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NASCAR will remain out west this week and continue to present another unique challenge to drivers in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series.
After opening the 2021 season with three straight races in Florida, including the first two at Daytona, NASCAR traveled to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for three races last weekend. This week it travels across the desert to Phoenix Raceway, which will host the sport's top two series. The NASCAR Truck Series is off this weekend.
Also Read: Kyle Larson writes redemption story at Las Vegas
So far this season, NASCAR has raced on the 2.5-mile superspeedway at Daytona, the 3.6-mile road course at Daytona, and the 1.5-mile track at Las Vegas. Phoenix offers yet another unique challenge with a flat, 1-mile track with wide sweeping turns in a picturesque setting in the Arizona desert.
NASCAR will also be looking to produce yet another new winner. Three different drivers have won races so far in both the Cup Series and Xfinty Series.
When is the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix?
The Instacart 500 is schedule for 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 14. The race will be 312 laps around the 1-mile track.
When is NASCAR qualifying at Phoenix?
For the third straight week, there will be no practice and qualifying for the two national series. NASCAR had qualifying for the Daytona 500, but will only have qualifying for six more races this season due to COVID-19 restrictions.
When is the Xfinity Series race at Phoenix?
The NASCAR Xfinity Series has had some weird and interesting race names this season, starting with the Beef. It's What's For Dinner 300 at Daytona. It will get another unique name this weekend with the Call 811 Before You Dig 200 Presented by Arizona 811.
Also Read: 3 things we learned from Las Vegas
The Dig 200 (for short) is scheduled for Saturday, March 13 at 5:30 p.m. EST. The race will be 200 laps around the 1-mile track.
TV schedule for NASCAR races at Phoenix?
The NASCAR Cup Series Instacart 500 will be on Fox at 3:30 p.m. EST time on Sunday. The Xfinity Series race at 5:30 p.m. EST on Saturday will be on FS1.
Race winners so far in the NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona 500 — Michael McDowell
Daytona Road Course — Christopher Bell
Homestead — William Byron
Las Vegas — Kyle Larson
Race winners so far in the NASCAR Xfinity Series
Daytona — Austin Cindric
Daytona Road Course — Ty Gibbs
Homestead — Myatt Snider
Las Vegas — AJ Allmendinger
Who are the NASCAR Cup favorites at Phoenix?
NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick has gotten off to a bit of a slow start after struggling to a 20th-place finish at Las Vegas last week. But that could change in a hurry at Phoenix, where Harvick has an astounding nine career victories — by far the most of any driver at the 1-mile track.
Harvick's dominance at Phoenix began with a sweep of the 2006 races and includes a four-race winning streak from 2013-2015. His last win came in the March race in 2018.
Kyle Busch is second among active drivers with three wins at Phoenix, while veteran Ryan Newman has two wins, which came seven years apart. Joey Logano, who won this race last year, also has two wins at Phoenix.
The other driver to watch is Chase Elliott, who drove from the back of the field to win at Phoenix last November to capture the series championship.
NASCAR Cup Series entry list at Phoenix
00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet
1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford
7 Corey Lajoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12 Ryan Blaney Penske Racing Ford
14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15 Joey Gase Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
16 AJ Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford
23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota
24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford
37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
38 Anthony Alfredo Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet
47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Cody Ware Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet
52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford
53 Garrett Smithley Rick Ware Racing Ford
66 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Ford
77 Justin Haley Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
78 BJ McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Ford
99 Daniel Suarez TrackHouse Racing Chevrolet
