NASCAR tests Next Gen car at Charlotte

 

The new Air Wrench. One lugnut like Formula-1. I don't think I like it.

Next Gen car tested at Charlotte road course on Nov 16, 2020. Slick looking car.

Opening odds to win 2021 Daytona 500

Denny Hamlin has won the Daytona 500 three times. 

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK

ODDS TO WIN 2021 DAYTONA 500

DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Denny HAMLIN 8/1
Joey LOGANO 10/1
Ryan BLANEY 10/1
Chase ELLIOTT 10/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 14/1
William BYRON 14/1
Kyle LARSON 16/1
Aric ALMIROLA 16/1
Alex BOWMAN 16/1
Kevin HARVICK 16/1
Kyle BUSCH 16/1
Ross CHASTAIN 20/1
Kurt BUSCH 20/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 20/1
Martin TRUEX JR 20/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 20/1
Austin DILLON 30/1
Christopher BELL 30/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO 30/1
Chris BUESCHER 40/1
Cole CUSTER 40/1
Tyler REDDICK 40/1
Chase BRISCOE 40/1
Erik JONES 60/1
Michael McDOWELL 60/1
John Hunter NEMECHEK 60/1
Ryan NEWMAN 60/1
Justin HALEY 100/1
Corey LAJOIE 200/1
Ty DILLON 200/1
Brennan POOLE 200/1
Daniel SUAREZ 200/1
Quin HOUFF 1000/1
Timmy HILL 1000/1
Cody WARE 1000/1
Josh BILICKI 1000/1
Joey GASE  1000/1
BJ McLEOD  1000/1
Garrett SMITHLEY 1000/1
Reed SORENSON 1000/1
JJ YELEY 1000/1
James DAVISON 1000/1

Opening odds to win 2021 NASCAR Cup Championship

Chase Elliott is 8/1 to win title again in 2021.

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK

ODDS TO WIN 2021 NASCAR CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

Kevin HARVICK 5/1
Kyle BUSCH 8/1
Denny HAMLIN 8/1
Martin TRUEX JR 8/1
Joey LOGANO 8/1
Chase ELLIOTT 8/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 8/1
Kyle LARSON 10/1
Ryan BLANEY 14/1
William BYRON 30/1
Aric ALMIROLA 30/1
Alex BOWMAN 30/1
Kurt BUSCH 30/1
Ross CHASTAIN 50/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 50/1
Christopher BELL 50/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO 50/1
Cole CUSTER 60/1
Tyler REDDICK 80/1
Austin DILLON 100/1
Chase BRISCOE 100/1
Erik JONES 200/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 300/1
Chris BUESCHER 300/1
Ryan NEWMAN 300/1
John Hunter NEMECHEK 1000/1

* NASCAR CUP SEASON MUST BE COMPLETED BY MARCH 1, 2022 FOR ACTION

NASCAR Phoenix Betting Preview: 2020 Season Finale 500

The last six NASCAR Cup Series Champions have won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Every point accumulated during the regular season and postseason is wiped away. It’s the Championship 4 drivers against each other, the best finish wins. Winning is the best way to take care of business.

This year, the season finale is Sunday at Phoenix Raceway and it’s appropriately named the Season Finale 500. To find the winner, we no longer look at what drivers did on 1.5-mile tracks during the season as we’ve done since 2004 with Homestead.

The best way now for Phoenix is to look at the performance of the cars in the 12 races using the race package featuring engines that produce 750 horsepower, which includes the non-points All-Star Race at Bristol.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SEASON FINALE 500
BETTING RESOURCES

• Race: Season Finale 500
• Date: Sunday, November 8, 2020
• TV-Time: NBC, 3:00 p.m. ET
• Venue: Phoenix Raceway
• Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Here’s a list of the top candidates to win this week, along with a few long shots, with odds to win Sunday’s race courtesy of William Hill sportsbooks:

HANDICAPPING THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4

SEASON FINALE 500 ODDS

• Chase Elliott +240
• Denny Hamlin +240
• Joey Logano +260
• Brad Keselowski +280

#11 DENNY HAMLIN (3/1)

In 30 Phoenix starts he has an 11th-place average finish with two wins, 13 top-fives, and 821 laps led. Last season when Phoenix was the turn race before the Championship 4 at Homestead, he had to win to transfer, and he did. He won the first stage, finished second in the second stage, and led 143 laps on his way to probably the biggest win of his career. The biggest race of his career is this week looking for his first title. You ready, Denny?

“I think we can win any given week for sure,” Hamlin said.” The short tracks haven’t been great for us all year, but you just never know. Last year, we went there and nearly lapped the field, so who knows how it’s going to turn out. One race, winner take all, you never know.”

Hamlin has received lots of criticism for not winning a title yet, so you can believe he has an entire list of doubters and haters he wants to shut up and he can do that with a win.

#2 BRAD KESELOWSKI (7/2)

If you’ve been reading my stuff for a while, you know that I like to group certain tracks for handicapping purposes. If a driver does well on one, they’ll likely do well on the others.

Phoenix’s flat 1-mile layout falls into a category with New Hampshire’s flat 1-mile layout, and Richmond’s ¾-mile flat layout.

All three are configured differently but because of the distance and banking similarities, the set-up requirements are virtually the same or at least for those who do well.

Keselowski won three races this season using the 750 horsepower package being used this week and he was dominant in all three leading the most laps. Two of those were at New Hampshire where he led 184 laps and Richmond where he led 192 laps.

He’s never won at Phoenix but has his best chance ever Sunday which would also give him the 2020 Cup Championship.

#9 CHASE ELLIOTT (9/2)

He had one of the best cars in the March race, started from pole, led a race-high 93 laps, and then hit the wall late in the race and his car didn’t handle the same. He’s had a few instances like that at Phoenix.

But the reason to bet him this week is he has arguably had the best runs using the 750 hp package which includes four wins and won the last two using it.

“I’m still kind of wrapping my head around everything, I feel like,” Elliott said earlier this week. “I’ve never been in this position before, so I think myself, much like a lot of people around me are kind of learning this together. For me, I’m just taking it a day at a time and just enjoying the moment. I’ve been saying that a lot lately, and I think it’s really important to do that. I’ve heard my dad say that over the years that he wished he enjoyed certain moments more and didn’t just run through them. So I’m just trying to enjoy it.”

#22 JOEY LOGANO (9/2)

He won the March race at Phoenix, but probably had the fourth-best car of the day, although he did lead 60 laps. Last fall he led 93 laps before finishing ninth. He also won at Phoenix in 2016. He’s part of Team Penske which has produced some of the fastest cars using the 750 hp package. He’s had top-fives in the last two races using it.

HANDICAPPING THE SEASON FINALE 500

SEASON FINALE 500 CONTENDER ODDS

• Kevin Harvick +300
• Kyle Busch +550
• Denny Hamlin +600
• Chase Elliott +700
• Joey Logano +850
• Brad Keselowski +1000
• Martin Truex Jr. +1000
• Ryan Blaney +1400

TOP OUTSIDE CONTENDERS TO WIN

#4 KEVIN HARVICK (4/1)

He leads the series with nine wins in 2020 and he’s not in the Championship 4, so you know what he wants to do? Go out and win his 10th race this week, which would also be his 10th career win at Phoenix, a track record. He also holds the track record with 18 top-fives and 1,662 laps led.

#19 MARTIN TRUEX JR. (13/2)

He’s been sixth or better in four of his last six Phoenix starts with a career-best of runner-up in the spring of 2019. It’s been a down year for him, but the good news is that he’s driving the race package that was used to win his only race at Martinsville in July.

READ MORE HERE....TOP-5 FINISH PREDICTION ON VEGASINSIDER.COM

Kevin Harvick is 4/1 to win Season Finale 500 at Phoenix

 

KEVIN HARVICK 10 and 11   KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (November 2, 2020) – Kevin Harvick isn’t eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. But he can still make history if he wins by becoming just the 11th driver to win 10 races in a season in the modern era.   Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has won a career-high nine races in 2020, the wins coming at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where he won twice, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a sweep of the doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.   If he wins at Phoenix Sunday, he will join Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip as a member of the 10-win club.   And Harvick would not be the first driver to win 10 races and not win the championship. It’s happened several times before.   10: Bobby Allison 1972 Richard Petty 1974 (won championship) Cale Yarborough 1974 David Pearson 1976 Cale Yarborough 1978 (won championship) Rusty Wallace 1993 Jeff Gordon 1996 Jeff Gordon 1997 (won championship) Jimmie Johnson 2007 (won championship)   11: David Pearson 1973 Bill Elliott 1985 Dale Earnhardt 1987 (won championship)   12: Darrell Waltrip 1981 (won championship) Darrell Waltrip 1982 (won championship)   13: Richard Petty 1975 (won championship) Jeff Gordon 1998 (won championship)   The points system was different in prior years, but 10 would be a nice number to achieve and hasn’t been accomplished since 2007, when Jimmie Johnson won 10 races.   It’s been a solid year for Harvick as his nine wins, 20 top-fives, 26 top-10s and 1,531 laps led are all series-bests in 2020. He can also keep climbing the record books. Harvick is 14th all-time in laps completed with 204,792 after Sunday’s race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and is the leader among active drivers. He could pass 1989 Cup Series champion Wallace, who is 13th with 204,818, at Phoenix by getting to lap 27. If he gets to lap 208, he will surpass 205,000 completed.   Phoenix has always been good to Harvick as he has a series-high nine career Cup Series wins at Phoenix, including five with SHR, topping a list that shows Johnson next-best with four, Kyle Busch with three, and Davey Allison, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano with two each.   Harvick has won seven of the last 16 Cup Series races at Phoenix. He is the only driver to win four in a row as he won the November 2013 race, swept the 2014 races and won in March 2015 before ending his streak with a runner-up finish in November 2015. Johnson is the only other driver with a three-race streak at Phoenix, when he won the November 2007 race and swept the 2008 races. Only five drivers have won consecutive Cup Series races at Phoenix and Harvick is the only driver to win consecutive races twice, having also swept both races in 2006.   He’s scored a perfect 150.0 driver rating at Phoenix on three occasions. His first was in November 2006, when he started second, led 252 of 312 laps and reached victory lane. His second was during his November 2014 win, when he started third and led 264 of 312 laps. His third came during his March 2015 win, when he started first and led 224 of 312 laps.   Harvick has finished outside the top-10 only once at Phoenix since March 2013, and has only three finishes of 11th or worse since April 2010.   While a championship is not possible, Harvick would still love to set a couple more records to close out the 2020 season.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Are you still OK with this system? You have nine wins and don’t make it to the Championship 4.   “We had a great year. Like I’ve said, they aren’t won the same way that Earnhardt and Petty did. You have to put together a few weeks and we didn’t put together these last few weeks like we needed to and just came up short.”   Is this up there as one of the worst gut punches you’ve had to take?   “No, I’ve been punched in the gut a lot harder. We won nine races, had a great year, and, like I said, the championship is kind of a bonus. It would be great to win it, obviously, but I’d rather go through the year and win races and do the things that we did and just came up short.”   How do you justify that you won’t be racing for the championship when you are clearly on one of the top four teams this year?   “That’s the system we work in and it’s obviously skewed more toward entertainment than the whole year, so it’s exciting to watch and has that format that goes with it and you take them as they come and we race within the system they give us and do our best. It just didn’t work out for us. The last three weeks didn’t go exactly how we needed them to and you’ve got to be right when you get to the Round of 8.”

Clint Bowyer is 100/1 to win in final Cup start of career

 

CLINT BOWYER A Final Race   KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Nov. 2, 2020) –  Clint Bowyer will climb in a NASCAR Cup Series car for the final time Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway – a venue that hosted some of Bowyer’s most memorable moments in his career, including his Cup Series debut on April 23, 2005.   “It’s funny, the way the schedule has worked out, Phoenix will be the place of my first and last start,” said Bowyer, who drove for Bill McAnally and Richard Childress on that day he started  25th and finished 22nd, one lap behind race-winner Kurt Busch. “It’s come full circle and it’s been an amazing run with everything in between.”   The Emporia, Kansas native grew up racing motorcycles in the Midwest never dreaming he’d make his living in NASCAR. But he’s entered 540 races, earned 10 Cup Series victories, 82 top-five finishes and 226 top-10s. He finished in the top-five in the season standings three times and is one of the few drivers to enjoy trips to victory lane driving Fords, Toyotas and Chevrolets.   “Hell no, I never thought I would have this success,” said Bowyer, who won an Xfinity Series title in 2008. “I honestly was hoping to make a living racing. I can say that, and I think that’s a fair goal, but did I ever in a million years think that it would lead to all this? No way. Here is how I look at it – for the last few years, I have been representing Ford Motor Company, for crying out loud. For most of my career growing up, I couldn’t afford a Ford engine. I have made some incredible friendships along the way that will last my entire lifetime.”   It’s not just his career that has come full circle. Bowyer was single that day in 2005 at Phoenix when he made his debut. Sunday, he’ll have his wife Lorra and young children Cash and Presley, along with his parents and family on hand for the final race. At most of those 540 races over the years, there has always been family at the track.   “You bring your friends and family to the track because that’s who you want to be around,” he said. “My mom and dad and brothers have always been around my racing. Lorra and the kids used to come every weekend before COVID and, if this year has taught me anything, it is how much fun it is to have all those people around. It’s been lonely and boring sitting in the motorhome without all those people.”   Sunday isn’t just about retirement. Bowyer arrives at Phoenix 12th in points, just 30 behind 10th place, and is very much a threat to win the race. Last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Bowyer finished eighth and, in the previous race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, he led 89 laps before an extra fuel stop ruined his chance for victory with 25 laps to go.     So why walk away while still competitive? Bowyer said it was all about the opportunity to join FOX television in the booth in 2021. Bowyer served as a commentator during FOX’s coverage of iRacing events during the earlier days of the pandemic while the Cup Series was on hiatus.   “That was a ton of fun for me and it opened my eyes up in a big way and it was just something that nobody expected that opened the door for this opportunity we took,” he said. “So, FOX means more time with your family and still being a big part of this sport. I love being a part of this sport. I mean, that was so important for me. I didn’t want to just retire. If this opportunity with FOX didn’t come to the table, I was going to be in a car somewhere, somehow. I wasn’t going to just quit and run off into the sunset because I like this sport and I wanted to find my way and a future within it, and luckily this happened.”   New FOX colleague Jeff Gordon played a major role in one of Bowyer’s more memorable career moments at – Phoenix, of course. Bowyer and Gordon tangled in the closing laps of the 2012 race while battling for a championship. The clash led to one of the more famous altercations between race teams in NASCAR history that’s sure to air on television every time the Cup Series returns to Phoenix.   Bowyer and Gordon are now fast friends and laugh when the highlights are replayed. Bowyer said that moment is long forgotten but hopes it won’t be his and Gordon’s last disagreements – albeit good-natured. Instead of NASCAR officials, it will be lead announcer Mike Joy’s job to referee.   “Here’s one of the funniest things about our rivalry, or lack thereof,” Bowyer said. “People really think there’s more there than there ever was. We had a couple run-ins in a year where it sucked, but I can tell you that we were always having fun off the racetrack at the year-end events at the playoff banquets and things like that. He and I would always kind of naturally just flock to one another and want to go out and have fun, and Jeff is a fun person.    “It’s a neat situation to overcome everything that we have, and lining up right against one another again in that booth is going to be something that’s pretty special. I think we saw it already. We both got to experience it a little bit. We got our feet wet with the iRacing that we did, and I think that we’re going to enjoy it that much more when we can call these races from our experiences and our perspectives. Jeff does a great job of that. Mike Joy, oh my gosh, he’s going to have his hands full. Can you imagine being up there trying to be a ringleader, trying to keep Jeff and I arguing the whole race because there’s no way in hell he can be right and there’s no way in hell that I can be right all the time, so it’s going to be fun to call these races.”   Bowyer’s No. 14 Mustang will carry the logos of Rush Truck Centers and Haas Automation for the final time this weekend. Rush has been the primary partner for the No. 14 team since Bowyer arrived at SHR in 2017 and has been with the organization since 2010. The Texas-based company has used Bowyer and the team to appeal to NASCAR fans as one way to recruit the technicians it needs to operate the largest network of commercial truck and bus dealerships in the country, with locations in 22 states.   Rush Truck Centers will honor Bowyer with a thank you note on the hood of the No. 14 Sunday that includes: “Thank You, Clint! Always A Man Of The People.”   Haas Automation, owned by SHR co-owner and California native Gene Haas, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. Founded by Haas in 1983, Haas Automation manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are built in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.   Bowyer’s retirement is another indication of the changing of the guard in NASCAR. Kurt 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 Sunday at Phoenix. Johnson is also making his final start Sunday.     “Things always change and there’s a new bunch of kids who will come in and take up our places,” Bowyer said. “ We’ve had a great run, now it’s time to turn it over to someone else.”

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Would you have retired if the FOX opportunity hadn’t presented itself?   “Was I ready? I was getting ready. I was getting close to being ready. Was I ready after this pandemic and this COVID year of no fans and a weird way to go out? No, and I don’t think probably Jimmie Johnson was, either, but was I looking for that what’s next moment or opportunity? And that answer is absolutely yes. When FOX – and let’s go back to the pandemic – there are always opportunities and crazy things and it’s usually those wild and crazy things in life that open that opportunity. This pandemic led to that opportunity to get in the studio with Jeff and Mike and have a ton of fun doing those iRacing races that really kind of kept us on the map with our sport and kept our sponsors propped up, kept the business moving, kept it going around in circles.”

Denny Hamlin is 3/1 favorite to win 2020 Season Finale at Phoenix

Denny Hamlin

#11 FedEx Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Season Finale 500
Date/Time: Sunday, Nov. 8/3:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 312 Laps/312 Miles
Track Shape: Oval
Track Length: 1 mile
Banking: 9-11 degrees
2019 Winner: Kyle Busch

Express Notes:


Press Kit: Download the 2020 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.

Martinsville Recap: Denny Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team earned a berth in the Championship 4 with an 11th-place finish Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin had a strong FedEx Shipathon Toyota for the early part of the race, winning Stage 1 and leading 42 laps spanning the first two stages. But the event turned into a nail-biter for the team in Stage 3 when their front-running car showed some vulnerability. Before the first green flag of the final stage, Hamlin had to return to pit road to get loose lug nuts tightened, forcing him to the back of the field. The car also lost some of its nimble handling as the sun set and the track cooled in the third stage, making it more difficult to climb back up the leaderboard. But crossing the line in 11th was enough to earn a Championship 4 spot along with Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski.

Phoenix Preview: Hamlin will compete in his third Championship 4 as he works toward his first NASCAR Cup Series title on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. The FedEx Racing driver is the defending winner of the fall Phoenix race and owns career totals of two wins, and 13 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert. He’ll look to top his seven wins on the 2020 season with the ultimate prize – the Cup trophy – with his team and long-time sponsor FedEx.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Phoenix Raceway
Races: 30
Wins: 2
Poles: 2
Top-5: 13
Top-10: 17
Laps Led: 821
Avg. Start: 10.2
Avg. Finish: 11.3

Hamlin Conversation – Phoenix:

How do you see your championship chances at Phoenix?

“I think we can win any given week for sure. The short tracks haven’t been great for us all year, but you just never know. Last year, we went there and nearly lapped the field, so who knows how it’s going to turn out. One race, winner take all, you never know.”

Is there any data or experience you can lean on to help your chances of success at Phoenix?

“It’s an entirely different ballgame now. It really is. The aerodynamic package is a lot different for Phoenix. There’re no similarities that you can really draw to it. You just never know. Obviously, we’re going to be ready and we’re going to be prepared and hopefully we’ll go out there and show what we’ve got.”

Kyle Busch is 12/1 to win at Phoenix

 

KYLE BUSCH Spoiler Alert   HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (Nov. 4, 2020) – As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway for the Season Finale 500k, Kyle Busch and his No. 18 M&M’S team are focused on playing the part of spoiler as stock car racing’s premier series decides its champion on Sunday afternoon in the Arizona desert.   Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has already played the spoiler role in these playoffs, having won two races ago at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth while keeping all the drivers in the Round of 8 of the Cup Series playoffs behind him. On Sunday at Phoenix, Busch will look to win at a place where he knows victory lane well.   Busch won at Phoenix for the first time in the fall of 2006, but went 12 years before his next turn at tasting victory there when he won back-to-back races. Those two races, in the fall of 2018 and then the spring of 2019, were the first two events on the renovated and reconfigured track surface with the start-finish line moved from what is now the backstretch over to the dogleg in front of the new main grandstand. Busch, in fact, has not finished worse than third in his last five Phoenix starts and has led a whopping 491 laps in that time.   While the M&M’S driver went 25 races between wins at Phoenix, he has been incredibly consistent throughout his career at the mile oval. In 30 Cup Series starts at the “Diamond in the Desert,” Busch has 12 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s while scoring top-five finishes in nine of his last 10 starts there, which includes the aforementioned back-to-back victories in 2018 and 2019.   Busch’s win in the rain-delayed Texas win, which began Sunday, Oct. 25 but wasn’t completed until Wednesday, Oct. 28, kept alive his streak of 16 consecutive seasons with at least one victory, and he knows there’s no better place than Phoenix to add to his win total this season with one last shot to do it this weekend.   So as the Cup Series season comes to an end, the 2019 Cup Series champion has one thing on his mind Sunday at Phoenix, where Busch and the M&M’S team hope to play spoiler on the same day a new champion will be crowned.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M'S Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

Do you have some confidence at Phoenix with how much success you’ve had there as of late?   “I really like Phoenix and we won there a couple of times the last couple of years. So much has changed since then. It’s entirely different now, so maybe we can still be good when we go back there, hopefully, but a lot’s going on in the development of everybody’s cars and things like that. We’ll see what we have this weekend with our M&M’S Camry and we would like nothing better to spoil the fun and take another trophy home.”   Does the momentum of the win at Texas help you at Phoenix to finish off the season?   “I would say yes and no. Certainly winning at Texas was a shot in the arm for our whole team. We went to Martinsville last weekend and gave it our best effort to win another one, we just didn’t quite have what we needed there. We’ll do the same thing at Phoenix this weekend. We always go to the track with the mindset of winning the race. Our M&M’S team has been really good there the last several years and even better since they changed the start-finish line. We’ve got nothing to lose so we’ll go out there and run up front and see what happens.”   You have good memories at Phoenix. How does that play into this weekend?   “The last several times we’ve been to Phoenix, we’ve run pretty good. Hopefully, that can translate to this time around again. We were good at Richmond and normally Richmond translates good there. Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway), that translates there. I’m optimistic about it. I think we can do OK. It’s just a matter of running another clean race and not making mistakes.”   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 M&M’S Toyota Camry will be interesting to see how the race plays out.”   You’ve won two of the four Cup races at the mile oval since the reconfiguration. Do you enjoy racing at Phoenix?   “Phoenix is a pretty neat place, even though they made some changes with the repave and then more recently flipping the start-finish line to a different spot. 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 have two distinctly different sets of corners at Phoenix.”

Aric Almirola is 50/1 to win 2020 Season Finale 500 at Phoenix

 

ARIC ALMIROLA Capping Off a Career-Best Season in Phoenix   KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Nov. 4, 2020) – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has had a career-best season as he heads to the NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway this weekend.    His six top-five finishes this year surpass his previous best of four in a season in 2018. In addition, his 298 laps led is a career high for a season, and his 18 top-10 finishes surpasses his season best.    Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield team recorded five consecutive top-fives start with his fifth-place run at Homestead-Miami Speedway, then continued with a third-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, third and fifth the doubleheader at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, and third at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He went on to earn four more consecutive top-10 finishes to bring his career-best top-10 streak to nine in a row.    Almirola’s third-place finish June 22 at Talladega marked his eighth straight top-10 there and tied the track record for most consecutive top-10s – a mark set by Dale Earnhardt Jr., from April 2001 to October 2004.   The native of Tampa, Florida also qualified for the Cup Series playoffs for the third time in three years since joining SHR. It was his fourth playoff appearance, and he advanced to the Round of 12 for the second time.    “What a crazy year, but a good year,” Almirola said. “Luckily, NASCAR was able to get us back on track after the pandemic hit and we adapted better than some teams for a while. We started this year with no expectations with our new crew chief Mike Bugarewicz and a new crew. We accomplished our regular-season goals outside of a win and just came up short in the playoffs after leading at Talladega. No one knew what to expect this year and I’ll say our performance on the track was great when we adapted together.”   Almirola has earned six top-10s, two top-fives and has led 26 laps in 19 career starts at Phoenix. He has finished outside of the top-10 just once since joining SHR.   “We have one more shot at a win or a decent finish this weekend at Phoenix,” Almirola said. “We’ve been good there in the past. Kevin (Harvick) is really good there, too. I know there are four cars out there battling for a championship, but if we’ve got the speed, we’re going to give it all we’ve got to put Smithfield and this team in victory lane.”   Smithfield Foods, Inc., which sponsored Almirola’s No. 10 Mustang for a majority of the races this season and will again in 2021, is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Its 40,000 U.S. employees are dedicated to producing “Good food. Responsibly®” and have made it one of the world’s leading vertically integrated protein companies. It has pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including many industry firsts, such as an ambitious commitment to cut carbon impact by 25 percent by 2025. The company believes in the power of protein to end food insecurity and has donated hundreds of millions of food servings to neighbors in need. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.   Almirola is wrapping up season two of his documentary series Beyond the 10, where fans can get VIP, behind-the-scenes access by subscribing to his YouTube channel. Episodes showcase never-before-seen footage of Almirola at the racetrack, on family trips, and “A Day in the Life” during the week, as well as all that goes into a NASCAR Cup Series driver’s season. He plans to continue providing exclusive content in 2021. Click here to subscribe on YouTube and watch the latest episode.    Almirola is currently 15th in the driver standings with 2,211 points.

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

What do you think about the 2021 schedule?    “I think it’s great. NASCAR has done a great job at making the schedule exciting for the fans. Look how the playoffs turned out. There was always something on the line and I think you’re going to see a really diverse group of winners next year. I think we’re headed in the right direction.”   Who do we have to thank for a successful season amid this COVID-19 pandemic?   “So many people. The frontline heroes who put their lives at risk to make sure our country could keep going, the team for working insanely hard all year to bring competitive cars, their families for staying strong while they’re gone, NASCAR for making the right calls and keeping everyone safe, the thousands of Smithfield employees who have helped keep food on our tables all year, and so many more. We couldn’t do it without them.”   What makes Phoenix so unique?   “Phoenix is just a fast short track. 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.”   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 through 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.”

Season Finale green flag drops at Phoenix

The Tumultuous 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season comes to an end at Phoenix Raceway Sunday after a wild ride that saw the series halted two months because of a pandemic, and then re-starting it again May 17 amid groans from some in the media.

Somehow, perhaps magically, NASCAR got its 36 races in to satisfy the networks and get all the tracks, team owners, drivers, and crew members paid. In order to do so, sacrifices had to be made such as shortening each race weekend with no qualifying and no practice. Teams would just show up to the track, unload the car, and race.

Socializing also was cut to a minimum. And fans weren’t initially allowed back in until June, at a few places and it was only a couple hundred.

In order to keep the playoff dates intact, NASCAR had to cram together two races in a week. Racing on Wednesday or Thursday night was kind of cool. They also put two races into one weekend at Pocono, which was initially scheduled, but did the same for races at Dover and Michigan. They were running a season and learning pandemic protocols on the fly, implementing immediately, and it worked while the other sports leagues were watching from the sidelines.

NASCAR was the first sport back on live TV networks and there was something about it all that made me proud of the sport after going two months without anything. No work, either. But there was my good old buddy, NASCAR, helping me keep my sanity through self-quarantine.

So while Kevin Harvick was eliminated from the Championship 4 last week at Martinsville, he’ll always hold a special place in my memory for winning the first race back after the shutdown, May 17 at Darlington, a race more anticipated by me than any Daytona 500 after a cold winter. Three days later, NASCAR gave us another race at Darlington with Denny Hamlin winning. Those two drivers would be the underlying story of the summer with Harvick winning nine races and Hamlin winning seven, six after the shutdown.

Believe it or not, the 2020 NASCAR Cup season was my favorite seasons ever in any sport right there with UNLV basketball winning in 1990 and the Denver Broncos winning their first Super Bowl in 1998. Selfishly, I hate to see the season end Sunday, but all the teams need some rest after entertaining us all through the pandemic.

The final chapter of the season will be written Sunday at Phoenix with two Team Penske drivers, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, each looking to win their second Cup Championship while Hamlin and Chase Elliott will be looking for their first. The best finisher among those four will be the 2020 champ, but the last six Cup Champions have won the final race which had been at Homestead-Miami Speedway since 2002.

The dynamics of the Phoenix having the last race held on the relatively flat 1-mile layout is that it changes the criteria we’ve used to handicap the championship race. It used to be that we’d look at all the results from other 1.5-mile tracks or using a similar race package.

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