NOTES:<\/p>\n
Kubota Orange Days: This weekend at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, Ross Chastain will pilot No. 1 Kubota Orange Days Chevrolet for the first of two consecutive races. The same livery will return next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kubtoa Orange Days offers the best deals of the year at local Kubota dealers through June 30. Learn more at KubotaOrangeDays.com.
\nPhoenix Winner: In November 2023, Chastain won the season finale at Phoenix by leading 157 of 312 laps. The victory marked his fourth career Cup Series win and second of the season. It was the first time in 10 years of the elimination playoff format that someone besides the championship winner went to victory lane in the season finale.
\nChastain at Phoenix: Chastain makes his 16th Cup Series start at Phoenix on Sunday. He has an average finish of 9.87 and has led a total of 158 laps since he started driving the No. 1 Chevrolet in 2022.
\nMeet Chastain: On Saturday, March 7, at 1:25 p.m. MT, Chastain will sign autographs at the Trackhouse Racing merchandise hauler located in the Fan Zone – wristband required. On Sunday, at 8:45 a.m. local time Chastain will participate in a Q&A at the Chevy Stage located in the Fan Zone. Immediately afterward Chastain will sign autographs at the Trackhouse Racing merchandise hauler at 9:05 a.m. – wristband required.
\nNew Year, New Crew Chief: Brandon McSwain joined Trackhouse Racing in December as the new crew chief for Chastain and the No. 1 team. This marks the first time in his full-time Cup career that Chastain will work with someone other than Phil Surgen. McSwain and Chastain first met each other in 2014 while at Hattori Racing Enterprises. McSwain held an engineering position with JR Motorsports before he joined Hendrick Motorsports. The Auburndale, Florida, native most recently served as the lead race engineer for William Byron.
\nLast Weekend at Circuit of the Americas: Chastain qualified on the outside of the front row for the first road course of the 2026 season. The No. 1 Chevrolet’s handling improved throughout the race but unfortunately a wheel came off in the third and final stage. Chastain received a two-lap penalty which relegated him to a 35th-place finish.<\/p>\n
\ufeffChastain Quotes:<\/p>\n
How do you look at the next stretch of races on the schedule \u2013 Phoenix, Las Vegas, Darlington, Martinsville and Bristol?<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I feel like Phoenix, Vegas, Darlington and Martinsville, that\u2019s a month snapshot there of the season because there is a mix of everything. The points won\u2019t reflect it, but those four weeks, if you just kind of bookmark them, beginning and at the of the month, I think you get a good snapshot of who\u2019s the best right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
How are things going with your new crew chief, Brandon McSwain?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working through just slight things that I need, communication-wise in the car. Out of the car we\u2019re great. Getting his lingo down and him confidently speaking on the radio is something we\u2019re stepping through now. He has a couple of races in the books now as a full-time crew chief, and he has done very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Are you looking forward to sharing the track with IndyCar this weekend in Phoenix and do you pay attention to them much?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing the people but I\u2019m not excited for the probably confusing feeling we\u2019ll have with their rubber versus our rubber. I was fully ingrained in IndyCar from 2018 to 2021 as a development driver for Chip Ganassi Racing. I went to Christmas events and testing down in Sebring with them. I\u2019ve met Scott (Dixon), I\u2019m a big Alex Palou fan and big fan of Scott fan as well. Alex and I kind of came in at a similar time. We can poke fun at each other and have some fun. He came over one time and made fun of the watch I was wearing because it was a cheap watch and he\u2019s like, \u2018you got to buy a better watch, man.\u2019 So yeah, I\u2019m super excited to have watched his career over there. On Alex\u2019s side, it reminds me of a young Scott Dixon and what Chip\u2019s been able to do with Mike Hull over there. I\u2019m definitely looking forward to going over there and shake some hands and put my arms around those guys. I still stay in contact with Chip and he gets down to Florida quite a bit so I\u2019ve seen him down there.\u201d<\/p>\n
About Kubota Tractor Corp:<\/p>\n
\ufeffKubota Tractor Corporation, Grapevine, Texas, is the U.S. marketer and distributor of Kubota-engineered and manufactured machinery and equipment, including a complete line of tractors of up to 200* Gross hp, performance-matched implements, compact construction equipment, consumer lawn and garden equipment, hay tools, commercial turf products and utility vehicles. For product literature or dealer locations, contact: Kubota Tractor Corporation, 1000 Kubota Drive, Grapevine, TX 76051, (888) 4-KUBOTA [(888) 458-2682], Ext. 900, or visit KubotaUSA.com. *factory estimated rating<\/p>\n
Ross Chastain\u2019s November 2023 Phoenix Win
video<\/p>\n
NOTES:<\/p>\n
Heading to the Desert: Connor Zilisch will be making his seventh-career NASCAR Cup Series start this weekend and his first in the Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway.
\nPhoenix Stats: Zilisch has three starts in the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series at Phoenix. He has two top five finishes, highlighted by a third-place finish last November. The Mooresville, N.C., native has completed 100 percent of the total possible laps in those races \u2013 all 621 laps.
\nPrime Time with Connor Zilisch: \u201cFull Speed: The Daytona 500\u201d featuring Zilisch will premiere exclusively March 5 on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. The story will delve into the lives of four drivers (Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Noah Gragson are the others), their teams, families, and their sacrifices \u2013 building toward the most pressure-filled day of the season.
\nMeet Zilisch: Zilisch will participate in a fan Q&A at the Chevrolet Display on Sunday, March 8, from 8:30 \u2013 8:45 a.m. MT. He will also participate in an autograph session at the Trackhouse Racing merchandise hauler on Sunday from 8:50 \u2013 9:20 a.m. local time in the Fan Zone \u2013 wristband required.
\nWelcome Randall Burnett: Burnett, a native of Fenton, Missouri, begins his first season as crew chief of the No. 88 team and Zilisch at Trackhouse Racing. Burnett recently spent time at Richard Childress Racing where he enjoyed success with drivers Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch, winning six Cup races from 2022-2023. He also led Reddick to the 2019 NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series championship while at RCR.
\nLast weekend at Circuit of the Americas: Zilisch overcame two spins in Turn 1 to post a respectable 14th-place finish at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. He made 84 green flag passes during the 95-lap event and led all Cup drivers by gaining nine positions over the final 10 laps.
\nWendy\u2019s Appearance: Zilisch will be signing autographs and meeting fans at the Wendy\u2019s location in Goodyear, Arizona (1178 N. Litchfield Road, Goodyear, Arizona 85395) on March 6 at 2:00 p.m. MT – wristband required.<\/p>\n
Zilisch Quotes:<\/p>\n
What is your assessment of the first three Cup races this season? How different is the racing in Cup versus the O\u2019Reilly Series?<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s aggressive in Cup, but when I was coming through the field at COTA there were a lot more guys who were generous than I remember on Saturdays. Even when you get to the top-10, guys aren\u2019t racing you when they know that you\u2019re faster. On Saturdays, I feel like every guy races you hard for every spot, even if you\u2019re a second faster. I can\u2019t say the restarts are any less aggressive in Cup because I got taken out twice last Sunday. The Cup guys are all really smart. I feel like they make a lot more intelligent moves to put you in bad spots. It\u2019s a lot harder to make up positions in those moments than it is on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
What are your thoughts entering Phoenix this weekend?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to go back to Phoenix and I love racing there. That track is awesome and the restarts are crazy. It\u2019s wide and there\u2019s a lot of room to make moves and move around to change the balance on your car. I\u2019m looking forward to getting out there and sharing the track with IndyCar this weekend. We\u2019ll get to see them in person for the first time in a few years, probably since the Indy road course. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing the friends that I have in the IndyCar paddock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Can you describe what the restarts are like at Phoenix going from the flat surface back up on the banking?<\/p>\n
\u201cEven in the O\u2019Reilly Series there were times you had to pull your helmet back down because pulling back onto the track is so aggressive. It\u2019s a big bump coming back up on the racetrack after getting down on the dogleg. The restarts at Phoenix are just crazy. I feel bad for the spotters having to call however many wide you are, how many are outside of you and how many are inside. It\u2019s always chaotic there. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how it is with the Cup guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is running at the very bottom on Turn 1 an option at Phoenix?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an option but you have to have a tire advantage on the cars ahead of you to make it work. If you are on similar tires to the people around you and you go down there, you\u2019re going to come off Turn 2 going what feels like 20 miles an hour slower and everybody is going to be blowing by you on the outside. It\u2019s risky. You\u2019ve got to get clear and be able to take other people\u2019s momentum. If you exit Turn 2 all the way down by the wall, that\u2019s where you\u2019re going to get yourself into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
About Wendy\u2019s:\ufeff<\/p>\n
The Wendy\u2019s Company (Nasdaq: WEN) and Wendy\u2019s\u00ae franchisees employ hundreds of thousands of people across more than 7,000 restaurants worldwide. Founded in 1969, Wendy\u2019s is committed to the promise of Fresh Famous Food, Made Right, For You, delivered to customers through its craveable menu including made-to-order square hamburgers using fresh beef*, and fan favorites like the Spicy Chicken Sandwich and nuggets, Baconator\u00ae, and the Frosty\u00ae dessert. Wendy\u2019s supports the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption\u00ae, established by its founder, which seeks to dramatically increase the number of adoptions of children waiting in North America\u2019s foster care system. Learn more about Wendy\u2019s at www.wendys.com. For details on franchising, visit www.wendys.com\/franchising. Connect with Wendy\u2019s on X, Instagram and Facebook.<\/p>\n
**Fresh beef available in the contiguous U.S. and Alaska, as well as Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the UK, and other select international markets.<\/p>\n
Watch Zilisch on \u201cFull Speed: The Daytona 500\u201d on Prime Video<\/p>\n
video<\/p>\n
NOTES:<\/p>\n
Onto Phoenix: Shane van Gisbergen will make his third NASCAR Cup Series start at Phoenix Raceway. In November, van Gisbergen started 31st and rallied to a 24th-place finish, his best at the one-mile desert oval.
\nRunner-Up at COTA: Last weekend at Circuit of the Americas, van Gisbergen started 13th and battled in the top 3 all race (his average running position was 4.88). On the final restart with 17 laps remaining, he fought for the lead but ultimately finished in the runner-up position. Van Gisbergen posted his best Cup Series finish at the 2.4-mile Texas road course and collected his second top-10 in three Cup Series races at COTA. He racked up his second top 10 finish in 2026.
\nPoint Standings: Van Gisbergen enters this weekend’s race at Phoenix fifth in the Cup Series driver standings, a career best. He is 10 points behind fourth place and three ahead of seventh place.
\nO’Reilly Series Win: On Saturday, van Gisbergen secured his first career win at COTA when he piloted the No. 9 SafetyCulture Chevrolet to victory for JR Motorsports. He started second on the front row, alongside teammate Connor Zilisch, and led 31 of the 65 laps in the race. This victory marked van Gisbergen’s 11th NASCAR win on road\/street course tracks.
\nThe Partnership: Last week, Trackhouse Racing announced that SafetyCulture will extend its partnership with the team through the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, continuing its role as Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Official Workplace Operations Partner. The global workplace operations platform gives Trackhouse Racing the knowledge, tools and confidence to work safely, meet higher standards and improve every day on and off the track.
\nA Number That Means So Much: This season, van Gisbergen will carry the No. 97 for his second full-time Cup Series season. The No. 97 has many special meanings to van Gisbergen. His father, Robert van Gisbergen, drove the same number during his racing career. In 2013, van Gisbergen first debuted the No. 97 in Australian Supercars where he created a legacy for the number with 80 wins, 3 Championships, 48 pole positions and 152 podium finishes. In 2024, van Gisbergen was honored with the special number for his NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie campaign. In the No. 97 entry, he claimed three victories and three pole positions.
\nMeet SVG: Van Gisbergen will sign autographs on Sunday, March 8, at 9:00 a.m. local at the Trackhouse Racing merchandise trailer in the Fan Zone – wristband required.
\nRunaway Kiwi: SafetyCulture has partnered with NASCAR and Trackhouse Racing to produce a new documentary spotlighting van Gisbergen\u2019s rise to the top levels of international motorsport. Runaway Kiwi follows van Gisbergen’s journey from his home in Manukau, New Zealand, to capturing five consecutive road course victories in his NASCAR rookie season. More than a racing story, it explores the discipline, preparation and teamwork required to compete at the highest level – values that sit at the heart of SafetyCulture\u2019s mission to improve the way the world works. The documentary will be available to watch on the official NASCAR YouTube channel and The NASCAR Channel starting Friday, February 27.<\/p>\n
video<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen Quotes:<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve only started your NASCAR career a little over two years ago. Now you have 11 road course wins across the NASCAR Cup and O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series. How cool is that?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been pretty awesome! I\u2019ve had a whole lot of fun racing here. Every year I\u2019ve enjoyed it so much and it doesn\u2019t seem like a grind. I got to the end of last year and I was tired, but I had a week off and I was ready to get going again (laughs). There is such a great group of guys and girls at Trackhouse, and it makes racing every weekend so enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n
You are starting to head to some tracks for the second and third time. What do you want to do better as you approach these tracks in the 2026 season?<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a couple of tracks I really struggle at for some reason, Phoenix is one of them. It\u2019s a type of track I need to improve myself. I know my car can do it, but the racing is so much more tough with not a lot of practice. It\u2019s hard, but that is where I need to get better and then, just continue to keep growing at the bigger tracks. I felt like we\u2019ve made some real progress there, so we need to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n
How different is it when you have a year in the Cup Series under your belt?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just learn what you want and need from a car. My driving style was very different to most, I guess. The way I make the car work or want it to work is very different to others. We noticed a lot of trends which took a while to get everyone to adjust to. I adjusted a bit but now we\u2019re sort of coming my way a bit, which has kind of helped me. It\u2019s interesting. The cars are set up so different to what I\u2019m used to and I\u2019m still trying to understand what I need or want from the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trackhouse Racing PR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NOTES: Kubota Orange Days: This weekend at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, Ross Chastain will pilot No. 1…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[1701,49,48,925,13157,77,720,634,721,1704,722,82,723],"class_list":["post-515893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-1701","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-daytona","tag-group","tag-international","tag-motor","tag-nascar","tag-series","tag-speed","tag-speedway","tag-sports","tag-xfinity-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515893","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=515893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}