Sunday's Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway served as the official flipping of the script for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase. Heading into the day, Kyle Larson held a 49-point advantage over the field. Leaving Sunday's race, which was won by Tyler Reddick, five drivers are now within that 49-point threshold of Larson's point lead.
It was a wild reversal of fortunes for Larson, and equally, Reddick, the race's winner.
Reddick, who won five of the opening nine races of the season, and looked like a bonafide championship contender, fell into a summer slump, one that he had been unable to shake even after entering the Chase.
He finally snapped the slump, as he gained the lead on a restart with 18 laps remaining, and he never looked back. Reddick, who was on two fresh tires late in the race, was able to hold off Ryan Blaney, who had four fresh tires, behind him.
The win is the sixth of the season for Reddick, and his first since the ninth race of the season at Kansas Speedway. And while Reddick didn't quite make it into the grouping of drivers who pulled to within 49 points of Larson on Sunday, he isn't far off. Reddick now sits seventh in the standings, 56 points behind Larson.
Chase Elliott took a third-place result on a quiet, but decent afternoon for the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and he was followed across the finish line by Christopher Bell.
Bell, who has been frustrated by eight runner-up finishes this season, is runner-up again after a fourth-place finish on Sunday, because he is now second to Larson in the championship standings, and he sits just five points behind the driver of the No. 5 car heading into a date with the ever-treacherous Talladega Superspeedway next weekend.
Corey Heim, the part-time, soon to be full-time driver for 23XI Racing, came home with a solid fifth-place finish on Sunday.
Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top-10 finishers in the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
Bubba Wallace, who held the lead going into a late-race caution, was busted for speeding on pit road, which sent him to the rear of the field with under 20 laps to go. Wallace, a Chase contender, would only be able to fight back to a 17th-place finish.
Other Chase contenders outside of the top-10 on Sunday included Ryan Preece (18th), Austin Cindric (19th), William Byron (21st), Chris Buescher (22nd), Denny Hamlin (28th), and Kyle Larson (34th).
As Larson struggled mightily from the 22nd starting spot in Sunday's race, and Hamlin racked up 12 Stage Points between Stages 1 and 2, it appeared that Hamlin would be in a prime position to leave Phoenix in a good spot in the Chase Grid.
And honestly, all things considered, it didn't shake out horribly for Hamlin, who now sits fourth in the standings, 31 points back, but Sunday's race was a massive missed opportunity.
In the final Stage, Hamlin suffered a flat rear tire, which caused him to make an unscheduled pit stop under the green flag. During the trip down pit road, Hamlin was busted for speeding, which added insult to injury, and when a caution flag came out moments later for a crash involving Cody Ware, Hamlin's pit road penalty would prevent him from taking the wave around, and it trapped him a lap down.
The only thing that saved Hamlin's day was the fact that Larson's troubling afternoon got even worse. On Lap 284, Larson cut a tire, and skidded hard into the outside wall in Turn 1. This would send Larson behind the wall, where he would finish 34th, 31 laps off the pace.
While it was a rough afternoon for Hamlin and Larson, the tough outing for both drivers allowed many drivers to work themselves back into championship contention. With three races remaining, it looks like we may have a hell of a fight on our hands for the Bill France Cup.
*This story will be updated with post-race quotes and additional information.
Updated Chase Grid (Three Races Remaining)
1. Kyle Larson, 2,370 points
2. Christopher Bell, -5
3. Chase Briscoe, -24
4. Denny Hamlin, -31
5. Ryan Blaney, -40
6. Joey Logano, -44
7. Tyler Reddick, -56
8. Austin Cindric, -130
9. Ty Gibbs, -132
10. Chase Elliott, -149
11. Carson Hocevar, -158
12. Bubba Wallace, -162
13. Daniel Suarez, -188
14. William Byron, -190
15. Chris Buescher, -204
16. Ryan Preece, -211
Add us as a preferred source on Google