Two of NASCAR’s national series are in action at Phoenix Raceway this weekend, the XFINITY Series on Saturday and the Monster NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. The Camping World Truck Series is off until April 1 at Martinsville. Storylines for this weekend follow… The Race: Camping World 500 The Place: Phoenix Raceway The Date: Sunday, March 19 The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 3:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 312 miles (312 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on lap 312) Truex First To Win All 3 Stages Martin Truex Jr. became the first driver to win all three stages under NASCAR’s race enhancements when he took the checkered flag in last Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The No. 78 Toyota driver, who won a career-high four races last seasons, led 150 total laps on his way to his first victory of 2017. Through three races, Truex sits fourth in the points standings (five points below leader Brad Keselowski, but leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with seven playoff points. Truex will attempt to notch another win in Sunday’s Camping World 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – a track where he’s logged only one top-five finish (fifth in 2009) in 22 starts. 4 Drivers In Top 10 Are 26 Or Younger The kids have showed up early in the 2017 Monster Energy NASAR Cup Series season. Four drivers age 26 and younger rank in the top six of the standings: 2. Kyle Larson (24 years old, one point behind Brad Keselowski for the series lead), 3. Chase Elliott (21, -3), 5. Joey Logano (26, -13) 6. Ryan Blaney (23, -26). Dating back to Phoenix last fall, Larson has recorded four top-three finishes in his last five races, including two runner-ups. Elliott claims finishes of 14th (Daytona), fifth (Atlanta) and third (Las Vegas) this year. Dating back to last season, he claims more top-10 showings than any driver on the Hendrick Motorsports roster – a team that includes seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. The “elder statesman” of the group, Logano has finished no worse than sixth this season. He is currently on a streak of nine top-10 finishes. He won last year’s fall race at Phoenix to make the Championship 4 round of NASCAR’s playoffs. Blaney has followed up a promising Sunoco Rookie season with finishes of second (Daytona), 18th (Atlanta) and seventh (Las Vegas) this year. Harvick Typically Rises To The Occasion At Arizona Track Everyone in NASCAR circles knows what a trip to Phoenix means… look out for Kevin Harvick. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has won six of the last nine races at the one-mile track and boasts a track-record eight victories there. He also claims 13 top-five finishes, 17 top-10 showings, 1,484 laps led and an average finish of 10.0 at Phoenix. Last fall’s Phoenix race marked the first time in his last seven contests there that he failed to lead a lap. In those earlier six races his lowest laps led mark was 70. Keselowski Reigns Atop The Points Standings After finishing a disappointing 27th in the DAYTONA 500, Brad Keselowski has stormed to the top of the standings with a win at Atlanta and a fifth-place finish at Las Vegas. Keselowski looked well on his way to winning his second consecutive race in Sin City last week before a mechanical error ended his bid for victory on the penultimate lap. Keselowski leads the standings by one point over Kyle Larson. Larson is followed by Chase Elliott (-3), Martin Truex Jr. (-5) and Joey Logano (-13). Ryan Blaney (-26), Kurt Busch (-39), Kevin Harvick (-41), Kasey Kahne (-44) and Jamie McMurray (-46) round out the top 10. The No. 2 Ford driver has led 112 laps this season. Remember, the first-place points standings finisher at the end of the regular season gets 15 playoff points. The Race: DC Solar 200 The Place: Phoenix Raceway The Date: Saturday, March 18 The Time: 4 p.m. ET TV: FOX, 4 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 200 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200) NASCAR XFINITY Series’ Dash 4 Cash Program Returns With A New Lineup Of Tracks In 2017 With great anticipation, the NASCAR XFINITY Series welcomes the return of the Dash 4 Cash program in 2017. This time around a few things will be different, a new lineup of tracks will host the program along with a slight format change to align itself with the new enhanced stage racing format. Phoenix Raceway is the first of four tracks that will host the Dash 4 Cash program in 2017. Bristol Motor Speedway (4/22), Richmond International Raceway (4/29) and Dover International Speedway (6/2) are the remaining venues to include the Dash 4 Cash program in their NASCAR XFINITY Series races. Below are few quick bullets to get you caught up to speed with the new Dash 4 Cash program format: Full-time NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers who have declared for points in the series will compete for four positions in Dash 4 Cash events, each awarding the winner $100,000. The top two eligible drivers in each of the first two stages will qualify for the Dash 4 Cash bonus round in the Final Stage (four total drivers). The highest finisher among these four drivers wins the $100,000 prize and is one step closer to qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series playoffs. Two Dash 4 Cash wins equal a race win in terms of eligibility for the playoffs. This year, should one driver capture all four Dash 4 Cash awards, XFINITY will award the winner with an additional $600,000, bringing the total payout to an even $1 million. In a new twist, drivers no longer need to win the final race outright to capture the bonus. Sadler Holds The Lead, But Top Three In Points Are Tight For the second straight week, JR Motorsport’s veteran driver Elliott Sadler controls the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship standings lead as the series heads to Phoenix Raceway for the DC Solar 200 on Saturday, March 18 (4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The top three in points, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Reed (second) and William Byron (third) are separated by just nine points following last weekend’s event at Las Vegas. Not since 2012 has a NASCAR XFINITY Series championship contender won a race at Phoenix Raceway, but it just so happens the last to accomplish the feat was Elliott Sadler. Four Sunoco Rookies Proving They Belong Four of the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders are currently ranked inside the top 10 in NASCAR XFINITY Series driver points following the third race of the season. JR Motorsport’s driver William Byron is ranked third, Richard Childress Racing’s driver Daniel Hemric is ranked fourth, Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver Matt Tifft is sixth and Stewart-Haas Racing’s driver Cole Custer is 10th. Now the series rolls out to Phoenix Raceway where all four mentioned rookies will be making their NASCAR XFINITY Series track debut. William Byron – No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro – Byron has posted two top 10s in the first three races this season. The 19-year old from Charlotte, North Carolina, has an average finish of 10.0 in 2017. Daniel Hemric – No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Camaro – Hemric has posted one top-10 finish in the first three races of the season. The 26-year old from Kannapolis, North Carolina, has an average finish of 17.7 in 2017. Matt Tifft – No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry – Tifft has posted two top-15 finishes in his first three races of the season. The 20-year old from Hinckley, Ohio has an average finish of 19.0 in 2017. Cole Custer – No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang – Custer has posted one top-10 finish in the first three races of the season. The 19-year old from Ladera Ranch, California, has an average finish of 19.3 in 2017. Joe Gibbs Racing Looking To Make It Four In A Row At Phoenix Joe Gibbs Racing will attempt to win the organization’s fourth consecutive NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix Raceway this weekend in the DC Solar 200 on March 18. Gibbs will not only become the first owner with four consecutive wins at Phoenix, but he would also take the series lead in owner wins with nine victories – JGR is currently tied with Roush Fenway Racing for the most wins at Phoenix with eight each. JGR will have three cars entered this weekend to attempt to accomplish the feat. Last season’s champion, Daniel Suárez, will be piloting the No. 18 Toyota this weekend with crew chief Scott Graves. Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Matt Tifft will be in the No. 19 Toyota with crew chief Matt Beckman. And finally, 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Erik Jones will be in the No. 20 Toyota with crew chief Chris Gabehart this weekend. Tifft will be making his series debut at Phoenix this weekend, but his teammates should be a great resource for him to lean on as they have done well at Phoenix in the past. Suárez, for example, has made four starts at Phoenix posting an average finish of 5.8. Jones has also been impressive at Phoenix, posting three top fives and an average finish of 5.2 in just five starts. NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.: Double Duty Drivers – It will be another busy weekend for the following Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers competing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race this weekend – Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney. … Arizona Natives – Long-time veteran and Arizona native, JJ Yeley, will attempt to compete this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Yeley hails from Phoenix, Arizona. Yeley has made 14 starts at his home track posting an average finish of 19.3. Ty Majeski to Make NASCAR Debut at Iowa – Roush Fenway Racing developmental driver Ty Majeski will make his NASCAR national series debut in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race on June 24 at Iowa Speedway. Majeski boasts ARCA Midwest Tour Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and was one of 11 drivers named to the NASCAR Next 2016-17 class. … Next Race: Alpha Energy Solutions 200 The Place: Martinsville Speedway The Date: Saturday, April 1 The Time: 3 p.m. ET TV: FOX Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 131.5 miles (250 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 70), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 140), Final Stage (Ends on lap 250) source – NASCAR communications
