The option tire paid off as NASCAR saw many comers and goers throughout the day at Phoenix. The largest headline coming out of the weekend though is Christopher Bell. He is the first driver to three-peat in the Gen-7 car and shows no signs of stopping.
Joe Gibbs Racing dropping the extracurriculars rule seems to be one of the best moves the organization has ever made thanks to how well Bell has done this season so far.
A late restart made the three-peat look much harder, but after holding off teammate Denny Hamlin, and dirt racing rival Kyle Larson, it was all the 20 team’s.
Stage Winners and Xfinity Fastest Lap
Pole winner William Byron, dominated stage one earning the win, while Bell won stage two. Michael McDowell earned the Xfinity Fastest Lap bonus point.
Final Results from COTA
Top Storylines
Below are the stories of note heading out of the weekend.
Christopher Bell
The last time a driver was this dominant was Kyle Larson in 2021. The trend shows that Bell may be put in a good spot to win the championship this season as well. Larson was the last driver to win three-in-a-row. The upcoming tracks all favor Bell as well as he and crew chief Adam Stevens can continue to dominate.
Zane Smith
After averaging a finish of 33rd at Phoenix, the 25-year-old put together an impressive weekend for FRM. The 38 team had top five averages during practice and did not waste that as they found a top-ten finish. In comparison to previous results at 1-mile intermediates, the best finish for Smith in NASCAR’s top series was 17th.
The Option Tire
After hearing complaints about Phoenix, NASCAR and Goodyear pulled together for the fans to bring enjoyable racing and strategies out to the desert. After last year’s fiasco at Richmond overshadowed the new tire, Sunday’s competition brought it into a new light. Many drivers were finding themselves upfront, and used strategy to make up for mistakes. This created a pit strategy in which many teams had to be content with being passed early on.
The question of whether or not the tire will be used during the championship, we are not sure yet. A NASCAR spokesperson has shared though that if the tire did well during Sunday’s race, it would be the main tire during the championship race.
Team Penske
While Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry finished fourth, the Penske Ford’s had a comparatively quiet day. Joey Logano’s restart mishap, and Ryan Blaney’s blown motor were the defining characteristics for the Mustangs. Austin Cindric still has his struggles as well. The 12 team was a favorite to win, but they will have to wait another race before they can claim a checkered flag. Also, Blaney’s finish is his worst at Phoenix since 2022. Logano made a come back late, but his problem was the option tires as he had to use them earlier compared to the rest of the leaders.
