The 2026 Straight Talk Wireless 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 8, 2026, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the oval, it was the fourth race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Ryan Blaney won the race. Christopher Bell finished 2nd, and Kyle Larson finished 3rd. Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five, and Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Michael McDowell, and Erik Jones rounded out the top ten.
Report
Background
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race between 2020 and 2025. Phoenix Raceway has also hosted the CART, IndyCar Series, USAC and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The raceway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.
Straight Talk Wireless was announced as the title sponsor for the 2026 race, which became the "Desert Double" weekend with the NTT IndyCar Series's Good Ranchers 250.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 33 Austin Hill (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 48 Anthony Alfredo (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Alex Bowman, the original driver of the No. 48, was sidelined for the race due to vertigo sustained at Austin a week prior.
Practice Daniel Suárez was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 26.877 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 26.877 133.943 2 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 26.961 133.526 3 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.983 133.417 Official practice results
Qualifying Joey Logano scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.561 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 26.561 135.537 2 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.678 134.943 3 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 26.731 134.675 4 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 26.744 134.610 5 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 26.747 134.595 6 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 26.757 134.544 7 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 26.758 134.539 8 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 26.787 134.394 9 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.791 134.373 10 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 26.814 134.258 11 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.819 134.233 12 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.836 134.148 13 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 26.837 134.143 14 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.840 134.128 15 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 26.858 134.038 16 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 26.862 134.018 17 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 26.875 133.953 18 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 26.878 133.939 19 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 26.882 133.919 20 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.897 133.844 21 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 26.899 133.834 22 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 26.902 133.819 23 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 26.905 133.804 24 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.906 133.799 25 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.948 133.591 26 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.956 133.551 27 33 Austin Hill (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.959 133.536 28 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 27.021 133.230 29 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.037 133.151 30 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.041 133.131 31 48 Anthony Alfredo (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.088 132.900 32 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 27.094 132.871 33 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 27.133 132.680 34 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 27.182 132.441 35 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.207 132.319 36 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 27.516 130.833 37 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 0.000 0.000 Official qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 102 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 84 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 75 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 57 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 48 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 1
Stage Two Laps: 125
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 84 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 75 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 66 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 57 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 48 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 39 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 1
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 127
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 5 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 312 65 2 12 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 543 2 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 364 14 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 36 5 11 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 476 28 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 312 37 7 9 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 32 8 8 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 312 399 16 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 312 28 10 32 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 312 2711 18 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 312 26 12 30 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 312 26 13 13 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 312 24 14 17 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 312 3015 37 5 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 312 22 16 25 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 21 17 29 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 20 18 22 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 312 19 19 23 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 312 18 20 7 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 312 21 21 27 33 Austin Hill (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 0 22 21 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 312 15 23 26 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 1424 34 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 312 13 25 15 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 312 12 26 33 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 311 11 27 24 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 294 10 28 6 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 286 1029 19 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 281 8 30 4 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 254 11 31 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 253 2332 10 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 253 5 33 31 48 Anthony Alfredo (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 217 034 3 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 216 13 35 36 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 159 2 36 35 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 155 1 37 20 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 131 1 Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 23 among 8 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 12 for 86 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 32 minutes and 12 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television Fox Sports covered the race at the Phoenix Raceway. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and nine-time Phoenix winner Kevin Harvick called the race from the broadcast booth, with Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe joining for Stage 2. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side, and Larry McReynolds provided insight on-site during the race.
FS1Booth announcersPit reportersIn-race analyst Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Clint BowyerColor-commentator: Kevin HarvickColor-commentator: Townsend Bell (Stage 2)Color-commentator: James Hinchcliffe (Stage 2) Jamie LittleRegan Smith Larry McReynolds
Radio MRN covered the radio action for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and former crew chief Todd Gordon called the race when the field races past the start/finish line. Dan Hubbard called the action from turns 1 & 2, and Kurt Becker called the action from turns 3 & 4. Pit lane was manned by Lead MRN Pit Reporter Steve Post and Chris Wilner.
MRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Mike BagleyAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Turns 1 & 2: Dan HubbardTurns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker Steve PostChris Wilner
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Tyler Reddick 225 2 2 Ryan Blaney 165 (–60) 1 3 Bubba Wallace 153 (–72) 1 4 Chase Elliott 128 (–97) 5 Shane van Gisbergen 116 (–109) 18 6 Christopher Bell 113 (–112) 1 7 Joey Logano 113 (–112) 1 8 Michael McDowell 111 (–114) 2 9 Chris Buescher 111 (–114) 5 10 Kyle Larson 109 (–116) 2 11 William Byron 108 (–117) 11 12 Denny Hamlin 107 (–118) 5 13 A. J. Allmendinger 104 (–121) 4 14 Carson Hocevar 103 (–122) 2 15 Ty Gibbs 101 (–124) 4 16 Brad Keselowski 100 (–125)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 200 1 2 Ford 148 (–52) 1 3 Chevrolet 138 (–62)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References