Cup: Penske Sweeps Phoenix; Ryan Blaney Wins

What’s Happening?

The first checkered flag of the 2026 rendition of the NASCAR West Coast Swing (as abbreviated as it is) has officially flown. It was an exciting race, full of close, tight-cornered racing, a plethora of tire issues littered throughout, and a couple of heartbreaking, hard hits. Surviving it all was Ryan Blaney, who captured the flag in the Straight Talk 500 at Phoenix Raceway. He survived pit road mishaps and passed a total of 49 cars to win the race today. It marks his 18th career victory, sweeping the weekend for Team Penske. So, for Blaney and Team Penske, the race was the highest of highs. Not everyone escaped unscathed, though. Here are the key takeaways from NASCAR’s spring date at Phoenix.

A @Team_Penske SWEEP OF THE DESERT DOUBLE. Ryan @Blaney WINS at Phoenix! pic.twitter.com/4UiD0smO2Y

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 8, 2026

Fast Notes:

• Stage 1 belonged to Ryan Blaney. The Team Penske drivers were fast across the board in that opening stage, all three of their cars finishing inside the top 10, earning valuable stage points. Some mistakes in Stage 2 had them fall a little bit behind the JGR Toyotas but they were, for the most part, resilient and fought back valiantly. Stage points earners in the first stage include Blaney (10), Bell (9), Logano (8), Reddick (7), Hamlin (6), Cindric (5), Suarez (4), Gibbs (3), Byron (2), and Chastain (1).
• As referenced earlier, Team Penske made some mistakes in the second stage that put them just a smidge behind the JGR Toyotas. One of those costly mistakes was made by Ryan Blaney, who was clocked speeding in the second stage. To add insult to injury, by the halfway point of the final stage, he had lost a net of 24 positions on pit road today.
• Christopher Bell went on to win Stage 2. Stage points earners include Bell (10), Hamlin (9), Logano (8), Buescher (7), Wallace (6), Cindric (5), Hocevar (4), Reddick (3), Larson (2), and Gilliland (1).
• Tires were an issue today as many drivers suffered tire failures. Many of them even had multiple tire failures. Drivers who had tire issues include Kyle Busch, Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, and Ryan Preece. The tire compound that Goodyear brought was the same as last fall, which showed significant wear even then. Mix that with the new 750 horsepower package, and the average life span of the tires was about 20 laps, making for an interesting race
• There were a number of on-track incidents that took out some heavy hitters. The first major incident came on Lap 216 when Joey Logano triggered an incident that turned Ross Chastain in front of the field. Logano himself, Anthony Alfredo (subbing for Alex Bowman), Bubba Wallace, and Austin Cindric were taken out in that one. Then, Logano was involved in another wreck when he was turned by A. J. Allmendinger and spun up in front of the leaders. Drivers involved in that debacle include Chase Elliott, Shane van Gisbergen, Joey Logano, and Josh Berry.
• Aside from all the chaos, there were a number of drivers who were just off the pace from the drop of the green flag. One of those drivers was Anthony Alfredo, who was subbing for an injured Alex Bowman. It has been an abysmal start to the year for Bowman, who is in a contract year, and now he will earn zero points. With or without him, that NO. 48 car just looked out to lunch today. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was also awful from the jump. His car was not handling, and he went a lap down even before the conclusion of the first stage. Add in a couple of spins from tire failures, and it’s clear that the No. 8 RCR team is back to their old standard of less than mediocrity.
• A series of late race cautions set up for what was sure to be a thrilling finish. A restart with 12 to go saw Ty Gibbs lead the field around with Larson, Blaney, and Byron behind him. As they got through the first couple of turns, Blaney, on two tires, found himself battling it out with Ty Gibbs for the race lead. Not far behind, though, was Christopher Bell, who took four fresh tires on the pit stop. With 10 to go, Blaney made his move and cleared Ty Gibbs for the race lead. Larson ran third, Christopher Bell fourth. With six to go, Bell cleared Larson for 2nd. He put his sights on Blaney. He wasn’t able to get it done in time. Ryan Blaney did it again, winning at Phoenix for Roger Penske.

Caution Tracker

• Lap 61: End of Stage 1
• Lap 93: Kyle Bush Into the Wall
• Lap 107: Debris
• Lap 132: Chase Briscoe Blows a Tire
• Lap 157: Noah Gragson Tire Failure
• Lap 185: End of Stage 2
• Lap 210: Ryan Preece Spins
• Lap 216: Logano Spins Chastain
• Lap 247: Debris
• Lap 254: Logano Spins, Collecting Berry and Elliott
• Lap 288: Austin Dillon, Tire Failure
• Lap 294: Zane Smith, Ty Dillon, and John Hunter Nemechek Crash

Race Results

He would not be denied today!@Blaney wins at @phoenixraceway! pic.twitter.com/WzZ0NSZ8rF

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 8, 2026

Points Standings (4 of 26)

Got it done in the desert.@Blaney wins at Phoenix! pic.twitter.com/53C3Pl1pfE

— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) March 8, 2026

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