Auto Racing Glance

[March 07, 2019]  MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: TICKETGUARDIAN 500 (312 laps, 312 miles (500 kilometers) around a 1-mile tri-oval), ISM Raceway; Avondale, Arizona.

TV: Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 4 p.m. ET) -- Fox (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: The fourth of 36 races on the season, this one comes to a "new" old track. ... ISM Raceway has been reconfigured and overhauled, with the start-finish line being moved to just before the dogleg, which used to be the backstretch. Many fan attractions have been updated as well. ... Three different drivers have won the first three races of the season, but in the last two weeks two drivers for Team Penske have taken home the trophy. ... 2018 champion Joey Logano won last weekend in Las Vegas in his Ford Mustang, with Brad Keselowski winning the week before in Atlanta. ... Kevin Harvick won this race last year and Phoenix has been his personal playground, with seven wins in the last 13 races at the track. ... Denny Hamlin took the season-opening Daytona 500 in a Toyota Camry. ... This is the 46th Cup race at ISM Raceway. ... *Logano leads the Cup standings with 133 points, followed closely by Harvick (131), *Hamlin (127), Kyle Busch (121), *Keselowski (115), Kyle Larson (102), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (99), Martin Truex Jr. (98), Erik Jones (98) and Kurt Busch (95).

*Denotes race winner and playoff berth. Standings per NASCAR.com

BEST BETS: At 7/2, Harvick and Kyle Busch are the obvious favorites, and the top of the standings and the best odds match up pretty well. Keselowski is 8/1, Logano 9/1. Value pick? Jimmie Johnson, who once dominated at Phoenix, is 30/1

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: NASCAR XFINITY SERIES RACE AT ISM RACEWAY (200 laps, 200 miles around a 1-mile tri-oval), ISM Raceway; Avondale, Arizona.

TV: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 4:16 p.m. ET) -- FS1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: This is the fourth of 33 races this season. This is the 35th Xfinity race at ISM. ... Brad Keselowski won this race last spring while Christopher Bell won in the fall. ... Full-time Xfinity Series racers are 2-for-3 this year, with full-time Cup driver Kyle Busch winning last week at Las Vegas. ... *Bell leads the Xfinity standings with 139 points, followed by Cole Custer (121), Tyler Reddick (121), Brandon Jones (117), *Michael Annett (111), John Hunter Nemechek (107), Justin Allgaier (96), Ryan Sieg (96), Ross Chastain (96), Noah Gragson (94) and Austin Cindric (94).

*Denotes race winner and playoff berth. Standings per NASCAR.com

NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES

THIS WEEK: The Trucks are beginning a two-week layoff after three of 23 races this season and will return at Martinsville Speedway on March 23. ... Kyle Busch won last week's race at Las Vegas. ... Grant Enfinger leads the Truck standings (117 points), followed by Harrison Burton (111), *Austin Hill (108), Stewart Friesen (103), Brett Moffitt (102), Johnny Sauter (102), Matt Crafton (96), Ben Rhodes (96), Todd Gilliland (96) and Sheldon Creed (91).

*Denotes race winner and playoff berth. Standings per NASCAR.com

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES

THIS WEEK: The 2019 season starts March 10 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

FORMULA ONE

THIS WEEK: The 2019 season starts March 17 in Melbourne, Australia

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION

THIS WEEK: The hot rods are off after two of 24 events this season before heading to Gainesville, Fla., for the famed Gatornationals on March 14-17. ... In Arizona two weeks ago, Billy Torrence won in Top Fuel, Matt Hagan in Funny Car and Jeg Coughlin Jr. winning Pro Stock. Pro Stock Motorcycle debuts at the Gatornationals. ... Torrence leads the Top Fuel points with 178, followed by Doug Kalitta (172), Leah Pritchett (145), Steve Torrence (137) and Terry McMillen (132) rounding out the top five. ... Robert Hight leads Funny Car (205), with Hagan (160), Jack Beckman (151), Tommy Johnson Jr. (132) and Bob Tasca III (129) giving chase. ... Bo Butner is on top of Pro Stock (181), followed by Jason Line (157), Erica Enders (152), Matt Hartford (147) and Coughlin (145).

*Stats and standings per NHRA.com.

--By K. Lee Davis, Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.