Tyler Reddick Wins Phoenix as Larson’s Cup Points Lead Shrinks to Five
Archive image: Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 14, 2026—not a photograph of the October Phoenix race. Liveries may differ. Photo: TaurusEmerald / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.
Tyler Reddick won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, October 18, 2026, after a late two-tire pit call helped put his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota in position for the final restart. The result also tightened the championship: NASCAR’s initial, unofficial standings left Kyle Larson only five points ahead of Christopher Bell.
NASCAR’s Phoenix results page lists Reddick ahead of Ryan Blaney by 0.801 seconds after 312 laps. Chase Elliott finished third, Bell fourth and Corey Heim fifth. Reddick led 18 laps, compared with 51 for Blaney and 85 for Bell.
Two tires made the difference late
In its October 18 race recap, NASCAR reports that Reddick gained four places on the last restart following a two-tire stop under a late caution. It was his sixth victory of 2026 and first since the season’s ninth race at Kansas.
The finish followed Saturday’s Team Penske front-row lockout. Blaney converted pole position into second place, while Joey Logano, who won both opening stages, finished sixth.
Larson’s difficult day changes the title picture
NASCAR’s separate account of Larson’s race says a late tire failure sent him into the wall and ended his afternoon in 34th. He earned no stage points; Bell collected 16, while Logano took the maximum 20 across the two stages.
The initial championship order illustrates the cost of that result. Larson entered Phoenix 49 points ahead of Denny Hamlin but left with Bell as his nearest challenger, five points behind. Chase Briscoe was 24 back, Hamlin 31, Blaney 40 and Logano 44. Reddick stood seventh, 56 points from the lead, with three Chase races remaining.
Update, October 18: NASCAR has since confirmed that Cup Series post-race inspection was completed without issues, making Reddick the official Phoenix winner. The initial points figures above were reported as unofficial. Hendrick Motorsports’ race report independently lists the same top-five finishers and five-point Larson–Bell gap.
Image credit: Archive image: Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 14, 2026—not a photograph of the October Phoenix race. Liveries may differ. Photo: TaurusEmerald / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display.