Winners And Losers From The Chase-changing NASCAR Cup Race In Phoenix

With the leader of the ball on the front wall, his closest pursuer suffering from tire failure, and some of the biggest point scorers of the day sitting 5th-7th in the standings, the title battle just got tighter at Phoenix Raceway.

Tyler Reddick’s first NASCAR Cup in six months has put him just 56pts out of the championship lead, although he is still seventh at the station. Entering Phoenix, there were only 49 points between first and second.

This race plays an important role in the championship, and there are plenty of winners, but also losers at Phoenix;

VICTOR: Tyler Reddick finally returns to Victory Lane

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing

Reddick scored a stunning 58 points over the championship leader in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race, his sixth win of the year, but his first in six months at Phoenix. He summoned it with a pencil called in the last warning, and then a bold team pass in the middle on the restart. Briscoe soon passed Chase, who had no answer for the older crowns. Reddick is almost as excited as ever after the race, even climbing the fence as 2311 punches on his way to title contention.

LOSER: Kyle Larson after a rough weekend

Phoenix was never going to have a good day for the championship. Larson struggled in practice, qualified 22nd, and made little progress at the start of the race. Even with the adjustments, it seemed like the best they could hope for was 15th-20th with the player points. It was a huge drop after six consecutive Chase races with sixth or better finishes, but late in the race, the lack of a helmet made things exponentially worse. Larson hit the wall and fell out of the race as a DNF, scoring only three points. These words are yet to be carried out, but hardly at all. And now NASCAR heads to the top where Larson has never won.

WINNER: Team Penske re-enters the title fight

Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Joey Logano, Team Penske

Heading into Phoenix, all eyes were on Team Penske to see if they could continue Arizona’s dominance on the track and renew the battle at the top. They didn’t win, but they certainly made a lot of progress. Ryan Blaney finished second and teammate Joey Logano a perfect sixth while also sweeping both times. That effort helped Blaney to be 45 points in the lead after -40, and Logano to gain 48 points after -44. They are certainly back in contention, and there are stronger tracks to come for the team that has won three of the last four Cup Series titles.