FOX NASCAR at ISM Raceway in Phoenix Quotes & Programming Schedule
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES Live on FOX Sunday with NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Live Saturday on FOX
Ryan Blaney Makes His FOX NASCAR Driver Analyst Debut at Phoenix
Mike Joy on Early Predictions the Fords Would be at a Disadvantage: ‘Wow. Talk about wrong.’
Charlotte, NC – NASCAR heads to ISM Raceway in Phoenix this weekend for the fourth race of the season, with FOX Sports set to offer more than 17 hours of live action from the one-mile oval, which is part of the three-race “NASCAR Goes West” portion of the 2018 schedule.
Ryan Blaney makes his FOX NASCAR analyst debut in Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY SERIES race (4:00 PM ET), which marks the first NASCAR XFINITY SERIES race of the year to air on the FOX broadcast channel. Blaney also will return as a pit reporter for the second consecutive year in FOX Sports’ “Drivers Only” NASCAR XFINITY SERIES race broadcast, live from Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 28 (3:00 PM ET).
Below are programming information and quotes from FOX NASCAR analysts Jeff Gordon and Michael Waltrip and play-by-play announcer Mike Joy on the week’s storylines and the weekend ahead.
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
- Date/Time: Sunday, March 11 (3:30 PM ET)
- Network: FOX
- Announcers: Mike Joy, Hall of Famer and three-time champion Darrell Waltrip, four-time champ Jeff Gordon and Larry McReynolds
- Pit reporters: Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum
- Pre-race: MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP PRE-RACE (3:00 PM ET on FOX); hosted by Chris Myers with Michael Waltrip, Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
- NASCAR RACEDAY (2:00 PM ET on FS1), hosted by John Roberts with analysts Jeff Hammond and Bobby Labonte; pit reporting by Kaitlyn Vincie
- Hosts: Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
- Date/Time: Saturday, March 10 (4:00 PM ET)
- Network: FOX
- Announcers: Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip and driver analyst Ryan Blaney
- Pit reporters: Jamie Little and Regan Smith
- Pre-race: NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (3:30 PM ET on FOX); hosted by Shannon Spake and Larry McReynolds
- Hosts: Spake and McReynolds
FOX NASCAR QUOTES
On the recent dominance of Kevin Harvick and whether he could make it three consecutive wins this weekend at Phoenix:
“I don’t know what more you can say about his dominant performances back-to-back, two in a row. Kevin Harvick has never won three in a row, so next week is going to be very interesting to watch.”
–Jeff Gordon
“You’re going to have to watch this team, because with two wins in the bank and headed for the Playoffs, they’ve got nothing to lose.”
–Mike Joy
“I think it would be hard to bet against him because that team has been so good at Phoenix in the past. ISM Raceway is a track that suits Kevin Harvick’s driving style. It’s a short track with speeds like a superspeedway. He can run anywhere, and I think it will make him a favorite by the time we get to Phoenix.”
–Michael Waltrip
On the improvement at Team Penske this season:
“We saw Brad Keselowski battle for the championship last year and had a really solid year, but Joey Logano didn’t. Now we’re seeing a lot of depth and consistency through that whole organization, including Ryan Blaney as an addition. Fifth, sixth and seventh at Las Vegas — that, to me, is a sign of more great things to come, not just for Ford but for Penske.”
–Jeff Gordon
“What I like most about that group is that each team is employing different strategies to try to get to the finish line first.”
–Mike Joy
On how to explain Ford’s success early in 2018 after many expected it would be at a disadvantage due to the age of its body versus that of Toyota and Chevrolet:
“We have talked and talked for three solid weeks about how the Ford has a five-year-old body in the Ford Fusion, how it’s at a disadvantage to last year’s new Camry and this year’s Camaro in the downforce department and at the mile-and-a-half tracks. What happened? Wow. Talk about wrong.”
–Mike Joy
“I expected this year to really see Toyota continue their dominance, the Camaro to be really strong and the Fords to be searching for speed, and we’re seeing the exact opposite.”
–Jeff Gordon
“I like some of the moves NASCAR made in the inspection process during the off-season. They changed the front splitter – that has a lot to do with the aerodynamic downforce in the front of the car, and of course the new inspection station. I thought that would change the playing field. I thought the Camaro would still be really fast and the Toyotas would, but I never would have guessed the Ford would outperform them.”
–Michael Waltrip
FOX NASCAR AT ISM RACEWAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
(All times live/Eastern unless otherwise indicated & subject to change)
Friday, March 9
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES practice (12:30-1:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB: WEEKEND EDITION (1:30-2:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES practice (2:00-3:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB: WEEKEND EDITION (3:00-4:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES final practice (4:00-5:00 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES qualifying (5:00-6:30 PM) (FS1)
Saturday, March 10
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES practice (12:00-1:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES qualifying (1:00-2:00 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACE HUB: WEEKEND EDITION (2:00-2:30 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES final practice (2:30-3:30 PM) (FS1)
NASCAR RACEDAY-XFINITY (3:30-4:00 PM) (FOX)
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES Racing (4:00-6:30 PM) (FOX)
Sunday, March 11
NASCAR RACEDAY (2:00-3:00 PM) (FS1)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP PRE-RACE (3:00-3:30 PM) (FOX)
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES Racing (3:30-7:00 PM) (FOX)
