Light rain fell at Phoenix Raceway Sunday morning, but as of 9:45 a.m. MST NASCAR had announced no delay or schedule change for the noon Freeway Insurance 500 green flag, with just over two hours to go before the green flag was scheduled to wave. Raindrops were reported to be falling continuously at 9:50 a.m. as well.
Wet-weather tires are available if the rain returns, and the procedure NASCAR rewrote in September hands teams the call on switching, with the Chase contenders chasing points leader Kyle Larson.
“It’s drizzling in the desert with three hours until green flag. The good news is they can use wet weather tires at this 1-mile track,” motorsports reporter Cole Cusumano posted. Conditions around 9:36 a.m. MST sat near 72 degrees under overcast skies, with an east wind of about 6 mph, according to NASCAR.com‘s live weather page.
The National Weather Service now lists today as mostly sunny, with a high near 84 degrees and east winds of 5 to 10 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Phoenix Raceway Weather and Risk for Freeway Insurance 500
The green flag drops at noon local time (3 p.m. EDT) with USA Network carrying the 312-lap race, according to NASCAR.com‘s race weekend guide. Afternoon rain odds sit near 10 percent, according to a post by NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass.
Showers stayed off the surface earlier this morning, though a small line threatened to dampen it around 10 a.m., according to RaceWeather‘s morning track update.
Saturday showed how quickly the surface recovers. Saturday’s rain caution in the O’Reilly race flew about 22 laps into the 200-lap event, and the asphalt began drying almost at once. Phoenix typically dries quickly, according to Pockrass.
Brandon Jones, driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was the only driver among the leaders to switch to wet-weather tires. He dropped to last once the track dried and fell a lap down.
Wet-Weather Tires and Ryan Blaney’s Pole Position at Phoenix Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is one of seven ovals approved for Goodyear wet-weather tires, joining Bristol, Iowa, New Hampshire, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Richmond, according to Motorsport.com. Cup teams have four wet sets available, according to Sportsnaut‘s wet-tire rule report.
NASCAR decides whether the field starts on wets or slicks, and every car must run the same type, according to Motorsport.com. After the green flag, if NASCAR throws a rain caution and calls the surface damp, each team chooses its own tires, according to NASCAR.com.
Positions now hold on pit road during those stops, while green-flag stops stay competitive, according to Motorsport.com. Crews that stay out on wets gain track position over those who pit, according to NASCAR.com‘s Wet-weather 101.
Ryan Blaney won the pole at 137.143 mph. Joey Logano qualified second, followed by Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell, according to NASCAR Wire Service reporter Reid Spencer.
Those five drivers sit closest to Larson, who starts 22nd with a 49-point lead over Hamlin. In the last 18 Cup races at Phoenix, no winner has started deeper than 13th, according to NASCAR Wire Service.
“It’s really, really important, just from our side, to put yourself up toward the front early in the race,” Blaney said, as quoted by NASCAR Wire Service. The Team Penske driver, chasing a third straight Phoenix win, was talking about stage points and track position.
“It’s a must-win scenario and probably multiple times to do that,” Logano said, as quoted by NASCAR Wire Service. A four-time Phoenix winner, Logano sits sixth in the standings, 92 points behind Larson, who ranked 13th in practice and was unhappy with his car’s balance all day.
Will Rain Affect NASCAR Phoenix Cup Race Today? Latest Weather Forecast