Last 10 NASCAR Cup Series winners at Phoenix Raceway

NASCAR will be heading to the Phoenix Raceway for one of its two ventures of the 2024 Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin set himself on the pole with a laptime of 27.138 seconds, and following him will be the #54 Toyota of Ty Gibbs. While the two teammates will lead the pack from the green flag, Chase Elliot and Erik Jones will start behind them.

NASCAR has been racing at Phoenix Raceway since 1988. The inaugural race was won by Alan Kulwicki. The track hosted a single race every season until 2004, but afterwards, it became a two-way feature. Currently, one of the races is held early in the season and then another race is held during the NASCAR Playoffs.

As the 2024 Cup Series drivers prepare to race on the track, here is a list of the last ten winners at the Phoenix Raceway:

• 2022 -
• Chase Briscoe (from a 0.771 seconds lead)
• 2021 -
• Round 1 - Martin Truex Jr (from a 1.680 seconds lead)
• Round 2 - Kyle Larson (from a 0.472 seconds lead)
• 2020 -
• Round 1 - Joey Logano (from a 0.276 seconds lead)
• Round 2 - Chase Elliott (from a 2.740 seconds lead)
• 2019 -
• Round 1 - Kyle Busch (from a 1.259 seconds lead)
• Round 2 - Denny Hamlin (from a 0.377 seconds lead)
• 2018 -
• Round 1 - Kevin Harvick (from a 0.774 seconds lead)
• Round 2 - Kyle Busch (from a 0.501 seconds lead)
• 2017 -
• Round 1 - Ryan Newman (from a 0.312 seconds lead)
• Round 2 - Matt Kenseth (from a 1.207 seconds lead).

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Phoenix Raceway pole-sitter Denny Hamlin expresses the need for more horsepower in cars

The current NASCAR cars produce around 750 horsepower, and while that might be enough for most, Denny Hamlin feels there needs to be more horsepower to promote better and more competitive racing.

Speaking to the media, Hamlin revealed how the current spec cars make it hard to overtake other drivers:

"You have to get us out of the gas either through the tire or the horsepower. It’s that combination that makes passing so difficult. So the more you can get us out of the gas, which means if we have more horsepower we have to let off sooner, that gives the opportunity to overtake for the car that’s behind."

Tracks like the Phoenix Raceway are rather short for drivers to achieve the top speed in their cars. Phoenix itself is a one-mile track with four corners, an average race lap is around half a minute.