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William Byron won the latest NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. This is Byron’s second victory of the season and the second win in a row after last week’s win at Las Vegas.
Byron dominated the first stage of the race, leading all but two laps. After pit stops, he fell back a bit and didn’t fully recover until another late race caution. Much like last week's race, Byron oases teammate Kyle Larson in overtime to take home the victory.
Here are three takeaways from today's NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
#3 Brad Keselowski’s resurgence
Brad Keselowski's resurgence has been one of the clear storylines outside of Hendrick Motorsports’ dominance so far this season.
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While his results the past couple of weeks haven’t shown it. Keselowski has improved tremendously over the last season. It’s not even a stretch to say he has been the best or second-best Ford driver behind Kevin Harvick. He has shown Top 10 speed each week so far this season.
If Keselowski can get the results that his car should have in the past two weeks, he will be a playoff lock and a dark horse championship contender.
#2 Kevin Harvick continues to carry Stewart-Haas Racing
While he didn’t get the victory he should have after a late race caution. It is still very apparent that Kevin Harvick is keeping Stewart Haas Racing relevant.
While Chase Briscoe finally got a top-10 finish after struggling on the west coast swing. He still needs more speed since he’s unloaded very slow every week.
Aric Almirola has always been known for his consistency, but he had a disastrous West Coast swing. Two crashes at Fontana and Las Vegas, followed by a loose tire today, have put him in an early hole.
Ryan Preece showed promise at the Clash but has pretty much performed as one would expect for a team's fourth driver.
It is going to be interesting to see what becomes of SHR when Harvick retires at the end of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
#1 Phoenix should not be NASCAR’s finale race
The biggest takeaway from today's NASCAR Cup Series race is that Phoenix Raceway should not be the finale of the NASCAR season.
NASCAR debuted a new aero package to improve the racing at the short tracks. While there was some excellent action through the pack, Byron and Larson were able to gap the field for much of the day.
Phoenix Raceway has never been known for its amazing racing. And while the renovations there have made it a state-of-the-art facility, that shouldn’t merit it closing the season and determining a champion.
