The 2026 Straight Talk 500 at Phoenix Raceway

     Welcome to the dry deserts of Arizona, where the Straight Talk 500 will be held. The incorporation of the famous "Dogleg" restarts will be a doozy, that's for sure. This was the site of Christopher Bell's threepeat last year, so we'll see if he can take home the flag again here today. Don't forget about the other contenders, though. Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano have both won here one championship occasions. Let's find out who will take the win today in Avondale.

     Stage 1 was mostly the Penske cars leading the field, with the Toyotas gaining quickly. After the Penske teammates swapped, Ryan Blaney would win an uneventful stage 1.

     Kyle Larson received a penalty for speeding on pit road, while Christopher Bell would take the lead from Joey Logano. Then, our first caution came out when Kyle Busch had a flat and hit the wall, but what actually brought out the yellow was SVG, who had spun out whilst having a flat tire as well. This caused the field to undergo pit stops, with some smooth, and some not so much. Ryan Blaney had to come in twice to fix a loose wheel, while Bubba Wallace received a speeding penalty.

     The caution came out again on lap 104, with Daniel Suarez spinning and Chase Elliott collecting rear damage. Then, when we got going again, it was a hard-fought battle between Bell and Logano, with the 22 initially getting by, but Bell struck back and cleared Logano for the lead. 

     The yellow was out on lap 131 again, after Chase Briscoe had a cut tire and hit the wall. Ryan Blaney had a loose wheel again and had to stop in Logano's pit to fix it. Christopher Bell resumed the race lead after the caution, but we had another yellow for guess what? A cut tire. Noah Gragson suffered the same fate as Busch and Briscoe and hit the wall, bringing out yet another caution. Oh, and I forgot to mention, two other drivers had a cut tire after running over debris from Gragson's car. Oh, my word. Bell ended up winning the second stage after tons of chaos.

     Bell continued to lead without any issues, but the caution came out for Ryan Preece making contact with Connor Zilsich through the dogleg, causing his Ford to spin across the track. Then, on the restart, Logano and Ross Chastain made contact and both cars went up the track, sending Chastain, Austin Cindric, and Anthony Alfredo straight into the wall. Alfredo, who was filling in for Alex Bowman, would end up in the infield care center along with Cindric, who suffered massive damage to his Ford.

     SVG brought out the caution on lap 245, after spinning in turn 3, which would mean the final round of pit stops would be coming up shortly. After the restart, Joey Logano spun across the track and got nailed Suarez and Josh Berry at the same time. He suffered significant damage that would end his day early. 

     After many struggles, Ryan Blaney worked his way up to P2 when the caution came out for Austin Dillon with a flat tire. Oh my gosh, this isn't even funny anymore. Ty Gibbs then controlled the field on the restart, but shortly after Zane Smith brought out another caution as he spun, with Ty Dillon and John Hunter Nemechek collecting damage. 

     As Gibbs and Blaney battled for a while, the 12 car would end up gaining the lead while Bell charged his way into P2, it wouldn't be quite enough though, as Ryan Blaney crossed the line to win in Arizona.

     Phew, finally I don't have to worry about cut tires anymore! Well, that's it for today, join us next time in Las Vegas.