Phoenix Raceway unleashes thrilling last-lap battles and close finishes. Will long-run speed decide another winner?
Race Information
Next Race: Straight Talk Wireless 500
The Place: Phoenix Raceway
Track Length: 1 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Date: Sunday, March 8
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,233,037
TV: FS1, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 312 miles (312 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 312)
Dramatic Racing History
This will be the 60th Cup race held at Phoenix
Both Phoenix races last year had a last-lap pass for the win, the only races there to end with a last lap pass
11 Phoenix races ended in overtime (3rd most among all tracks), but only three in the last 17 races
Phoenix was the only track in 2025 with a margin of victory less than 0.100 seconds in multiple races
The final green flag stretch was 2 laps in both Phoenix races in 2025
Race Winners and Patterns
There were six different winners in the eight Phoenix races in the NextGen era, Bell and Logano, with two each, are the only repeat winners
Christopher Bell won this Spring race the last two years
The eventual winner finished in the top-three in stage 2 in each of the last seven Phoenix races
Record Breaking Performances
A Phoenix Cup record 31 cars finished on the lead lap last November, breaking the previous track record of 29 set in November 2003
Denny Hamlin led 208 laps at Phoenix last November, the most since Kevin Harvick led 224 in March 2015, but finished the race in sixth
Hamlin led until final pit stops dropped him to 7th before overtime last fall
Consistent Top Performers
Five drivers finished top-10 in both Phoenix races in 2025: Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson was the only driver to finish top-five In both Phoenix races in 2025, he finished in the top-five in the last three races there (the longest active streak)
Long Run Speed Key Insight
Both races at Phoenix in 2025 were won by the driver that ranked 1st in the race in Long Run Speed rating
In the Next Gen car, four races have had a final green flag run of 3 or less laps. All four races were won by a driver that either stayed out or took two tires during the final caution period
Ones To Watch
Ryan Blaney: Won at Phoenix last November, Finished Top-two in five of the last seven Phoenix races, Finished Top-five in eight of the last nine Phoenix races, Finished Top-10 in 10 of the last 11 Phoenix races 5.9 average running position at Phoenix in the Next Gen car
William Byron: Won at Phoenix in March 2023, Average running position of 4.9 at Phoenix in the Next Gen car, Won a stage in five of the last eight, Phoenix races, Finished top-10 in five of the last seven Phoenix races
Kyle Larson: Won at Phoenix in November 2021, Finished top-four in five of the last six Phoenix races, Three straight top-five finishes at Phoenix is the longest active streak