Ricky Stenhouse Jr is 50/1 to win 2019 Ticket Guardian 500 at Phoenix

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has started in top-10 of all three 2019 races.

Team: No. 17 SunnyD Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie
Twitter: @Stenhouse17Team @stenhousejr @SunnyDRacing and @roushfenway

ADVANCE NOTES

Stenhouse Jr. at ISM Raceway

· Stenhouse has 12 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Phoenix with an average starting position of 18.5 and average finishing position of 20.3.

· Stenhouse has one top-five and two top-10 finishes at the one-mile track.

Last time at Phoenix

After earning his best qualifying effort of the season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running in the top-15 when suddenly he blew a left rear tire sending his Ford hard into the outside wall forcing him to settle with a 33rd-place finish.

So far in 2019

In three races, Stenhouse has earned two top-five and three top-10 starting positions. He has scored one top-10 finish and hasn’t finished worse than 18th in three starts.

Stenhouse currently sits seventh in the driver point standings.

On the Car

Iconic brand and thirst quenching favorite SunnyD will return to the No. 17 this weekend as the primary partner on the No. 17 Ford.

Race to Vegas Contest

SunnyD launched on March 1, it’s Race to Vegas contest where one lucky winner will receive a VIP trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The contest runs through May 10, 2019. Visit SunnyD.com to register.

Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Phoenix:

“I always look forward to this west coast swing. I’m really proud of our team and the run we had last weekend at Vegas. Phoenix is a tough one-mile track but has been a good track for us in the past. We had some misfortune there last year. Track position is crucial. So far this year, we have qualified in the top-10 so hopefully we can keep that string alive. If we can execute on pit-road and not make any mistakes, then we should be able to leave Phoenix with another solid finish.”

Denny Hamlin looking for second Phoenix win

Denny Hamlin is 15/1 to win at Phoenix.

FedEx Racing Express Facts – ISM Raceway
Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Freight Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: TicketGuardian 500
Date/Time: March 10/3:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 312 laps/312 miles
Track Length: 1 mile
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 9-11 degrees
2018 Winner: Kevin Harvick

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2019 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Vegas Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 10th in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, unable to overcome an ill-handling #11 FedEx Office Toyota in the race won by Joey Logano. Hamlin began the day on the front row next to pole-sitter Kevin Harvick and managed to stay in the top-five through Stage 1, finishing fifth. However, as the race progressed through Stage 2, a tight condition began to affect the maneuverability of the #11 machine and Hamlin was unable to gain any spots during the stage, finishing fifth again. The FedEx crew made numerous adjustments during the race that would go caution free, excluding the two stage breaks. During the final stop for the team, Hamlin entered the pits in fifth, but a problem with the air gun cost the team valuable time on pit road, and the FedEx Toyota re-joined the race in eighth. As Hamlin continued to struggle with the balance of the car, holding off challenges from fellow competitors became increasingly more difficult, and as the laps clicked, two cars made successful passes on the #11, resulting in the 10th-place finish.

Phoenix Preview: The Series makes its way to ISM Raceway in Phoenix (Ariz.) for the second of three stops that are a part of NASCAR’s ‘West Coast Swing.’ In 27 career starts, Hamlin has collected 11 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes at the one-mile oval in the desert. After dropping two spots to third in the standings following Las Vegas, Hamlin and team will be looking for a bounce-back victory, securing their second win of the season after taking the checkered flag in the Daytona 500.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: ISM Raceway
Races: 27
Wins: 1 (2012)
Poles: 2
Top-5: 11
Top-10: 15
Laps Led: 671
Avg. Start: 11.0
Avg. Finish 11.6

Hamlin Conversation:

What will you need to change this weekend in Phoenix for the #11 Team to secure a victory?

“We had a couple tough pit stops last weekend in Las Vegas that set us back, and we just needed a little more speed to get those spots back. We will have to be at our best from start to finish in Phoenix, and the entire team is working hard and will be ready for the challenge that awaits us.”

Phoenix FedEx Freight Service Center Along for the Ride at ISM Raceway: FedEx Freight will recognize the company’s service center in Phoenix, Ariz., featuring the call letters PHX on the #11 FedEx Freight race car. The Phoenix service center, opened in 1988, has approximately 505 team members who are committed to making every FedEx experience outstanding.

Phoenix is where it all started for Clint Bowyer

Clint Bowyer is 25/1 to win Sunday at Phoenix. KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (March 5, 2019) –ISM Raceway near Phoenix occupies a special place in Clint Bowyer’s heart and history. The 39-year-old Emporia, Kansas native made his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut on the mile oval in the Arizona desert on April 23, 2005, driving for Bill McAnally and Richard Childress. He started 25th and finished 22nd, one lap behind race-winner Kurt Busch. Busch, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, and Kevin Harvick are the only drivers who were in the field for Bowyer’s debut in 2005 who will race at Phoenix again in Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500k. “There aren’t many guys left who were there when I started,” said Bowyer, who has gone on to post 10 victories in 472 Cup Series starts. “That’s a big turnover. Obviously, our sport has undergone a lot of change over the last 15 or so years.” One of the biggest changes besides the driver lineup since Bowyer started in the Cup Series is the amount of technology available to fans and competitors alike. Racecar drivers now rely on digital readouts instead of analog gauges on their dashboard. Crews can send huge amounts of digital information to and from the track. Fans at home have as much information as a crew chief on the pit box while fans in the stands can follow timing and scoring and browse the Web at tracks like Phoenix that offer free Wi-Fi throughout the facility. Fans and drivers alike are able to Tweet, Instagram, Snap and Skype every moment at racetracks across the country.    “Technology is a way of life, now,” said Bowyer, who notes the ease with which his 4-year-old son Cash took up technology. “He can navigate an iPad better than me. Everyone wants technology no matter where you are or how old you are these days.” It’s fitting that, this weekend in Arizona, Bowyer will drive the No. 14 ITsavvy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. (SHR) ITsavvy (pronounced I-T-savvy)is a second-year primary sponsor in the Cup Series. The Addison, Illinois-based company is one of the fastest-growing resources for integrated IT products and technology solutions in the United States. ITsavvy has catapulted from a Midwest start-up to a national leader in IT products and solutions very rapidly. Founded in 2004 by Mike Theriault and Chris Kurpeikis, ITsavvy has been consistently recognized as one of the fastest-growing businesses of its type. ITsavvy is a single-source, end-to-end IT partner. The company combines a comprehensive, value-added reseller business of more than 1 million computer, hardware and software products with an industry-leading advanced solutions group. ITsavvy has access to $8 billion in daily inventory in 46 distribution centers around the country with the ability to ship in-stock items the same day they are ordered. ITsavvy will also serve as the primary sponsor on Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in October. “The ITsavvy car is probably the easiest car to spot on the track,” said Bowyer, who owns victories at Phoenix in an Xfinity Series race in 2007 and the Gander Mountain Truck Series in 2010. “It’s been fun bringing them into our racing world and we are learning a lot about their world. They help us at the shop and at the track with our IT challenges. Their success is our success.” Bowyer hopes more race fans will know the ITsavvy name after Sunday’s 500-kilometer race at Phoenix. It’s the fourth event of the 2019 season. Bowyer enters 13th in the points a week after finishing 14th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Phoenix marks the second of a three-race West-Coast trip for the Cup Series. While so much of the sport and the world is different since Bowyer’s Cup Series debut in 2005, one thing remains the same. “I don’t care if I raced in 1919 or 2019,” he said. “If you are a racer, that desire to win is always there. I want to win this Sunday in Phoenix as much as – heck, if not more than – I did that first race in Phoenix.”

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 ITsavvy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What challenges does Phoenix pose? “There are a couple of tough things about Phoenix. Finding your stall in pit road is tricky, especially if you are pitted down around the corner. Second is figuring out the restarts now that we start in the dogleg. You have to figure out how to give room to the guy in front of you so you don’t get on the brakes and get hit from behind or screw up and let that guy make it three-wide and you lose a lot of spots. Finally, that sun is tough in Phoenix. You can miss the bottom (groove) the first lap or two because of the sun.” What are your thoughts on technology in NASCAR and ITsavvy’s role with SHR? “Stewart Haas Racing (SHR) is a four-car team and we have tons of extremely talented folks, but I’m going to tell you the number-one guy we can’t do without on a race weekend or, especially at a test, is our IT guy. If he’s sick, we’re all sick and that racecar is going to be sick. It’s unbelievable how much we lean on that side of things, on the technology side. If you walk through our race shop and throughout the garage, you’ll see how our racecars and our entire industry rely on technology. From engine diagnostics to fuel-mileage calculations, our business is dependent on technology solutions. The senior-level introductions our sport can make will lead to new business opportunities for ITsavvy. Every company needs what ITsavvy provides, and we’re excited to facilitate those introductions.”

Aric Almirola is 20/1 to win Ticket Guardian 500 at Phoenix

Aric Almirola was strong on the short flat tracks in 2018. KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (March 5, 2019) – Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield Ford team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) enter the season’s first race on a mile oval Sunday at ISM Raceway near Phoenix fresh off of their second consecutive top-10 finish – a seventh-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Consistency is everything in NASCAR’s top-tier series and consistency is what earned Almirola a spot in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.  Just three races into this season, Almirola is already ahead of last year’s pace, sitting 10th in the driver standings just 41 points behind leader Joey Logano. This ties his best point standing after three races since 2013, when he finished 13th, 15th and 16th in the first three events. The 34-year-old Tampa native has not only been consistent this season but, statistically speaking at Phoenix, it would be safe to forecast another strong run for the No. 10 Ford team this weekend. In Almirola’s last three Cup Series starts at the desert oval, he has earned three consecutive top-10 finishes and one top-five  – the latter earned in his previous start there last November, when he finished fourth. “We still have a lot to learn as a team with this new rules package, but we certainly managed to build a fourth- to eighth-place car at Atlanta and Vegas,” Almirola said. “We still need a bit more to compete for wins every weekend and I’m thankful for the guys and girls at Stewart-Haas who have worked so hard during the offseason to make sure we start strong, and we have.”  Almirola has certainly excelled in his seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix, having captured the pole in November 2011 to go with 74 laps led and a pair of top-10 finishes. Earlier in his career, Almirola made three starts in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series at the “Diamond in the Desert.” Two of those three starts resulted in top-five finishes, and he led a total of 52 laps.  This marks the first time in Almirola’s eight full-time seasons in the Cup Series that he will race for his third consecutive top-10 at the fourth race of the season. His SHR teammate Kevin Harvick has also started the season consistently with back-to-back top-five finishes and matches Almirola’s one pole award, which Harvick earned last weekend at Las Vegas.  Phoenix marks the fourth consecutive weekend the black, gold and white Smithfield livery will adorn Almirola’s No. 10 Ford Mustang. Smithfield, a brand of Smithfield Foods, which is based approximately five hours northeast of SHR headquarters in Smithfield, Virginia, enters its eighth season with Almirola and second with SHR. Founded in 1936, Smithfield is a leading provider of high-quality pork products, with a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts. Of Almirola’s 51 top-10s earned in 283 career Cup Series starts, 17 have been earned at tracks a mile in length or shorter. He has an average finish of 15.5 at Phoenix and is ranked 10th among all drivers in the last 10 races run at tracks a mile or shorter.  “Phoenix is just a fast short track,” Almirola said. “Ever since the repave, it races like a mile-and-a-half, which is different from a Richmond-, Martinsville- or Bristol-type of short track. It’s a fun race and I always look forward to heading out West to Phoenix.” The Smithfield Ford driver looks to build on his short-track success this weekend by earning his third-top 10, first top-five or, the ultimate prize, a win in the desert.

Aric Almirola: Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

This is the first short-track race since the new rules package. What can we expect? “I think for Phoenix it’s going to be very similar to the short-track racing we’ve seen in the past. Short-track racing is really what NASCAR was built on. We’ve migrated to these mile-and-a-half racetracks and, over time, they’ve put on great races. But short-track racing is the heart and soul of NASCAR and I don’t think our new rule package is going to change that. We’re still going to see beating and banging and tempers flaring. This is your very typical short-track race. I think there’s going to be tight, side-by-side racing and the bump-and-run is going to come into play where we’re moving ourselves into position. It’s going to be the same, old, exciting short-track racing that we’ve always seen.”   What’s the most important thing to be successful at Phoenix?  “You have to have everything at Phoenix. You have to have downforce, grip in your car and good brakes. You have to make sure your car turns well across the center of turns one and two, which is a sharp, banked corner. And then you have turns three and four, which are really fast and sweeping and flat. You’ve got to have a car that’s versatile and is a good compromise for both corners.”

Kyle Busch on Phoenix: "it's getting back to a fun place again"

Kyle Busch is 7/2 to win at Phoenix Sunday. HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (March 5, 2019) – As the “NASCAR Goes West” swing continues in what is already known as the “Valley of the Sun” this weekend at ISM Raceway near Phoenix, Kyle Busch is bringing back the rainbow for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500k Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Busch and company will head to the outskirts of Phoenix with the sharp-looking Skittles scheme as the only driver to score top-10 finishes in each of the first three races of 2019. The Skittles brand made its NASCAR debut in 1998 in partnership with MB2 Motorsports on the No. 36 Pontiac for driver Derrike Cope. In 1999, driver Ernie Irvan took the wheel of the Skittles No. 36 Pontiac and went on to take the top starting spot in the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Busch delivered back-to-back Brickyard 400 victories for Skittles in 2015 and 2016 with candy-splashed victory lane celebrations for the Skittles brand, and he returned Skittles to victory lane in 2018 by winning in March at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. After bringing home a strong third-place finish last weekend at his hometown Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Busch is looking to score his first Cup Series win of the season and automatically seal a berth in this year’s NASCAR playoffs. The desert setting of Phoenix was a favorite place to wheel a racecar for Busch long before he joined the Cup Series ranks. Starting with a solid eighth-place finish in his very first Cup Series outing there in the spring of 2005, followed by just his second career Cup Series victory in his very next start there that fall, he’s had many strong runs at the mile oval. Coincidentally, Busch’s first Cup Series win came just 10 races prior in another desert-like setting not far from his hometown of Las Vegas – Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, where NASCAR’s Western swing will conclude next week. In 27 Cup Series starts at the Phoenix oval known as the “Diamond in the Desert,” Busch has two wins and an impressive 19 top-10 finishes, including four in a row from the spring 2007 through fall 2008 events, and he won the pole for the spring 2006 race. Last November, in the first race on a newly configured ISM Raceway layout that saw the start-finish line relocated as part of a large infield renovation project, Busch went to victory lane after leading 117 laps. With his participation in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series races this weekend, Busch will look to get closer to 200 overall wins among NASCAR’s top three national series. He won both the Gander Outdoors Truck Series and Xfinity Series races at Las Vegas last weekend and now sits just three wins away from the 200-win milestone. So as the Cup Series moves on to the second of three consecutive races out West, Busch hopes his Skittles scheme will be just what he needs to help deliver his first victory of the season and continue his hot streak racing in the Valley of the Sun.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

How different were the restarts at Phoenix last November, and how will the new rules package affect that this weekend? “Restarts were for sure different last time – a lot of guys cutting the dogleg and stuff like that. It made for some interesting moments and things. You saw that in the Truck Series race and Xfinity Series race, then the Cup race. We won that one, which was great for us as a team and being able to secure our spot for the final four. Now we come back here in the springtime. It will be, I am sure, a little bit different of a track. Obviously, a way different aero package that we’ll have to figure out and what’s in store for us when we get there with our Skittles Camry this weekend.” How different will these cars be at Phoenix? “I am not sure, exactly. Phoenix being a short track, everywhere we have been so far, it’s getting into throttle-on time. Making sure you’re in the gas. Sometimes it’s making sure you don’t get out of the gas. Being at a short track is going to be an interesting thing because we’re used to being out of the gas and on the brakes and pedaling the vehicle through turn four and making sure you’re not too loose or whatever it might be. I don’t really know how the cars are going to react in traffic. The cars, with more downforce now, you get a bigger wake. The spoilers are taller, so the air coming over the top of the car hits that spoiler and goes higher. So, it’s taking longer for the vehicle behind it to see that air, the closer it’s getting to the car in front of it. The aero effects are going to be greater. We’ll have to see how all of that translates to Phoenix and a flat, mile racetrack.” Will you like having throttle response? “You mean, with the 750 package? Yeah, Denny (Hamlin) tested out there in Phoenix and he said it feels restricted. It doesn’t feel like a 750 like we’re used to. I would say maybe 830 last year or whatever it was. But still a little bit of a reduction on what we’re used to having.” What does it take to be successful at Phoenix? “You’ve got to have a good car, but you’ve got to have good brakes. You’ve got to have a good-turning car, and you’ve got to have a good car that can accelerate off of turn two and go fast down the backstretch. There’s a lot involved at Phoenix, but heading there with our Skittles Sweet Heat Toyota Camry will be interesting to see how the race plays out and if it’s changed at all since last year.” In addition to 10 Xfinity Series wins at Phoenix, you also won in your second Cup Series start at the mile oval and added a win last fall. Do you enjoy racing at Phoenix? “Phoenix is a pretty neat place, even though they made some changes with the repave. The track has worn in with racing and the sun, so it’s getting back to a fun place again. It was interesting to see how the place raced last fall with the change in where the start-finish line is and how that changed the racing. For some reason, I’ve always run well there. I don’t know if it’s that I’m comfortable being back close to home on the West Coast, or what. I always have a little more fan support out there, as well. As for the track itself, you’ve always had two distinctly different corners at Phoenix, which makes it fun and challenging all at the same time.”

Odds to win 2019 Ticket Guardian 500 at Phoenix

Kevin Harvick has nine wins in 32 Phoenix starts. Crazy-good!

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK

ODDS TO WIN 2019 TICKET GUARDIAN 500

ISM RACEWAY (PHOENIX)

SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 - 12:45 PM PT

Kevin HARVICK 9/4
Kyle BUSCH 7/2
Brad KESELOWSKI 7/1
Joey LOGANO 8/1
Martin TRUEX JR 10/1
Chase ELLIOTT 10/1
Denny HAMLIN 15/1
Kyle LARSON 20/1
Aric ALMIROLA 20/1
Clint BOWYER 25/1
Erik JONES 25/1
Kurt BUSCH 30/1
Ryan BLANEY 30/1
Austin DILLON 50/1
Alex BOWMAN 50/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 50/1
Daniel SUAREZ 60/1
Jimmie JOHNSON 50/1
Ryan NEWMAN 100/1
William BYRON 100/1
Daniel HEMRIC 100/1
Paul MENARD 100/1
Ryan PREECE 200/1
Chris BUESCHER 200/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO 200/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 500/1
Ty DILLON 1000/1
Michael McDOWELL 2000/1
David RAGAN 2000/1
FIELD (all others) 500/1

Kevin Harvick finishes fourth in Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas

Kevin Harvick was 5/1 to win at Las Vegas. 

Date: March 3, 2019

Event: Las Vegas 400 (Round 3 of 36)

Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)

Start/Finish: 1st/4th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

Point Standing: 2nd (131 points, 2 out of first)

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Started first, finished first and collected 10 bonus points and a playoff point.

● Led early on, but Harvick said his No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang was a bit loose.

● On lap 45, Harvick had a four-second lead but pitted for four tires and fuel.

● Harvick beat Kyle Busch by 4.5 seconds to win Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Started third, finished second and collected nine bonus points.

● Harvick pitted on lap 83 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. He had a bit of trouble getting out of the pit box and restarted third.

● On lap 125, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Started third, finished fourth.

● Harvick pitted under caution on lap 163 for four tires and fuel.

● On lap 215, while in second place, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

● Late in the race Harvick’s car was just too tight, but he finished a solid fourth.

Notes:

●  Harvick earned his second top-five finish of the season and his sixth top-five in 20 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas.  

●  Harvick won Stage 1 to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point and finished second in Stage 2 to earn an additional nine bonus points.

●  Harvick led three times for a race-high 88 laps to increase his laps-led total at Las Vegas to 540.

●  Joey Logano won the Las Vegas 400 to score his 22nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Las Vegas. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was .236 of a second.

●  There were two caution periods for a total of 12 laps.

●  Only 18 of the 38 drivers in the Las Vegas 400 finished on the lead lap.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Qualifying paid off for us, and early in the race we were able to lead a lot of laps. As the race went on, we just kept getting tighter and tighter. That’s two weeks in a row that our car has fallen off a little bit, and we’ve have a tough time adjusting to that. We definitely have to do some work, but they’ve done a great job on our Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang. The last two weeks we’ve been in right field at the start of practice, and they just keep scrambling and taking big swings at it to get us close. Hopefully, we can get that figured out and get a little closer at the start of practice and get into a rhythm.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the TicketGuardian 500k on Sunday, March 10 at ISM Raceway near Phoenix. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at 3 p.m.

Logano holds off Keselowski to win Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas

Joey Logano paid out 8/1 at the Las Vegas sports books.

Joey Logano made it two Cup wins in a row for Team Penske, leading 86 laps to win Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It was Logano’s first win at the 1.5-mile oval in 12 career tries and the 22nd victory of his Cup career.

Logano held off teammate and race runner-up Brad Keselowski, who won last week’s race at Atlanta, followed by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch.

“What a great race, Brad and I were so evenly matched,” Logano said to Fox Sports. “The way the draft is, you just can’t drive away. In the last 5-6 laps, Brad was catching me so quick and I got stuck behind a lapped car. To be so close and get it at the end there, it was fun.

“Team Penske 1-2, it shows the speed we have. We had a lot of speed last week and Brad was able to get it (the win). And this week he finished second. What a great day for Team Penske.”

Added Keselowski, “I’d like to have one more lap. It was a good battle. We were both fighting hard.”

READ MORE HERE....NBC SPORTS

PENNZOIL 400 RESULTS

Kyle Busch Las Vegas Pennzoil 400 Recap

Kyle Busch finished third following late speeding penalty on pit road.

Date: March 3, 2019

Event: Pennzoil 400 (Round 3 of 36)

Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)

Start/Finish: 3rd/3rd (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

Point Standing: 4th (121 points, 12 out of first)

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Started third, finished second.

● Busch started the 267-lap race in third and dropped to as low as sixth by lap 19 as he was battling a loose condition.

● The M&M’S Chocolate Bar Toyota improved over the course of the run, and Busch made his way back up to second after his pit stop on lap 41.

● The Las Vegas native settled into the runner-up spot behind eventual stage winner Kevin Harvick and brought home nine stage points by finishing second.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Started second, finished 18th.

● Busch came to pit road after the stage on lap 83 for tires and fuel, and excellent work by the M&M’S Chocolate Bar over-the-wall team helped him restart second in Stage 2 behind Brad Keselowski, who only took two tires.

● Busch battled hard early in Stage 2 with Joey Logano and Harvick for the lead, finally taking to the point on lap 121.

● As the leader, Busch came to pit road on lap 129 for tires and fuel; however, he entered pit road too fast and couldn’t get slowed down, so he was penalized by NASCAR for speeding in the first section of pit road and was forced to come back down pit road for a drive-through penalty.

● He returned to the track in the 24th spot and one lap down with less than 30 laps to go in Stage 2.

● Even though he went a lap down, Busch went to work and was able to unlap himself under green. He finished 18th as the caution waved for the end of Stage 2 on lap 160.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Started 16th, finished third.

● Strong work by the M&M’S Chocolate Bar team gained Busch two spots off of pit road to start the final stage.

● Then, Busch showed why he is one of the more talented drivers in the sport, as he carved his way from his restart position of 16th to the top-10 by lap 173 and continued to make his way back up toward the front of the field.

● Busch worked his way to the top-five by lap 208 as the final pit stop of the day was looming.

● Following the second stage break, the race went caution-free for the final 107 laps of the 267-lap race.

● Busch did an excellent job of reeling in the leaders over the last green-flag run, as he passed Harvick with two laps to go but didn’t have enough time to catch Team Penske teammates Logano and Keselowski, finishing his day in third.

Notes:

● Busch posted his second top-five finish of the NASCAR Cup Series season and the 272nd top-five of his career.

● The Las Vegas native scored his seventh top-five finish in 16 career starts at the 1.5-mile oval. He narrowly missed sweeping the weekend after wins in Friday night’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series race and Saturday’s Xfinity Series event.

● Busch led twice for a total of 13 laps.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Chocolate Bar Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“If we didn’t have the speeding penalty on pit road, we would have won this race, but the guys gave me a great piece and we were certainly fast there at the end. I couldn’t run low if they ran low, and I couldn’t run high if they ran high, so you’re always trying to figure out which way to go. I certainly screwed up our day coming to pit road there. We tried a different brake package for us this weekend, and trying to make up time in order to get a bigger jump on the guys behind me coming to pit road there just ruined it for us, and we had to come from the back. We were running some of them leaders down and closing in on them running 31-flats, and once I got within the vicinity of them, I just stalled out to 31.40s and couldn’t go any faster in order to gain on them anymore. I would try to go low, they would go low, try to go high and they go high, and it’s just an air game. Very frustrating, but overall we had a really fast car – the M&M’S Chocolate Bar Camry was good, and driver threw it away.”

Next Up: The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the TicketGuardian 500k on Sunday, March 10 at ISM Raceway near Phoenix. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.

Dillon crew chief Danny Stockman talks following Las Vegas practices

Austin Dillon was fastest in both Las Vegas practices.

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE
TEAM CHEVY POST FINAL PRACTICE PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 2, 2019

DANNY STOCKMAN, CREW CHIEF, NO. 3 DOW CAMARO ZL1, met with members of the media following the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session where the No. 3 Camaro ZL1 was fastest on the speed charts. Full Transcript:

YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN REALLY FAST THIS WEEKEND:
“Yeah the car is pretty good. We had a good test here a month ago. There are a lot of other good, fast cars. It’s just so tough this Cup Series with all these great drivers and all these really good teams. It’s so close and getting the balance right is super important and that is what we worked on right here in Happy Hour. I think we are close. We need to be a little bit better. The speed is definitely there. We need to be a little bit better drive ability, but me and my engineers will work on it and we will get it right.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR TEAMMATE GOING TO BE THIS WEEKEND WITH DRAFTING COMING INTO PLAY?
“You know, I don’t know… nobody knows. I think what is going to be really important is how good your car drives and if you have a teammate there at the end you might be able to utilize him, but I feel like you better have a good driving car and if you don’t you are going to be in a world of hurt like we were last week at Atlanta. You are just going to have to have a good car and have speed to go along with it and be there at the end.”

DOES IT COME DOWN TO A DECISION ON QUALIFYING WELL OR RACING WELL OR CAN YOU FIND THAT BALANCE?
“No, I think everybody comes here in qualifying trim and really works on trimming speed out and all that stuff. You can walk through the garage area and definitely notice that. I think there is a balance between speed in qualifying and race trim and you’ve got to hit both. I feel like we are close on that this weekend.”

ON THE OPTIONS WITH THIS NEW PACKAGE:
“There is definitely an option. It’s important to have a really good driving car and it’s important to have a fast car when you only have 550 horsepower. There is a balance you’ve got to hit that balance and whoever hits that balance will be in Victory Lane on Sunday I feel.”

SO, YOU THINK ADAM STEVENS IS GOING TO HAVE HIS CAR TRIMMED OUT (DANNY STOCKMAN AND ADAM STEVENS (CREW CHIEF FOR KYLE BUSCH) DID POST PRACTICE MEDIA AVAILABILITY IN TANDEM):
“I don’t think he is trimmed out. I think he has a really good driving car, I think he’s got a really good driver and a bad ass team. Same goes with us. We’ve got a really good car this weekend. The Dow Chevrolet is fast, it drives pretty darn good and we’ve just got to hit the balance right.”

DO YOU HAVE TO THROW SPEEDS OUT THE WINDOW LIKE AT A RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACK?
“I’d like to add that it’s not as easy as it looks. These cars are so aero dependent right now that you get on somebody’s bumper, they get tighter than they ever have. It is super important for the driver to position himself right on corner exit to make sure that he doesn’t shove the nose. Your balance and your car have to suit that. It’s definitely not easy. There is a lot of thought process going into all this stuff this year. Rule changes make a lot of work for everybody, but it’s fun in the same sense.”

ON TIGHT QUARTERS IN PRACTICE:
“Yeah, I mean I think we are all learning. Every time we hit the race track, we are learning and as the weather changes things are going to change. The biggest thing in this sport that we can’t necessarily predict perfectly is the weather. It’s going to be tough. It’s not easy.”

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Childress cars post fastest two laps in final Las Vegas practice

Austin Dillon was 50/1 to win at Las Vegas Sunday.

A day after they led the first Cup practice session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Austin Dillon and Daniel Hemric repeated the performance in the final practice for Sunday’s Cup race.

Dillon led the way with a top speed of 178.224 mph around the 1.5-mile track.

Hemric, Dillon’s teammate at Richard Childress Racing, followed at 177.072 mph.

The top five was completed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (176.927 mph), Aric Almirola(176.904) and Brad Keselowski (176.858).

Completing the top 10: Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones.

There were no incidents in the session

Pole-sitter Kevin Harvick made 35 laps in the one-hour session but finished 29th on the speed chart at 175.143 mph. He was followed by Martin Truex Jr. in 30th (174.955).

When it came to best 10-lap averages, Hemric led the way at 176.181 mph while Dillon was second at 175.975 mph.

READ MORE HERE...NBC SPORTS

PRACTICE 3 SPEEDS

Austin Dillon fastest in first Las Vegas practice session

Austin Dillon is 50/1 to win Sunday at Las Vegas.

Richard Childress Racing teammates Austin Dillon and Daniel Hemric were fastest in Friday’s NASCAR Cup pre-qualifying practice session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Dillon paced the 38 cars that took to the track with a speed of 180.294 mph. Hemric was close behind in second place at 180.078 mph.

Denny Hamlin was third fastest (180.030 mph), followed by Chase Elliott (179.820), William Byron (179.718)

Sixth through 10th were Aric Almirola (179.474), Kyle Busch (179.378), Bubba Wallace(179.075), Clint Bowyer (179.027) and Chris Buescher (179.027).

Of note, several drivers and teams took part in drafting, which is typically unusual at a track like LVMS. But with the new aero package in use this weekend, speeds were enhanced for several cars by utilizing drafting.

READ MORE HERE....NBC SPORTS

PRACTICE 1 SPEEDS