This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Chase Briscoe pieced together the best race of his short NASCAR Cup Series career last week at Phoenix Raceway, leading 101 of 312 laps on his way to winning his first race in the series. He lead a number of new faces in the top five during the final laps, which has become a regular scenario in the early races of the 2022 season. Briscoe led his first laps of the day just after the competition caution in the first stage, and held station near the front for the rest of the afternoon. Two late restarts could have undone his efforts, but he maneuvered his car to the front both times to hold off the field and win his first race by nearly a second over runner-up finisher Ross Chastain. The win marks the second first-time winner of the young season after Austin Cindric drove to Victory Lane in the Daytona 500.
The Ruoff Mortgage 500 marked the end of NASCAR's first venture West of the season. The move back to the East Coast will give teams a greater opportunity to develop their cars given the lessons of the last few weeks. Teams will be closer to their shops, and the comparatively shorter commutes each week will enable more time for development, as the work to better understand and get the most out of the new car continues. Atlanta Motor Speedway is next on the schedule. Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch went to Victory Lane in the two stops
Chase Briscoe pieced together the best race of his short NASCAR Cup Series career last week at Phoenix Raceway, leading 101 of 312 laps on his way to winning his first race in the series. He lead a number of new faces in the top five during the final laps, which has become a regular scenario in the early races of the 2022 season. Briscoe led his first laps of the day just after the competition caution in the first stage, and held station near the front for the rest of the afternoon. Two late restarts could have undone his efforts, but he maneuvered his car to the front both times to hold off the field and win his first race by nearly a second over runner-up finisher Ross Chastain. The win marks the second first-time winner of the young season after Austin Cindric drove to Victory Lane in the Daytona 500.
The Ruoff Mortgage 500 marked the end of NASCAR's first venture West of the season. The move back to the East Coast will give teams a greater opportunity to develop their cars given the lessons of the last few weeks. Teams will be closer to their shops, and the comparatively shorter commutes each week will enable more time for development, as the work to better understand and get the most out of the new car continues. Atlanta Motor Speedway is next on the schedule. Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch went to Victory Lane in the two stops there last season.
UPGRADE
Chase Briscoe – Briscoe picked up his first series win Sunday at Phoenix in an impressive afternoon with 101 laps led throughout the day. He raced among the leaders all day and took home stage points in both opening segments before rocketing away during the late restarts to consolidate his victory. The win puts him among the early playoff contenders, and now his focus can shift to developing the arsenal he'll need to advance and make a run for a potential championship. Briscoe's two prior Atlanta starts in the Cup Series both came last season when he finished 23rd and 15th. Fantasy players can disregard those values and expect him to outperform them this week.
Ryan Blaney – Blaney dealt with his share of frustration early in this 2022 season, but that hasn't stopped him from being one of the fastest cars on track each week. He was much the same this past week in Phoenix, earning the pole, leading much of the first stage and winning the second. As the final miles of the race approached he was eclipsed by a number of other drivers, though. Late chances on restarts didn't give him much progress with track position holding him back for what would become a fourth-place finish on a day he should have expected more. Blaney's win in Atlanta last season was an exciting one in which he led 25 laps on his way to the checkered flag. He has three consecutive top-five finishes there heading into this week's visit and he'll be hungry to make a return to Victory Lane.
Tyler Reddick – Reddick's third-place finish Sunday at Phoenix was his best finish of the season and his second top-10 in a row. The Richard Childress Racing driver is one of the handful of drivers and teams mixing up the typical top-10 leaderboard each week, and Sunday's visit to Phoenix was further evidence. He piloted his car to top-10 stage finishes in both segments and then climbed to third for the finish. Reddick's consistent speed so far this season is a strong indicator that he may be likely to become another first-time winner soon. Atlanta should be a very good chance for him to check that box, too. He was seventh at the only other 1.5-mile oval this year at Las Vegas and he was sixth at Atlanta last fall. This week could be a good one for Reddick.
William Byron – Byron had a quick car all weekend at Phoenix, qualifying third and then going on to win the first stage. He left the pits following that stage victory in third, and the 12 laps led up to that point ended up being his last time out front for the day. Late restarts and pit stops left Byron scrambling to move forward and make up track position, but he wasn't able to get the job done and left the track with a disappointing 18th-place finish. It was an up and down day for him and the team, who continue to search for consistency throughout a race distance in order to get the most out of their car's speed, which is not in question. He gets another shot this week at Atlanta where his best finish was eighth in last year's spring race. He has an average finish of 19.2 from five Atlanta starts.
Kevin Harvick – Harvick's sixth-place finish at Phoenix was his 18th-consecutive top-10 finish at the track. That significant streak tied legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most consecutive top-10 finishes at a track. He said before the weekend that the record was not something he was paying attention to, but by all accounts it is still an impressive mark that he reached. What will frustrate him is his lack of comparative pace in the final miles to the cars ahead. Harvick's winless streak remains, and his focus is on a return to Victory Lane. He remains a reliable fantasy option with two top-10s from the first four races, however. This week he returns to the site of his first career victory back in 2001. He also has two other Atlanta wins since.
DOWNGRADE
Martin Truex Jr. – Sunday's trip to Phoenix should have been one of optimism for Truex. Had it not been for an ill-timed caution a week prior, his teammate may have been in Victory Lane, and Truex himself was the defending champion of the Phoenix race weekend. However, Truex didn't qualify well, starting 20th, and then hovered around the top 15 all afternoon. Things ultimately took a turn for the worse when he lost a tire and slammed the outside wall hard. The damage ended his day completely and sent him to the infield care center for a checkup. Toyota may not have the legs of the other manufacturers early this season and have work to do to turn things around this coming week in Atlanta.
Kyle Larson – Only a mechanical issue could take Larson out of contention Sunday at Phoenix. He started deep in the field but charged forward to be a factor at the front until he unexpectedly lost speed in the final stage. He stayed on track for a few laps trying to cycle the electronics to get the motor back to full strength but was eventually forced to pit road for the crew to make a diagnosis. The verdict was a terminal one, too. A broken valve spring was the culprit, which is something the team couldn't immediately fix and left Larson with a DNF at the track at which he won at last fall. He'll look to get back in the groove this week in Atlanta where he has two runner-up finishes, and will try to finish one place better to grab his second win of 2022.
Denny Hamlin – Hamlin makes the downgrade column for the second week in a row with another lackluster showing at Phoenix. A week prior, it appeared as though Joe Gibbs Racing had the speed to compete with Hendrick Motorsports, but that simply never came to fruition seven days later at Phoenix. Hamlin, along with his teammates, were rarely in the mix in Sunday's race and were only quick enough to race in the top 15. To compound the issue, Hamlin was also caught speeding on pit road in a lapse of concentration early in the day. He was never a factor, which is highly disappointing for a driver many expected to be a contender for the championship. Both he and fantasy players and the team have to be hoping for a better showing this week in Atlanta.
Chase Elliott – Larson's engine trouble left Elliott as the sole Hendrick Motorsports driver contending for a top-10 finish Sunday at Phoenix. Those hopes were subsequently dashed when he spun and fell back in the field with little time to recover. The race ended with Elliott in 11th place despite him having led 50 laps and picking up stage points in both opening segments. While it wasn't the worst result, it is indicative of Hendrick failing to capitalize on its single-lap and short-run pace. A better showing will hopefully be in the cards for Elliott's home race at Atlanta this week. He has not won at the track, yet, but he has scored five top-10s from seven series starts. He also led 13 laps and started on pole at the track last fall.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Ross Chastain – Sunday's runner-up finish was the second top-five in a row for Chastain. That is significant considering he just joined Trackhouse Racing this season, and the organization is in just its second year of competition. The team showed hints of speed last year, but Chastain is taking advantage of that along with the more level playing field with the introduction of the new car. The new equipment has enabled some drivers to get an early head start on their 2022 seasons, and Chastain is one who has arguably benefitted the most. He now heads East to this week's race in Atlanta in playoff position in the standings, but fantasy players should expect a win from him this season if his form continues.
