Phoenix Shriners Children’s 500 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Practice Predictions
On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Phoenix for the Shriners Children’s 500. In November the 2025 Cup champion will be crowned here, so look for everyone to bring their A-game. This weekend, NASCAR is rolling out the Option/Prime tire duo which was last used in summer 2024 at Richmond. The option tire is a softer compound that is faster but will wear out quicker. The Prime tire is the standard old Phoenix tire, it’s slower but will last longer.
On Saturday, NASCAR held an extended practice session with teams getting 45 minutes to work on their car. Here’s a look at Phoenix Practice Notes, Phoenix Practice Speeds and 10-Lap Averages and Phoenix 10,15,20,25 and 30 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet.
Here’s the Phoenix qualifying results/ starting lineup.
Phoenix Full Field Fantasy Rankings
1) Ryan Blaney
Start 12th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Phoenix Outlook – Ryan Blaney is a super-elite performer at Phoenix who’ll be tough to beat. Blaney’s been a dominator in the desert and he’s done everything but win. In the Next Gen at Phoenix, Blaney has the best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the best average finish (2.8), the best driver rating and in 4 of the last 5 races he’s finished 2nd! Currently at Phoenix, Blaney has seven straight top 5’s! Last fall, Blaney had a hot rod and finished runner-up. In the race, Blaney started 17th, finished 6th in Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 12 laps, had a 4.1 average running position, earned the 3rd best Driver Rating and then finished 2nd. In terms of speed stats, Blaney ranked 3rd for Total Speed Rankings and then 4th for Speed Late In A Run. Last spring, Blaney had a similar showing. In that race, Blaney started 16th, finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 6th in Stage #2 and then finished 5th overall. In terms of speed stats, Blaney ranked 2nd for Speed Late In A Run and then 5th for Total Speed Rankings. Over the five Phoenix races prior to that, Blaney had results of 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 4th and 4th. Last year at shorter-flat tracks, Blaney had the 2nd best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and the 2nd best Driver Rating. In practice, Blaney felt like his car was pretty good and he liked his long run speed (2nd best 20-lap average).
DraftKings $10,800/ FanDuel $13,500
2) Christoher Bell
Start 11th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Phoenix Outlook – Christopher Bell is the premiere performer at shorter-flat tracks and at Phoenix, Bell might just notch his third straight win in 2025. Bell’s the defending spring Phoenix winner, he was stout last fall, and right now, nobody is better than Bell at shorter-flat tracks. Last year on this sub-track type, Bell had the best Track Type Total Speed Ranking, the best average finish (4.3), the best average running position and earned the best Driver Rating by a wide margin. At Phoenix in the Next Gen, Bell has the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking and a 5.5 average finish over his incident free races. Last fall, Bell looked great, but I also think he kind of eased up at the end, letting the championship contenders battle it out. In the race, Bell finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, had a race best 2.8 average running position, led the most laps (143), had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and then finished 5th overall. Last spring, the #20 was fast, and Bell hit the afterburners driving up thru the field late en route to victory lane. In the race, Bell led 50 laps, earned the best Driver Rating and had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023, Bell was a top five contender in the fall but had a brake failure (was in 5th) and then in the spring he finished 6th. Bell wasn’t a stopwatch standout in practice but I have no doubt he’ll be stout on Sunday.
DraftKings $11,000/ FanDuel $14,000
Further Recommended Reading = Phoenix Quick Rankings, Phoenix Finish Projections, DraftKings Phoenix Scoring Projections, FanDuel Phoenix Scoring Projections
3) William Byron
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Phoenix Outlook – Put William Byron on your short list of favorites at Phoenix. Byron’s a recent winner (spring 2023) and there’s no question he ranks among the premiere performers in the desert. In the Next Gen at Phoenix, Byron has the 2nd best Speed Ranking, the 2nd best Average Finish (8.3), the 2nd best Driver Rating and “Performance Wise”, he’s 6 for 6 at being top 6 good in terms of “Performance.” Last fall, Byron looked great but ultimately had nothing for the Penske big two. In the race, Byron finished 4th over the two opening Stages, had a 3.7 average running position, led 19 laps and then finished 3rd overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked 4th. Last spring, Byron finished 18th but you can get out an asterisk mark for that result. In the race, Byron finished 6th in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, was in 4th on lap 209 but then following that, Hamlin spun which flipped the field, and Byron simply couldn’t bounce back. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked 8th. In fall 2023, Byron won Stage # 1, finished 4th in Stage #2, led 95 laps, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking, had a 3.3 average running position and then finished 4th. In spring 2023 en route to victory lane, Byron won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 64 laps, had a 2.5 average running position and earned the best driver rating. I will note, Byron was likely poised to finish in 4th before late cautions/mayhem ensued. In practice, Byron was fast and had the 2nd best 30-lap average.
DraftKings $10,000/ FanDuel $12,000
