That is a massive relief for the Cup Series garage. Following multiple brake failures last month at World Wide Technology Raceway, NASCAR is giving teams the green light to replace front brake rotors and pads after Saturday’s practice and qualifying at Phoenix Raceway. Teams will still handle rear rotors through normal inspection procedures during pre-race adjustments on Sunday, but crew chiefs across the pit lane expect every single outfit to cash in on this approved modification.
“You are going to change, for sure,” Rudy Fugle, crew chief for William Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet, told NASCAR.com. “I think the entire field will be changing just to have that fresh rotor, fresh pad and have the comfort and ease the mind that you are going to have enough.”
A lot of it comes down to trying to guestimate with our 50-minute practices and short sessions on track of how to get the temperatures in the rotors perfect,
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t just check the box and eliminate an unknown,” added Jonathan Hassler, crew chief for Ryan Blaney, the two-time defending winner at the 1-mile oval.
Historically, Phoenix is notoriously rough on brake pads. While catastrophic failures are less common here than at brutal stops like Gateway, Iowa Speedway, and Nashville Superspeedway, the Arizona track brings its own specific headache. Fugle describes Phoenix as a blend of Iowa and Gateway. Entering Turn 3 demands heavy braking, though without the ultra-long straightaways of Gateway that let the brakes cool and trigger thermal shock. Instead, Phoenix tests teams with the sheer frequency of brake usage across an entire lap, generating heavy vibration and massive overheating risks.
“[Phoenix] is tough because you hold on to the brake longer to help your handling,” Fugle noted. “You have a hard time getting off them, so you drag a little more duration and brake usage that way if your handling is not good. With the added power, a lot of the issues this year was us not getting the setups right. Hopefully, that tames it down a little bit.”
It is a difficult puzzle made harder by NASCAR’s switch to a 750-horsepower, lower-downforce configuration for tracks under 1.5 miles. Crew chiefs are taping up cars to chase aero gains, while coping with external threats like cooling fan malfunctions or minor on-track damage. Add in a single 50-minute practice session, and nailing the setup feels like a lottery.
“A lot of it comes down to trying to guestimate with our 50-minute practices and short sessions on track of how to get the temperatures in the rotors perfect,” Fugle said, “and the temperature in the caliper is separate from that cooler, so the caliper and the pedal feels good. Sometimes, we just miss.”
For Hassler and the No. 12 squad, the stakes are painfully real. They learned the hard way when a right-front rotor blew at Gateway while running inside the top five, triggering consecutive DNFs during The Chase presented by Mobil 1. Still, Hassler knows this brake package well from past trips to Phoenix and feels ready.
“We know what to expect,” he said emphatically. “The big difference is the extra practice time will sort of mitigate that with the ability to change the rotors before the race. I feel pretty confident.”
Sunday's grid is already shaping up nicely for Blaney, who secured his fifth Busch Light pole award of the 2026 season to claim prime track position from the green flag. Byron qualified in the top 10 as the leading entry among the four Hendrick Motorsports machines.
