NASCAR Cup Series

With the end of the 2018 season on the horizon, Roush Fenway Racing heads back out West as both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) converge on the newly-redesigned ISM Raceway. A Roush Fenway Ford has visited victory lane at the 1-mile track on 17 occasions across NASCAR’s three major touring series.

SMITH BY THE NUMBERS: In 11 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Phoenix, Regan Smith has an average start of 17.7 and an average finish of 27.8. He’s completed 3,141 of 3,519 (89.3 percent) career laps at the 1.0-mile track located in Avondale, AZ.

Stenhouse has 11 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Phoenix with an average starting position of 19.9 and average finishing position of 19.2.

Though the first eight races of the playoffs have not been smooth sailing for Martin Truex Jr. he still remains in strong contention to be one of the four drivers battling for the season championship in the Nov. 18th finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Richard Childress Racing's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series History at ISM Raceway ... Team owner Richard Childress has six victories at ISM Raceway, ranking him third on the all-time car owner victories list at the Avondale, Ariz. facility. This includes wins with Ryan Newman in March 2017, along with Kevin Harvick in Nov. 2013, Nov. 2012 and March and Nov. 2006. Prior to that, Dale Earnhardt won the Checker 500 on Nov. 4, 1990. In 117 starts at ISM Raceway, the Welcome, North Carolina based organization boasts 19 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes.

The United States Air Force will once again be the primary partner of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team this upcoming Veteran's Day weekend. The popular Air Force scheme will be driven by Bubba Wallace during Sunday's Can-Am 500 at the ISM Raceway located just outside Phoenix, Arizona.

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 - RACING AT ISM RACEWAY: "ISM Raceway is definitely a unique racetrack," Allmendinger said. "In addition, this is going to be the first race since the track reconfiguration. The start/finish line has been moved to where Turn 2 used to be, so the track is essentially flipped around."

William Byron on racing at ISM Raceway: “It’ll be a wild race – it’s a cutoff race and I feel like Phoenix (ISM Raceway) is just always a normal short track as far as the style of racing. You just do the things you need to do on a short track to be successful. I like racing there, it’s always been fun. The reconfiguration will create a little difference for the restarts, but other than that, I’m not expecting too much of a change. It’s the same racetrack with the same characteristics, so we’ll just try to go there and make sure we execute.”

Phoenix Preview: With only two races remaining in the 2018 season, the Series returns to Phoenix for the first race on the reconfigured one-mile ISM Raceway. In 26 starts at Phoenix, Denny has secured 11 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes, including a single victory in 2012. In his last appearance at the track in April, Denny rallied from the rear of the field after a pit road miscue to finish fourth.

Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano have clinched spots in the Championship Four of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after winning the first two races in the Round of 8. Ford will look to add to that total this weekend at ISM Raceway as Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer all have one more opportunity to advance. Here’s a look at Ford’s season to date, along with where Blue Oval drivers stand in the NASCAR XFINITY and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings.