Fantasy Racing Scouting Report – Phoenix

[themify_box ]This post is a recap of what happened last fall when NASCAR raced at Phoenix.[/themify_box]

Phoenix Top Ten Starters

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Joey Logano
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Kyle Busch
7. Jeff Gordon
8. Kyle Larson
9. Brian Vickers
10. Kurt Busch

Full Phoenix Starting Lineup

Phoenix NASCAR Race Notes

Denny Hamlin started on the pole and led the first 24 laps.

On lap 5 Ty Dillon lost a few spots after reports of smoke coming from his car.

Running order on lap 10: 11,4,22,20,2

Running order on lap 17: 11,4,22,20,2,41,18,42,24,13 … 48,88,78,27,55,1,15,17,99,47… 9,14,5,3,31,7,16,43,10,51

Joey Logano passed Kevin Harvick for second on lap 18

Joey Logano had a good long run car. He started in 4th and passed Denny Hamlin for the lead on lap 25.

On lap 32 the first caution came out for debris.

During the first round of pit stops Justin Allgaier got damage on pit road. It dropped him down 6 laps.

Following the first pit stop Denny Hamlin had a flat before the restart. It dropped him from 4th all the way back to 37th because he had to make an extra pit stop. The valve stem was knocked in.

The second groove on the track came in around lap 40. Kyle Larson was one of the first drivers to utilize that groove.

On lap 44 Kevin Harvick passed Joey Logano for the lead.

Greg Biffle really struggled in the race and was uncompetitive early in the event.

Running order on lap 48: 4,22,20,2,41,18,24,42,78,48 … 88,13,1,27,15,47

Keselowski didn’t like his handling and stability in the turns 61 laps into the race.

Denny Hamlin was in 29th on lap 68.

On lap 80 Casey Mears spun into the wall. He ran fairly well in the race. At the time of his incident he was running in 12th.

Jimmie Johnson got damage on pit road during the Mears caution. It damaged his car which forced him to make extra pit stops the next few cautions.

During the Casey Mears caution Dale Earnhardt Jr. got the lead by pit strategy by taking two tires. He fell back through the field pretty quickly with his tire deficit. Jeff Gordon also took two tires but he didn’t fall back as far. During Gordon’s stop his team had trouble getting the right side tires on so his crew chief called an audible and he only took two.

Running order on lap 94: 4,22,41,2,20,24,18,42,78,1…. 27,31,88,15,10,43,99,5,47,9 … 55,17,3,14,48,16,7

Denny Hamlin got a free pass following the lap 94 caution. While he was back in traffic he struggled and didn’t advance forward.

During the lap 94 caution Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Marcos Ambrose and cars in the 20’s were the only ones who pitted.

Clint Bowyer got into the back of Paul Menard on lap 103 and it cost Menard a few positions. They were battling for 11th and 12th.

Brad Keselowski’s car got better as the race went on.

On lap 122 Denny Hamlin was a few seconds away from getting lapped again but he was saved by a caution. Ty Dillon got the free pass during this caution.

During the pit stop around lap 122 under yellow Joey Logano left pit road and his gas can left his pit box which is a penalty that dropped him to the tail end of the field. It sent him from 2nd back to 29th.