Overview
- Ryan Blaney took pole in Saturday qualifying with a 26.250-second lap that beat teammate Joey Logano by 0.032 seconds.
- The Freeway Insurance 500 begins at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network with streaming available on DIRECTV and HBO Max and radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM channel 90.
- Points leader Kyle Larson will begin the race 22nd after a poor qualifying run which forces him to pass traffic early and makes collecting stage points harder.
- Phoenix is a 312-lap race run in three stages of 60, 125 and 127 laps on a tight one-mile oval that raises the value of pit execution and early track position.
- Blaney arrives with strong Phoenix form after winning the last two Cup races there while Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing enter the weekend as the primary threats; Toyota could clinch the manufacturers’ title if its cars meet the previously reported finishing condition.