![\"NASCAR\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2244672727.jpg\")
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NASCAR at Phoenix Raceway<\/p>\n
The NASCAR<\/a> Cup Series circuit heads to Phoenix Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday, March 8. The Straight Talk Wireless 500 is set for 312 laps and 312 miles around the 1.0-mile Arizona track.<\/p>\n Heading into the race weekend, Team Penske star Ryan Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin enter as the favorites to win by the odds makers.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, there are a few longshots, such as RFK Racing driver Brad Keselowski, to watch for this Sunday.<\/p>\n Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin open as Phoenix favorites<\/p>\n In the opening odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbooks<\/a>, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin are the ones to watch. Both drivers have the best odds to win at +550 each.<\/p>\n Blaney has a phenomenal record at Phoenix in recent memory. The driver of the No. 12 took the checkered flag in last year\u2019s season-finale race at Phoenix over Brad Keselowski.<\/p>\n On top of that, Blaney has posted eight top-five finishes in the last nine Phoenix races. Based on those statistics, it\u2019s evident why the 2023 Cup Series champion is favored this weekend.<\/p>\n That same race Blaney won last year is the one Hamlin led a race-high 208 laps<\/a> in his bid for his first championship. Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 11, his chances at the title were thwarted as Larson left with the crown.<\/p>\n Still, the 60-time Cup winner had the dominant car at Phoenix the last time around. In the last five races at Phoenix, the Virginia native has finished no worse than 11th.<\/p>\n Close behind Blaney and Hamlin in the odds is Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, both at +650 to win. Larson has finished no worse than fourth in five of the last six Phoenix races. Yet, the driver of the No. 5 hasn\u2019t won at Phoenix since November 2021.<\/p>\n Bell, meanwhile, won the last two spring races. He might not be the top favorite, but Bell will be one to contend with this Sunday.<\/p>\n Brad Keselowski among key longshots for Phoenix<\/p>\n While this week\u2019s favorites at Phoenix all make a great case, there\u2019s a few underdogs to keep an eye on. One of those is Brad Keselowski, who enters at +2800 to win on Sunday.<\/p>\n In the last eight Phoenix races, Keselowski has only mustered two top-10 finishes. However, the driver of the No. 6 narrowly missed out on winning last year\u2019s fall Phoenix event before placing runner-up to Ryan Blaney.<\/p>\n Another driver to watch on Sunday is Kyle Busch at +3000 to win. The driver of the No. 8 is on a nearly three-year winless drought. However, the Richard Childress Racing driver has two top-10 finishes in the last two Phoenix races.<\/p>\n Although Alex Bowman is a major longshot to win at +6500, the driver of the No. 48 has a respectable history at Phoenix. Bowman has posted two top-10 finishes in the last six Phoenix races and finished no worse than 20th in the rest of them.<\/p>\n Entering Sunday 36th in the points standings, Bowman will be seeking a bounce back weekend at Phoenix.<\/p>\n The Straight Talk Wireless 500 is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The race can be watched on FS1 or listened to on the Motor Racing Network.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJohn Breeden<\/a> John Breeden is a NASCAR contributor at Heavy Sports. He has five years of sports journalism experience. He graduated from James Madison University in May of 2022 with a degree in media arts and design. John is also a sports reporter for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Previously, John was a sports writer for JMU’s The Breeze and a NASCAR content writer for Sportskeeda. More about John Breeden<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty NASCAR at Phoenix Raceway The NASCAR Cup Series circuit heads to Phoenix Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-515437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}