Phoenix NASCAR weekend preview: Entry lists, tune-in details
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series each race at Phoenix Raceway with faces in different places in each series.
In Cup, Josh Berry race Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet again as Elliott recovers from a fractured left tibia. Berry will fill in for him at Phoenix and the following five races, except for COTA where sportscar ace Jordan Taylor will fill in.
Todd Gilliland will race Rick Ware Racing’s No. 15 Ford. J.J. Yeley raced the No. 15 at Auto Club and Las Vegas after Riley Herbst finished 10th at Daytona.
Phoenix is one of six Cup races where Gilliland’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford will instead be driven by 2022 Truck champ Zane Smith. Smith drove FRM’s No. 36 Ford to a 13th-place finish at Daytona.
NASCAR Cup Series footnote: Excluding the Daytona 500, the November 2018 AAA Texas 500 is the last time more than 40 entries attempted to qualify for a Cup race.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Kyle Busch is the only Cup driver in the field. On Saturday, Busch will make his second of five starts in Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 Chevrolet.
Leland Honeyman Jr. will attempt to make his Xfinity debut in Alpha Prime Racing’s No. 45 Chevrolet.
Connor Mosack will drive Sam Hunt Racing’s No. 24 Toyota. Tyler Reddick drove the car at Auto Club and Las Vegas.
Ryan Truex will drive Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota after Myatt Snider ran Daytona and Joe Graf Jr. ran Auto Club and Las Vegas.
Graf is in RSS Racing’s No. 38 Ford while Kyle Sieg will drive the organization’s No. 28 Ford after Alex Labbe piloted it for two races.
Also within the Ford camp, Brian Weber will try to make his first Xfinity start since Nazareth in May 2003. Weber will drive MBM Motorsports’ No. 66 Ford, sporting his new brand, Last Option Bed.
Garrett Smithley will drive DGM Racing’s No. 91 after BJ McLeod withdrew the No. 99.
Dawson Cram will drive CHK Racing’s No. 74, instead of Ryan Vargas.
Vargas missed the first three Xfinity races in the No. 74 but is expected to run some Truck races for OnPoint Motorsports’ No. 30 Toyota.
Patrick Emerling will drive his No. 53 Chevrolet as C.J. McLaughlin remains out. McLaughlin wrecked in the Daytona race and was replaced by Emerling for Las Vegas after a wreck in practice.
NASCAR Xfinity Series footnote: When Brian Weber last raced in the series, the average age of the current top 5 in points was 7. On May 18, 2003, Justin Allgaier was the oldest, at 16, while Chandler Smith wasn’t even a year old yet.
WHERE TO TUNE IN
NASCAR Cup Series’ United Rentals Work United 500
- 3:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, March 12
- TV: FOX
- Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
- 312 laps; Stages: 60/125/127
NASCAR Xfinity Series’ United Rentals 200
- 4:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 11
- TV: FS1
- Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
- 200 laps; Stages: 45/45/110
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com