{"id":61829,"date":"2026-10-18T19:49:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T00:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=61829"},"modified":"2026-10-18T19:49:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T00:49:02","slug":"tyler-reddick-returns-to-victory-lane-in-chase-changing-race-at-phoenix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/18\/tyler-reddick-returns-to-victory-lane-in-chase-changing-race-at-phoenix\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyler Reddick returns to Victory Lane in Chase-changing race at Phoenix"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Reid Spencer <\/b>| NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/p>\n

AVONDALE, Ariz. \u2014 After a phenomenal start to the 2026 season, followed by an agonizing dry spell, Tyler Reddick returned to Victory Lane on Sunday\u2014and simultaneously did NASCAR Cup Series leader Kyle Larson a significant favor.<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Snookering the top contenders in the Chase presented by Mobil 1 after a restart on Lap 294, Reddick surged past Chase Briscoe into the lead a lap later and pulled away to beat runner-up Ryan Blaney by 0.801 seconds in the Freeway Insurance 500, as Briscoe faded to eighth on older tires.<\/p>\n

Reddick\u2019s sixth win of the season and first at Phoenix Raceway, combined with Larson\u2019s catastrophic 34th-place result, brought seven drivers into the mix for the series championship with three races left.<\/p>\n

The driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota won five of the first nine races this season, including the first three, but since then had endured a winless streak of 23 races.<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThat’s way too long,\u201d a relieved Reddick said after performing a massive celebratory burnout in front of the main grandstand. \u201cMan, the way we worked there, I mean, thinking of Phoenix, we wanted to be a lot better when we came back here (after the March race). I think we checked that box.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, this group never lost motivation, never lost the drive to keep searching and keep trying to find ways to make ourselves better, just be an all-around better team\u2026 Just something about today, I had a really good feeling. Practice was amazing. Yeah, we’re back to Victory Lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before Sunday\u2019s race at the one-mile speedway, Larson led second-place Denny Hamlin by 49 points with four races left in the postseason. After Reddick won for the 14th time in his career, there are now six drivers within 56 points of the Chase leader.<\/p>\n

Fourth-place finisher Christopher Bell climbed one spot in the standings and trails Larson by five points, having trimmed 46 points from his previous deficit to the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re right there in it,\u201d said Bell, who led a race-high 85 laps and finished third in each of the first two stages. \u201cReally proud of our team. They’ve been doing a really good job of bringing fast race cars, executing races. We’ve been able to qualify well and run up front in stages.<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI felt like our performance probably tapered off a little bit as the day went on. We had the strategy to put tires there at the end, had good restarts to get some track position. We’re in the hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Briscoe is 24 points back in third place, followed by Hamlin, who fell from second to fourth but gained 18 points to 31 back, despite a blown tire that relegated him to 28th at the finish.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beginning was not great, and once we got back in traffic, I thought the second half of the race we were really strong,\u201d said Hamlin, who was trapped a lap down after pitting with a shredded tire on Lap 221 and incurring a speeding penalty.<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cCould contend for the win. Just right there with the 19 (Briscoe) when the tire blew (while battling) for third.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blaney, the pole winner, is 40 points in arrears, followed by Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who swept the first two stages of Sunday\u2019s race and is 44 points behind Larson after a sixth-place run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good and bad, I guess,\u201d said Logano, who led 84 laps but lost track position on pit road. \u201cThe good part is that we were fast and led a bunch of laps and won two stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bad part is we gave away a win. That part hurts a little bit, but I guess we made up close to 50 points to the leader, so you can\u2019t be too mad about it. I wish we had it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/RichmondWaterHeater Ford, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After qualifying 22nd Larson struggled from the outset in a car that lacked speed. Despite a two-tire call that vaulted him temporarily to fifth, Larson remained 22nd at the end of Stage 1. From that point, his race went from bad to worse.<\/p>\n

On Lap 283 Larson blew a tire in Turn 1, slammed the outside wall and retired from the event, scoring just three points for his efforts, compared with Reddick, who notched 61.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never found the improvements we needed, so that was a bummer,\u201d Larson said. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect to be good, but I didn\u2019t expect to be that bad either. It wasn\u2019t a lot of fun today, but we were just trying to salvage what we could of the day.<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 Kelley Blue Book 100th Anniversary Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll go to Talladega and try to forget about today and get back after it. We\u2019ve done well at the superspeedways, so hopefully we can execute, get some points and keep ourselves in the hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only saving grace for Larson was that Reddick\u2019s win kept him in the series lead. Either Bell, Briscoe or Hamlin could have taken the top spot in the Chase with a victory.<\/p>\n

Larson\u2019s teammate, Chase Elliott finished third but remains 149 points out of the Chase lead. Reddick\u2019s teammate, Bubba Wallace, led 52 laps and had control of the race in the final stage before a pit road speeding penalty under caution for Larson\u2019s accident knocked him back to 17th at the finish.<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 18: Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 DeWalt Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway on October 18, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Corey Heim came home fifth, followed by Logano, Daniel Suarez, Briscoe, Ross Chastain and Ty Gibbs.<\/p>\n

All told, there were six cautions for 43 laps and 21 lead changes among 10 drivers. Reddick led the only the final 18 laps after a lane opened up for him soon after the final restart.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, just got really fortunate,\u201d Reddick said. \u201cI didn’t have a good launch. There was a hole. I was able to get through it. I thought the 19 (Briscoe) was going to be able to cover the move into (Turn) 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got him loose. We checked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Cup Chase continues next Sunday with the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Freeway Insurance 500 Winner – Tyler Reddick (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota)<\/p>\n

Freeway Insurance 500 Crew Chief Winner – Billy Scott (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PHXScott101826WEST.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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NASCAR Cup Series Race – Freeway Insurance 500<\/b><\/p>\n

Phoenix Raceway<\/b><\/p>\n

Avondale, Arizona<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, October 18, 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (6)  Tyler Reddick (C), Toyota, 312.<\/p>\n

                2. (1)  Ryan Blaney (C), Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                3. (16)  Chase Elliott (C), Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                4. (5)  Christopher Bell (C), Toyota, 312.<\/p>\n

                5. (36)  Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 312.<\/p>\n

                6. (2)  Joey Logano (C), Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                7. (14)  Daniel Suarez (C), Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                8. (3)  Chase Briscoe (C), Toyota, 312.<\/p>\n

                9. (11)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                10. (7)  Ty Gibbs (C), Toyota, 312.<\/p>\n

                11. (9)  Josh Berry, Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                12. (28)  Carson Hocevar (C), Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                13. (30)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                14. (13)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                15. (20)  Zane Smith, Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                16. (18)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                17. (23)  Bubba Wallace (C), Toyota, 312.<\/p>\n

                18. (26)  Ryan Preece (C), Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                19. (15)  Austin Cindric (C), Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                20. (12)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                21. (10)  William Byron (C), Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                22. (17)  Chris Buescher (C), Ford, 312.<\/p>\n

                23. (21)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                24. (35)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                25. (29)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 312.<\/p>\n

                26. (25)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                27. (27)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 312.<\/p>\n

                28. (4)  Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 311.<\/p>\n

                29. (34)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 311.<\/p>\n

                30. (31)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 311.<\/p>\n

                31. (33)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 310.<\/p>\n

                32. (19)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 308.<\/p>\n

                33. (32)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 307.<\/p>\n

                34. (22)  Kyle Larson (C), Chevrolet, Accident, 281.<\/p>\n

                35. (37)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, Accident, 220.<\/p>\n

                36. (8)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 201.<\/p>\n

                37. (24)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 155.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  103.207 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 1 Mins, 23 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .801 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  6 for 43 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  21 among 10 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   R. Blaney (C) 1-46;D. Hamlin (C) 47-50;W. Byron (C) 51-52;J. Logano (C) 53-63;R. Blaney (C) 64;J. Logano (C) 65-68;C. Bell (C) 69-122;J. Logano (C) 123-126;J. Berry 127;C. Bell (C) 128-158;R. Blaney (C) 159;J. Logano (C) 160-188;R. Blaney (C) 189;J. Logano (C) 190-225;R. Blaney (C) 226;B. Wallace (C) 227-268;C. Briscoe (C) 269-272;T. Gibbs (C) 273-274;B. Wallace (C) 275-284;R. Blaney (C) 285;C. Briscoe (C) 286-294;T. Reddick (C) 295-312.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Christopher Bell (C) 2 times for 85 laps; Joey Logano (C) 5 times for 84 laps; Bubba Wallace (C) 2 times for 52 laps; Ryan Blaney (C) 6 times for 51 laps; Tyler Reddick (C) 1 time for 18 laps; Chase Briscoe (C) 2 times for 13 laps; Denny Hamlin (C) 1 time for 4 laps; Ty Gibbs (C) 1 time for 2 laps; William Byron (C) 1 time for 2 laps; Josh Berry 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,11,20,12,19,24,9,1,45,21<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,19,20,21,23,12,45,11,34,9<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. \u2014 After a phenomenal start to the 2026 season, followed by an agonizing dry spell, Tyler Reddick returned to Victory Lane on Sunday\u2014and simultaneously did NASCAR Cup Series leader Kyle Larson a significant favor. Snookering the top contenders in the Chase presented by Mobil 1 after<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":61844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,395,496],"class_list":["post-61829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-phoenix-raceway","tag-tyler-reddick"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-g5f","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2300869327-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61829"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61849,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61829\/revisions\/61849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}