Tyler Reddick dominated the first three races of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, winning the Daytona 500, at Atlanta and at Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
But he wasn’t able to make it four in a row when the series went to the desert on March 8.
The Winner Is …
Ryan Blaney wowed at Phoenix Raceway, getting into Victory Lane for his first win of the 2026 season. It was also the first win for manufacturer Ford this year, and the win completed a Team Penske sweep in the Desert Double after Josef Newgarden won Saturday’s INDYCAR Phoenix race.
How The Race Was Won
With fewer than 10 laps to go, Blaney passed Ty Gibbs — who was looking for his first Cup Series win — for the lead and pulled away from the field to take the checkered flag. Blaney’s best lap on the day was 27.75 miles per hour. He led 28 laps after starting fifth. His victory in Phoenix was the 18th of his career.
One Big Moment
Joey Logano captured the pole for Phoenix, but his day ended early after he made contact with AJ Allmendinger with just 58 laps to go in the race.
Top-10 Results
1. Ryan Blaney
2. Christopher Bell
3. Kyle Larson
4. Ty Gibbs
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Bubba Wallace
7. William Byron
8. Tyler Reddick
9. Michael McDowell
10. Erik Jones
What’s Next
The next race is the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube on March 15 (4 p.m. ET, FS1).
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