The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to ISM Raceway in Phoenix as drivers look to join Kevin Harvick and Austin Dillon in the playoffs. Harvick will be seeking his third-straight win while last year's champion Martin Truex Jr. starts on the pole
Harvick is the Vegas favorite to win the race at 9-to-4 odds and for good reason. Statistically, Harvick leads all active drivers with 1,484 career laps led and eight wins at the one-mile oval track. However, this weekend he'll be without car chief Robert Smith after he was suspended two races for a violation in last week's win.
If Harvick parks his No. 4 Ford Fusion in victory lane on Sunday, he'll become only the ninth driver in NASCAR history to win nine times or more at a track. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is the only other active driver to accomplish the feat. Johnson has done it at both Martinsville and Dover.
Speaking of Johnson, the 42-year-old hasn't had the start to the season that he had hoped for. After wrecking out of the first two races, Johnson rebounded from a choppy start at Las Vegas with a 12th-place finish. The future NASCAR Hall of Famer enters Sunday's race on a career-long 26-race winless streak. Good news for Johnson fans though, the No. 48 has made four trips to Victory Lane at Phoenix under Johnson's tenure and he could very well make it a fifth on Sunday.
Johnson's teammate, Alex Bowman is no stranger to Phoenix either. A native of Tucson, Arizona, Bowman showed off his skills in 2016 at his home track by leading 194 of 324 laps en route to a sixth-place finish. At 40-to-1 odds, don't be surprised if Bowman brings Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 back to Victory Lane for his first career Cup Series victory.
While Bowman is no rookie, he's definitely one of the leaders in NASCAR's youth movement. On Sunday, NASCAR rookies Darrell Wallace Jr. and William Byron will be making their first career Cup Series starts at the track. They'll join Chase Elliott as drivers under 25-years-old seeking their first win at the track. Elliott nearly won the race last year, but was passed by Matt Kenseth on the final laps to spoil his shot at the Championship 4.
How to watch the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway
Location: ISM Raceway, Phoenix, Arizona
Date: Sunday, March 11th
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Length: 312 laps/312 miles
Stage 1: Ends on lap 75
Stage 2: Ends on lap 150
Final stage: Scheduled for lap 312
TV: Fox
Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Starting lineup for TicketGuardian 500
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kyle Larson
- Chase Elliott
- Alex Bowman
- Joey Logano
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Busch
- Jamie McMurray
- Erik Jones
- Kevin Harvick
- William Byron
- Ryan Blaney
- Ryan Newman
- Paul Menard
- Daniel Suarez
- David Ragan
- Jimmie Johnson
- Austin Dillon
- Clint Bowyer
- AJ Allmendinger
- Trevor Bayne
- Aric Almirola
- Kurt Busch
- Chris Buescher
- Brad Keselowski
- Kasey Kahne
- Darrell Wallace Jr.
- Ty Dillon
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Michael McDowell
- Gray Gaulding
- Corey LaJoie
- D.J. Kennington
- Timmy Hill
- Ross Chastain
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
Odds to win the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway
Here are the betting odds to win Sunday's race per Westgate. For full daily fantasy advice and expert picks, we encourage you to catch up with SportsLine DFS pro Mike McClure who has won over a million dollars.
- Kevin Harvick 9/4
- Kyle Busch 5/1
- Kyle Larson 6/1
- Martin Truex Jr. 8/1
- Brad Keselowski 8/1
- Joey Logano 10/1
- Denny Hamlin 15/1
- Erik Jones 15/1
- Ryan Blaney 20/1
- Jimmie Johnson 20/1
- Alex Bowman 40/1
- Clint Bowyer 40/1
- Kurt Busch 40/1
- Aric Almirola 40/1
- Ryan Newman 50/1
- Jamie McMurray 80/1
- Paul Menard 80/1
- Daniel Suarez 80/1
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 100/1
- Austin Dillon 100/1
- William Byron 200/1
- Darrell Wallace Jr. 300/1
- Kasey Kahne 500/1
- Trevor Bayne 500/1
- Ty Dillon 500/1
- Chris Buescher 1000/1
- Michael McDowell 1000/1
- AJ Allmendinger 1000/1
Our pick: Chase Elliott
Ford has absolutely dominated the start of the season as the Chevrolet's adjust to a new Camaro model. However, Chase Elliott has been one of the drivers who has adjusted to this transfer quicker than others. He's held strong position each week, but has fallen victim to wrong place, wrong time wrecks.
Elliott nearly won this race last year before Kenseth came out of nowhere to claim the checkered flag. In four career starts at Phoenix, Elliott owns three top-seven finishes and has led 140 laps over the last two races in addition to a 109.1 driver rating.
The 22-year-old has yet to win a race at the highest level but has been so close so many times. Elliott has finished second seven times in his career and has only seen victory lane at Daytona in exhibition races. With a top-five starting position we think Sunday is the race Elliott finally breaks the slump and gets it done. Best believe he's not forgotten the taste last year's playoff race left in his mouth.
