The Biggest Winners and Losers From NASCAR's Wild Phoenix Chase Race

Tyler Reddick returned to Victory Lane, Christopher Bell nearly erased Kyle Larson's championship lead and several contenders missed opportunities that could have completely changed the standings.

The Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway may ultimately be remembered as the afternoon that changed the entire direction of the 2026 NASCAR championship. Kyle Larson arrived in Arizona with a substantial points advantage and left with a damaged race car, a 34th-place finish and only five points separating him from Christopher Bell. Nearly every driver involved in the championship battle experienced some kind of significant change, creating a situation where the final three races now carry considerably more weight than they appeared to only one week earlier.

Tyler Reddick was Sunday's biggest winner. The 23XI Racing driver entered Phoenix 114 points behind Larson and looking increasingly unlikely to challenge for the title after going 23 races without a victory. His late two-tire strategy changed everything. Reddick passed Chase Briscoe following the final restart, scored his sixth win of the season and earned 61 points, cutting his championship deficit by 58. He remains seventh in the standings, but now sits only 56 points behind Larson with Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead remaining. For a driver who appeared to be falling out of contention, Phoenix provided exactly the kind of performance necessary to bring his season back to life.

Christopher Bell may have gained the most important position in the championship battle without actually winning the race. Bell led 85 laps, finished third in both stages and came home fourth, collecting 49 points during an afternoon when Larson managed only three. The result moved Bell from third to second in the standings and reduced his deficit from 51 points to just five. Bell has repeatedly demonstrated championship-level speed throughout the Chase, and Phoenix finally provided the opportunity for those consistent performances to translate into a major change in the standings.

Ryan Blaney also leaves Phoenix with renewed championship hope, although his afternoon was far from perfect. Blaney started from the pole, led the opening 44 laps and remained competitive throughout the race despite losing valuable positions during slow pit stops. He ultimately finished second and cut his deficit from 85 points to 40, moving himself much closer to the championship conversation. That is an enormous improvement in a single week, particularly with Talladega and Martinsville among the remaining events. Both tracks have historically produced strong performances from Blaney, making the No. 12 a driver the rest of the field cannot afford to ignore.

Joey Logano experienced one of the strangest combinations of success and frustration. The No. 22 team swept both stages, led 84 laps and scored 51 points, proving that Team Penske had brought competitive equipment to one of its strongest tracks. However, problems on pit road cost Logano track position, and he eventually finished sixth rather than converting his speed into a victory. His championship deficit still improved dramatically, falling from 92 points to 44, but the HFTS crew couldn't help wondering how different the standings might look if Logano had finished the job. Phoenix was a great points day that still felt like a missed opportunity.

Chase Briscoe belongs somewhere between the winners and losers after entering Phoenix with two consecutive victories and briefly appearing capable of winning a third. Briscoe ran near the front throughout the afternoon and led during the final restart sequence, but the decision to remain on older tires left him vulnerable to the drivers restarting behind him. Reddick took advantage, and Briscoe eventually fell to eighth. Even so, his 44-point afternoon cut his deficit from 65 to 24 points, keeping him firmly inside the championship fight. The result may have been disappointing compared with his recent victories, but it was still a major step toward recovering from his difficult start to The Chase.

Corey Heim deserves recognition for one of the best individual drives of the weekend. Starting 36th in the No. 67 Toyota, Heim climbed to fifth after spending much of the opening portion trapped in traffic. The result continued his impressive run of performances in limited Cup Series appearances and gave 23XI Racing another car inside the top five alongside Reddick. Chase Elliott also had an excellent afternoon, climbing from 16th to third, while Daniel Suárez finished seventh and Ross Chastain ninth. Neither Elliott nor the Trackhouse drivers are among the realistic championship favorites, but Phoenix proved there was plenty of competitive racing happening beyond the title contenders.

The losing side begins with Kyle Larson, even though he remains the championship leader. Larson started 22nd, struggled to find speed, failed to score stage points and ultimately crashed following a right-front tire failure. His 34th-place finish produced only three points and eliminated almost the entire advantage he had built over six outstanding Chase races. The damage is particularly concerning because Larson now heads to Talladega with almost no room for error, and superspeedway racing introduces risks that even the strongest teams cannot fully control.

Denny Hamlin also belongs among the biggest losers, largely because Phoenix should have been the race where he capitalized on Larson's problems. Hamlin appeared capable of fighting for a top-five finish before a flat right-rear tire forced him to pit unexpectedly. A speeding penalty made the situation worse, leaving him 28th at the finish. Although Hamlin technically gained 18 points on Larson, he dropped from second to fourth in the championship standings because other contenders took much greater advantage of the opportunity.

Bubba Wallace suffered another frustrating late-race result after leading 52 laps and positioning himself to challenge for the victory. Wallace had control of the race during the final stage, but a speeding penalty during the caution for Larson's crash sent him backward and left him 17th. That result was particularly painful because his teammate went on to win using the same late strategy opportunity. While Reddick celebrated in Victory Lane, Wallace was left wondering how an afternoon with winning potential had unraveled.

The biggest winner from Phoenix may ultimately be the championship battle itself. One week ago, Larson appeared to have a substantial advantage over a rapidly shrinking group of contenders. Now Bell, Briscoe, Hamlin, Blaney, Logano and Reddick all remain within 56 points of the lead, with three races capable of dramatically changing the standings.

Phoenix did not simply produce a race winner.

It gave NASCAR a completely different championship fight.