Phoenix Race Review and Analysis

 





Racing in the desert! The Nascar Cup Series visited Phoenix Raceway located in Avondale, Arizona for the “Ruoff Mortgage 500”! In a stunner, Chase Briscoe takes home the checkered flag and collects his first win in his career. This ends the struggling period for Stewart Haas Racing and gives them a shot in the arm heading to Atlanta next weekend. Chase Briscoe is now the 200th driver to win in the Nascar Cup Series. Briscoe now joins Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman as the only drivers currently locked into the playoffs. 


( Chase Briscoe burning it down post-race)




Once again a caution came in the closing laps, which created a turning point in the race. Erik Jones in now two consecutive races was one of the drivers to bring out the caution. This ultimately brought all drivers down pit road one last time which set up today’s conclusion. With three laps to go, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, and Tyler Reddick all battled it out until the finish. Briscoe had a solid car in the second half of the race as he was able to pull away. The number 14 team is back in victory lane for the first time since 2018, back when Clint Bowyer was still driving for the team. Bowyer’s last win came at Michigan International Speedway.


(Chase Briscoe headling post-race)




Other drivers who had strong showings this afternoon consist of Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, and Ross Chastain. Ryan Blaney dominated the beginning of this race by leading 143 laps until eventually falling back in the pack. Kevin Harvick also had a great day, running top 10 all afternoon long which is a positive sign for Stewart Haas Racing. Finally, on today’s top three driver’s list is Ross Chastain. After being a surprise in Las Vegas, this number 1 team has found success lately. Chastain is on pace to have a career year in this young season, he finishes 2nd in Phoenix.

(Chase Briscoe taking the checkered flag)


Leaving this west coast swing behind, we have sure seen some great racing. This next-gen car seems to be the real deal as the season progresses. Tires have been the only major concern so far, but that's something Nascar has improved on. Another good sign for Nascar is its attendance rate at the race track. Sold-out crowds have headlined Nascar’s race weekends. For people to call Nascar a dying sport, the ratings and audience have been trending up. The final good sign after four races is the parody already shown in this season. Four different drivers have taken the checkered flag so far. With this next-gen car, it is becoming hard to win races as different faces are upfront. With Briscoe’s win today he just took a playoff spot away from drivers like Austin Dillion, Aric Almirola, and Brad Keselowski. These three drivers are all capable of winning this season, but picking up wins will be detrimental for everyone. Keselowski has struggled this year, the number 6 car hasn’t finished better than 24th since the Daytona 500 three weeks ago. With drivers in these possible situations, getting upfront at the end of races will become huge for teams and their playoff hopes. 



Concluding the race weekend in Phoenix, today was good. Personally, I feel like today’s race was revived by the finish. Early on, today’s race was lengthy and boring. You saw action and excitement through the course of today, but the end rejuvenated the whole day. It looked like a clinic for the majority of the afternoon from Ryan Blaney, with the 12 team slipping up late on pit road this opened the window of opportunity for the rest of the field. Briscoe came up on top when it was all said and done, which was good to see. Taking all of today’s action into consideration, I’d give today’s race a 9 out of 10. Atlanta should be exciting next weekend. 


( Chase Briscoe in Victory Lane)



As Nascar puts a close on the west coast swing, we now head back east. For race five on the 2022 schedule, Atlanta Motor Speedway is up next. The newly reconfigured track has seen a lot of changes over this past winter. The 1.5 mile track located in Hampton, Georgia, has seen changes for the first time since 1997. All three series will hit the high-speed track this weekend. Practice and Qualifying for all series will take place over Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. See you in the peach state for the “Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500”, Sunday 3:00pm ET, March 20th only on FOX. 


( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)


For next week's race information please view the link down below:


https://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/















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