Tyler Reddick returns to Victory Lane in Chase-changing race at Phoenix: After a phenomenal start to the 2026 season, followed by an agonizing dry spell, Tyler Reddick returned to Victory Lane on Sunday—and simultaneously did NASCAR Cup Series leader Kyle Larson a significant favor. Snookering the top contenders in the Chase presented by Mobil 1 after a restart on Lap 294, Reddick surged past Chase Briscoe into the lead a lap later and pulled away to beat runner-up Ryan Blaney by 0.801 seconds in the Freeway Insurance 500, as Briscoe faded to eighth on older tires.[Read More]
#45-Tyler Reddick won the Freeway Insurance 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. The win is his sixth of the year, first at Phoenix and 14th career victory.
Pole sitter #12-Ryan Blaney finished 2nd, followed by #9-Chase Elliott, #20-Christopher Bell, #67-Corey Heim, #22-Joey Logano, #7-Daniel Suarez, #19-Chase Briscoe, #1-Ross Chastain, and #54-Ty Gibbs.
Reddick took the lead with 18 laps remaining and held off Blaney by 0.801 seconds. Logano dominated the first two stages, sweeping both and leading 84 laps before finishing sixth. Championship leader Kyle Larson suffered a late tire failure and finished 34th, while Denny Hamlin also experienced tire trouble, losing a lap and finishing 28th.
Stages 1 & 2 were both won by #22-Joey Logano.
The fastest lap bonus was earned by #12-Ryan Blaney.
There were 21 lead changes among 10 drivers and 6 cautions for 43 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was 103.207 mph.
Time of the race: 3:01:23.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Infraction Report.
How the Chase drivers fared at Phoenix:
#45-Tyler Reddick — WON | Stage 1: 9th | Stage 2: 7th | Led final 18 laps
#12-Ryan Blaney — 2nd | Stage 1: 4th | Stage 2: 6th | 51 laps led | Fastest lap
#9-Chase Elliott — 3rd | Stage 1: 7th | Stage 2: 10th | Started 16th (+13)
#20-Christopher Bell — 4th | Stage 1: 3rd | Stage 2: 3rd | Race-high 85 laps led
#22-Joey Logano — 6th | Stage 1: WON | Stage 2: WON | 84 laps led
#7-Daniel Suarez — 7th
#19-Chase Briscoe — 8th | Stage 1: 5th | Stage 2: 2nd | 13 laps led
#54-Ty Gibbs — 10th | 2 laps led | Dropped to rear before start
#77-Carson Hocevar — 12th | Started 28th (+16)
#23-Bubba Wallace — 17th | Stage 2: 5th | 52 laps led | Late speeding penalty
#60-Ryan Preece — 18th
#2-Austin Cindric — 19th
#24-William Byron — 21st | Stage 1: 6th
#17-Chris Buescher — 22nd
#11-Denny Hamlin — 28th | Stage 1: 2nd | Stage 2: 8th | Cut tire, lost a lap
#5-Kyle Larson — 34th | DNF — Late tire failure
Race Fast Facts – Phoenix:
Tyler Reddick (C) won the Freeway Insurance 500, his 14th victory in 251 Cup Series races.
This is his sixth victory and 20th top-10 finish in 2026.
This is his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 14 races at Phoenix Raceway.
Ryan Blaney (C) (second) posted his 16th top-10 finish in 22 races at Phoenix Raceway. It is his 22nd top-10 finish in 2026.
Chase Elliott (C) (third) posted his 12th top-10 finish in 21 races at Phoenix Raceway.
Connor Zilisch (20th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kyle Larson (C) leads the point standings by 5 points over Christopher Bell (C).
Driver Points / Chase Standings after Phoenix:
Race 7 of 10 in the Chase:
1) #5-Kyle Larson, 2370
2) #20-Christopher Bell, 2365, -5
3) #19-Chase Briscoe, 2346, -24
4) #11-Denny Hamlin, 2339, -31
5) #12-Ryan Blaney, 2330, -40
6) #22-Joey Logano, 2326, -44
7) #45-Tyler Reddick, 2314, -56
8) #2-Austin Cindric, 2240, -130
9) #54-Ty Gibbs, 2238, -132
10) #9-Chase Elliott, 2221, -149
11) #77-Carson Hocevar, 2212, -158
12) #23-Bubba Wallace, 2208, -162
13) #7-Daniel Suarez, 2182, -188
14) #24-William Byron, 2180, -190
15) #17-Chris Buescher, 2166, -204
16) #60-Ryan Preece, 2159, -211
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race updates:
Checkered flag for Reddick. He wins over Blaney Elliott Bell and Heim.
White flag for Reddick. He leads Blaney by .9 second.
Lap 308 – Five to go. Reddick by 1.1 second.
Lap 303 – Ten to go. Reddick leads Blaney by 1.2 second. Then Elliott Bell Heim Briscoe Logano Suarez Gibbs and Keselowski.
Lap 301 – Reddick now ahead of Blaney by 1.1 second.
Lap 298 – Reddick over Blaney by .7 second. Briscoe back to third. Fifteen to go.
Lap 296 – Reddick takes the lead from Briscoe. Blaney up to third, then Elliott and Gibbs.
Lap 285 – Briscoe holds the lead. Reddick to second, then Elliott Gibbs and Blaney.
Lap 284 – Green flag with 19 laps remaining. Briscoe Elliott Gibbs (they did not pit) Reddick Logano Blaney Bell Gilliland Heim Preece (they pitted and took two tires). 11th place Hocevar is the first driver with four new tires. Larson is done for the day and will finish 34th.
Lap 292 – Green has been waved off a couple times while NASCAR makes sure the running order is correct.
Lap 285 – Larson goes to the DVP area. Pit road open. Briscoe Elliott Gibbs stay out. Other pit. Off pit road: Reddick Logano Blaney Bell Gilliland Wallace Heim Preece. The first 5 only took two tires. Wallace is the first with four tires, but was too fast on pit road.
Lap 283 – CAUTION is out with 30 laps remaining. Larson into the wall in turns 1 & 2 when a tire went down. He drives to pit road. Free pass is Jones, in 26th.
Lap 279 – Nemechek with a tire down and heads to pit road.
Lap 278 – Wallace leads. Briscoe, in 6th, is 7.5 seconds back. Bell, in 9th, is 11.8 seconds back. TDillon has a tire go down. No caution.
Lap 275 – Gibbs pits. Wallace retakes the lead. Reddick is now second, .9 second back. Then Logano Blaney Suarez Hocevar Briscoe Berry Chastain and Gilliland.
Lap 273 – Briscoe now pits. Bell and follow him in. Gibbs takes the lead.
Lap 269 – Wallace pits from the lead. Briscoe now out front.
Lap 266 – Logano pits.
Lap 263 – Larson pits to kick off green flag pit stops.
Lap 263 – Fifty laps remaining. Wallace ahead of Briscoe by 1.5 second. Then Reddick Bell Blaney Logano Hocevar Elliott Jerry Gilliland.
Lap 256 – Logano now reporting a possible issue with the alternator.
Lap 250 – Wallace now with a 1.7 second lead over Briscoe. Third place Reddick is 2.7 seconds back. 29 drivers on the lead lap. Hamlin in the free pass position.
Lap 241 – Ware officially done for the day.
Lap 238 – Seventy-five laps remaining. Wallace leads Briscoe by .9 second. Then Reddick Bell and Logano. Everyone will likely need to pit once more for tires.
Lap 231 – Green flag with 82 laps remaining. Larson is 23rd, Suarez 30th, Hamlin 33rd.
Lap 226 – Pit road open. Off pit road: Wallace Briscoe Bell Reddick Logano Berry Blaney Elliott Suarez and Gilliland. Slow stop for Logano. Suarez was speeding.
Lap 225 – Jones will be the free pass. Hamlin was in position but too fast on pit road. He will restart in the rear.
Lap 223 – CAUTION is out for an accident from Ware after he had a tire go down.
Lap 219 – Hamlin has a tire go down while running fourth. He struggles to pit road. Race stays green.
Lap 211 – Logano reporting a possible vibration. He leads Wallace by .6 second.
5:06pm/et – 209 laps complete in the first two hours of the race.
Lap 204 – Wallace now up to second, .8 second behind Logano.
Lap 201 – Logano Briscoe Wallace Hamlin Bell the top 5 with 112 laps to go.
Lap 194 – Green flag for the start of the final stage. 119 laps to go.
Lap 189 – Pit road is open. Leaders back in. Off pit road: Logano Briscoe Wallace Berry Hamlin Gilliland Elliott Reddick Bell Chastain.
Lap 186 – CAUTION is out for the end of stage 2. Logano over Briscoe Bell Berry Wallace Blaney Reddick Hamlin Gilliland Elliott. Free pass is 29th place Allmendinger. Larson is 27th, the lowest running Chase driver.
Lap 181 – Five to go in stage 2. Logano leads Briscoe by 1.5 second.
Lap 175 – ADillon officially done for the day. McDowell is back on track but 110 laps down. Dillon will finish last if McDowell continues to the end.
Lap 171 – Fifteen to go in stage 2: Logano Briscoe Bell Berry Blaney. Nemechek limps to pit road with a tire down.
Lap 164 – Green flag with 22 laps remaining in stage 2.
Lap 159 – Pit road is open. Leaders come back in. Off pit road: Logano Bell Briscoe Cindric Berry Blaney Wallace Elliott Reddick Chastain. Larson will take the wavevaround to get back on the lead lap.
Lap 157 – CAUTION is out for ADillon into the outside wall in turn 4. Hocevar is the free pass.
Lap 157 – The race is halfway complete in 1 hour, 25 minutes. Bell Berry Logano Briscoe Blaney Wallace Reddick Gilliland Elliott Cindric the top 10.
Lap 155 – Berry takes second from Logano.
Lap 151 – Bell’s lead is down to 3.4 seconds.
Lap 140 – Logano now 4.8 second behind Bell. He has a couple laps’ fresher tires.
Lap 130 – Bell leads Logano by 7.7 seconds. Then Reddick Berry and Suarez. Now 23 drivers on the lead lap. Chase drivers not on the lead lap: Gibbs Larson and Hocevar.
Lap 128 – Berry pits. Pit stops cycle through with Bell back in the lead.
Lap 127 – Logano pits, Berry now the leader.
Lap 126 – Keselowski spin coming to pit road but no caution.
Lap 123 – Bell pits from the lead. Logano to the front.
Lap 122 – Green flag pit stops are beginning. Reddick Allmendinger TDillon among them.
Lap 121 – Bell leads Logano by .4 second. Green flag stops coming soon.
Lap 110 – Bell leads Logano Blaney Berry and Briscoe. The lowest running Chase driver is Larson in 24th. There are 34 drivers on the lead lap.
4:06pm/et – 105 laps complete in the first hour of the race.
Lap 103 – Logano back to second.
Lap 97 – Bell leads Blaney Logano and Briscoe. Hamlin s back in 15th, Larson back to 21st. Lowest Chase driver is Hocevar in 23rd.
Lap 80 – Blaney now second.
Lap 81 – Bell’s lead already 1.5 seconds over Logano.
Lap 70 – Bell now the leader.
Lap 69 – Green flag for the start of the second stage.
Lap 64 – Pit road is open. Leaders come back in for service. Off pit road: Logano Bell Briscoe Keselowski Zilisch Wallace Reddick Buescher Blaney Chastain.
Lap 61 – CAUTION is out for the end of stage 1. Logano leads Hamlin Bell Blaney Briscoe Byron Elliott Chastain Reddick Berry. Larson has fallen to 23rd.
Lap 54 – Logano now the leader over Hamlin.
Lap 52 – Byron to the lead at the line.
Lap 51 – Back to green with 10 laps left in stage 1.
Lap 46 – Pit road is open. Leaders come in. Off pit road: Hamlin Byron Elliott Logano Larson Briscoe Bell Blaney Berry Reddick. Several took only two tires.
Lap 44 – CAUTION is out for an accident involving McDowell and Herbst. Heavy rear end damage for McDowell. Herbst got into McDowell to start it.
Lap 31 – Midway through the first stage: Blaney Logano Bell Briscoe Berry Hamlin Reddick Chastain Cindric Zilisch
Lap 17 – Blaney’s lead is 1.3 second over Logano. Bell has moved to third.
Lap 11 – Blaney Logano Briscoe Bell Berry the top 5. Larson has moved up to 17th, Gibbs up to 31st.
Lap 2- Blaney leads the first lap.
• 3:06pm/et – Green flag.
• 2:56pm/et – Engines are fired.
• 2:48pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway here.
• 2:30pm/et – USA now has pre-race coverage.
• Gibbs will have to drop to the rear today for an alternator change.
• As of Saturday evening, there were no drivers going to the rear for the start of the race.
• No weather issues today at Phoenix Raceway. The National Weather Service forecast is: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Breezy, with an east wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Freeway Insurance 500
Broadcast: USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 312 laps / 312 miles
Stages: 60 / 185 / 312
Average time of race: 3:01:23
Pit road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 50 mph
Fuel Window: 98 laps
Timing (all times local & subject to change)
Invocation: 11:48:20 a.m.
National Anthem: 11:49:00 a.m.
Command: 11:56:00 a.m.
Green Flag: 12:05:00 p.m.
Paint Schemes
Cars to the rear: #54-Ty Gibbs (unapproved adjustment)
NASCAR Cup Series pre-race inspection is complete at Phoenix Raceway. No multiple failures.
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Freeway Insurance 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway have been made.
Pole winner #12-Ryan Blaney chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #22-Joey Logano took the 6th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on the Phoenix Pit Stall page.
#12-Ryan Blaney won the Busch pole for the Freeway Insurance 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway with a speed of 137.143mph for his fifth pole of the year, fourth at Phoenix and 17th of his career.
#22-Joey Logano will start second followed by #19-Chase Briscoe, #11-Denny Hamlin, #20-Christopher Bell, #45-Tyler Reddick, #54-Ty Gibbs, #71-Michael McDowell, #21-Josh Berry, and #24-William Byron.
See the complete qualifying results and the Freeway Insurance 500 Starting Lineup.
Phoenix Raceway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Ryan Blaney (C) won the Pole Award for the Freeway Insurance 500 with a lap of 26.25 seconds, 137.143 mph.
This is his 17th pole in 411 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his fifth pole and 20th top-10 start in 2026.
This is his fourth pole in 22 races at Phoenix Raceway.
Joey Logano (C) (second) posted his 16th top-10 start of 2026 and his 25th in 36 races at Phoenix Raceway.
Chase Briscoe (C) (third) posted his fourth top-10 start at Phoenix Raceway. It is his 18th in 33 races this season.
Connor Zilisch (12th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Freeway Insurance 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway is over. The results:
#12-Ryan Blaney 133.486
#77-Carson Hocevar 133.343
#22-Joey Logano 133.259
#11-Denny Hamlin 132.909
#20-Christopher Bell 132.841
Slowest:#97-Shane van Gisbergen 129.982
Most laps run: #11-Denny Hamlin, 84 laps;
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 37 drivers): #20-Christopher Bell, 130.849mph
Notes: #43-Erik Jones had a tire go down but does not appear to have done any damage to the car.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Freeway Insurance 500 Practice speeds page.
Crew Rosters
The entry list for the Freeway Insurance 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway is posted, 37 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Open team entered: #67-Corey Heim.
See the full entry list on the Freeway Insurance 500 Entry List page.
Goodyear Fast Facts — Phoenix: Teams across all three NASCAR national series will use known Goodyear Racing Eagles at Phoenix Raceway, with all three using the same tire codes from the last time they visited the dogleg-oval.
Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Freeway Insurance 500: A look at the top statistical performers at Phoenix Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona leading into the Freeway Insurance 500 on October 18.
The NASCAR Cup Series Chase continues this weekend from Phoenix Raceway with the Freeway Insurance 500 this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. Pre-race coverage on USA Network begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.
| Freeway Insurance 500 on USA Network |
| Date |
Game |
Time (ET) |
| Sun., Oct. 18 |
Pre-Race Show
- Marty Snider (host)
- Dale Jarrett (analyst)
- Jeff Burton (analyst)
- Steve Letarte (analyst)
|
2:30 p.m. |
| |
Freeway Insurance 500
- Leigh Diffey (pxp)
- Jeff Burton (analyst)
- Steve Letarte (analyst)
- Dale Jarrett (pit box)
- Marty Snider, Kim Coon, Dave Burns (pit reporter)
|
3 p.m. |
| |
Post-Race Show |
Post Race |
Race rules and information:
