Tyler Reddick Wins at Phoenix as Kyle Larson Wrecks Out and the Chase Tightens

Tyler Reddick is back in victory lane, and the NASCAR Cup Series Chase is suddenly wide open.

Reddick, who won five of the first nine races of the season but had not won since April, took the checkered flag in the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. His No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing shot through the middle of a four-wide pack on a restart with 19 laps to go, dove low through Turn 3 to run side-by-side with leader Chase Briscoe, and cleared him with 17 laps remaining. He held off a late push from pole-sitter Ryan Blaney to seal his sixth win of the year and his first at Phoenix.

Reddick’s crew gave him two fresh tires on the final pit stop, and the grip made the difference on the closing restart. “I just got really fortunate,” Reddick said after climbing from his car and scaling the fence to celebrate with fans.

Larson’s wreck shakes up the standings

The turning point came with 29 laps to go, when points leader Kyle Larson blew a tire entering Turn 1 and slammed his No. 5 Chevrolet into the outside wall. His Hendrick Motorsports crew tried to repair the car but could not get it back on the track, saddling Larson with a DNF, his fourth of the season.

Larson entered Phoenix with a 49-point lead over Denny Hamlin. He leaves with just a five-point edge over Christopher Bell, and six drivers now sit within 56 points of the lead.

It was a miserable day for Hamlin too. Running fourth with 91 laps to go, he blew a right-rear tire, was penalized for speeding on pit road, and finished 28th, the first time in 31 races he failed to finish on the lead lap. Hamlin is now fourth in the standings, 31 points back.

Three races left, seven drivers in range

Behind Reddick, Blaney finished second, Chase Elliott third, his first top-five finish in more than two months, Bell fourth and Corey Heim fifth. Joey Logano, who swept the first two stages, finished sixth and sits 44 points behind Larson. “I don’t feel like much of a long shot anymore,” Logano said.

The updated standings after Phoenix: Larson leads, followed by Bell (5 back), Briscoe (24 back), Hamlin (31 back), Blaney (40 back), Logano (44 back) and Reddick (56 back). Each of the top seven drivers mathematically controls his own championship path over the final three races: Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead.

Reddick gained 58 points on Larson on Sunday. “We just kept chipping away with the balance on our car,” he said. “Put us in a spot to be able to capitalize in the end.”

The series heads to Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 25, a track where Larson has struggled: he failed to finish the spring race there and placed 26th last fall.

Reporting based on coverage by USA Today.