Tag: Phoenix Raceway

New Cup aero package making ‘traffic’ the Phoenix buzzword

“Traffic” will be the buzzword for NASCAR Cup Series drivers this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. “I think the biggest thing…when we mess with rules packages like this – the goal for this package was being better in traffic; that’s the whole thing,” …

“Traffic” will be the buzzword for NASCAR Cup Series drivers this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

“I think the biggest thing…when we mess with rules packages like this — the goal for this package was being better in traffic; that’s the whole thing,” Ryan Blaney said Friday. “The cars are going to drive how they drive by themselves, and we’ll deal with it and adjust for that, but how do they do in traffic? That’s the biggest thing. The only gripe that you hear of drivers is, ‘Oh, they’re terrible in traffic. We’ve got to get that better.’ So hopefully we just end this weekend and everyone kind of agrees that it’s a step in the right direction.”

Sunday’s Shriner’s Children 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) is the first with a new rules package for short tracks and road courses. It features a simplified rear diffuser with fewer vertical strakes, no engine panel strakes and a three-inch spoiler. The changes will reduce downforce on the cars.

“If the trailing car can be a little bit closer to the car in front of them and just not get as tight and just lose so much ground…” Blaney said. “That’s the goal. Hopefully it’s achieved.”

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Blaney was one of six drivers who participated in the two-day test at Phoenix in December with the rules package and felt he learned just a little from that opportunity. The simplified diffuser appeared to be a slight improvement during the test.

Friday, teams were given an extended practice session (55 minutes) to work through the new package.

“I think what you’re looking for [is] just, all right, what’s the balance shift?” Blaney said. “Maybe try to get in a little bit of traffic kind of see how the balance of your car shifts compared to the old package. I mean, honestly, in December, there were little things here and there that I think it did better. It wasn’t light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn’t the save-all, but hopefully it’s in the right direction.

“Just seeing what balance is from the fall to now, I think teams are looking forward to that. If you can get around some traffic, too, I think that’s going to be what you’re going to see some guys doing, especially probably at the end of practice when they kind of start fine-tuning their stuff.”

Logano paces Toyota-heavy Phoenix Cup Series practice

Joey Logano found himself atop the NASCAR Cup Series time charts once again in practice for the Shriners Children’s 500 Friday at Phoenix Raceway, but this time with a contingent of Toyotas breathing down his neck – six of the top 10, in fact. The …

Joey Logano found himself atop the NASCAR Cup Series time charts once again in practice for the Shriners Children’s 500 Friday at Phoenix Raceway, but this time with a contingent of Toyotas breathing down his neck — six of the top 10, in fact.

The Team Penske driver worked his No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse up to a 131.167mph lap (27.446s) followed by Denny Hamlin (131.081mph), Tyler Reddick (131.066mph) and John Hunter Nemecheck (130.985mph). Logano’s Penske teammate Austin Cindric broke up the Toyota party in fifth (130.976mph).

Reddick slid himself into the top five in spite of a spin part way through the session, creating a lot of smoke as he lost control of his 23XI Toyota Camry in Turn 2. The incident brought out a brief red flag despite Reddick keeping all four corners of his car off the walls.

 

Chase Elliott (130.747mph), Christopher Bell (130.331), Bubba Wallace (130.222mph) and Carson Hocevar (130.199) completed the top 10.

Last week’s Las Vegas winner Kyle Larson came in only 20th at 129.627mph while teammate and defending Phoenix spring race winner William Byron was mired back in 24th (129.464mph).

Kyle Busch was a notable absence from the sharp end of the field as well, struggling to dial in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet throughout the 55-minute session and ultimately ending up 31st at 128.797mph.

Next up: Qualifying for the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway Saturday at 2:10 p.m. ET (FS1) to set the field for Sunday’s race at 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox, MRN and SiriusXM. Kyle Larson is the defending polesitter.

Phoenix ending ‘a letdown’ for early leader Byron

William Byron led the NASCAR Cup series championship fight for a majority of the first 200 laps of Sunday’s finale, but one of the season’s most dominant drivers – and the one who led the series in victories – ended up third in the final out of four …

William Byron led the NASCAR Cup series championship fight for a majority of the first 200 laps of Sunday’s finale, but one of the season’s most dominant drivers – and the one who led the series in victories – ended up third in the final out of four in the final rundown.

“It’s a bit of a letdown based on how we started the race,” Byron said. “As soon as we got into Stage 2, it was about trying to figure out how do we manage what we have, maybe make it a little bit better if we can. But we just need more on the short tracks. We just struggled as a team on the short tracks.

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“We had a great season, a lot to be proud of, a lot of really solid races, communicating well as a team. I feel like all that stuff can just go up a notch and, hopefully, just have a bit more speed at certain tracks that we know are important. Definitely down the stretch here, it was tough. We didn’t have really what we needed, but that’s okay.”

Byron finished fourth in the race having led four times Sunday for 95 laps after starting from the pole.

“Before the track rubbered in, I thought we were probably the best, but we had clean air, too,” Byron said. “I thought when we had clean air, we were trying to perfect our balance out front. Once we got back second to fifth, really, we just didn’t have the turn. We couldn’t keep up with him [Ryan Blaney], especially running up the racetrack. We could run lower and kind of get out of the leftover resin up there, but we couldn’t rotate up there.

“It was kind of all we had. Before the caution, I thought we had something. There was a lot of lanes. The pace was pretty slow. As soon as we got back going on the restart that was all we had.”

The race’s final caution flew with 38 laps to go, sending the field down pit road for the final time. Byron was running third of the championship contenders at the time of the caution. The No. 24 team got Byron off pit road fifth, but second in the bigger picture to teammate Kyle Larson.

Byron chose to restart fifth, the third driver in the inside lane. In front of him was Larson, and to his outside was Ryan Blaney. On the restart with 31 laps to go, Byron was overtaken by Blaney and could do nothing but watch the title race unfold in front of him as Blaney also eventually overtook Larson.

It was a career year for Byron, where he posted six victories and entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed. By making his first Championship 4 appearance, Byron finished a career-best third in the standings.

Larson gave ‘all I had’ trying to hunt down Blaney at Phoenix

Kyle Larson was at peace being the NASCAR Cup Series championship runner-up at Phoenix Raceway, trailing Ryan Blaney to the finish. Larson, the 2021 series champion, felt that was all he could do Sunday afternoon. “I know it didn’t look maybe like …

Kyle Larson was at peace being the NASCAR Cup Series championship runner-up at Phoenix Raceway, trailing Ryan Blaney to the finish. Larson, the 2021 series champion, felt that was all he could do Sunday afternoon.

“I know it didn’t look maybe like it that last run,” he said. “That was all I had. Our team did a really good job of putting us in that spot. I am still obviously extremely bummed, as I’m sure Denny [Hamlin] was last week. Even though I didn’t feel like I had the fast car, I had an opportunity. It’s a bummer when you don’t win.

“At the same point, I’m probably coming up this close, probably more eager for the following season already. I know where I need to improve and I’m just ready to get back on the track and work on all that. Yeah, bummed but also eager to get into the offseason, get working and ready for next year.”

Although Larson came off pit road leading the championship contenders for the race’s final restart with 31 laps to go, he could only hold them off for 10 laps. The pass for the championship came with 21 laps to go when Blaney drove around the outside of the No. 5.

Larson restarted third, the second driver in the inside lane. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate and fellow championship rival, William Byron, restarted in the row behind him while Blaney restarted to Byron’s outside.

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Blaney quickly dispatched Byron to move to third place in the running order and second in the championship hunt behind Larson. It took two more laps before Larson was caught by the Penske car, and after the two worked different lanes and sized each other up, Blaney used the outside lane to make the pass.

“When I saw him get to third as quickly as he did, I knew I was going to be in trouble,” Larson said. “I felt like I could maybe hold off William for the length of that run. Holding off Ryan was going to be tough. He (Blaney) could just move around a lot better than me, kind of be more comfortable on the edge. He definitely looked loose, but he could still push the car. I couldn’t push the car really further than what I was.

“I felt really committed to the bottom. Even when I would move around and make my car feel better, it was slower on lap time. I knew I was in a little bit of trouble and was going to try to put up a fight. I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to hold him off. He did a really good job. His team continued to improve on the race car throughout the last few months. They deserved to win.”

Larson did not lead a lap Sunday. In three seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has won 17 races and finished no worse than seventh in the championship with two Championship 4 appearances.

No complaints after a ‘great ride’ of a career – Harvick

Kevin Harvick thought the emotion of his final NASCAR Cup Series weekend as a driver was over by the time the race was run until there came a question about his children. On the pace laps before the start of Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway, son …

Kevin Harvick thought the emotion of his final NASCAR Cup Series weekend as a driver was over by the time the race was run until there came a question about his children.

On the pace laps before the start of Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway, son Keelan and daughter Piper came over Harvick’s team radio. The two were given the headsets to wish their dad well and congratulate him on what was a Hall of Fame career.

“Well that’s not normal,” Harvick said. “I know that they probably loved that, so…”

At that point, Harvick began to get choked up. He gave a thumbs-up and then turned to be with his family, team, and others who had gathered at his car.

Harvick finished seventh in his final Cup Series race. It was one last competitive showing for the veteran, who led 23 laps and earned his 21st consecutive top-10 finish at Phoenix (dating back to 2013).

“Just kind of a relief, to be honest with you, there with just so much going on before the race and this week,” Harvick said. “It was pretty cool to lead some laps there in the last race, though. I’m just proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, everybody that works on this car and has worked on this car for a long time.

“I’ve just got to thank all the fans and NASCAR, my family and everybody for all the support. It’s been a great ride, and I can’t complain.”

Harvick could only laugh and say he “figured” the crowd on hand Sunday reacted well when he took the lead. The car got too tight as the sun went down, and he didn’t challenge for the victory in the final stage. It was a winless season for Harvick, just the fifth tie that’s happened in his career.

“The fans have been great, just wishing us well [and] to do the best we can on the racetrack,” he said. “It’s been an up-and-down year, but we’ve had some good runs, and we were at least competitive. We didn’t ride around in the back. That’s the main thing, just doing all we can do.”

A 23-year career ends with 60 victories, including in all four crown jewel events. Harvick won at Indianapolis in 2003, 2019 and 2020, the Daytona 500 in 2007, the Coca-Cola 600 in 2011, and the Southern 500 in 2014 and 2020.

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He won the Cup Series championship in 2014.

“This whole year has been incredible with the fans and the garage and everybody [with] all the support,” Harvick said. “We wanted to tell a story of 30 years, and I think we did a pretty good job at that.”

It took more than an hour for Harvick to leave pit road after the race. Tyler Reddick, teammates Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe were among those who came to spend time with him. Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart also made his way into what could be described as a mosh pit of people around the No. 4 car.

In the pre-race driver’s meeting, Harvick was given a standing ovation. There was also a group photo taken before everyone dispersed for the final time ahead this season.

“It really hasn’t been about wins or losses, but you never want to flop around,” Harvick said of his season. “To be able to lead laps in the last race kind of tells you how competitive we still are and I think with some tweaks and adjustments to some of the things at Stewart-Haas, you could go right back out there and be where you need to be with everything that we have going on. Josh [Berry] is going to do a great job. I can’t wait to see Josh drive this car around.

“Busch (Beer) is still in this sport. Mobil is still in this sport. It gave everybody time to do and evaluate what they wanted to do, and that’s really what I wanted. I wanted to leave here and be able to look at all of you guys, look at the fans, walk in the TV booth, and walk into any trailer in that garage, whether it’s a driver, a crew chief, NASCAR, whoever it is, and be able to end on good terms and I think we did that.”

Harvick will be in the Fox Sports booth beginning in 2024, and that chapter of his life begins this week.

“I do already have calls next week with the folks from Fox and starting to work on end of the year things for what we want to do there,” Harvick said. “But I still think the responsibility is just as big to go up there and try to give the fans as much information as possible and do a good job for Fox and everybody with this sport to tell the best story that we can. We have a lot of great drivers, a lot of great personalities, and I hope everybody gets to see that.”

Blaney powers to first Cup Series title, Chastain wins at Phoenix

For the first time in 10 years of the elimination Playoff format, the NASCAR Cup Series champion failed to win the title race-not that it mattered one bit to 2023 champion Ryan Blaney. When he took the checkered flag in second place in the NASCAR …

For the first time in 10 years of the elimination Playoff format, the NASCAR Cup Series champion failed to win the title race—not that it mattered one bit to 2023 champion Ryan Blaney.

When he took the checkered flag in second place in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race, the driver of the No. 12 Ford gave Team Penske its second straight title in NASCAR’s premier series and gave Ford a sweep of Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

Oh, and as Blaney was pulling away from Kyle Larson and William Byron over a 31-lap green-flag run to the finish to claim his first Cup championship on Sunday, Ross Chastain secured his second victory of the season.

In a fierce battle for the title against 2021 champion Kyle Larson, Blaney edged ahead of the Hendrick Motorsports driver on lap 292 and secured second place behind Chastain, who grabbed the top spot from Denny Hamlin after a restart on lap 282.

 

Chastain crossed the finish line 1.230s ahead of Blaney, whose elation wasn’t dulled one iota by the runner-up result—given the bigger prize he won by finishing second.

“Unbelievable year, unbelievable Playoffs for us,” said Blaney, who won last week at Martinsville to advance to the Championship 4 with Larson, Byron and Christopher Bell. “To win back-to-back Cup titles for (team owner Roger) Penske, that’s so special. Having my family here, winning my first Cup title, I got emotional in the car. I’m not a very emotional guy.

“You never want to count yourself out. I mean, I think in the summer we were struggling a little bit, but we never gave up. We just went to work. I’ve said that all week, like, this group goes to work, and they figure out problems. That’s why they’re such an amazing group to be with, with the Team Penske folks, ’cause they just put their head down and do the work, accept the challenge.”

Bell fell out of the race on lap 108, but Blaney, Larson and Byron came home second, third and fourth. Blaney’s margin over Larson at the finish was 2.243s. Though Larson beat Blaney off pit road during the final caution for Kyle Busch’s spin in Turn 3 on lap 275, Larson couldn’t hold off Blaney’s superior car.

“Yeah, his car was really fast,” Larson acknowledged. “Really the last few months. Yeah, especially here today. Our pit crew and pit road really kept us in the game. We weren’t the greatest on the track, but I was just hoping for pit stops ’cause I knew the way our team executed… the way our pit crew can execute a fast pit stop, I knew that was going to be our only shot really to win.

“They did everything in their power to give us the winning job done there. Huge thank you to them. I needed to come out the leader on that restart. Ross got a really good start from the second row. Was hoping I could get clear of Denny and get the lead, have Ross kind of protect for me behind me.

“I’m not sure if it would have made a difference.”

Byron took off from the pole position and won the first 60-lap stage wire-to-wire but not without a challenge from third-place starter Kevin Harvick and a charge from Chastain, who was eighth on the grid to start the race.

Over the final three laps of the stage, Byron used the high line through the corners to hold off Harvick, who finished second. Chastain was third after 60 laps, 0.584s behind the stage winner at the green/checkered flag.

First off pit road from stall one, Byron opened a lead of more than a second after the break. Larson, Blaney and Bell all improved their positions on pit road and soon were running fourth, fifth and sixth with Byron in the lead and Harvick and Chastain in front of them.

On lap 86, Bell made a deft pass of Blaney for fifth. Lap 93 brought a dramatic change at the front of the field, as Harvick surged to the outside of Byron in Turns 1 and 2 and cleared him down the backstretch. Byron dropped another spot to Chastain and traded third with Blaney, who secured the position on lap 107.

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“Once the track rubbered in, we got really tight,” Byron said. “Especially when we lost the lead on track, we just had a big balance shift and got tight back in second through fifth, just couldn’t gain a lot of speed through [Turns] 1 and 2, just kind of having to really over-slow the car, get it to the bottom.

“That’s all we had there.”

On lap 108, Bell’s race fell apart. Complaining of brake issues, he crashed hard into the outside wall in Turn 3 when his right front rotor exploded and was eliminated from the race in 36th place, leaving Blaney, Byron and Larson to battle for the championship.

“Well, I mean that was my first time I’ve ever exploded a rotor in my career,” Bell said after a mandatory trip to the infield care center. “So, yeah, I was surprised, but early on in the race I had a little bit of brake fade, and the second run it just kept getting worse and worse. I don’t know. Just obviously a disappointing way to end.

“It stings to not have a shot at the end of it, obviously. We were all four really close, and we all four showed strengths at different times.”

Bell’s accident caused the second caution and provided a welcome opportunity for pit stops and adjustments. After the subsequent restart on lap 117, Chastain passed Harvick for the lead and stayed out front for 54 consecutive laps until Buescher passed him for the top spot on lap 171.

Buescher pulled away to win the second stage, which ended on lap 185. Byron finished fourth and held the edge in the championship battle over Blaney in sixth and Larson in seventh.

As the laps counted down, however, the race came to Blaney.

Chastain led a race-high 157 laps to 95 for Byron. Harvick finished seventh after leading 23 laps in his final season as a full-time driver NASCAR Cup Series driver.

“We built a team here at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Harvick said. “We built so many things from the bottom up. I think the hard work is something that people recognize. As you guys have seen through the week, I’m a pretty emotional person. I’ve just done a really good job of hiding that.”

For his part, Chastain enjoyed competing against Harvick in his final race almost as much as he enjoyed winning.

“Racing him early in the race was bucket list, little kid in me,” said Chastain who won for the first time at Phoenix and the fourth time in his career. “Racing that 2005 (NASCAR) game, I drove as the No. 29 GM Goodwrench car (Harvick’s first Cup car with Richard Childress Racing). Now I’m driving a Chevy for GM to Victory Lane, a Camaro.

“I am beside myself that we were able to do that. That last caution we were really tight. It saved us. (Crew chief) Phil Surgen and this group at Trackhouse, all of our GM support staff, sim staff, everybody came up with a way to make this thing turn, and we drove off into the sunset.”

RESULTS

Rotor failure surprised Bell, taking him out of championship race

Christopher Bell suffered a first in his NASCAR Cup Series career Sunday when he blew a brake rotor on his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and was eliminated from championship contention. Bell crashed in Turn 3 on lap 108 while running sixth. It was the …

Christopher Bell suffered a first in his NASCAR Cup Series career Sunday when he blew a brake rotor on his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and was eliminated from championship contention.

Bell crashed in Turn 3 on lap 108 while running sixth. It was the culmination of having dealt with brake fade through the first stage, while the failure and subsequent crash happened nearly 50 laps later.

“Well that was my first time I’ve ever exploded a rotor in my career,” Bell said. “So, yeah, I was surprised, but early on in the race I had a little bit of brake fade, and the second run it just kept getting worse and worse. I don’t know. Just obviously a disappointing way to end.

“I’m super, super proud of this No. 20 team and all of our partners at DEWALT and Rheem. To be in the final four is something we’re really proud of.”

Bell admitted he was still a bit in shock after leaving the infield care center, and the moment hadn’t set in just yet. Part of what led to his surprise and disappointment at the failure that took him out of contention in the most inopportune time of the year is that Bell said there have been no issues with his brakes all season.

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“It’s quite surprising to have a brake issue at a track here where they are important, but not as important as some of the others,” he said. “I don’t know. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

The Gibbs driver felt he, along with rivals William Byron, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney, had already shown strengths through the first portion of the race to set up an even fight to the finish.

“I’m not upset,” Bell said. “Everyone is trying their hardest and obviously, it’s just part of it. Disappointed, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

The first driver out of the race, Bell will finish last, in 36th position. He will finish fourth in the championship standings.

“I’m very proud of the effort put forth by our team to get to the Championship 4, but I do feel like we left a lot on the table at various races throughout the year,” Bell said. “I’m excited about the future. We haven’t reached our potential yet.”

Custer wins three-wide overtime battle for Xfinity title at Phoenix

After an overtime restart that saw title contenders engage in a breathtaking three-wide battle down the backstretch, Cole Custer deftly negotiated a tightly bunched pack of cars to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race and the series title …

After an overtime restart that saw title contenders engage in a breathtaking three-wide battle down the backstretch, Cole Custer deftly negotiated a tightly bunched pack of cars to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race and the series title on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.

The victory was the third of the season for Custer, who returned to full-time Xfinity Series racing this year after a lackluster three-year stint in the NASCAR Cup Series that produced a single victory.

But Custer proved his mettle after slipping from first to third in the running order moments after the final restart. Championship 4 driver John Hunter Nemechek held a fleeting lead but couldn’t turn his No. 20 Toyota in Turn 1 and lost the top spot to title contender Just Allgaier.

 

Custer steered his No. 00 Stewart Haas Racing Ford to the inside of Allgaier’s Chevrolet as the three championship hopefuls raced side-by-side down the backstretch before Custer emerged with the lead. A lap later, Custer crossed the finish line 0.601s ahead of charging Sheldon Creed and another 0.007s ahead of Allgaier to win for the first time at Phoenix and the 13th time in his career.

“I thought it was over,” said Custer, who had two previous runner-up finishes in the series standings. “I mean, went from first to third, and I was able to shift the car all night. And Doug Yates horsepower worked out, pulled me off the corner. I can’t believe we won that thing after going back to third on that restart.

“Man, I can’t say enough about these guys (his Stewart Haas team). We started the year off and it was a struggle, and we had to kind of dig deep with each other, really talk about how to get better and to see how much this group has grown through the year.

“I’ve been waiting to hear (congratulations from Xfinity Series director) Wayne (Auton) on the radio for a few times now, so I’m pumped.”

Allgaier spun underneath Nemechek on lap three and worked his way back to the front from 38th in the running order, but Custer had the superior car on short runs and proved it after the final restart.

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“I don’t know if I’ll get another shot at it again next year,” said the 37-year-old Allgaier. “We at least will have a shot at it, but I don’t know if we’ll make it. But so proud of the effort of this team and what we were able to accomplish. The restart was fantastic. I thought we did everything right.

“The No. 20 (Nemechek) kind of missed the bottom and drove all the way up, and honestly, I was afraid I was going to run into the back of him. When I tried to turn back down the hill, it just was enough to let the No. 00 (Custer) get back to my inside and ultimately getting down into Turn 3…

“I don’t know, I’m going to replay this one back in my head a couple times. I drove in there pretty deep and just kind of washed up. The No. 00 had the turning car all night, and we were just a little bit too free.”

Riley Herbst ran fourth on Saturday, followed by title contender Sam Mayer. Nemechek, a series-best seven-time winner this season, suffered a flat tire after the final restart, slammed the outside wall and finished 28th.

“Drove in, and it didn’t turn,” Nemechek said of Turn 1 after the final restart. “I don’t know if we had a right front (tire) start going down or what exactly it was, but just drove in and didn’t turn.

“Toyota GR Supra was really fast, but drive down, it doesn’t turn, it’s not a very good thing. Then once we got pinched in the fence there off of [Turn 2], it kind of hurt the right sides even more. I think we had a right rear start going down, as well.

“It sucks to end up where we finished. Had a really strong effort all day. Proud of this whole No. 20 crew. Proud of this whole group. Just sucks to end our season this way, but overall, a really successful season for this No. 20 team, Joe Gibbs Racing. Was proud to be behind the wheel of this No. 20 car all year, and seven wins is a lot to be proud of.”

In a race that produced eight cautions for a total of 46 laps, Custer led 96 of 202 laps to 66 for Nemechek.

Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, pole winner Sammy Smith and Kaz Grala completed the top 10.

RESULTS

Byron leads Cup championship contenders with Phoenix pole

William Byron will have the best starting position and pit stall selection for the NASCAR Cup Series championship race after earning the pole at Phoenix Raceway with a lap of 132.597mph (27.150). It is the fourth pole of the season for Byron and his …

William Byron will have the best starting position and pit stall selection for the NASCAR Cup Series championship race after earning the pole at Phoenix Raceway with a lap of 132.597mph (27.150).

It is the fourth pole of the season for Byron and his first at Phoenix, where he won in the spring.

“Just let’s our boys go to work; they’re the best on pit road,” Byron said of the pole and first pit stall. “I’m excited for them. It’s a totally different race, so we’ve got to get our race balance dialed in, but we’re excited. We’re on keel this weekend, so we’ve just got to go work on our race car.

“Cutting the dogleg was definitely interesting. I definitely felt pretty loose getting into [Turns] 1 and 2, just recovering from the dogleg. Proud of our whole team – the Axalta Chevrolet was good there. Good enough. Definitely got to go to work on the race balance, and I’m just excited for my guys on pit road. They’re awesome. They’re going to like this.”

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Martin Truex Jr. will join Byron on the front row with a fastest lap of 132.509mph.

Kevin Harvick qualified third for his final race at 132.421mph, Kyle Larson fourth at 132.397mph, Bubba Wallace qualified fifth at 132.261mph, Denny Hamlin sixth at 132.139mph and Erik Jones seventh at 131.540mph.

Ross Chastain qualified eighth at 131.454 mph, Chris Buescher ninth at 131.109mph and Tyler Reddick 10th at 128.769 mph.

After failing to advance to the final round of qualifying, Christopher Bell qualified 13th at 132.338mph. Ryan Blaney qualified 15th at 132.265mph.

“I needed about another 0.15s,” Blaney said. “The car didn’t feel bad, just not as much speed as everyone else. I think our race car is good for tomorrow. We’ll see what happens.”

Carson Hocevar starts 22nd in his final race for Legacy Motor Club in the No. 42 Chevrolet. He clocked in at 131.965mph.

There are 36 drivers entered in the NASCAR Cup Series season finale.

STARTING LINEUP

‘This week it’s pretty real’ Harvick says, reflecting on final Cup start

Kevin Harvick started what could be his final NASCAR Cup Series press conference as a driver by recognizing the media who has covered his illustrious career. It was notable for a number of reasons. Harvick had a tempestuous relationship with the …

Kevin Harvick started what could be his final NASCAR Cup Series press conference as a driver by recognizing the media who has covered his illustrious career.

It was notable for a number of reasons. Harvick had a tempestuous relationship with the media throughout the years, but his maturity as time went on made him a welcome interviewee and one of the best in the garage.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver retires from competition after Sunday’s season finale. Should Harvick win the race, it would require another appearance in the media center. If not, Harvick has fulfilled that obligation for the last time.

Next season, Harvick becomes a member of the media as he joins Fox Sports in the broadcast booth.

“Obviously, it’s been a great ride,” Harvick said. “And it’s something that I love to do, and as you look back on it and realize all the things that you’ve been able to be a part of and be fortunate to be somewhat successful at, it’s been fun. I’m not going far. I guess I’ll just be sitting on the other side of the table asking the questions.

“But it’s been a great ride, and appreciate everything you guys have done for me, whether they’re good questions or bad questions. I guess [it] doesn’t really matter, but it’s been fun. I appreciate what you guys do.”

Harvick became a full-time Cup Series driver in 2001, thrust into the series following the death of Dale Earnhardt. It took time before it started to feel like his car and team, but in the 13 years spent at Richard Childress Racing, Harvick earned 23 victories — among them, the 2007 Daytona 500.

For the past 10 years, Harvick has driven for Stewart-Haas Racing. While doing so, he solidified a Hall of Fame career with a championship in 2014 and an additional 37 victories.

“All the weeks leading up to this particular one were really not that hard,” Harvick said of the finale. “I think this week was a little more difficult just because it is the last week with your guys and the people and everything that you do is actually coming to an end. Up until this point, I don’t think anybody really thought it was real, and this week it’s pretty real.

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“This week has been definitely different than everything leading up to this just because of the fact that there isn’t a next week. There’s been a next week up until this week. It’s very different, the things that we have to do going forward, but it’s all planned out, and I think as I talked to Dale [Earnhardt] Jr., he was in a very similar situation where the TV piece of it was planned out. The race team piece of it is planned out. We have a management company. We have golf cart stores. All of those things are already functioning.

“It would be much different if you weren’t closing the book. I feel very fortunate to be able to open the book and obviously, our first chapter was a little bit different than most people’s, but it’s the time that we chose to be able to say, ‘OK, this is it.’ This is going to be the last week coming to Phoenix and racing here for the last time. When you used to come here and race just for a hobby, and you looked forward to coming to this particular racetrack on Cup weekend and in February for the Copper Classic every year. As a west coast racer that’s what you did. It is a lot different than [in] weeks past because there isn’t a next one.”

With his driving career over, Harvick will also be able to attend more of his son Keelan’s and daughter Piper’s race events.

“For weeks, Piper has been like, ‘Dad, why do you have to go to the next one? You’re already retiring,’” Harvick said. “She’s pretty much over it. Keelan is terrified just because of the fact that he knows I’m going to be at way more races than what I was before, and he knows that I’m going to be all over him a lot more than I am right now. Right now, he can go off and do his thing and race, and dad’s not there to critique every single move that he makes, so that party is over, but I think it’s fun.

“Piper told Cheddar earlier [when] he asked her, ‘What are you looking forward to the most?’ She said, ‘Well, dad is going come watch me race.’ That’ll be fun.”