Ryan Blaney has won his first NASCAR Cup Series race of the season after an impressive display at Phoenix Raceway.
It was a chaotic afternoon in Arizona, with plenty of tire blowouts, wrecks and cautions, but Blaney swerved it all to take the black and white checkered flag, even despite multiple mishaps from his team on pit road.
Blaney's victory well and truly saved the day for Team Penske on a weekend they had shown great pace, with Austin Cindric and Joey Logano both having been forced out of the race in separate wrecks.
The driver of the No. 12 Ford was able to hold off a charging Christopher Bell in the closing laps, even despite Bell having taken four tires during a late pit stop, and Blaney having only opted for two.
Behind the front two, reigning champion Kyle Larson came home in third, with Ty Gibbs in fourth having been in the lead with nine to go and looking as though he might take his first Cup Series victory.
Elsewhere, Denny Hamlin came home in fifth, ensuring three JGR cars inside the top five, while Bubba Wallace, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top eight. Reddick had been going for his fourth consecutive victory after a red-hot start to the campaign.
Earlier in the race, Blaney was also victorious in stage one, while Bell was the victor in stage two.
READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series team hit with triple penalty at Phoenix
Who won the NASCAR Cup Series Phoenix race today?
Here are the final race results from Phoenix.
| Position | Driver (Car No.) | Team (Manufacturer) | Gap | Points (Race Total) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Blaney (#12) | Team Penske (Ford) | LEADER | 65 |
| 2 | Christopher Bell (#20) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +0.399 | 54 |
| 3 | Kyle Larson (#5) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +2.175 | 36 |
| 4 | Ty Gibbs (#54) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +2.608 | 36 |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin (#11) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | +2.914 | 47 |
| 6 | Bubba Wallace (#23) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +3.563 | 37 |
| 7 | William Byron (#24) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +4.569 | 32 |
| 8 | Tyler Reddick (#45) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +5.039 | 39 |
| 9 | Michael McDowell (#71) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +5.694 | 28 |
| 10 | Erik Jones (#43) | Legacy Motor Club (Toyota) | +6.086 | 27 |
| 11 | Shane Van Gisbergen (#97) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | +6.304 | 26 |
| 12 | Todd Gilliland (#34) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | +6.413 | 26 |
| 13 | Ryan Preece (#60) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +6.709 | 24 |
| 14 | Chris Buescher (#17) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +7.126 | 30 |
| 15 | Brad Keselowski (#6) | RFK Racing (Ford) | +7.223 | 22 |
| 16 | Austin Dillon (#3) | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) | +7.532 | 21 |
| 17 | Kyle Busch (#8) | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) | +8.422 | 20 |
| 18 | Riley Herbst (#35) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | +9.141 | 19 |
| 19 | AJ Allmendinger (#16) | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) | +9.230 | 18 |
| 20 | Carson Hocevar (#77) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +9.627 | 21 |
| 21 | Austin Hill (#33) | Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) | +9.779 | 0 |
| 22 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (#47) | HYAK Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +9.896 | 15 |
| 23 | Chase Elliott (#9) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | +10.089 | 14 |
| 24 | Cody Ware (#51) | Rick Ware Racing (Chevrolet) | +10.504 | 13 |
| 25 | John H. Nemechek (#42) | Legacy Motor Club (Toyota) | +14.084 | 12 |
| 26 | Ty Dillon (#10) | Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet) | +1 Lap | 11 |
| 27 | Zane Smith (#38) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | OUT | 10 |
| 28 | Ross Chastain (#1) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | +26 Laps | 10 |
| 29 | Connor Zilisch (#88) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | OUT | 8 |
| 30 | Daniel Suarez (#7) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | OUT | 11 |
| 31 | Joey Logano (#22) | Team Penske (Ford) | OUT | 23 |
| 32 | Josh Berry (#21) | Wood Brothers Racing (Ford) | OUT | 5 |
| 33 | Anthony Alfredo (#48) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | OUT | 0 |
| 34 | Austin Cindric (#2) | Team Penske (Ford) | OUT | 13 |
| 35 | Cole Custer (#41) | Haas Factory Team (Chevrolet) | OUT | 2 |
| 36 | Noah Gragson (#4) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | OUT | 1 |
| 37 | Chase Briscoe (#19) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | OUT | 1 |
Stage two results
Here are the points scorers from the second stage at Phoenix.
| Pos | Driver (Car No.) | Team (Manufacturer) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Bell (#20) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | 10 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin (#11) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | 9 |
| 3 | Joey Logano (#22) | Team Penske (Ford) | 8 |
| 4 | Chris Buescher (#17) | RFK Racing (Ford) | 7 |
| 5 | Bubba Wallace (#23) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | 6 |
| 6 | Austin Cindric (#2) | Team Penske (Ford) | 5 |
| 7 | Carson Hocevar (#77) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | 4 |
| 8 | Tyler Reddick (#45) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | 3 |
| 9 | Kyle Larson (#5) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | 2 |
| 10 | Todd Gilliland (#34) | Front Row Motorsports (Ford) | 1 |
Stage one results
Here are the points scorers from the first stage at Phoenix.
| Pos | Driver (Car No.) | Team (Manufacturer) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Blaney (#12) | Team Penske (Ford) | 10 |
| 2 | Christopher Bell (#20) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | 9 |
| 3 | Joey Logano (#22) | Team Penske (Ford) | 8 |
| 4 | Tyler Reddick (#45) | 23XI Racing (Toyota) | 7 |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin (#11) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | 6 |
| 6 | Austin Cindric (#2) | Team Penske (Ford) | 5 |
| 7 | Daniel Suarez (#7) | Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet) | 4 |
| 8 | Ty Gibbs (#54) | Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) | 3 |
| 9 | William Byron (#24) | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | 2 |
| 10 | Ross Chastain (#1) | Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) | 1 |
READ MORE: Bubba Wallace set to miss race, but 23XI has a plan
