With Auto Club Speedway in Fontana no longer on the schedule and the next California stop for the circuit in June, the NASCAR Cup Series’ West Coast swing jumps from one desert to another this week.
And if there is truly just one race on the NASCAR 2024 schedule that drivers want to get right on their first visit, it’s at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., where the Shriners Children’s 500 runs on Sunday.
While the young Cup season produced three entertaining finishes with three drivers visiting Victory Lane, there is significant evidence this might be one of the more competitive seasons in recent vintage.
If the three non-points races — the Busch Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and twin qualifiers at Daytona — are taken into consideration, NASCAR produced six different winners in six events.
After Kyle Larson held off Tyler Reddick to win the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas last Sunday, every driver’s attention quickly turned to the mildly banked, 1-mile tri-oval 20 miles outside of Phoenix.
Do well in this race in the desert and a driver may be holding up a title trophy in the return for November’s Championship 4 weekend.
Only twice in its 55 races has Phoenix Raceway had a race go less than its scheduled 312 laps. Those were wins by Rusty Wallace in 1998 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015, both shortened by rain to 257 and 219 circuits.
Chase Briscoe’s only career win in 111 starts was two years ago in Phoenix.
“It was obviously a super special day and one that I’ll certainly never forget,” Briscoe said. “I remember truthfully going there that weekend, not super excited. Phoenix had never been a track that I necessarily looked forward to going to.
“I had to hold off Chase Elliott for like 60, 70 laps. … It was a really hard one to win and one of those races where you really had to keep your elbows up and just a really cool day overall.”
NASCAR announced on Thursday a mandatory two-race suspension for two members of the No. 17 RFK Ford driven by Chris Buescher, who had his wheel fall off and wrecked in Turn 1 early at Vegas.
Buescher came home last and completed 29 laps.
“I’ve probably had three of these now in the last couple of years (with this car),” said the Prosper, Texas, native. “Haven’t had a warning on any of them. (It’s) nothing like the old five-lug stuff where you get a vibration or shimmy or have some kind of clue. It just happens all of a sudden.”
The suspension of jackman Nicholas Patterson and front tire changer Jakob Prall was deferred until an appeal is heard by an independent panel. Buescher finished fifth at Phoenix Raceway in November’s title race and heads to the Southwest with confidence.
“Truthfully, for the first time in my career, I can say I’m excited about Phoenix after what we had there last time, so I won’t have to lie about that,” Buescher said.
