Reddick wins in Phoenix as NASCAR Cup Series championship tightens after miserable day for Larson
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Tyler Reddick earned his sixth win of the season in a NASCAR playoff race on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, becoming one of several drivers to make big gains in the Cup Series championship standings on a miserable day for leader Kyle Larson.
Reddick's No. 45 Toyota overtook Chase Briscoe with 17 laps remaining and held on for the win. The 23XI driver had the hottest car in the sport early in the year, winning four of the season's first six races, but had a big lull over the summer.
Now he's moved within striking distance of the No. 1 spot in the Chase with three races remaining.
“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 said. "Something about today ... I had a really good feeling.”
Larson is now just five points ahead of Christopher Bell in the Cup Series standings heading into Talladega next week. Briscoe is in third, 24 points back, while Denny Hamlin (31), Ryan Blaney (40), Joey Logano (44) and Reddick (56) are still in the hunt.
“It’s going to be a battle, that’s for sure,” Bell said. “We’re right there in it. Really proud of our team. They’ve been doing a really good job of bringing fast race cars, executing races. We’ve been able to qualify well and run up front in stages.”
Blaney — who had won two straight races in Phoenix — finished second on Sunday while Chase Elliott was third and Bell fourth. Briscoe finished eighth after back-to-back wins in Las Vegas and Charlotte and picked up more points in Phoenix.
Bubba Wallace led 52 laps in the second half of the race, but a pit road speeding penalty ended the 23XI driver’s chance at a win.
Larson's very bad day
Larson's No. 5 Chevrolet struggled all day and then smacked the wall late in the race after his right front tire went flat going into a turn. His day was over and he finished 34th.
Larson entered the day with a 49-point lead in the playoff standings over the second-place Hamlin, but had a disappointing qualifying effort on Saturday and started 22nd, well behind most of the other title contenders.
“I was just trying to salvage anything — in the top 20 would have been great,” Larson said. “It's a bummer, but it is what it is. It happens.”
He wasn't any better on Sunday — the Hendrick Motorsports star stayed in the middle to back of the pack most of the afternoon and fell a lap behind the field midway through the second stage. The flat tire made things even worse.
It was a surprising hiccup after a dominant six-race postseason run that included two wins, two second-place finishes and an average finish of 2.83.
Hamlin — who is still looking for his first Cup Series championship — couldn't take full advantage of Larson's tough day after a flat right rear tire while running fourth on lap 221. The No. 11 Toyota was also penalized for speeding on pit road as he struggled to control the car coming off the track. He finished 28th.
Logano wins both stages for 20 points
Logano won both the 60-lap first stage and 125-lap second stage, picking up the maximum possible 20 points.
He took four fresh tires during a yellow-flag stop late in the first stage before grabbing the lead from Hamlin, who took just two. Blaney led the first 46 laps but a slow pit stop dropped him back to eighth. He recovered to place fourth in the stage.
Logano — who has won four times in Phoenix — breezed to the second stage win, finishing well ahead of Briscoe and Bell.
Up next
The Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama next weekend for the eighth of 10 postseason races.
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