NASCAR Chevy Teams Have Parts Confiscated Ahead Of Qualifying For 2023 Phoenix
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Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1, earned the pole position at Phoenix Raceway for the Cup Series race despite having parts confiscated from his race car ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session.
NASCAR took the hood louvres of Larson’s No. 5 Camaro with intention to further assess the parts at its research facility. In fact, Larson’s No. 5 Camaro team was not the only NASCAR Chevy to have the hood louvres collected. Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Camaro, William Byron’s No. 24 Camaro, Josh Berry’s No. 9 Camaro and Justin Haley’s No. 31 Camaro also had the hood louvres taken by NASCAR. The sanctioning body did not state why it took the parts from these teams, or if any penalties will be assessed as a result.
Even so, Larson’s No. 5 NASCAR Chevy will start from the front row, thanks to his time of 27.642 second at 130.237 mph around the one-mile oval. He’ll have the No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry of Denny Hamlin starting beside him, having posted a time of 27.707 seconds at 129.931 mph. Byron’s No. 24 Camaro will start third with a time of 27.709 seconds at 129.922 mph.
Berry’s No. 9 Camaro and Bowman’s No. 48 Camaro, meanwhile, will start 17th and 18th, respectively. It’s important to note that Berry is currently subbing for Cup Series regular Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Camaro for the next few weeks as Elliott continues to recover from a fractured tibia sustained in an off-track incident. Finally, the No. 31 of Haley will start 26th.
The Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 12th, 2023.
| Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 27.642 | 130.237 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Shingrix Toyota | 27.707 | 129.931 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 24 | William Byron | Valvoline Chevrolet | 27.709 | 129.922 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Edge Ford | 27.743 | 129.762 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Rheem Toyota | 27.782 | 129.58 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 6 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Kubota Chevrolet | 27.822 | 129.394 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 27.867 | 129.185 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Dent Wizard Ford | 27.889 | 129.083 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 27.918 | 128.949 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 27.933 | 128.88 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Freeway Insurance Chevrolet | 27.66 | 130.152 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | The Beast Unleashed Toyota | 27.666 | 130.124 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 27.667 | 130.119 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 14 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 27.671 | 130.1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 15 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford | 27.683 | 130.044 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 27.7 | 129.964 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 9 | Josh Berry(i) | Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet | 27.716 | 129.889 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Best Friends Chevrolet | 27.723 | 129.856 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | 27.75 | 129.73 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 20 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford | 27.753 | 129.716 | Ford Mustang |
| 21 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Socios Ford | 27.757 | 129.697 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 27.762 | 129.674 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Thomas' Chevrolet | 27.766 | 129.655 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 27.779 | 129.594 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 27.784 | 129.571 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 27.87 | 129.171 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 27.974 | 128.691 | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | EnviroXstream Chevrolet | 27.988 | 128.627 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 15 | Todd Gilliland | OTR Mobile Ford | 28.042 | 128.379 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BetMGM March Matchups Chevrolet | 28.058 | 128.306 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Go Bowling Ford | 28.084 | 128.187 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 28.14 | 127.932 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Superior Logistics Services Chevrolet | 28.194 | 127.687 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 38 | Zane Smith(i) | Wellcare Ford | 28.324 | 127.101 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Mutoh Chevrolet | 28.752 | 125.209 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 51 | Cody Ware | Biohaven/Jacob Co Ford | 28.854 | 124.766 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Stock means Stock, lets see what kind of Toyota they send out to play with the ZL1, The new rules are a joke. You better watch them while you can, car racing will probably go electric in the future, listen to them HUMMMMMM……
the Hmmmm cars will only be watched by the young who grew up with E cars, as they have no clue what fun hearing the rumble of 40+ V8’s going as fast as they can around the track sounded like. The day is coming. Just like vacuum tubes were outdated by the transistor, and kids of the 80’s had no clue what a vacuum tube was.
I miss the early days of Nascar racing, when “run what you brung and hope you brung enough” was the way to win races.
Go support your local short track. They still do that there.
Is anyone really surprised? Chad Knaus, Vice President of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports, is know as an ‘innovator’. He has admitted this on Dale Jr’s show. He will cheat until he is caught. Then they’ll pay a price. I suspected something when I notice how strong and consistent their cars were running. They had to be doing something. It was noticeable.
Nascar has become a joke over the last 20 years or so. 2004 Champion Matt Kenseth was the last true Champion based on points. The Chase format ruined what was once a great Series. Lots of innovation (cheating) was the norm. If you weren’t cheating you weren’t trying hard enough! Lol!!!🤣
Guess it didn’t matter, Hendrick still won in Phoenix.