What Is Dogleg in NASCAR? Why Are Drivers Scared of the Dogleg at Phoenix?

A dogleg is an added turn in an oval race track that is comprised of two different angles. It is shaped like the hindleg of a dog and holds the purpose of slowing down drivers or adding a pinch of an unpredictable nature to the track. In NASCAR, the Phoenix International Raceway is where the most engaging dogleg is.

When the Phoenix Raceway was reconfigured in 2011, changes were made to the dimensions of the banks and the actual circuit. The changes further tightened the already-present dogleg in the backstretch coming off of turn 2. Additionally, a new pit exit was included in a spot that required paving below the dogleg. These two elements combined to make for a challenging and unique corner.

By using this region on the circuit, a car that’s coming off turn 2 could make a pass by just cutting across the track and serve no penalty for the move. However, the caveat is that moving in such a fashion can unsettle the car and add a lot of pressure on drivers when they attempt to blend back into the traffic.

While it looks simple enough to drive through as a spectator, drivers often dread the area and are vocal about it too. Quite notably, Sheldon Creed made use of the dogleg in 2020 to win his Craftsman Truck Series championship.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Look back at the final restart that made @sheldoncreed a NASCAR Champion!#Championship4 pic.twitter.com/w0epxqYFSB

— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) November 7, 2020

Denny Hamlin talks about the dogleg strategy ahead of Cup Series race at Phoenix

The NASCAR Cup Series grid travels to Phoenix on Sunday for the fourth race of the ongoing season. Talking to the media ahead of the race, the obvious question of Hamlin’s defensive strategy to approach the fifth corner came up considering that he will be starting pole.

While he underlined the importance of defending the dogleg, he did acknowledge that many drivers would be trying to take advantage of the trick. He said, “It will be a factor because you don’t want someone to get position on you. If they want to be aggressive going down there, they can with this simple diffuser that’s on the back of the car. It won’t tear up as much going down there… So, you probably will have to do more defending.”

Continuing to reason why he believes more drivers will be using the dogleg he said, “With the old underbody you had to kind of be careful not to wear the bottom of your car out by going down there quite a bit. So I think you’ll see more and more guys going down there.” 

The upcoming race will start at 3:30 p.m. ET, Sunday. Catch it live on Fox, MRN, and SiriusXM.