Bounce Back Blaney

Ryan Blaney celebrates his win in the Straight Talk Wireless 500 from Phoenix Raceway! (Photo: Dominic Aragon/TRE)

Straight Talk Wireless 500: Ryan Blaney captured his first checkered flag of 2026 on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway. Blaney had to rebound from two subpar pit stops and a hold off a hard-charging Christopher Bell on the last run after taking just two tires on the final stop compared to Bell's four fresh Goodyear Eagles. The win was also Blaney's second straight win in the desert and 18th win of his career.

The race was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. It was one of the best Phoenix races in recent memory, and, in my opinion, maybe the best Phoenix race since the reconfiguration. It had everything you would want in a NASCAR race. The tire package Goodyear delivered was exceptional. It had a good amount of fall off that allowed comers and goers, and no doubt helped Ryan Blaney be able to charge through the field...twice...on his way to victory lane. The tire fall-off also allowed teams to push the envelope on setups and presented crew chiefs with decisions on pit strategy. All of this amped up the intensity, shuffled the field around, forced the drivers to manage their cars with their tires and within their strategies, and put more emphasis on car control. All great things to have to sit back and watch these professionals deal with in the desert heat, with the extra horsepower NASCAR pumped into their engines for the 2026 short tracks. On top of that, thanks to the great tires from Goodyear, crew chiefs pushing setups, and drivers going all out to manhandle their cars, we had attrition throughout the race with some blown tires and pileups on restarts. While I never really enjoy seeing cars careen into the wall at high speeds, seeing drivers and teams have to manage a race from start to finish in every possible facet delivered us an exceptional race. And it all set up to a late pit stop, some shuffled strategy, and the two fastest cars of the day going toe-to-toe for the trophy, with Ryan Blaney able to fend off and outmaneuver a determined Christopher Bell to snag his first win of the 2026 campaign.

Next up, the NASCAR Cup Series and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series head to Sin City for their races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Craftsman Truck Series enjoys another weekend off before its return on March 20 at Darlington Raceway. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series kicks off the weekend with The LiUNA! at 5:30 p.m. EST on The CW. The Cup Series takes center stage on Sunday afternoon with the Pennzoil 400 at 4:00 p.m. EST on FS1.

Las Vegas Picks:

Trucks = OFF

NOAPS = Kyle Larson

Cup = Kyle Larson