Tyler Reddick returned to form at Phoenix Raceway, preventing a pair of three-peat attempts and effectively keeping his championship hopes alive with a statement win in the Freeway Insurance 500.
The driver for 23XI Racing bested pole sitter Ryan Blaney — who was in pursuit of his third consecutive victory in the Valley of the Sun — by 0.801 seconds for his series-leading sixth win of the season and first of his career at the 1-mile Arizona track.
Reddick won by optimizing two fresh tires on the final pit stop of the day, going from fourth to the lead in the 19-lap dash to the checkered flag. The California-born racer blistered by Chase Briscoe, who chose not to pit with 27 to go, already having taken four tires 12 laps earlier, hoping track position would lead to a third consecutive win.
Late catastrophe for title favorites Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin tightened the Chase standings considerably with three races remaining.
Not only did Larson’s 49-point lead shrink to just five points over fourth-place finisher Christopher Bell, but the gap to Reddick in seventh is also now just 56. The biggest loser was Hamlin, who dropped from second to fourth, but he technically gained on the leader, now only 31 back.
Team Penske appeared primed for victory between Blaney’s runner-up finish and Joey Logano’s stage-sweeping performance, but they now at least find themselves 40 and 44 points back, respectively.
Reddick, Blaney and Chase Elliott made up the podium positions, while Bell, Corey Heim, Logano, Daniel Suarez, Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Ty Gibbs completed the top-10.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tyler Reddick reenters NASCAR title fight with win at Phoenix