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NASCAR at Phoenix 2019: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
March 9, 2019
Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin will vie for crucial points when they compete in the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on Sunday.
They are the top three in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, with Logano holding an eight-point lead entering race weekend.
However, it's Ryan Blaney who will enter the race on pole, per NASCAR.com, after a strong showing during an intense qualifying session that also saw Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell come to blows.
Hamlin is also in the front row, set to start from third, so this represents a major opportunity for the 38-year-old to close the gap at the top.
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Date:Â Sunday, March 10
Time:Â 3.30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. GMT
TV Info: Fox
Live Stream:Â Fox Sports Go.
Tickets:Â ISMRaceway.com, StubHub.
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Logano was a winner at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway last time out. He's looking forward to trying out a faster, more powerful car in the season's first flat-track event.
He described the speed he experienced during qualifying, per the Associated Press' Dave Skretta (h/t the Washington Post): "You can hustle the heck out of the car. I was huffing and puffing after a couple of laps. I've never gone around this track that fast before."
Skretta noted how vehicles in Avondale, Arizona, have been upped to 750 horsepower from 550 in Las Vegas. It's a good reason for Logano to feel confident after he outpaced the field in a slower car at the Pennzoil 400 last Sunday.
Even so, it's hard to look past Harvick, the record-winner in Phoenix. He's crossed the line first nine times and remains the driver to beat once the green flag drops.
One more win would not only put Harvick, who will be starting from eighth, in double figures, but it would also place him in a select group of drivers to have 10 or more wins on a single track, according to Amanda Vincent of Motorsport Week.
It's not often Harvick is left trailing on the West Coast, but he will need to be mindful of Hamlin's ability. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver already has a win this year after finishing first in a crash-laden edition of the Daytona 500 in February.
Hamlin has already improved on his 2018 efforts, when the 38-year-old failed to register a win. He's usually a top-10 driver season in and season out.
Consistency is also matched with speed, after Hamlin clocked a qualifying rate of 140.007 mph, which put him at least in sight of the 141.287 mph clocked by Blaney.
Hamlin's in a position to at least tally a top-four finish in Arizona, which would be good enough to keep the pressure on Logano. Expect him to do more than that, with Hamlin in form and racing from the right starting spot to snatch a crucial win.