1. Should NASCAR continue using option tires in points races?
The spring Phoenix Raceway conversation has a few different talking points this year.
Sure, teams will want to try and get a way-too-early read on how they might stack up for a hypothetical championship race. While the track will stay the same, the championship race will — hopefully — not have multiple tire compounds.
In fact, it does feel a little odd that the NASCAR Cup Series is, once again, using an option tire during a points race.
In the Next Gen era, NASCAR has done its best to limit testing, trying not to allow any team or driver to take too much of an advantage. That includes limiting tire tests. With the problems of this car on short tracks, however, you would think testing should become normal again, at least until the car begins to get better.
On one hand, using option tires in-race adds an extra storyline to keep an eye on. It gives teams, drivers and crew chiefs another variable to manage, and having more choices is almost always a positive.
Using option tires in a race also gives much better data and feedback to Goodyear. No matter what happens during a test, a real race provides very different, more demanding circumstances. Learning how a softer tire wears during an in-race run is valuable information that could allow Goodyear to push its boundaries even more.
Additionally, the NASCAR season is long enough that one race, as important as it is, should not have too much positive or negative impact on a driver’s overall season.
On the other hand, option tires — and really talking about tires in general — still feel like a bit of a sticker trying to hide larger problems with the car.
When you look at the NASCAR Xfinity Series races of late, they have turned into some exciting shows. No, I’m not just talking about the overtime finishes overpowering the rest of the race. There have been some incredible, potentially championship-worthy battles taking place, showing just how good of a track Phoenix can be.
Dirty air still matters, but those Xfinity drivers can use the air when they get close enough to move the other cars around. Compare that to the Cup cars, which stay stuck to the ground no matter what, putting the cars behind at a major disadvantage.
Tire options might be cool, but rubber has little bearing on aerodynamics.
That said, I have conflicted feelings as to whether or not NASCAR should allow multiple tire options at more races at places like short tracks and road courses in the future.
Ultimately, I think they provide a solid temporary fix, but the main goal going forward should still be to focus on making the car raceable again.
2. Which Penske driver will perform the best?
On the trips to Phoenix in the fall, Team Penske has become the talk of the town. In the spring, however, you could argue that the three Fords have not been as formidable.
Part of the reason that’s the case, however, is because Joey Logano and Austin Cindric both crashed out of the spring race in 2024. Take away those results, and two thirds of the Penske bunch have been rock solid in the desert in the Next Gen car.
Since 2022, Logano has two wins, both coming in his championship appearances. The No. 22 looked fast again Saturday (March 8) and will start on the front row.
While Cindric hasn’t exactly competed for many wins since he joined the Cup Series — no offense — the No. 2 might have some oval momentum after running well at Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. In practice, Cindric was the fastest Ford, and he closed the gap to his teammates in qualifying.
The final Penske driver just might be the most formidable though. Since the start of the Next Gen era in 2022, Ryan Blaney has not finished outside of the top five at Phoenix.
Blaney has yet to get a win at the track, but something in the Phoenix air almost always has the No. 12 in contention at the end.
Expect Blaney to be fast again Sunday, March 9. He might just even win the thing.
3. Will the Spire Motorsports practice speed translate to Sunday?
A surprising addition to the top of the practice sheet was the Spire Motorsports duo of Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell.
For someone who made a lot of noise in a bad way after Atlanta, Hocevar once again has a more positive tune coming from himself and the Spire camp.
In these early-season races, it’s always so hard to figure out who has faux speed and who is really fast. Superspeedways always go up in the air, and road courses can sort of become the Wild West.
Even in years past, the season never truly felt underway until we made it through the West Coast races. As we begin to move into the more normal races of the season, though, pay extra careful attention to Spire Motorsports.
That team made some major moves in the last season. While team expansion can sometimes take time for the correct adjustments to take place, Spire made some massive moves that should theoretically have a near-immediate impact.
First of all, picking up a veteran like McDowell, who has only improved over time in his Cup career, provides the team with a solid leader in the driver camp. Bringing back an extremely underrated driver like Justin Haley and adding the raw talent of Hocevar means this team has a lot of untapped firepower.
The biggest move, however, just might be the addition of Rodney Childers to the team. After his successes with Stewart-Haas Racing, I expect to see a sharp rise in improvement from Spire Motorsports. The true question is how much will they improve?
Childers and Harvick dominated Phoenix for a time together. Don’t be too surprised to see these Spire cars stay near the front on Sunday afternoon.
4. Did Aric Almirola say too much in his post-race interview?
Let’s talk a little Xfinity now. That race on Saturday (March 8) was super solid from start to finish.
And yes, that finish was spectacular.
Debate the ethics of it all you want, but it gives fans something to keep them talking about the Xfinity Series.
In overtime, Alex Bowman made a fantastic four-wide move to clear for the lead, but he overdrove it on the final lap.
Bowman could feel the pressure, so he opted to avoid it going into the final set of corners by running the high line. It almost looked like he got too high, and Aric Almirola tried to go through the wide-open door on the inside.
Out of the last turn, Almirola was sideways, sliding up the racetrack, until he pinched Bowman into the wall and stole the win from the No. 17. The replays cleared Almirola of wrongdoing, as the driver tried to keep the sliding car from making contact until they just ran out of room.
WHAT. A. FINISH!! pic.twitter.com/T9HrPc20Xn
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 9, 2025
Then, Almirola threw away his pass in his interview on the frontstretch.
“I knew I was going to use him up a little bit,” Almirola told The CW.
He later doubled down, adding, “I feel like it was warranted. I didn’t think I did anything overly egregious.”
To his point, that finish did not seem over the top. Almirola was sliding up the track, and while he did fence Bowman, the cars still finished first and second. It’s not like Almirola dumped the No. 17 and drove away. The two raced for the win, and they raced all the way back to the line.
Almirola’s move did not deserve too much criticism. Similarly, Almirola did not have to defend, especially by sharing he planned to make contact.
Every driver in the field would have understood Almirola doing what he needed to win the race. With the replay, you can see just how hard he is trying to get the move done until the contact happened.
After his comments, however, Almirola might have a harder time racing with some of the Xfinity guys.
Caleb began sports writing in 2023 with The Liberty Champion, where he officially covered his first NASCAR race at Richmond in the spring. While there, Caleb met some of the guys from Frontstretch, and he joined the video editing team after graduating from Liberty University with degrees in Strategic Communications and Sports Journalism. Caleb currently work full-time as a Multi-Media Journalist with LEX 18 News in Lexington, Kentucky and contributes to Frontstretch with writing and video editing. He's also behind-the-scenes or on camera for the Happy Hour Podcast, live every Tuesday night at 7:30!