Glendale’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 77 No. 11
Inside This Week
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Fan favorites gear up for the Cup Series BY JORDAN ROGERS
Glendale Star Staff Writer
BUSINESS .... 14 Jabz challenges members to ‘CURE’ child cancer
YOUTH .......... 22 Family’s story yields $5K scholarship
OPINION..................... 12 BUSINESS.................. 14 SPORTS ...................... 16 FEATURES.................. 18 RELIGION ................... 20 YOUTH........................ 22 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 24
March 11, 2021
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series has begun, and after an action-packed race at the Daytona 500, Arizona natives and fan favorites are off to a great start. Drivers like Glendale native Michael McDowell and Tucson’s Alex Bowman will return home to the Grand Canyon State for the NASCAR Cup Series Race at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, March 14, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale. McDowell recently won the Daytona 500. “It’s just amazing,” McDowell said. “There’s so much to be thankful for and so much along the way that the journey hasn’t been super easy. It’s very gratifying and very rewarding. I feel like (there has been a long) process to get to this point.”
Daytona marked McDowell’s first career win in the Cup Series. It’s also the first time an Arizona driver won the race. McDowell pitted during the caution prior to a huge wreck at the front of the pack that took out 16 cars, including the pole winner and Tucson native Alex Bowman. “At Daytona, you’ve got to get to the end; you’ve got to survive,” McDowell said. “There’s a lot to it. There are a lot of circumstances involved in there and luck and putting yourself in a position (to win). A lot has got to go your way. Go get to the end of the race. A lot of the race is that survival element.” SEE NASCAR PAGE 4
Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series 63rd annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 14 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Economic impact promising for Spring Training BY ZACH MOORE
Glendale Star Staff Writer
It has been approximately one year since Spring Training and the entire sports world as a whole shut down. People lost jobs. Teams and leagues lost revenue. Sponsorships were hard to come by. Yet, a year later, Spring Training is back in the Valley. There may be limited fans allowed in venues like Glendale’s Camelback Ranch, Goodyear Ballpark and Peoria Sports Complex, but their respective cities are thankful for any return of live sports.
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Spring Training is typically known to bring fans from all over the country to Arizona for warm weather and the early fix of baseball. However, due to the pandemic’s ongoing presence, many fans are not traveling, which has a snowball effect on ticket sales, restaurants and hotels. Still, Cactus League and city officials are optimistic. “There is certainly some good economic impact for the city of Goodyear and, quite frankly, the whole region of the West Valley,” said Lori Gary, Goodyear’s economic
development director. The city of Goodyear owns Goodyear Ballpark, where the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds play their Spring Training games. According to Gary, Goodyear Ballpark sold out its first game of the Spring Training season on Feb. 28. Jay Crandall, Glendale’s public information officer, is optimistic as well. Camelback Ranch hosts the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox.
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