2023 United Rentals Work United 500

The 2023 United Rentals Work United 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 12, 2023, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 317 laps – extended from 312 laps due to an overtime finish, on the one mile (1.6 km) oval, and it was the fourth race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.

2023 United Rentals Work United 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 4 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series
Date	March 12, 2023 (2023-03-12)
Location	Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.022 mi (1.645 km)
Distance	317 laps, 323.974 mi (521.385 km)
Scheduled Distance	312 laps, 318.864 mi (513.162 km)
Average speed	105.491 miles per hour (169.771 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	27.642
Most laps led
Driver	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	201
Winner
No. 24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Danica Patrick
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth Announcers	Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Todd Gordon
Turn Announcers	Dan Hubbard (1 & 2) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

Report

Background

Phoenix Raceway, the track where the race was held.

Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. Phoenix Raceway has also hosted the CART, IndyCar Series, USAC and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The raceway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet
2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford
3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford
7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
9	Josh Berry (i)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford
14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
15	Todd Gilliland	Rick Ware Racing	Ford
16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford
19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford
22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford
23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota
24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
38	Zane Smith (i)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
42	Noah Gragson (R)	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet
43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet
45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet
48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford
54	Ty Gibbs (R)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
78	B. J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet
99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 27.427 seconds and a speed of 131.258 mph (211.239 km/h).^[10]

Practice results

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time	Speed
1	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	27.427	131.258
2	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	27.459	131.105
3	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	27.539	130.724
Official practice results

Qualifying

Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 27.642 and a speed of 130.237 mph (209.596 km/h).^[11]

Qualifying results

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	R1	R2
1	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	27.324	27.642
2	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	27.634	27.707
3	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	27.553	27.709
4	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	27.633	27.743
5	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	27.632	27.782
6	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	27.656	27.822
7	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	27.644	27.867
8	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	27.642	27.899
9	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	27.623	27.918
10	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	27.556	27.933
11	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	27.660	—
12	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	27.666	—
13	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	27.667	—
14	54	Ty Gibbs (R)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	27.671	—
15	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	27.683	—
16	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	27.700	—
17	9	Josh Berry (i)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	27.716	—
18	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	27.723	—
19	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	27.750	—
20	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	27.753	—
21	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	27.757	—
22	16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	27.762	—
23	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	27.766	—
24	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	27.779	—
25	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	27.784	—
26	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	27.870	—
27	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	27.974	—
28	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	27.988	—
29	15	Todd Gilliland	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	28.042	—
30	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	28.058	—
31	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	28.084	—
32	42	Noah Gragson (R)	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	28.140	—
33	78	B. J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	28.194	—
34	38	Zane Smith (i)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	28.324	—
35	77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	28.752	—
36	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	28.854	—
Official qualifying results

Race

Race results

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 60

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	10
2	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	9
3	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	8
4	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	7
5	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	6
6	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	5
7	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	4
8	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	3
9	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	2
10	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	1
Official stage one results

Stage Two Laps: 125

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	10
2	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	9
3	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	8
4	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	7
5	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	6
6	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	5
7	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	4
8	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	3
9	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	2
10	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 127

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	3	24	William Byron [a]	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	317	59
2	8	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	317	43
3	12	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	317	46
4	1	5	Kyle Larson [a]	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	317	52
5	15	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	317	43
6	5	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	317	42
7	24	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	317	31
8	9	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	317	30
9	18	48	Alex Bowman [a]	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	317	28
10	17	9	Josh Berry (i) [a]	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	317	0
11	16	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	317	26
12	25	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	317	25
13	7	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	317	24
14	19	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	317	23
15	21	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	317	22
16	30	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	317	21
17	13	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	317	20
18	4	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	317	28
19	23	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	317	18
20	22	16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	317	17
21	10	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	317	16
22	11	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	317	15
23	2	11	Denny Hamlin [b]	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	317	2
24	6	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	317	19
25	20	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	316	12
26	28	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	316	11
27	26	31	Justin Haley [a]	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	316	10
28	14	54	Ty Gibbs (R)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	316	9
29	32	42	Noah Gragson (R)	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	316	8
30	35	77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	315	7
31	34	38	Zane Smith (i)	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	315	0
32	29	15	Todd Gilliland	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	314	5
33	31	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	313	4
34	36	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	311	3
35	27	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	310	2
36	33	78	B. J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	50	1
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 10 among 6 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 5 for 35 laps
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 0 minutes and 18 seconds
• Average speed: 105.491 miles per hour (169.771 km/h)

Penalties

Prior to the race, NASCAR confiscated the louvers (the hood radiator duct) of all Hendrick Motorsports teams and that belonging to Justin Haley (Kaulig Racing)'s car. On March 15, 2023, NASCAR punished all five teams with $100,000 fine and deduction of 100 driver and owner points each, as well as 10 playoff points and four-race suspensions for the respective crew chiefs, as the modifications were deemed to be an L2 violation.^[12][16] For the No. 9 team, only the owner points were affected as Josh Berry competed as a Xfinity Series regular and thus cannot score or lose points in the Cup Series, while Chase Elliott's driver points remain unaffected as he sat out of the race due to an injury. For Hendrick Motorsports, it was the largest fine imposed to an organization as a whole at $400,000, breaking the fine imposed to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2013 ($300,000) for manipulating the finish of the 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400.

Following an appeal on March 29, 2023, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld the fines and crew chief suspensions for all of the Hendrick Motorsports entries, but rescinded their point penalties giving them back the 100 driver & owner points as well as the 10 playoff points that each team lost. Haley's penalty was upheld following his appeal on April 5, 2023, but the points penalty was reduced to a 75 point penalty.^[13] On April 6, 2023, Kaulig Racing announced they would move to a final appeal hearing with the National Motorsports Appeal Panel, after team president Chris Rice hinted on NASCAR Race Hub the evening prior that they would do so. On April 18, the NMPA overturned the points penalties at the request of NASCAR, who asked them to amend their appeal decision to be more in line with Hendrick Motorsport's appeal decision.^[14]

Additionally, Denny Hamlin was fined $50,000 and docked 25 driver points for his collision with Ross Chastain, after he admitted on his Actions Detrimental podcast that the collision was deliberate.^[15] Hamlin appealed the penalty on April 6, 2023, but the National Motorsports Appeal Panel upheld the penalty. Two of Aric Almirola's crew members were also suspended after his right-front wheel fell out during the race.^[16]

Media

Television

Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Phoenix Raceway. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick called the race in the booth for Fox. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled the pit road duties, and Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Fox
Booth announcers	Pit reporters	In-race analyst
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Danica Patrick	Jamie Little Regan Smith	Larry McReynolds

Radio

MRN covered the radio action for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and 2018 NASCAR champion winning crew chief Todd Gordon called the race when the field races past the start/finish line. Dan Hubbard called the action from turns 1 & 2, and Kyle Rickey called the action from turns 3 & 4. Pit lane was manned by Steve Post and Georgia Henneberry.

MRN
Booth announcers	Turn announcers	Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Todd Gordon	Turns 1 & 2: Dan Hubbard Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey	Steve Post Georgia Henneberry

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 2 1 Kevin Harvick 151 1 2 Ross Chastain 148 (–3) 4 3 Christopher Bell 137 (–14) 11 4 Ryan Blaney 124 (–27) 3 5 Kyle Busch 122 (–29) 1 6 Martin Truex Jr. 122 (–29) 3 7 Daniel Suárez 119 (–32) 1 8 Joey Logano 118 (–33) 2 9 Brad Keselowski 115 (–36) 10 Chris Buescher 112 (–39) 1 11 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 104 (–47) 6 12 Denny Hamlin [b] 100 (–51) 3 13 Bubba Wallace 92 (–59) 3 14 Austin Cindric 81 (-70) 3 15 Corey LaJoie 79 (-72) 3 16 Michael McDowell 76 (-75) Official driver's standings (before penalties)

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 160 2 Ford 133 (–27) 3 Toyota 132 (–28) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes

1. All four Hendrick Motorsports entries and Justin Haley were initially docked 100 points (owners only for the No. 9) for irregularities in the louvers that were discovered in the pre-race inspection. However, following an appeal on March 29th, all four Hendrick Motorsports entries had their point penalties rescinded.^[12] Haley's penalty was upheld upon appeal on April 5th, but the points penalty was reduced to a 75 point penalty^[13] and rescinded altogether on a final appeal on April 18th.^[14]
2. Hamlin was docked 25 driver points for intentionally wrecking Ross Chastain in the final stage, after Hamlin admitted to the intentional nature of the wreck in his Actions Detrimental podcast.^[15]

References

1. "2023 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
2. "Phoenix International Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
3. Taranto, Steven (14 September 2022). "NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
4. "NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
5. "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
6. "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
7. "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
8. "United Rentals Work United 500 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
9. "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
10. Utter, Jim (March 10, 2023). "Kyle Larson fastest in NASCAR Cup practice at Phoenix". Motorsport.com. Avondale, Arizona: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
11. Utter, Jim (March 11, 2023). "Kyle Larson beats Denny Hamlin to Phoenix Cup pole". Motorsport.com. Avondale, Arizona: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
12. Long, Dustin (March 15, 2023). "NASCAR issues severe penalties to Hendrick Motorsports". NBC Sports.
13. Crandall, Kelly (April 5, 2023). "Kaulig's L2 penalty amended under appeal". RACER.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
14. Crandall, Kelly (April 18, 2023). "Kaulig gets points back after latest Phoenix appeal". RACER.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
15. Long, Dustin (March 15, 2023). "Denny Hamlin fined $50,000 and loses 25 driver points". NBC Sports.
16. Long, Dustin (March 15, 2023). "Justin Haley, Aric Almirola teams penalized for Phoenix infractions". NBC Sports.

Previous race: 2023 Pennzoil 400

NASCAR Cup Series 2023 season

Next race: 2023 Ambetter Health 400