Ryan Blaney holds off Christopher Bell to win Straight Talk 500 in Phoenix

Ryan Blaney during practice at Phoenix 2026 (Photo by Sean Gardner, Getty Images)

Avondale, AZ— The NASCAR Cup Series took on the desert at Phoenix Raceway. Joey Logano led the field to the green flag with Kyle Larson starting alongside him on the front row. 

Ryan Blaney took the lead from his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano and navigated around lapped traffic to capture the green-white checkered in Stage 1.

After pit stops at the end of Stage 1, Christopher Bell took the lead from Ryan Blaney on the restart to start off Stage 2. 

The yellow came out on lap 72 after Chase Briscoe smacked the wall in Turn 4. Briscoe had been complaining about a vibration a few laps prior, this would ultimately take the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry out of contention for the win. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney suffered another loose wheel after having one earlier, yet making his way back into the top 10. 

Christopher Bell held off the field in Stage 2 to collect his first stage win of the 2026 season. 

A massive wreck broke out on lap 217. Joey Logano and Ross Chastain both tried to dive-bomb the dogleg, which did not work. Taking out numerous contenders like Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, and Ross Chastain. Austin Cindric suffered the worst damage of the wreck, after running up front all day and continuing a nightmare start to the season for the No. 2 Team Penske Ford. 

More trouble for Team Penske as Joey Logano was caught in a massive wreck on lap 254 immediately off the restart. The crash would end Logano’s day—he had been in contention for the win all afternoon, and instead will head home with a destroyed race car and a big points deficit. 

Ryan Blaney was able to hold off a surging Christopher Bell to capture his first win of the 2026 season and his 18th of his career. Bell had taken 4 tires on the last pit stop, while Blaney took 2, which ended up being the winning call by Crew Chief Jonathan Hassler. 

Top 10 at Phoenix:

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

Next up: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Sunday for the Pennzoil 400.