{"id":56410,"date":"2026-03-06T20:56:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T02:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=56410"},"modified":"2026-03-06T20:56:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T02:56:44","slug":"nascar-friday-phoenix-raceway-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/06\/nascar-friday-phoenix-raceway-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Friday Phoenix Raceway Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

Taylor Gray wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole at Phoenix<\/b><\/p>\n

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Taylor Gray claimed his first pole position of the 2026 NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series season Friday night at Phoenix Raceway \u2013 posting a lap of 130.743 around the famous desert mile.<\/p>\n

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Taylor Gray, driver of the #54 Operation 300 Toyota, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway on March 06, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Gray\u2019s No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will start on the front row alongside reigning series champion Jesse Love\u2019s No. 2 Richard Childress Racing\u2019s Chevrolet in the GOVX 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

Gray set the fast time midway through the session and had to wait out the contenders. Love turned in a good lap, missing pole speed by only .102 mph. His RCR teammate and the current championship leader Austin Hill was the last to turn a qualifying lap and ended up only 13th fastest<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a little nervous, thought my buddy Jesse [Love] had me,” said a smiling\u00a0 20-year-old Gray, who now has four career poles in the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew we had a shot,” Gray said later. \u201cEvery once in a while I get this feeling we\u2019re going to be pretty good and I did today. Was super confident especially after practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gray\u2019s JGR teammate Brandon Jones was third fastest in the No. 20 Toyota, followed by Anthony Alfredo in the Viking Motorsports No. 86 Chevrolet \u2013 his best start since a third-place qualifying effort at Talladega in April 2024.<\/p>\n

Two-time DAYTONA 500 champion William Byron will roll off sixth. He\u2019s driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend in the first of three scheduled NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts. He\u2019s a former winner in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix.<\/p>\n

Jeb Burton and Hill paced the hour-practice just before qualifying.<\/p>\n

CHASING REDDICK<\/b><\/p>\n

Tyler Reddick\u2019s unprecedented start to the 2026 season is not only a strong competitive message to the NASCAR Cup Series garage but something the other drivers also genuinely acknowledge as special. While there is much admiration for Reddick\u2019s historical three-peat\u00a0 – victories in the DAYTONA 500, at Atlanta\u2019s EchoPark Speedway and last week at the Circuit of The Americas road course \u2013 it also naturally creates huge motivation for those he\u2019s racing against.<\/p>\n

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Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Chumba Casino Toyota, celebrates` after winning his third race in a row to start the 2026 NASCAR season winning the NASCAR Cup Series DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas on March 01, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

They give him props for his work, but remind, we\u2019re only three races into a 36-race schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s early still,” three-time series champion Joey Logano said of Reddick\u2019s No. 45 23XI Racing team. \u201cBut what they\u2019ve done is impressive. It\u2019s not surprising. I think Tyler is a really good driver and I\u2019ve always thought that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think by the time we get back from Vegas we\u2019ll have a pretty good idea of strengths and weaknesses of where the teams are at. I don\u2019t think we have the full report card yet,” he added. \u201cEventually when you average it out over the first 10 to 15 races I think things clear out quite a bit.”<\/p>\n

Logano\u2019s Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney agreed that as good as Reddick has been, it\u2019s just too early to hand him the big trophy quite yet. Sunday\u2019s Straight Talk Wireless 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Phoenix one-miler is followed by a race at Las Vegas, the first of the many 1.5-milers the series races on. After that looms the unique 1.366-mile Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and the half-mile Martinsville, Va. short track.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe least surprising victory was last weekend,” Blaney said of Reddick. \u201cHe\u2019s always run good at COTA, so that was not a surprise. Daytona, I saw him as a pretty decent drafter but not the guy leading a bunch of laps. He\u2019s set himself up to race ahead of everybody three races in, that\u2019s pretty impressive.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re close,” he added. \u201cThey\u2019ve been doing an amazing job. You can\u2019t take anything away from that group. But the competitor in me is like, dang, they\u2019re kicking our butt every week, but the same competitor in me says, ‘you have to respect what they\u2019re doing and the run they\u2019ve been on.’ But I think we\u2019re close and I look forward to this weekend.”<\/p>\n

ALFREDO SUBBING FOR BOWMAN IN THE HENDRICK NO. 48<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

Anthony Alfredo, 26, will be making his first NASCAR Cup Series start of the season, filling in for Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Chevrolet. After becoming ill mid-race last week at the Circuit of The Americas road course Bowman was replaced in the car by Myatt Snider.<\/p>\n

The team announced this week that Bowman was still suffering from vertigo symptoms and have named Alfredo to steer the No. 48. In his fourth year as the Hendrick team\u2019s fulltime simulator driver, Alfredo has considerable laps around the Phoenix one-miler since it has served as the championship race the last six years.<\/p>\n

Alfredo, who races fulltime in the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series wasn\u2019t at COTA to relieve Bowman last week having raced in Saturday\u2019s NOAPS race and having already flown home – not anticipating a problem for Bowman mid-race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say all the laps I\u2019ve run definitely make me more confident in where I need to be behind the wheel but racing\u2019s totally different,” Alfredo conceded, noting he has a pretty good basis of what to expect at Phoenix with not only the simulator work but the eight races he\u2019s run in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races here. He suffered a pair of DNFs in two 2021 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the desert miler.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say every week, just out of my due diligence, I try to be prepared aside from being comfortable on the sim; just watching the races, kind of studying what happens,” he continued. \u201cYou just never know when that opportunity might come. So, I think being prepared every week is something I do. And that way, when this opportunity did arise, it didn’t feel like it was totally sprung on me and I was not prepared. But certainly when I did find out, they gave me a lot of things to look over and study and give me the tools I need to prepare.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut working with the best people in the sport also makes that transition more seamless, right? I think they all know what they expect of me and I have access to more resources than I probably ever had. So, I’m certainly excited about utilizing those.”<\/p>\n

LOVE-ING PHOENIX<\/b><\/p>\n

Jesse Love surprisingly insisted that his drive inside the Phoenix Raceway for Friday\u2019s opening practice and NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying session did not evoke any special emotions \u2013 despite the fact that the last time the driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet was at the track he was celebrating the series 2025 championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been a great race track for me and I love Phoenix for that reason, so I enjoy coming here, but the nostalgic feeling that you’d picture if I was in a movie walking in through the tunnel isn’t necessarily real for me,” said Love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I try to disassociate with that stuff when I come here,” he continued. \u201cI think it’s really important to kind of reset yourself and start from kind of ground zero, right? The past might not work for me this weekend, right? So, I have to come in with a very serious and open mind to continue to have, you know, good results here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old Californian Love comes to the track boasting a phenomenal record even beyond his title work last November. He holds the longest top-10 streak (four) at Phoenix among the series regulars with an impressive average finish of 4.5. This season he is the only driver to earn top-10 finishes in the opening three races.<\/p>\n

NASCAR-INDYCAR DOUBLEHEADER TWICE AS GOOD<\/b><\/p>\n

Both the IndyCar drivers and NASCAR drivers were excited for the Phoenix doubleheader racing weekend and for many of NASCAR\u2019s best, it\u2019s a rare opportunity to watch the open-wheelers in person. The NTT IndyCar Series races Saturday at 2 p.m. ET just before the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series.<\/p>\n

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Blaney, whose 60th Anniversary Team Penske organization fields three cars in both series, was particularly excited to watch an IndyCar Series race in person \u2013 something he said he\u2019s only done one other time when the two series raced together on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. His teammate, fellow NASCAR champion Joey Logano said he\u2019s never seen the open-wheelers on an oval.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved it when we did the doubleheader at Indy a few years ago,” Blaney said, adding, he\u2019d love to see the two premier series share a race weekend more often.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love it. I think it\u2019s great for the racing fan. I\u2019ve never really understood when people say I only watch NASCAR or I only watch IndyCar, if you\u2019re a fan of racing, you\u2019re a fan of racing. And this brings everyone together. I think the crowd for both days will be fantastic because it is a doubleheader weekend and I\u2019d love to see more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agrees his teammate Logano, \u201cI think it\u2019s great for both sports. Great for IndyCar, great for NASCAR and great for the fans to see two different disciplines. I think it\u2019s just going to grow both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sam Mayer, driver of the #41 Audibel Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway on March 06, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Austin Hill, driver of the #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, waits on the grid during practice for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway on March 06, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Brennan Poole, driver of the #44 Toxic Waste Chevrolet, (L) and Lavar Scott, driver of the #45 Urban Affairs Coalition Chevrolet, talk on the grid during practice for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway on March 06, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Brent Crews, driver of the #19 YoungLife\/Grand Canyon Toyota, prepares to qualify for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway on March 06, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Rajah Caruth, driver of the #32 NASCAR 25 Chevrolet, during qualifying for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway on March 06, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Taylor Gray wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole at Phoenix PHOENIX, Ariz. – Taylor Gray claimed his first pole position of the 2026 NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series season Friday night at Phoenix Raceway \u2013 posting a lap of 130.743 around the famous desert mile. Gray\u2019s No. 54 Joe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":56417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,395],"class_list":["post-56410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-phoenix-raceway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265180647-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-eFQ","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56419,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56410\/revisions\/56419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}