NSCS: Can-Am 500 Race Preview

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Phoenix International Raceway for Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at the one-mile oval in the desert. The race will mark 35 of 36 in 2016 and will set the ‘Championship Four’ for next weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who currently sits out after being diagnosed with a concussion earlier this year, is the defending race winner.

The Sprint Cup entry list features 40 drivers. Some of these being are Gray Gaulding, Jeffery Earnhardt, DJ Kennington, Matt DiBenedetto, Michael McDowell and Reed Sorenson. With 40 entered, nobody will go home after qualifying on Friday afternoon.

Matt DiBenedetto will be back in the Sprint Cup Series this weekend after sitting out last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for a possible concussion. DiBenedetto was involved in a crash during the NASCAR XFINITY Series race last Saturday and was not cleared by doctors.

Jeffery Earnhardt jumped into the No. 83 Toyota at Texas and finished 34th when the race ended.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup heats up this weekend as four drivers will be eliminated from the Chase on Sunday. Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards are already locked into the next round via wins in the last two Sprint Cup races.

“Phoenix is going to be like every other race weekend for this Lowe’s team,” said Johnson. “We are heading there to win. There is no such thing as a ‘throw away’ race in my mind. If my pit crew has more exposure in racing for the win, they have more pressure on them. We could all use practice with pressure because Homestead will bring a lot of pressure.  So pressure is good for us. We will be racing for every point we can race for, even if we are locked in. We will race our race and let everyone else race theirs.”

“Phoenix is going to be a lot of fun. I love racing there and for us it’s one last week to just go have some fun, hopefully get another trophy and prepare for Homestead,” said Edwards in a release. “Texas was the biggest win of our season and coming off of that we are really looking forward to going to Phoenix and just focus on getting another win. Phoenix is a special track for me. It’s the first place I ever raced on pavement. A lot of great runs there and a lot of wins. Very close race in the spring. That last lap was a blast. We’ll go there and have some fun. It’s a one mile tough track. Really takes communication between the driver and crew chief. Dave Rogers and I have been working on that a lot. Excited to get there and go racing.” 

Joey Logano and Kyle Busch sit third and fourth in the Chase standings via points. Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch currently sit outside looking in. Harvick, who has to win on Sunday, is one of the drivers everyone will be watching very carefully this weekend.

“I feel like that can be gone at any point. That’s the hardest thing about having success. You have to have an open mind to try new things to keep moving forward,” said Harvick in a release. “If you don’t have an open mind or are not willing to try a fresh approach, then it will get stagnant. You’re going to become stale and get left behind. As we go to Phoenix, we have to look at the things that we’ve done well. Obviously, we’ve done a lot of good things. We look at the race tape and pay attention to the lines and braking, steering, throttle and all the things that you have access to and you try to mimic that immediately when you get on the racetrack. The hard part about our sport is the conditions are never the same. You never know if it’s going to be 100 degrees or if it’s going to be 50 degrees. That makes a big difference on the balance of the car, how much downforce it makes and how much tape you can run on the front. There are all kinds of things to navigate through once you get there. There are a lot of good racecar drivers and lots of circumstances that could play out to have things go wrong. You go there with a fresh start like you’ve never won there before and try to get the car dialed in.”

Championship 4 Clinch Scenarios for Phoenix

Joey Logano (0 Wins, 4074 Points) – Would clinch on points with a second-place finish and at least one lap led.  With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.

Kyle Busch (0 Wins, 4074 Points) – Would clinch on points with a second-place finish and the most laps led.  With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.

The following drivers can only guarantee a clinch with a win. The could also clinch on points with help:

Matt Kenseth (0 Wins, 4073 Points)

Denny Hamlin (0 Wins, 4072 Points)

Kevin Harvick (0 Wins, 4056 Points)

Kurt Busch (0 Wins, 4040 Points) 

The Can-Am 500 will air live on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM Channel 90 will have live coverage of the race. 

Brett Winningham
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