Welcome back to Victory Lane, Tyler Reddick. The No. 45 23XI Racing driver captured the desert dub at Phoenix Raceway for his sixth victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season and his first in this season’s Chase presented by Mobil 1.
That triumph was not the only jaw-dropper of the weekend, though. Kyle Larson suffered a 34th-place finish and earned just three points, shrinking the defending Cup champion and current Chase leader's cushion by 44 markers as every other Chaser gained ground. Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports camp now sit only five points clear of Christopher Bell and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team with three races until a crown is awarded.
Of course, Bell is not the only driver within striking distance. Drivers second through seventh in the standings are within 56 markers of the No. 5 driver, split among Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske, and 23XI Racing. Panelists from the series debated which of these organizations is best positioned to usurp the Larson and Hendrick duo.
Cameron Richardson pointed to Team Penske, noting that while Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano missed out on a much-needed Phoenix win, back-to-back races at Talladega and Martinsville could not line up better for them. If the updated rules package for Sunday's race plays out like Daytona in the summer, Penske could return to superspeedway dominance. Blaney, Logano, and Austin Cindric all know Victory Lane on NASCAR's largest oval, while Martinsville has been a playground for Blaney with two wins and no finish worse than third over his last four postseason trips. Logano has also reeled off 14 consecutive top-10 finishes at the Virginia short track.
Dustin Albino and Zack Albert both highlighted the strength of Joe Gibbs Racing, which boasts three championship contenders lined up two, three, and four in the standings with Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Denny Hamlin. Albino noted that Bell is the closest he has been to the points lead all season with eight runner-up finishes, while Briscoe is on a career heater with a 3.5 average finish over his last four starts. Albert added that JGR's yearlong excellence and history of winning at the three remaining tracks make their 40-point or more deficits a tall but possible hurdle in their pursuit of a first Cup crown since 2019.
Pat DeCola made the case for Tyler Reddick, who sits seventh in the Chase and 56 points behind Larson. Despite the gap, Reddick holds past victories at two of the remaining three tracks — Talladega and Homestead — and his Phoenix win proved the 23XI team that won five of the first nine races is still a major threat. Zach Sturniolo also championed Team Penske's late-season reputation, emphasizing Blaney and Logano's stellar track records at Talladega, Martinsville, and Homestead as proof that the championship remains within their grasp.
