Top 5 NASCAR Cup drivers at Phoenix by average finish ahead of Shriners Children’s 500

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the fourth race of the season. The Shriners Children’s 500 at the Dogleg Oval track in Avondale, Arizona is scheduled to start at 3:30 pm ET on Sunday, March 9. Before the race, let’s look at the five best drivers at this track based on their average finishing position.

#1 Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney has been one of the most consistent drivers at Phoenix. He currently stands second in the NASCAR Cup points standings behind William Byron and has made 18 starts at the 1-mile track in Phoenix with his best finish being second in the 2023.

The Team Penske No. 12 driver holds the best Phoenix average finish among all drivers at 10.4. Blaney has had nine top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes at the track.

#2 Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin started this season with a 24th-place finish at the Daytona 500 after getting involved in a multi-car last-lap crash and finished 21st at last week's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). He has only one top-10 finish in the last three races, which came at Atlanta last month.

However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has an average finish of 10.8 in 39 races at Phoenix Raceway. Hamlin has also won two races at the track, the first during the spring race in 2012 and the other at the playoff race in 2019.

#3 Kyle Larson

The Hendrick Motorsports driver has the third-highest average finish at 11.0 at Phoenix Raceway. Larson has won one race at the track in 21 races with 9 top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes.

Larson won at the NASCAR Cup Series championship race in Phoenix when he clinched his first Cup championship in 2021.

#4 William Byron

Phoenix Raceway has been one of William Byron's best tracks. In 14 races, he has eight top-10 and three top-5 finishes. The 27-year-old won the spring race at the track in 2023 and has an average finish of 11.1. Byron also leads the NASCAR Cup points standings with one win at the Daytona 500 and a second-place finish at COTA last weekend.

#5 Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch is looking to break his 60-race winless streak at Sunday's Shriners Children’s 500 with an average finish of 11.5. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has the most wins at Phoenix among these top-five drivers. Busch has won three races and finished in the top 10 26 times at the track but has struggled recently. His last Phoenix win was in 2019.

Last weekend, the Richard Childress Racing driver led for a race-high of 42 laps at COTA but finished fifth and conceded victory to Christopher Bell.