Ryan Blaney snatched victory from the jaws of a dominant Christopher Bell on Sunday, surviving a chaotic, caution-filled finale to win the Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Despite Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota appearing untouchable for much of the afternoon, a flurry of late-race restarts allowed Blaney to capitalize and secure the checkered flag for Team Penske.
Stage 1: Penske Power
The race began with a show of force from the Ford camp. Pole-sitter Joey Logano controlled the first 47 laps, leading a Penske 1-2-3 with Blaney and Austin Cindric in tow.
However, as the leaders navigated lapped traffic on Lap 48, Blaney found an opening. He slipped past his teammate and maintained a steady gap to claim the green-and-white checkered flag for the opening segment. Tyler Reddick, chasing a historic fifth straight win to start 2026, finished the stage in fourth.
Stage 1 Top 5:
-
Ryan Blaney
-
Christopher Bell
-
Joey Logano
-
Tyler Reddick
-
Denny Hamlin
Stage 2: Bell’s Redemption
The middle segment was a strategic gamble defined by tire failures and varying pit calls.
-
Tire Trouble: High speeds took a toll as Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, Kyle Busch, and Shane van Gisbergen all suffered tire-related incidents.
-
Strategy Play: During a late-stage caution, Denny Hamlin and Chris Buescher gambled on two tires for track position. Bell opted for four fresh tires, restarting further back but carving through the field to take the stage win with six laps remaining.
Stage 2 Top 5:
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Christopher Bell
-
Denny Hamlin
-
Joey Logano
-
Chris Buescher
-
Bubba Wallace
RYAN BLANEY GOES BACK-TO-BACK IN PHOENIX! pic.twitter.com/wjGj1PQ6W2
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 8, 2026
The Final Sprint
The race’s closing stages were defined by a “yellow fever” that bunched the field and erased Bell’s massive two-second lead.
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The Big One: On Lap 254, contact between AJ Allmendinger and Joey Logano sparked a multi-car pileup involving Chase Elliott, Daniel Suárez, and Shane van Gisbergen.
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The Passing Move: With 11 laps to go, Ty Gibbs held the lead, but Blaney loomed in his mirror. On Lap 292, Blaney dove underneath the No. 54 Toyota entering Turn 1, clearing him on the backstretch.
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The Results: Bell mounted a late charge to reclaim second, finishing a mere 0.399 seconds behind Blaney. Kyle Larson rounded out the podium in third.
Phoenix Raceway Cup Series Results
March 8, 2026
|
POSITION
|
START
|
LED
|
BEHIND
|
PTS
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
R. Blaney #12
|
5
|
28
|
Winner
|
65
|
|
2 |
C. Bell #20
|
12
|
176
|
0.399
|
54
|
|
3 |
K. Larson #5
|
2
|
0
|
2.175
|
36
|
|
4 |
T. Gibbs #54
|
14
|
12
|
2.608
|
36
|
|
5 |
D. Hamlin #11
|
11
|
5
|
2.914
|
47
|
|
6 |
B. Wallace #23
|
28
|
0
|
3.563
|
37
|
|
7 |
W. Byron #24
|
9
|
1
|
4.569
|
32
|
|
8 |
T. Reddick #45
|
8
|
0
|
5.039
|
39
|
|
9 |
M. McDowell #71
|
16
|
0
|
5.694
|
28
|
|
10 |
E. Jones #43
|
32
|
0
|
6.086
|
27
|
|
11 |
S. Van Gisbergen #97
|
18
|
0
|
6.304
|
26
|
|
12 |
T. Gilliland #34
|
30
|
0
|
6.413
|
26
|
|
13 |
R. Preece #60
|
13
|
4
|
6.709
|
24
|
|
14 |
C. Buescher #17
|
17
|
0
|
7.126
|
30
|
|
15 |
B. Keselowski #6
|
37
|
0
|
7.223
|
22
|
|
16 |
A. Dillon #3
|
25
|
0
|
7.532
|
21
|
|
17 |
K. Busch #8
|
29
|
0
|
8.422
|
20
|
|
18 |
R. Herbst #35
|
22
|
0
|
9.141
|
19
|
|
19 |
A. Allmendinger #16
|
23
|
0
|
9.230
|
18
|
|
20 |
C. Hocevar #77
|
7
|
0
|
9.627
|
21
|
|
21 |
A. Hill #33
|
27
|
0
|
9.779
|
0
|
|
22 |
R. Stenhouse Jr #47
|
21
|
0
|
9.896
|
15
|
|
23 |
C. Elliott #9
|
26
|
0
|
10.089
|
14
|
|
24 |
C. Ware #51
|
34
|
0
|
10.504
|
13
|
|
25 |
J. Nemechek #42
|
15
|
0
|
14.084
|
12
|
|
26 |
T. Dillon #10
|
33
|
0
|
1 Lap
|
11
|
|
27 |
Z. Smith #38
|
24
|
0
|
18 Laps
|
10
|
|
28 |
R. Chastain #1
|
6
|
0
|
26 Laps
|
10
|
|
29 |
C. Zilisch #88
|
19
|
0
|
31 Laps
|
8
|
|
30 |
D. Suárez #7
|
4
|
0
|
58 Laps
|
11
|
|
31 |
J. Logano #22
|
1
|
74
|
59 Laps
|
23
|
|
32 |
J. Berry #21
|
10
|
13
|
59 Laps
|
5
|
|
33 |
A. Alfredo #62
|
31
|
0
|
95 Laps
|
0
|
|
34 |
A. Cindric #2
|
3
|
0
|
96 Laps
|
13
|
|
35 |
C. Custer #41
|
36
|
0
|
153 Laps
|
2
|
|
36 |
N. Gragson #4
|
35
|
0
|
157 Laps
|
1
|
|
37 |
C. Briscoe #19
|
20
|
0
|
181 Laps
|
1
|
