NASCAR Cup Series

Barney Visser, team owner of Furniture Row Racing, won't attend the final two races of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season after suffering a heart attack this past weekend.

The 2017 MENCS season has been a breakout year for Larson, including several career firsts; advancing passed the first round of the playoffs for the first time, scoring multiple poles and wins, leading the series point standings, and almost tripling his previous high for number of laps led.

Michael McDowell is returning to his home track of Phoenix Raceway this weekend in the No. 95 Rohto® Jolt™ Chevrolet SS for the Can-Am 500.

Another Camry Locked In: Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. clinched his spot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Championship 4, which is set to take place at the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 19. The Furniture Row Racing driver leads the series standings with a 50-point lead over fellow Camry driver Kyle Busch, who secured a position in the Championship 4 with his win at Martinsville, along with Texas winner Kevin Harvick. Only one driver slot remains available for the finale and Denny Hamlin could secure it with a win at Phoenix or by ascending to fourth in points if another Playoff driver doesn’t win this weekend. He currently is one position out and 19 points shy.

Why Matt Kenseth? You remember the famous move from Roush Fenway Racing and then the more famous move of Carl Edwards to Joe Gibbs Racing, don’t you? Both escaped what they thought was an uncompetitive situation at RFR to the promised land of Toyota’s top team. What happened next was shock after shock.

This Saturday is Veterans Day, and Richard Petty Motorsports is proud to have the United States Air Force as its primary partner throughout the weekend. The U.S. Air Force has been a supporter of RPM since its inception in 2009. Throughout the relationship, Richard Petty Motorsports has hosted high level Generals and service men and women from all across the country at the track. More importantly, the U.S. Air Force has helped educate and recruit at the track.

Richard Childress Racing's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series History at Phoenix Raceway ... Team owner Richard Childress has six victories at Phoenix Raceway, ranking him third on the all-time car owner victories list at the Avondale, Ariz. facility. This includes wins with Ryan Newman at the Series' most recent appearance to the track 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 112 starts at Phoenix, the Welcome, North Carolina based organization boasts 19 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes.

Though Erik Jones grew up in Byron, Mich., 70 miles northwest of Detroit, it’s the home cooking at Phoenix Raceway he has been waiting to taste for the past eight months.

This weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott are the only members of Team Chevy still in contention to be one of the final four drivers to compete for the 2017 championship title at Homestead.  After last weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, three drivers are assured trips to the championship finale based on wins and points performances. Following 312-laps/312-miles of racing around the 1-mile venue in the Valley of the Sun, one driver will emerge as the final championship contender.

A championship race calls for championship-caliber dignitaries, and that’s exactly what the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway will have. Multiple-gold winning Olympic gymnast and author Gabby Douglas will serve as the Honorary Starter for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship, the Ford EcoBoost 400, which will take place on Sunday, November 19 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. As honorary starter, Douglas will wave the green flag at the start of the 267-lap race.