AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The big story at Phoenix Raceway one year ago was the remarkable recovery of veteran driver Ryan Newman, who strolled around the infield sipping a soft drink just weeks after a horrific crash in the Daytona 500 had everyone fearing the worst.
It was an entertaining race on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with Joey Logano holding off Kevin Harvick for his second win of the season. Kyle Larson finished fourth, continuing his rise with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Then came COVID-19, and everything in auto racing — and the world — changed.
“Gosh, it doesn’t feel like a year ago," driver Ryan Blaney said.
After 12 long months, it'll be a much quieter scene for this year's spring race in the desert, with a smaller crowd, masks, social distancing and everything else that's been deemed necessary for sports to continue during a pandemic. It's a compromise that's become somewhat normal, even if it's less than ideal.
“I miss a lot,” Logano said. “Obviously, the fans not being at the racetrack, the energy that they bring is second to none, so that quietness is awful. I like hearing the cheering, the booing and everything in between. I like that. I like having our sponsors at the racetrack and people walking through the garage thinking it’s the coolest thing they’ve ever seen when they see these cars up close.”
NASCAR's season was paused for two months after Logano's win at Phoenix. The sport was one of the first in the nation to return on May 17 in Darlington, South Carolina, during a one-day event in front of no fans.
The slow march to normalcy continues in Phoenix.
“Hopefully, we’re making progress on this thing of getting the world healthy again, but it’s changed the way that our sport has operated,” Blaney said. “It’s changed the way everything has operated, from sports to businesses and things like that, and I'm looking forward to the day we can all get healthy again and put this all behind us and get back to normal life.”
LARSON'S RETURN
Little did anyone know that Larson's fourth-place finish in Phoenix would be his last race with Chip Ganassi Racing.
The driver's use of a racial slur while participating in an online race last April cost him his job, his reputation and his ability to attract the corporations that fund a race team. Larson wasn't sure he'd race in NASCAR again until Rick Hendrick took a chance on a him.
Last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson raced to his first NASCAR victory since he was reinstated from a nearly yearlong suspension. He was hired by Hendrick Motorsports when NASCAR said the suspension would lift at the start of this year.
Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s only Black fulltime driver, was one of the first competitors to congratulate Larson.
“It meant a lot for Bubba to come to victory lane,” Larson said. “He’s always believed in me. That was special.”
HOMECOMING FOR MCDOWELL
Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell will be racing close to his hometown of Glendale, Arizona, where he grew up racing karts before moving to North Carolina to pursue his NASCAR dreams.
The 36-year-old McDowell was an unlikely Daytona winner, earning his first Cup victory in his 358th start.
McDowell returned to his old kart track in Glendale on Thursday, where he raced under the lights against local kids aged 7 to 16. He signed autographs and brought his Daytona 500 trophy for fans to check out.
KEEP IT COOL
Last year's spring race in Phoenix was a hot one, with temperatures pushing close to 90 degrees.
Sunday's race should be quite a bit cooler, with a high around 70 degrees expected, but the rain that fell in the desert on Friday and early Saturday should be gone.
ODDS AND ENDS
Reigning Cup champ Chase Elliott won at Phoenix in November to clinch his title and is the 5-1 favorite to win Sunday. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin are all 6-1. Defending race winner Joey Logano is 8-1 and Michael McDowell at his home track is 100-1, the same odds he overcame to win the Daytona 500. ... The Cup Series has had four different winners in four races to start the season but none by active Cup champions. It is the first time since 2008 that a former series champion did not win in the first four races of a season. ... There have been five different winners to start the season 14 times before but not since 2017. The record is 10 different winners in 10 races in 2000. ... There are seven former winners at Phoenix in the field. Harvick leads all drivers with nine victories at Phoenix.
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AP Auto Racing writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this story.
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WDUN will carry live MRN Radio coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Instacart 500 from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 2:30 pm on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
NASCAR Cup Series
Phoenix Raceway – Avondale, AZ
Instacart 500 – March 14, 2021
Sunday’s Starting Line Up
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 0.000 0.000
2. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
3. 11 Denny Hamlin Offerpad Toyota 0.000 0.000
4. 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 0.000 0.000
5. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Toyota 0.000 0.000
6. 9 Chase Elliott UniFirst Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
7. 18 Kyle Busch STANLEY Toyota 0.000 0.000
8. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford 0.000 0.000
9. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 0.000 0.000
10. 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
11. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Energizer Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
12. 1 Kurt Busch Gearwrench Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
13. 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
14. 43 Erik Jones Medallion Bank Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
15. 37 Ryan Preece Soctt Brand Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
16. 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 0.000 0.000
17. 17 Chris Buescher Ford 0.000 0.000
18. 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Ford 0.000 0.000
19. 6 Ryan Newman Guaranteed Rate Ford 0.000 0.000
20. 21 Matt DiBenedetto Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 0.000 0.000
21. 48 Alex Bowman Ally/Best Friends Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
22. 42 Ross Chastain Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
23. 8 Tyler Reddick Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
24. 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 0.000 0.000
25. 23 Bubba Wallace McDonalds Toyota 0.000 0.000
26. 14 Chase Briscoe # Ford 0.000 0.000
27. 99 Daniel Suarez CommScope Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
28. 38 Anthony Alfredo # Ford 0.000 0.000
29. 77 Justin Haley(i) Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
30. 78 B.J. McLeod(i) Ford 0.000 0.000
31. 51 Cody Ware(i) Nurtec ODT Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
32. 10 Aric Almirola Ford 0.000 0.000
33. 7 Corey LaJoie Youtheory Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
34. 53 J.J. Yeley(i) Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
35. 00 Quin Houff Mount-N-Lock Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
36. 52 Josh Bilicki Ford 0.000 0.000
37. 66 Timmy Hill(i) LasVegas.net Toyota 0.000 0.000
38. 15 James Davison Smart Sanitizer Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
