AVONDALE, Ariz. — Tyler Reddick navigated a daring four-wide restart late Sunday to capture his sixth NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season at Phoenix Raceway, ending a six-month dry spell and capitalizing on a disastrous afternoon for points leader Kyle Larson.
Driving the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing, Reddick sliced through heavy traffic following a late-race caution to move into second before overtaking Chase Briscoe with 17 laps remaining. Reddick held off runner-up Ryan Blaney by eight-tenths of a second at the checkered flag, while Chase Elliott took third, Christopher Bell placed fourth and Corey Heim finished fifth.
“For us, this group never lost motivation, never lost the drive to keep searching and keep trying to find ways to make ourselves better, just be an all-around better team,” Reddick told reporters, as reported by ESPN. “I don’t know, something about today. It didn’t really start right. Just something about today, I had a really good feeling.”
Title race thrown wide open
Larson entered the desert with a comfortable 49-point advantage atop the Cup Series playoff standings following an exceptional postseason run that featured two wins and two second-place finishes across the previous six races. However, the Hendrick Motorsports star qualified 22nd and struggled throughout Sunday afternoon, slipping outside the top 20 and falling a lap behind the field during the second stage.
With roughly 50 laps remaining, Larson made an unscheduled pit stop for fresh rubber. Shortly after returning to the track, the No. 5 Chevrolet suffered a blown right-front tire entering Turn 1 and slammed violently into the outside wall. Larson was credited with a 34th-place finish, ESPN and Motorsport.com reported.
“I was just trying to salvage anything — in the top 20 would have been great,” Larson said, according to ESPN. “It’s a bummer, but it is what it is. It happens.”
The crash dramatically erased Larson’s points cushion with three races left on the schedule. Unofficial standings reported by Lead Lap Racing show Larson holding onto the championship lead by only five points over Bell. Briscoe sits third, 24 points back, followed by Denny Hamlin at 31 points behind, Blaney trailing by 40, Joey Logano down by 44 and Reddick within 56 points.
Stage dominance and pit road mistakes
Logano swept both earlier portions of the race, claiming the 60-lap opening stage and the 125-lap second stage to bank the maximum 20 stage points available. Although Logano showed consistent pace out front, he dealt with alternator concerns late and crossed the stripe in sixth place.
Pit road missteps cost several contenders prime opportunities. Bubba Wallace paced the field for 52 laps in the second half but drew a speeding penalty on pit road during the caution following Larson’s wreck, dropping him out of contention. Hamlin experienced his own tire failure while running fourth and was similarly penalized for speeding as he tried to maneuver his crippled car onto pit lane, leaving him 28th.
The NASCAR Cup Series next travels to Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 25 for the eighth stop of the 10-race postseason, where unpredictable pack racing could reshape the tight championship standings once again.
