Column: Legge Makes NASCAR History, Tire Strategy At Play At Phoenix & More…
Column By: HOLLY CAIN / NASCAR – AVONDALE, AZ – Katherine Legge will become only the eighth woman to start a NASCAR Cup Series race in the sport’s modern era (post-1972) Sunday at Phoenix Raceway and the first since Danica Patrick competed in the 2018 Daytona 500.
The 44-year-old is driving the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, owned by B.J. McLeod and his wife, Jessica.
Legge has four IMSA class wins and has started four Indianapolis 500s. She has made five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, with a best finish of 14th at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, in 2018.
Tire Strategy In Play: NASCAR is allowing teams to choose between Goodyear’s primary “yellow” tire, designed for longevity, and the grippier but faster-wearing “red” option tire for Sunday’s Cup Series event at Phoenix Raceway.
Teams will receive six sets of primary tires and two sets of option tires.
Cindric penalized: NASCAR issued a major penalty to Team Penske’s Austin Cindric for intentional contact with Kaulig Racing’s Ty Dillon early in last week’s race at Circuit of the Americas. The penalty includes a loss of 50 driver points and a $50,000 fine, dropping Cindric from 11th to 35th in the standings entering Sunday’s race.
Briscoe’s penalty overturned: NASCAR’s Appeals Panel overturned a 100-point penalty issued to Chase Briscoe, reinstating his points and placing him 14th in the standings, tied with Carson Hocevar.
Bell eyes three-peat: Defending Phoenix spring race winner Christopher Bell is attempting to become the first driver to win three consecutive races in the NextGen car era. Eleven times in modern NASCAR history, a driver winning three straight has gone on to win the championship the same year.
Logano returns to championship site: Logano, a four-time Phoenix Raceway winner, acknowledged the special memories of his title-winning performance last fall but said he’s focused on moving forward.
“Lots of good memories here. It is cool being back for sure,’’ Logano said. “Even going out there earlier and seeing the [track] wall with the sticker on it, because we won this thing last time. It’s a lot of special moments, but I’ve been saying it’s in the past, right? You gotta keep moving forward.”
Logano has led the most laps this season (126) but has yet to record a top-10 finish through three races. He sits 12th in the standings, primarily due to stage points earned.
