Reddick wins Phoenix Cup race as late Larson crash tightens NASCAR championship fight

Reddick's late-race call delivers the win

Tyler Reddick took two tires on a caution with 30 laps to go at Phoenix Raceway and used his fresh rubber to rocket up four spots on the final restart, claiming Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Chase race. The victory was Reddick's series-leading sixth of the 2026 season and his first since the ninth race of the campaign at Kansas Speedway, ending a six-month winless stretch for the No. 45 23XI Racing driver. "That's way too long," Reddick said after climbing the fence in celebration. "The way we worked there, thinking of Phoenix, we wanted to be a lot better when we came back here. I think we checked that box." The win also marked the first victory for sponsor Rockstar Energy with the team.

Top finishers at Phoenix Raceway

Ryan Blaney finished second, followed by Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and two-time 2026 winner Corey Heim, a part-time 23XI Racing driver. Joey Logano, Daniel Suárez, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top 10. The remaining Chase drivers finished as follows: Carson Hocevar 12th, Bubba Wallace 17th, Ryan Preece 18th, Austin Cindric 19th, William Byron 21st, Chris Buescher 22nd, Denny Hamlin 28th and Kyle Larson 34th.

Larson's late crash reshapes the standings

Kyle Larson's day went from bad to worse in the closing laps. After struggling through practice and qualifying, starting 22nd, and scoring zero stage points across the opening two segments, Larson suffered a right-front tire failure entering Turn 1. The cited NASCAR reports from October 18 disagree on the incident lap, so the exact lap count remains unverified here. His No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet shot up the track and slammed the outside retaining wall, with damage significant enough to end his race. Larson entered Phoenix with a 49-point lead and exits the Arizona desert with just a five-point advantage over Christopher Bell. Joey Logano swept both opening stages for 20 stage points, Bell scored 16, and Briscoe, Blaney and Hamlin each collected stage points as the title contenders capitalized on Larson's misfortunes.

The championship picture after Phoenix

With three Chase presented by Mobil 1 races remaining, only 56 points separate the championship lead from seventh place. Unofficial standings: Larson 2,370, Bell 2,365, Briscoe 2,346, Hamlin 2,339, Blaney 2,330, Logano 2,326 and Reddick 2,314. Christopher Bell, who led 85 laps and finished third in both opening stages before fading in Stage 3, summed up the new fight: "It's going to be a battle, that's for sure. But we're right there in it." Hamlin's day also unraveled when a flat right-rear tire on Lap 221 forced a pit-road stop that cost him a lap, and he later was sent to the rear for speeding on pit road, negating a free pass.

Next stop: Talladega

The Cup Series Chase now shifts to Talladega Superspeedway next week, one of three remaining playoff races before the Round of 8 concludes at Martinsville and the championship-deciding race at Homestead-Miami in November. Superspeedway races are historically unpredictable; half of the top 10 finishers at Talladega in April were drivers who did not qualify for the postseason, raising the stakes for the seven contenders now separated by a narrow margin.