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NASCAR cup series

  

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NASCARCelebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

 

 

 

nascar reviews & NOTEBOOKS

www.nascar.com

Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2023, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series™, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour™), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series™) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series™, NASCAR Mexico Series™, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series™). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

  

 

Friday Phoenix Raceway Notebook

 

Notebook Items:

  • Taylor Gray wins O'Reilly Auto Parts Series pole at Phoenix
  • Chasing Reddick
  • Alfredo subbing for Bowman in Hendrick No. 48
  • Love-ing Phoenix
  • NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader twice as good

 

March 6, 2026

 

By Holly Cain

NASCAR Wire Service

 

Taylor Gray wins O'Reilly Auto Parts Series pole at Phoenix

 

PHOENIX, Ariz. - Taylor Gray claimed his first pole position of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season Friday night at Phoenix Raceway – posting a lap of 130.743 around the famous desert mile.

 

Gray’s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will start on the front row alongside reigning series champion Jesse Love’s No. 2 Richard Childress Racing’s Chevrolet in the GOVX 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

Gray set the fast time midway through the session and had to wait out the contenders. Love turned in a good lap, missing pole speed by only .102 mph. His RCR teammate and the current championship leader Austin Hill was the last to turn a qualifying lap and ended up only 13th fastest.

 

“I was a little nervous, thought my buddy Jesse [Love] had me," said a smiling  20-year-old Gray, who now has four career poles in the series.

 

“I knew we had a shot," Gray said later. “Every once in a while I get this feeling we’re going to be pretty good and I did today. Was super confident especially after practice.”

 

Gray’s JGR teammate Brandon Jones was third fastest in the No. 20 Toyota, followed by Anthony Alfredo in the Viking Motorsports No. 86 Chevrolet – his best start since a third-place qualifying effort at Talladega in April 2024.

 

Two-time DAYTONA 500 champion William Byron will roll off sixth. He’s driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend in the first of three scheduled NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series starts. He’s a former winner in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix.

 

Jeb Burton and Hill paced the hour-practice just before qualifying.

 

CHASING REDDICK

 

Tyler Reddick’s unprecedented start to the 2026 season is not only a strong competitive message to the NASCAR Cup Series garage but something the other drivers also genuinely acknowledge as special. While there is much admiration for Reddick’s historical three-peat  - victories in the DAYTONA 500, at Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway and last week at the Circuit of The Americas road course – it also naturally creates huge motivation for those he’s racing against.

 

They give him props for his work, but remind, we’re only three races into a 36-race schedule.

 

“It’s early still," three-time series champion Joey Logano said of Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing team. “But what they’ve done is impressive. It’s not surprising. I think Tyler is a really good driver and I’ve always thought that.

 

“I think by the time we get back from Vegas we’ll have a pretty good idea of strengths and weaknesses of where the teams are at. I don’t think we have the full report card yet," he added. “Eventually when you average it out over the first 10 to 15 races I think things clear out quite a bit."

 

Logano’s Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney agreed that as good as Reddick has been, it’s just too early to hand him the big trophy quite yet. Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Phoenix one-miler is followed by a race at Las Vegas, the first of the many 1.5-milers the series races on. After that looms the unique 1.366-mile Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and the half-mile Martinsville, Va. short track.

 

“The least surprising victory was last weekend," Blaney said of Reddick. “He’s always run good at COTA, so that was not a surprise. Daytona, I saw him as a pretty decent drafter but not the guy leading a bunch of laps. He’s set himself up to race ahead of everybody three races in, that’s pretty impressive."

 

“I think we’re close," he added. “They’ve been doing an amazing job. You can’t take anything away from that group. But the competitor in me is like, dang, they’re kicking our butt every week, but the same competitor in me says, 'you have to respect what they’re doing and the run they’ve been on.' But I think we’re close and I look forward to this weekend."

 

ALFREDO SUBBING FOR BOWMAN IN THE HENDRICK NO. 48

 

Anthony Alfredo, 26, will be making his first NASCAR Cup Series start of the season, filling in for Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Chevrolet. After becoming ill mid-race last week at the Circuit of The Americas road course Bowman was replaced in the car by Myatt Snider

 

The team announced this week that Bowman was still suffering from vertigo symptoms and have named Alfredo to steer the No. 48. In his fourth year as the Hendrick team’s fulltime simulator driver, Alfredo has considerable laps around the Phoenix one-miler since it has served as the championship race the last six years.

 

Alfredo, who races fulltime in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wasn’t at COTA to relieve Bowman last week having raced in Saturday’s NOAPS race and having already flown home - not anticipating a problem for Bowman mid-race.

 

“I would say all the laps I’ve run definitely make me more confident in where I need to be behind the wheel but racing’s totally different," Alfredo conceded, noting he has a pretty good basis of what to expect at Phoenix with not only the simulator work but the eight races he’s run in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races here. He suffered a pair of DNFs in two 2021 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the desert miler.

 

“I would say every week, just out of my due diligence, I try to be prepared aside from being comfortable on the sim; just watching the races, kind of studying what happens," he continued. “You just never know when that opportunity might come. So, I think being prepared every week is something I do. And that way, when this opportunity did arise, it didn't feel like it was totally sprung on me and I was not prepared. But certainly when I did find out, they gave me a lot of things to look over and study and give me the tools I need to prepare.

 

“But working with the best people in the sport also makes that transition more seamless, right? I think they all know what they expect of me and I have access to more resources than I probably ever had. So, I'm certainly excited about utilizing those."

 

LOVE-ING PHOENIX

 

Jesse Love surprisingly insisted that his drive inside the Phoenix Raceway for Friday’s opening practice and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying session did not evoke any special emotions – despite the fact that the last time the driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet was at the track he was celebrating the series 2025 championship.

 

“It's been a great race track for me and I love Phoenix for that reason, so I enjoy coming here, but the nostalgic feeling that you'd picture if I was in a movie walking in through the tunnel isn't necessarily real for me," said Love.

 

“I feel like I try to disassociate with that stuff when I come here," he continued. “I think it's really important to kind of reset yourself and start from kind of ground zero, right? The past might not work for me this weekend, right? So, I have to come in with a very serious and open mind to continue to have, you know, good results here.”

 

The 21-year-old Californian Love comes to the track boasting a phenomenal record even beyond his title work last November. He holds the longest top-10 streak (four) at Phoenix among the series regulars with an impressive average finish of 4.5. This season he is the only driver to earn top-10 finishes in the opening three races.

 

NASCAR-INDYCAR DOUBLEHEADER TWICE AS GOOD

 

Both the IndyCar drivers and NASCAR drivers were excited for the Phoenix doubleheader racing weekend and for many of NASCAR’s best, it’s a rare opportunity to watch the open-wheelers in person. The NTT IndyCar Series races Saturday at 2 p.m. ET just before the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

 

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Blaney, whose 60th Anniversary Team Penske organization fields three cars in both series, was particularly excited to watch an IndyCar Series race in person – something he said he’s only done one other time when the two series raced together on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. His teammate, fellow NASCAR champion Joey Logano said he’s never seen the open-wheelers on an oval.

 

“I loved it when we did the doubleheader at Indy a few years ago," Blaney said, adding, he’d love to see the two premier series share a race weekend more often.

 

“I would love it. I think it’s great for the racing fan. I’ve never really understood when people say I only watch NASCAR or I only watch IndyCar, if you’re a fan of racing, you’re a fan of racing. And this brings everyone together. I think the crowd for both days will be fantastic because it is a doubleheader weekend and I’d love to see more.”

 

Agrees his teammate Logano, “I think it’s great for both sports. Great for IndyCar, great for NASCAR and great for the fans to see two different disciplines. I think it’s just going to grow both of them.”

 

NASCAR Weekend Preview: Phoenix Raceway

Tyler Reddick carries momentum to Phoenix looking for fourth straight win

 

PHOENIX – With three dramatic wins in as many races this season, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick arrives at Phoenix Raceway for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) feeling confident and hopeful he can extend a historic streak of season-opening excellence to four consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victories to open the year.

 

After winning the season-opening DAYTONA 500 on Daytona’s 2.5-mile speedway, Reddick answered with a win on Atlanta’s 1.5-mile EchoPark Speedway and then last weekend re-wrote history by claiming victory at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas road course – three different tracks; one very happy victor, team and organization.

 

No driver has won the first four races of the season and statistically-speaking, at least, the Phoenix one-miler has loomed as a challenge for the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. Reddick has only a pair of top-five finishes in 12 series starts – two third-place showings, the last coming in this spring race in 2023.

 

The 30-year-old Californian finished 20th (spring) and 26th (fall season finale) in the two 2025 races. He’s only led laps in two of his 12 starts, but in spring of 2024, his 68 laps out front tied his team co-owner Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin for a race best total.

 

“When we go to the spring Phoenix race, we’re typically right there," Reddick said, “I’m really excited to see what we have for speed and pace over the next two weekends because we’ve worked really hard to improve things here.

 

“We’ve worked hard to kind of re-think how we get around Phoenix and we’ve just kind of doubled down on the things that we’ve been improving at Vegas so honestly, I’ve very excited to see what kind of pace we have at Phoenix and Vegas as it comes up."

 

The work is paying off big picture so far. For the first time in its six-year history, the 23XI Racing team boasts the top two drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings – with Reddick leading teammate Bubba Wallace by 70 points.

 

The team - also including driver Riley Herbst - has led 206 laps this season – more than double that of any other team. The four-car JGR organization is next closest with a combined 94 total laps out front. And 23XI Racing’s combined six top-10 efforts between the three drivers is also most for any team.

 

So, who historically-speaking may give Reddick a run for his record-setting dominance? At Phoenix, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron is in the midst of his own record run - 21 consecutive top-10 stage finishes at the desert one-miler and he leads all drivers in laps run in the top-five and top-10 in the Next Gen car era. He won the 2023 spring race here.

 

Five drivers finished top-10 in both of the 2025 Phoenix races – Hendrick teammates Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Hamlin, Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch. Larson, who was crowned the NASCAR Cup Series champion for the second time in his career last November at Phoenix, is the only driver to score top-five finishes in both races last season.

 

And of course, for Hamlin, there is plenty of heartbreak to race through. He led an absolutely dominating 208 of 319 laps in the November Championship Finale, only to lose the race to Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and the title to Larson in an overtime finish.

 

The series’ new points system – changed in the offseason – now rewards winning a race more but has eliminated the win-and-you’re-in Playoff system of recent years. The current result is Reddick’s huge lead - and the 70-point differential between he and Wallace - is the same differential between Wallace and 27th place in the standings.

 

The NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice Saturday will be followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM at 12 p.m. ET). Byron won the pole position for last year’s race.

 

Jesse Love loves the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Phoenix stop

 

Certainly, Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love is among the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competitors most looking forward to a return to Phoenix Raceway for Saturday evening’s GOVX 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

 

The 21-year-old reigning series champion earned his first major NASCAR title at the track last November and has turned in an impressive start in 2026 to back up that work.

 

Not only is Love the only driver to earn top-10 finishes in all three races this season, the driver of the No. 2 RCR Chevrolet boasts the longest top-10 streak (four) at the Phoenix one-miler among this week’s starting lineup. His average finish in four starts is 4.5 – including that career-changing victory in the 2025 championship finale.

 

Love’s RCR teammate Austin Hill, who won the Daytona season-opener, boasts the top average finish on the year (5.0) and leads his teammate Love by 28 points atop the championship standings.

 

JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier, the 2024 series champion, is third in points, 39 off Hill’s pace and brings his own impressive resume to the track, where he is the only multiple time winner (two) on Saturday’s grid. His 13 career top-five and 21 top-10 finishes are most in those categories. He comes into the race having earned the most stage points (47) on the year.

 

Joe Gibbs Racing, however, has won at least one of the two Phoenix races for the past eight years and its 18 wins total here is more than double that of any other organization.

 

A remarkable, nine drivers have already earned career best finishes in the opening three races. Hendrick Motorsports rookie Corey Day has a pair of top-five finishes in the opening three races.

 

Ten different drivers have won the last 10 Phoenix races, an indication of how competitive this track has proven to be.

 

Of note, former Phoenix winner (2017) Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron will drive the JR Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet Saturday while NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series regular Chandler Smith will drive the No. 5 Ford. …Ryan Sieg will be making his 400th consecutive series start joining Jeremy Clements as the only two series drivers to reach that impressive milestone.

 

Practice followed by Kennametal Pole Qualifying is Friday at 7 p.m. ET (CW App).  NASCAR Cup Series regular, and Arizona-native Alex Bowman claimed pole position for this race last year while Aric Almirola, drove the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the win. 

 

--30--

 

   nascar cup series

NASCAR Cup Series schedule 2026

(All times Eastern)

Date Race Track Time
Feb. 1 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Bowman Gray Stadium 8 p.m.
Feb. 12 Duel 1 at Daytona Daytona International Speedway 7 p.m.
Feb. 12 Duel 2 at Daytona Daytona International Speedway 8:45 p.m.
Feb. 15 Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 22 Autotrader 400 EchoPark Speedway 3 p.m.
March 1 DuraMax Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas 3:30 p.m.
March 8 Straight Talk Wireless 500 Phoenix Raceway 3:30 p.m.
March 15 Pennzoil 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway 4 p.m.
March 22 Goodyear 400 Darlington Raceway 3 p.m.
March 29 Cook Out 400 Martinsville Speedway 3:30 p.m.
April 12 Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway 3 p.m.
April 19 AdventHealth 400 Kansas Speedway 2 p.m.
April 26 Jack Link's 500 Talladega Superspeedway 3 p.m.
May 3 Wurth 400 Texas Motor Speedway 3:30 p.m.
May 10 Go Bowling at the Glen Watkins Glen International 3 p.m.
May 17 All-Star Race Dover Motor Speedway 3 p.m.
May 24 Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway 6 p.m.
May 31 Cracker Barrel 400 Nashville Superspeedway  7 p.m.
June 7 FireKeepers Casino 400 Michigan International Speedway 3 p.m.
June 14 Cup Series race at Pocono Pocono Raceway 3 p.m.
June 21 Anduril 250 Naval Base Coronado 4 p.m.
June 28 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Sonoma Raceway 3:30 p.m.
July 5 Cup Series race at Chicagoland Chicagoland Speedway 6 p.m.
July 12 Quaker State 400 EchoPark Speedway 7 p.m.
July 19 Window World 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway 7 p.m.
July 26 Brickyard 400 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2 p.m.
Aug. 9 Iowa Corn 350 Iowa Speedway 3:30 p.m.
Aug. 15 Cook Out 400 Richmond Raceway 7 p.m.
Aug. 23 Cup Series race at New Hampshire New Hampshire Motor Speedway 3 p.m.
Aug. 29 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Daytona International Speedway 7:30 p.m.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff race schedule 2026

(All times Eastern)

Date Race Track Time
Sept. 6 Southern 500 Darlington Raceway 5 p.m.
Sept. 13 Enjoy Illinois 300 World Wide Technology Raceway 3 p.m.
Sept. 19 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Bristol Motor Speedway 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 27 Hollywood Casino 400 Kansas Speedway 3 p.m.
Oct. 4 South Point 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 Bank of America ROVAL 400 Charlotte Road Course 3 p.m.
Oct. 18 Freeway Insurance 500 Phoenix Raceway 3 p.m.
Oct. 25 Yellawood 500 Talladega Superspeedway 2 p.m.
Nov. 1 Xfinity 500 Martinsville Speedway 2 p.m.
Nov. 8 Cup Series Championship Race Homestead-Miami Speedway 3 p.m.

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