with the Cup car this weekend. I’m confident that (crew chief) Bob (Osborne) and everyone on this AdvoCare team will give me a strong car this weekend.

“Our plan is for Brian to win a race,” said Scott. “That’s always been the way we race here. We will probably take a few more chances for victory than many who have the luxury to rely on points. I mean we can still make up the points from the first two races with Brian, but all of us would sure rather win a race.”

Aric Almirola and the No. 43 team continue their West Coast swing this weekend with a stop at the first one-mile race track of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season. Almirola and team have a good record at Phoenix International Raceway and hope to continue the consistency this season.

Biffle has 22 Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix, earning five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He has led a total of 389 laps at the one-mile track.

The one-mile oval produces its share of beating and banging. It’s a track that Michael Waltrip Racing driver Clint Bowyer enjoys and if stats are any indication, it’s a track he seems to enjoy most in the spring.

“This weekend’s race will be a big barometer for where our program is at early in the season. Last fall, we finished fifth there, but after early trouble, we were lapped twice under green. The strategy played out in our favor at the end.

“Phoenix is a tough one-mile track but it is a lot of fun to race there. This is our first short track of the season so it will allow us to evaluate our cars to see how our car reacts with new rules package and reduced horsepower.