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The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the United Rentals Work United 500. Last season it was named the Ruoff Mortgage InstaCart 500 and the Fan Sheild 500 before that. Regardless of the name, the race is a short one at only 312 miles as the 500 refers to kilometers. The question is if a Ford driver will win again. Oddsmakers are leaning that way!
Last season Ford swept the Cup Series races at Phoenix with Chase Briscoe winning this race with Joey Logano winning the season-ending Phoenix race. That win gave Logano the 2022 NASCAR Championship and he comes into the race weekend as one of the favorites at +800 along with Ryan Blaney.
However, this year the spring Phoenix race has oddsmakers not only leaning toward two Ford drivers but also a mix of Chevrolet and Toyota drivers as well.
Here are the favorites to win the United Rentals Work United 500 outright:
Joey Logano +800
Ryan Blaney +800
Kyle Larson +1000
Denny Hamlin +1000
Ross Chastain +1000
Kyle Busch +1000
The reason for the mix is that Ford won both races last season but Chevy and Toyota have won six of the last ten races at Phoenix with Ford getting the other four. Logano and Blaney are Blue Oval drivers while Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch drive Chevrolets. Denny Hamlin is the lone Toyota driver among the favorites through +1000.
This race is only 312 laps around the 1-mile race track. That means a short 312-mile race with plenty of action on what can be considered a track that’s a combo of high-banked short-track and an intermediate track with a few spots that mimic superspeedways! Plus – it has a dogleg turn!
This is something that seems to level the playing field among Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota teams. It will be interesting to see how the favorites fare when the checkered flag waves on Sunday. It will also be interesting to see how Kevin Harvick does. He leads NASCAR Cup drivers in most top-ten finishes at the track as well as most 5th or better runs, and wins at the track which is nine which is the track record.
2023 United Rentals Work United 500 Preview
Track: Phoenix Raceway / Avondale, Arizona
Type: 1.022-mile paved banked dogleg Oval
Race Distance: 312 laps / 312 miles (502.115 km)
Defending track winner: Kyle Larson
TV/Radio: FOX / SiriusXM / MRN local affiliates
2023 United Rentals Work United 500 Predictions
Ryan Blaney +800
Ryan Blaney comes in as one of the co-favorites to win this race. He’s never won at Phoenix in any of the NASCAR Series but he’s run well at the track. He’s raced at the track 14 times in a Cup car and has finished nine times inside the top 10. Last season he finished this race In the 4th spot while leading 143 laps. Then, in the final race of the season last year he finished 2nd and led 109 laps. In his last 8 trips to Phoenix, he’s racked up finishes of 4th twice, 3rd twice, and 2nd last year. He’s only had 2 DNFs at the track which was due to one wreck and losing a radiator.
Kyle Busch +1000
Kyle Busch has won at Phoenix in the Cup Series three times. All of those wins came behind the wheel of a Toyota but he seems to be adjusting well to his new role as a Chevrolet driver. He’s already won once this season when he took the checkered flag at Auto Club Speedway. Busch finished in the 7th spot in the last three consecutive Phoenix races. Overall, he has 25 top-ten runs at the track in a Cup Series car. He’s finished on the lead lap of every race at this track since 2005 except for 2011 when he lost an engine.
Chase Briscoe +2000
Chase Briscoe won this race last season which some people may call a fluke. But, Brisco went on to make a run to the third round of the 2022 Playoffs. That run included a 4th place run in the season-ending 2022 Championship race at the track. He raced at the track four times in the Xfinity Series and never finished worse than 9th going 6th, 8th, 6th and 9th respectively.
Others to Consider: The “Closer” – aka Kevin Harvick (+1200) has always run well at Phoenix. He’s won here nine times and has 29 top-ten finishes at the track. He finished this race 6th last season. Brad Keselowski (+4000) has five top-ten finishes in his last ten races at Phoenix with three of those races being 4th or better. He wants to improve over a disappointing season-ending race at Phoenix where he scored a DNF due to a bad electrical system.
2023 United Rental Work United 500 Betting Lines
Joey Logano +800
Ryan Blaney +800
Kyle Larson +1000
Denny Hamlin +1000
Ross Chastain +1000
Kyle Busch +1000
Martin Truex Jr +1200
Christopher Bell +1200
Kevin Harvick +1200
William Byron +1200
Tyler Reddick +1800
Chase Briscoe +2000
Alex Bowman +2000
Daniel Suarez +2000
Darrell Wallace Jr. +3300
Brad Keselowski +4000
Ryan Preece +4000
Erik Jones +5000
Austin Cindric +5000
Aric Almirola +5000
Ty Gibbs +5000
Josh Berry +5000
Austin Dillon +5000
Chris Buescher +8000
Corey Lajoie +8000
AJ Allmendinger +10000
Noah Gragson +10000
Justin Haley +10000
Michael McDowell +15000
Harrison Burton +15000
Zane Smith +20000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +25000
Ty Dillon +50000
Todd Gilliland +50000
Carson Ware +100000
BJ McLeod +100000
