Author Archives: PressBox

Phoenix Raceway’s fall NASCAR Cup Series race will not decide the championship for the first time since 2019, but Sunday’s Freeway Insurance 500 still arrives with the title picture tight at the top. Kyle Larson will take a 49-point lead over Denny Hamlin into the race, and Larson’s 2.8 average finish through the first six Chase races has made him the championship favorite.

Chase Briscoe has added pressure on the leaders by winning the last two races at Las Vegas and Charlotte and cutting 58 points off Larson over the last two events as the Chase moves toward Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead-Miami. Briscoe also has one Phoenix victory, along with one top-five, four top-10s and an 18.4 average finish in 11 career starts there, though he finished 37th in the spring Phoenix race.

Phoenix history gives several contenders added confidence. Ryan Blaney has won the March 2026 Phoenix race and the 2025 fall Phoenix race, and he has two wins, 11 top-fives and 14 top-10s in 21 career starts there. Larson has one Phoenix win, 12 top-fives and 16 top-10s in 24 starts, while Hamlin has 42 Phoenix starts, two wins, 23 top-10s and a Cup-record 31 straight lead-lap finishes at the track. Christopher Bell also has two Phoenix victories and led 176 laps in the spring race before finishing second.

NASCAR unveiled the 2027 Whelen Modified Tour schedule, a 15-race lineup that will mix long-standing tracks with new stops as the series looks to honor its history while adding new venues and dates.

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Connecticut will open the season on April 4 and close it on Oct. 10, giving the track two dates on the calendar along with a midweek race on Aug. 4. Stafford Speedway also will host two races, including the Spring Sizzler on April 25 and another event on Aug. 27.

Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont, will host its first-ever Whelen Modified Tour race on June 12. The schedule also will bring the tour back to Martinsville Speedway on April 16 and New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 25, while Seekonk Speedway and Riverhead Raceway each will have two dates. The lineup also includes returns to Claremont Motorsports Park, Monadnock Speedway and Lancaster Speedway.

NASCAR changed its brake rules for the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway after reviewing brake problems at World Wide Technology Raceway and amid team concerns from races at Nashville, Iowa, New Hampshire and Gateway. The policy now allows teams to remove and replace front brake rotors and pads after Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions at Phoenix, but no other brake components can be changed in that process. The rule applies only to front brake components, and NASCAR said teams may make approved front brake changes they want.

Under the previous rule, teams that changed brake rotors or pads after practice and qualifying had to start at the rear of the field. NASCAR said a like-for-like pad-change allowance requested by crew chiefs would be too difficult to police. Rear rotors could be inspected during Sunday pre-race adjustments, and any rear rotor issues at Phoenix will be handled case by case.

Phoenix Raceway, a 1-mile track in Avondale, Arizona, presents high brake demands, lower downforce and more horsepower, which Brad Moran said made the change reasonable. Moran said the adjustment was intended to help avoid brake issues at Phoenix.

NASCAR released the qualifying orders for the Phoenix Raceway weekend, with full fields in the Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series meaning no driver or truck would fail to qualify. The Cup Series had 37 cars entered, with Alex Bowman at the top of the order and Chase Briscoe last. John Hunter Nemechek, Cody Ware, Austin Hill and Ty Dillon followed Bowman, and William Byron was listed 22nd.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series had 38 entries, led by Connor Mosack, with Dawson Cram and Ryan Ellis second and third. Single-car qualifying for the series was scheduled for Saturday at 3:05 p.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited. The Cup Series qualifying session was scheduled for Saturday at 5:35 p.m. ET on truTV.

The Craftsman Truck Series had 36 trucks entered, with Jackson Lee first in line and Clayton Green and Tyler Reif second and third. Truck Series single-truck qualifying was scheduled for Friday at 4:35 p.m. ET on FS2. Friday’s schedule also included Truck Series practice and the Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150, Saturday featured O’Reilly Auto Parts Series practice and qualifying, Cup Series practice and qualifying, the Timberland PRO 200 and the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100, and Sunday closed with the Freeway Insurance 500. The weekend lineup also included two ARCA Menards Series West events.

Bennett Family of Companies will continue its partnership with Richard Childress Racing in 2027 and will serve as a multi-race primary sponsor of Austin Hill and the No. 33 Chevrolet during Hill’s first full NASCAR Cup Series season. Bennett has backed Hill since he joined Richard Childress Racing in 2022, supporting his development in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and his move to the Cup Series.

Bennett also sponsored Hill’s first Cup start with the team at Michigan International Speedway in 2022. Richard Childress said Bennett has supported Hill “every step of the way,” and Hill said he is excited to carry Bennett colors on the No. 33.

Hill has 16 series wins with Richard Childress Racing, won the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season championship and reached the 2024 Championship 4. He has also won 11 times on drafting-style tracks for the organization, breaking records previously held by Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart. Hill made the playoffs in all five of his full seasons with Richard Childress Racing.