Here’s a look from Racing Insights on who is hot and who is not heading into Sunday’s Cup race at Phoenix (green flag at 2:36 p.m. ET on NBC):
KEVIN HARVICK
Round of 8 - Hot
• Won at Texas (1st in Stage 1, 1st in Stage 2, 177 laps led)
• Finished 10th at Martinsville (9th in Stage 1, 15th in Stage 2)
2018 Season - Great
• Advances to Championship 4 for 4th time in career (missed 2016)
• Won 8 of last 33 races
• Finished in Top 10 in 13 of last 16 races
• Finished in Top 5 in 12 of last 21 races
• 34 races in 2018: 27 top-10s (including 8 wins) & 7 finishes of 12th or worse
ISM Raceway – Scorching Hot
• Top 10 in the last 10 races at ISM the longest active streak
• Won seven races at ISM since the track was reconfigured
• 9 career wins at ISM Raceway the most all-time at ISM
• Career bests at ISM Raceway: 15 Top 5s, 1,522 laps led
• Only driver to lead more than 1,000 laps at ISM Raceway
• Started 6th, 5th in Stage 1, 6th in Stage 2, finished 5th in this race one year ago
CHASE ELLIOTT
Round of 8 – Hot
• Finished 6th at Texas (9th in Stage 1, 10th in Stage 2)
• Finished 7th at Martinsville (11th in Stage 1, 7th in Stage 2)
2018 Season – Red Hot
• Finished 7th or better in 6 of last 7 races and 9th or better in 12 of last 15
ISM Raceway – Very Good
• Finished 9th or better in 4 of 5 career starts at ISM Raceway (3rd in March)
• Never finished worse than 12th in 5 career starts at ISM Raceway
• 6.8 career avg. finish is best of active drivers at ISM Raceway (2nd all-time to Alan Kulwicki)
• Started 4th, 3rd in Stage 1, 9th in Stage 2, 34 laps led, finished 2nd in this race one year ago; contact with #11 off turn 4 on lap 270 while battling for 3rd
JOEY LOGANO
Round of 8 – Red Hot
•Finished 3rd at Texas (6th in Stage 1, 5th in Stage 2, 54 laps led)
•Won at Martinsville (2nd in Stage 1, 1st in Stage 2, 309 laps led); knocked Martin Truex Jr. out of the way exiting turn 4 on last lap to win
2018 Season – Red Hot
•Advanced to Championship 4 for 3rd time in career (2014, 2016, 2018)
•Finished in Top 10 in 6 straight races and 10 of last 12
•Finished in Top 5 in 7 of last 11 races
ISM Raceway – Trending Cold
•Finished 12th or worse in 3 straight races at ISM Raceway and 4 of last 5 (19th in March)
• Last 10 races: 6 finishes of 9th or better (including win in Nov. 2016) and 4 finishes of 12th or worse
KURT BUSCH
Round of 8 – Great
• Finished 7th at Texas (2nd in Stage 1, 8th in Stage 2)
• Finished 6th at Martinsville (5th in Stage 1, 5th in Stage 2)
2018 Season - Good
• Finished 7th or better in the last two races
• Last 8 races: 4 top 10s and 4 finishes of 14th or worse
• Finished top 10 in 12 of last 16 races
ISM Raceway – Trending Down
• Finished in top 10 in 6 of last 8 races at ISM Raceway but 21st or worse in 2 of last 3
• Started 15th and finished 21st in this race one year ago; damaged on Lap 282 restart
MARTIN TRUEX JR.
Round of 8 – Great
• Finished 9th at Texas (5th in Stage 1, 3rd in Stage ), started in rear due to engine change; pit to address vibration on lap 247 while running 7th and penalized for driving through too many pit boxes
• Finished 3rd at Martinsville (7th in Stage 1), 4th in Stage 2, 18 laps led), qualifying time disallowed after failing post-qualifying inspection; knocked out of the lead on last lap by Joey Logano.
2018 Season – Streaking
• Finished top 10 in 3 straight races
• Last 8 races: 5 top 10s and 3 finishes of 14th or worse
ISM Raceway – Trending Up
• Finished in top 5 in 2 straight races but outside top 10 in 6 of last 9
• Started 5th, 8th in Stage 1, 4th in Stage 2, finished 3rd in this race a year ago
NOT HOT
CLINT BOWYER
Round of 8 – Ice Cold
•Finished 26th at Texas (30th in Stage 1, 28th in Stage 2); contact with Denny Hamlin on lap 1; pit on lap 10 with flat RR tire after contact with Hamlin; penalized for crew over the wall too soon on lap 164
•Finished 21st at Martinsville (4th in Stage 1, 8th in Stage 2, 1 lap led); damaged RF fender after contact with William Byron on pit road on lap 133; spun after contact with Jimmie Johnson on lap 457 while running 10th
2018 Season - Trending Cold
•Finished outside Top 20 in 3 of last 5 races and outside the top 10 in 4 of last 5
•Last 11 races: 5 top 10s and 6 finishes of 13th or worse (2 DNFs)
ISM Raceway – Bad
•Finished 13th or worse in 9 of last 10 races at ISM Raceway (6th in March)
•Started 20th, 12th in Stage 1, 10th in Stage 2, finished 13th in this race one year ago
JAMIE McMURRAY
• Finished 19th at Texas (22nd in Stage 1, 17th in Stage 2); penalized for speeding in pits on lap 30
2018 Season – Pretty Bad
• Finished 16th or worse in 5 straight races
• Last 13 races: 4 top 10s and 9 finishes of 16th or worse
• Finished 15th or worse in 26 of 34 races this season
ISM Raceway – Not Good
•Finished outside the top 10 in 5 of last 6 races at ISM Raceway (26th in March)
•Started 13th, 11th in Stage 1, 7th in Stage 2, finished 6th in this race one year ago
RICKY STENHOUSE JR.
• Finished 11th at Texas (11th in Stage 1, 20th in Stage 2); penalized for uncontrolled tire on lap 155
2018 Season – Bad
• Finished outside the top 10 in 3 straight races
• Finished 14th or worse in 25 of 34 races in 2018
ISM Raceway – Trending Up
•Finished top-10 in 2 of last 3 races at ISM Raceway (23rd in March)
•Both ISM top-10s have come in the last three races
•Started 27th, 23rd in Stage 1, 22nd in Stage 2, finished 8th in this race one year ago; started in the rear after changing tires pre-race