There was no shortage of motivation as three drivers all vying for their first-career victory in the marquee NASCAR Cup Series decided the dramatic outcome at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe had to hold off the field on not one, but two late-race restarts on the one-mile desert oval, including the final restart with three laps remaining to earn his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in the Ruoff Mortgage 500.
Fast pit stops for Briscoe’s John Klausmeier-led crew helped all day. His 101 laps out front were second only to pole-winner Ryan Blaney’s 144 laps led. But Briscoe certainly had to earn this win on track holding off the field on those late-race restarts with cars sometimes fanning out seven-wide in the frenetic shuffle to the front.
Chevrolet drivers Chastain and Tyler Reddick took Briscoe three-wide on the final restart – all fueled by the motivation of that first win, but Briscoe’s Ford was able to drive away leaving them to settle runner-up between themselves.
Chastain’s runner-up finish is his second consecutive top-three finish for the Trackhouse Racing organization. Richard Childress Racing’s Reddick placed third followed by pole-sitter, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch.
“That was so much fun to get to race like that at this level,’’ Chastain said, adding of the last lap competition, “That’s so cool to race with Tyler and Chase. That’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Briscoe’s veteran teammate Kevin Harvick finished sixth and that top-10 was good enough to tie a huge mark of success shared only by two NASCAR Hall of Famers. Harvick’s 18th consecutive top-10 at Phoenix matches an all-time NASCAR Cup Series record set by both Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
Another former series champion, Kyle Busch finished seventh leading the Joe Gibbs Racing charge. Penske’s Joey Logano, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez and Roush Fenway Keselowski driver Chris Buescher rounded out the top-10 respectively.
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who ran up front for much of the race, suffered a DNF – pitting with 74 laps remaining with what his crew diagnosed as a broken valve spring in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Larson was officially scored 34th – the second sub-30th place finish of the season, including a crash at the Daytona 500 (32nd-place finish).
Larson already scored a victory at Auto Club Speedway this season, however, and is still ranked fourth in the championship, 10 points behind new leader Logano.
Both Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Penske’s Blaney earned their first Stage wins of the season. There were 14 lead changes among six drivers.
The NASCAR Cup Series next races at the newly-renovated Atlanta Motor Speedway in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Blaney is the defending race winner on the 1.5-mile high-banks which will now feature new pavement and progressive banking.
Note: Inspection in the Cup Series garage is complete with no issues, confirming Briscoe as the race winner. The Nos. 9, 8, 12 , 4 and 18 will be transported back to the R&D Center.
