NASCAR Infield Experience at Phoenix Raceway: Is It Worth It?
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Heading to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway and wondering if the Desert Diamond Infield Experience Pass is worth the upgrade? Read through our first-hand experience with the Infield Pass to decide!
In this review, we cover all the different things included with the pass like track access, special events, driver intros and interviews, food options, track views, and facilities. Hopefully, our photos and notes will answer some of your burning questions about the entire experience.
In our humble opinion, the Infield Experience Pass at Phoenix was 100% worth it. There’s just so much included that really elevates a day at the track!
Tickets & Entry
- Cost: We paid $101 pp for the 2026 Spring Cup Race (Fall pricing is at $112.36 pp)
- Infield Passes must be purchased in addition to a grandstand or hillside race ticket
- We recommend buying these ahead of time in case they sell out
- Pass Info & links to purchase: https://www.phoenixraceway.com/infield/
To get to the Infield Experience entry at Phoenix Raceway, head to the right once you enter the raceway through the main front gates and look for the Tunnel sign.
The Infield Experience Passes have a separate ticket barcode and can be kept completely digital on your phone. Passes will get scanned at entry to the tunnel each time you enter and re-enter.
No special lanyards or physical pass is included (bummer) – those things are reserved for the special bougie VIPs.
Tunnel of Triumph
Once you pass through the Infield Experience entry, you’ll make your way through the Tunnel of Triumph – a paved walkway underneath the track with escalators at the end to get up to the Infield.
As you’re walking through the tunnel, you’ll see plaques that commemorate every Phoenix Raceway winner throughout the years!
Infield Experience Schedule
As soon as you get to the Infield, check the posted schedule to see the timetable for the different events you can experience as an Infield Pass holder so you can plan out your morning.
The track opens to visitors at 8:00 a.m. and we do suggest arriving early to take advantage of all the perks of the pass. We arrived around 8:30 a.m. to the parking lot, checked out everything in the outer track quickly, and then headed to the Infield for all the different experiences.
Garage Walks
Access to the car garages is included in the Phoenix Infield Experience Pass. If you arrive early enough, you’ll see all the cars parked in their respective garages before they roll them out to the track.
I have seen people comment online that Saturday is a better viewing day for the garages when teams are more active during practice & qualifying. That being said, it was still cool to see all the cars in waiting.
Note that you can see people walking behind the garages here – that privilege is reserved for special VIPs and is not included with the Infield Experience Pass.
Even though there wasn’t much action going on in the garages during our visit, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace were being interviewed by Gayle King.
Dave & Buster’s Gamer Garage
One fun area to kill time in between events in the Infield is the Dave & Buster’s Gamer Garage, which includes interactive games, race simulators, and games with prizes.
This is a great little addition especially if you’re attending the race with kids (although I must say, most of the people enjoying the facilities here seemed to be adults).
Exclusive Driver Interviews
When we visited, there were two separate driver interviews with Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. This is great if you want to hear some race insight from your favorite drivers.
I will note, Ross Chastain was giving an interview for the GA crowd near the main entry gate. So, not all hope is lost if you’re interested in hearing from the drivers at the race!
Infield Food & Beer Selection
There were several different food and drink stands throughout the Infield that had items we didn’t see around the rest of the racetrack.
However, we didn’t find the food selection to be very strong in the Infield. You can find better eats at the stands in the outer parts of the raceway (specifically, the tacos, nachos, burritos, and mac and cheese stands looked most promising).
We did have a corndog (which was the best of the food we ate at Phoenix Raceway) and a very sad Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich (do not recommend).
Some other food options included:
- Habit Burger
- Italian beef sandwiches
- Pizzas
- Loaded fries
- Garden and antipasto salads
- Cheeseburgers (including a Sonoran PB&J burger)
- Chicken wings and tendies
I’ll detail more about the exact food options in a separate Trackside Eats post coming soon!
Redeemed by Beer
Even though the food was a little sad, The Busch Light Beer Garden had the best beer offer with $5.00 cans of Busch Light and Busch beer! Considering the price of a bottle of water was also $5.00, which would you choose?
Bring a Refillable Water Bottle
Phoenix can get hot, even in the spring. In fact, when we were there, it was in the high 80’s and sweltering. Make sure to hydrate! There are refillable water stations at the raceway, though for some reason, I only noticed them in the Infield area.
Signing the Start/Finish Line
Being able to sign the start/finish line and walk out onto the track was one of our Phoenix race day highlights! Other tracks do offer this as part of their pre-race experience, but this was actually both of our first times doing this.
Pro Tip: Make sure you bring a sharpie to sign the start/finish line! There were a ton of people who didn’t have a pen. Luckily, we brought two and left one with other fans to pass around so they could get their names down.
Being able to stand on the track was also pretty cool. It gives you a whole different perspective and appreciation for what the drivers are racing on.
Pre-Race Concert
Phoenix had a pre-race concert and when we visited, it was Craig Morgan. I don’t think this is necessarily a big highlight unless you are a big fan of whatever artist is performing and you want to get a closer view to the stage.
Otherwise, you can hear the performance throughout the Infield and imagine anyone in the stands can as well.
Driver Red Carpet
If you’re looking to get up close and personal with the drivers, the driver red carpet appearances are held just outside of the Media Center before driver introductions. Your best chance at getting a driver’s autograph or photo is here!
We recommend lining up along the fence early to get a good spot. Also, the closer to the entry gate the better. Not all drivers will want to sign autographs or take photos the whole way down the red carpet.
Some drivers will also duck into the side door and skip most of the crowd altogether (lame). Kudos to the drivers who stop for autographs and photos and to wave at the fans!
Walk the Pits
The Infield Experience Pass at Phoenix also gives you access to walk the pits before the race. At this point, the pit boxes are going to be empty as the crews are busy bringing the cars out from the garage to pit road. However, it’s still neat to be able to get a view of where some of the magic happens during the race.
Take note: beverages aren’t allowed while walking the pits (oops, we had our cans of Busch beers in hand).
Car Rollouts
Hang around for a bit at pit road – as the teams start rolling out the cars, this the the best time to get a closer look at the cars! This was actually much better than viewing the cars sitting in the garages.
Driver Intros
After the cars roll out, it’s time for driver intros! You can, of course, also see these from the grandstands, but it’s a much better vibe to be right in front of the stage and get the chance to cheer on your favorite drivers.
Raceway Views
Lastly, the Infield will give you different views of the rest of the track and the grandstands. Nothing mind blowing, but if it’s your first time to Phoenix, it’s a nice way to round out the whole experience.
One Final Note
If you time it right, you can head to your seats at the grandstands by walking across the track and getting through a special opening. If you miss it, then it’s back through the tunnel you go. More steps to walk off the corndogs and beer though, right?
So, is it worth it?
Will you be adding the Infield Experience Pass to your Phoenix Raceway day?
