NASCAR
Ryan Blaney rallies for Phoenix victory, completes Penske weekend sweep
By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service
PHOENIX, AZ – Ryan Blaney completed a hard-earned Team Penske sweep at the famed Phoenix Raceway in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 – recovering from multiple early race setbacks to claim his first NASAR Cup Series trophy of the 2026 season and answer his Penske team’s Saturday IndyCar win at the track with a spectacular and popular stock car victory a day later.
A pair of pit stop issues – including a penalty for pitting outside his box – put Blaney at the rear of the field twice early in the race but the 2023 series champion was not to be denied – rallying back in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford and taking the lead for good with 10 laps remaining.
Blaney’s team took tire tires on a final stop on a caution with 12 laps remaining and made his way forward after restarting on the second row.
He got around then race leader Ty Gibbs with 10 to go and then held off Gibbs’ Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell who led the most laps – 176 of 312 – but faced a huge task moving up from an eighth-place position on the final restart as the first car to take four tires. With the fresh Goodyear rubber, Bell at least kept Blaney honest, cutting into the lead with each lap, but ultimately coming .399-second short.
“Just perseverance,” Blaney conceded of his afternoon. “I mean, everybody on the 12-group persevered all day. We had a couple mistakes that we learned from, got better, had to come from the back a couple times.
“Obviously the 20 [Bell] was the best car. But [Blaney’s crew chief] Jonathan [Hassler] made a great call to take two [on last stop]. We were able to get the lead. Hold them off. I don’t know how many more laps I could have held them off.
“Really proud of everybody at Team Penske. We swept the weekend with [Josef] Newgarden winning yesterday, us winning today. Can’t wait to see [team owner] Roger [Penske]. … Can’t say enough about the 12 guys for keeping their head down and doing what they do and Jonathan again for making a good call at the end.”
Bright sun and temperatures near 90-degrees welcomed a huge crowd for the Sunday’s second half of the well-received racing doubleheader weekend with both IndyCar and NASCAR marquee events. Many of the open-wheel racers stayed at track and found spots atop team pit stands to watch the stock cars compete.
And the Penske team certainly made the most of the unique doubleheader opportunity.
It marks the 32-year-old Blaney’s 18th career victory and second at Phoenix and vaults him to second place in the championship standings – now 60 points behind 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who saw his historic three-race winning streak to start the season end with an eighth-place showing Sunday.
Reddick ran among the top-10 throughout the race but never truly challenged for the victory.
“We kind of just hovered around fifth all day,” conceded Reddick, whose 23XI Racing team co-owner Michael Jordan was again trackside in support of the organization’s record-setting 2026 season start.
“Looking at the board over here, scored the fourth most amount of points on the day,” he added. “That’s kind of what we need to keep doing all year to keep the lead that we have and try and hang on to it. Solid day. If we’re not going to win, these are the kind of days we need to have. Glad to get out of here with some points.”
Bell, the defending race winner, whose own three-race winning streak last season included this Phoenix race, was understandably disappointed to finish runner-up after leading the most laps. The upside, however, is that his No. 20 JGR team dramatically moved up from 18th in the championship standings before the race to now sixth place heading to Las Vegas next week. He and Blaney each won a stage Sunday.
“Ultimately, if we had more green flag laps, I think we could have made a run at him,” Bell said. “I don’t know. You win some, you lose some. This one stings, but on the positive side I’m really proud of our entire team. It’s something to build on. It was a day that we needed. We got a lot of stage points, finished second – just bummed whenever they get away like that.”
Beyond Blaney and Bell, reigning series champion, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finished third followed by Bell’s JGR teammates Gibbs – who now has back-to-back fourth-place finishes on the season – and Denny Hamlin.
Reddick’s teammate Bubba Wallace was sixth, followed by Hendrick’s William Byron, Reddick, Spire Motorsports Michael McDowell and Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones. Popular driver Shane Van Gisbergen – the series road racing ace – rallied to an 11th-place showing even after being involved in multiple incidents on the day.
The race’s 12 cautions tied the track record for yellow flags. There were eight leaders and 23 lead changes.
Anthony Alfredo, who was subbing for Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman, finished 33rd in the No. 48 Chevrolet, collected in a multi-car crash with just less than 100 laps remaining.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for next Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (4 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry is the defending race winner.
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
(April 11, 2026) Ryan Blaney, seeking his first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, got off to a flying start in Saturday’s time trials at the 0.533-mile high-banked concrete track.
Finding the speed he needed on the second of two qualifying laps, Blaney covered the distance in 15.101 seconds (127.064 mph) to edge Tyler Reddick for the top starting spot in Sunday’s Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Driving the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, Blaney was 0.023 seconds faster than Reddick (126.871 mph), who will try to win his fifth race of the season in the No.45 23XI Racing Toyota.
The Busch Light Pole Award was Blaney’s second at Bristol, his first of the season and the 13th of his career.
“I just kind of got free on Lap 1, landing into (Turn) 1,” said Blaney, who recovered through Turns 3 and 4 to set up his second lap. “Luckily, the rear tires came in better the second lap in (Turns) 1 and 2, and then 3 and 4 I thought was a really good corner…”
“Good start to the weekend. Now we’ve got to do 500 laps.”
Blaney has finished sixth or better in his last three starts at Bristol, but on Sunday, Cup Series drivers will be adjusting to both a new tire combination from Goodyear and a new short-track competition package featuring higher horsepower and lower downforce.
“I think just being ready for the track to change is the biggest thing for me,” Blaney said. “It’s going to run one way for a little bit, but it’s going to change eventually…”
“Tomorrow, we’re going to be everywhere, ‘cause the top (lane) is going to come in tomorrow, and that’s going to be completely different from what you need to run the bottom. It’s been a pretty decent place for us. Hopefully, tomorrow we can contend for the win.”
Chase Briscoe qualified third at 126.779 mph in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Riley Herbst (125.679 mph), the third driver to make a qualifying run, was fourth, giving 23XI two of the top four starting positions.
Ty Gibbs, who led 201 laps in his last Bristol start, was fifth, followed by Ross Chastain in the fastest Chevrolet. Chris Buescher, three-time Bristol winner Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric and Carson Hocevar filled out positions seven through 10 on the grid.
The cars of Larson and Chastain—along with those of Cole Custer and Chad Finchum—failed pre-race inspection twice, resulting in the ejection of their respective car chiefs and loss of pit selection for Sunday’s race.
The No. 71 Chevrolet of Michael McDowell also failed twice, resulting in the ejection of an engineer and loss of pit selection.
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
BRISTOL, TN (April 10, 2026) Full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell was thrilled to have an opportunity to drive the No. 62 Halmar Friesen Toyota in Friday night’s Tennessee Army National Guard 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
After crossing the finish line first, he had reason to be positively elated.
Corey Heim, on the other hand, had 350,000 reasons to be disappointed, after his dream of completing the Triple Truck Challenge — and earning a $350,000 bonus — ended prematurely against the Turn 1 wall.
Bell grabbed the lead from Christian Eckes on Lap 188 of 250 and held it the rest of the way, with Chandler Smith moving into second after a subsequent restart on Lap 224 and chasing Bell to the checkered flag.
Finishing 0.330 seconds ahead of Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, Bell scored his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory since 2017, his first the 0.533-mile short track and the eighth of his career.
Bell was enlisted to substitute for injured Stewart Friesen in last year’s Truck Series race at Watkins Glen. On Friday night, he raced as Friesen’s teammate and finished three positions better than he had at the Upstate New York road course.
“Oh, man, that was just so awesome to win a truck race,” Bell said. “It’s been since 2017 that I’ve won one of these things. It’s a lot of fun racing with this group. I got the unfortunate call last year to drive for Stewart when he was hurt, went up to Watkins Glen and almost got it.
“They’ve been working really hard to get to Victory Lane. Just so special for me to be able to race with these guys. These wins, they mean a lot to this team, this organization.”
The most recent Cup Series winner at Thunder Valley, Bell will race Sunday in the Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Heim’s bid for an extra $350,000 ($500,000 total) for a third straight Triple Truck Challenge victory ended abruptly on Lap180, moments after he had muscled past Christian Eckes to lead his only lap of the race.
Contact from Eckes’ front bumper to the right rear of Heim’s No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota sent Heim spinning into the outside wall. Pole winner Kaden Honeycutt T-boned into Heim’s Tundra, with the No. 34 Ford of two-time Bristol winner Layne Riggs nosing into Honeycutt’s truck in a chain-reaction collision.
TRICON teammates Heim and Honeycutt exited the race under the resulting red flag. With the single lap led to his credit, Heim has now led the last 30 straight Truck Series races he has entered, but that was no consolation for losing the $350,000 bonus he would have collected for winning the race.
“I don’t think he did it on purpose or anything,” Heim said graciously of the contact from Eckes’ Chevrolet. “I think the lead was super important to win the race, just having track position and control. Then they had a mix-up on who was starting the race as far as the control truck.
“I had an issue with my transmission sticking into gears, and I had to pack a little bit of air. I don’t think I touched him to get him out of the way. He was already free. I just packed some air and got him free. I think he was trying to get behind me and ship me, which would have been fine because I did it to him. Just misjudged it.
“I’ve been racing him for a long time, and I don’t think he would do that on purpose, so we are all good.”
After losing ground on the final restart, Eckes finished fifth behind Bell, Smith, Giovanni Ruggiero and Cup driver Ross Chastain. Jake Garcia, Dawson Sutton, Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar and rookie Brenden Queen completed the top 10.
The race featured nine cautions for 76 laps. Eckes led a race-high 132 laps to Bell’s 63 and won the first stage. Ben Rhodes stayed out under caution on Lap 122 and claimed the Stage 2 win.
BRISTOL, TN (April 10, 2026) Kris Wright and the No. 81 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Silverado RST will have a new look when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway Friday night.
iHeart Radio is joining Pittsburgh’s own FNB Corporation in a split scheme as Wright hopes for a strong run in Thunder Valley.
“I’m excited for another opportunity to race at Bristol Motor Speedway,” said Wright, a Wexford, PA native. “It’s always a highlight of the season and one of the most demanding tracks on the schedule.”
Wright qualified 25th with a fast lap of 124.323 mph, that was only 0.368-seconds behind pole sitter Kaden Honeycutt in a very tight field.
“Things can definitely happen quick and change in an instant,” said Wright about Bristol. “Our No. 81 F.N.B. Corporation / iHeartRadio team needs to be sharp from the start and put ourselves in the best position possible.”
Wright moved up three spots in the points standings after finishing 20th in the last race at Rockingham Speedway despite battling an ill-handling truck early.
“I battled a loose truck all day, which put us in a few tough spots, but our F.N.B. Corporation team brought a really fast truck that unfortunately never got the spotlight it deserved,” said Wright.
A short track may be exactly what Wright and his McAnally-Hilgemann team need as eight of Wright’s 23 career ARCA Menards Series Top 10’s have come on short tracks.
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