By Roy J. Akers -www.skyviewsports.net
Race four of the NASCAR CUP series will take place in Phoenix this weekend and the doubleheader will add IndyCar with a race filled weekend. Ryan Preece shared time with the media (above left) and we have news from all three series.
Let’s drop the green flag on the weekend!
Toyota
NASCAR, along with the ARCA Menards Series, head out to Phoenix Raceway for the first of two trips this season. The weekend in the desert culminates with a 312-lap race for the Cup Series on Sunday.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS
Reddick continues historic start … After a dominating performance at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) last Sunday, Tyler Reddick earned his third consecutive victory to begin the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, becoming the first driver in series history to accomplish such a feat. The triumph also made Reddick the second driver in the Next Gen era to win three straight races, joining Toyota teammate Christopher Bell, who did such last season. Reddick’s historic start to the season now has him leading the Cup Series points standings by 70 points over 23XI Racing teammate, Bubba Wallace. Reddick has also led 112 laps through these three races, 26 more than Wallace, who sits second in that statistical category.
Toyota seeks to match win streak milestone … With Reddick’s three straight wins to start the season, Toyota now sits just one win away from matching its consecutive victory streak record of four, which it has accomplished in four separate occasions in the Cup Series. The last time Toyota captured four straight victories was in 2017 where former Toyota drivers, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, each captured two wins in the stretch – Truex at Chicagoland Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway and Busch at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway. The two wins Truex captured in that stretch were among his eight victories in what became his championship-winning season.
Bell seeks Phoenix spring three-peat … Bell returns to Phoenix Raceway looking for his third consecutive win in the spring race after terrific performances the last two seasons. In 2024, the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver led 50 laps on the way to victory and then followed it up by leading 105 of the 312 laps last season in a dominant win. The one-mile short oval has been one of Bell’s best tracks on his Cup Series career, with three top-fives and seven top-10s, along with those two victories, in 12 previous starts.
Chevy
| A Special Weekend for Chevrolet: The weekend will feature a rare crossover between two of motorsport’s most competitive series – NASCAR and the NTT INDYCAR Series. For Chevrolet, the weekend is an opportunity to display its diverse profile in both stock car and open-wheel racing with the Bowtie brand boasting as the only manufacturer that will compete in all four events. A combined total of 75 Team Chevy drivers are entered for this weekend’s competition including 18 in the NASCAR Cup Series, 30 in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, 15 in the ARCA Menards Series and 12 in the NTT INDYCAR Series. Chevrolet has had a long history of success at the one-mile desert oval, including three championship-clinching performances and 27 wins in the Cup Series and two championships and 10 wins in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. In INDYCAR, the Bowtie brigade earned its first win on an oval in 1969 at Phoenix Raceway, also marking its first of 10 all-time wins at the track. |
| MAKING MOVESWith the first road course event in the books, the NASCAR Cup Series points standings sees three fresh faces in the top-10 – all of which come from the Chevrolet camp. Capitalizing on their road racing prowess, Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell all earned top-10 results at Circuit of The Americas to propel each of them to a double-digit jump in the standings heading into the west coast swing. Leading the charge was the 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native that drove his No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to his season-best runner-up finish in the Lone Star State – marking back-to-back top-five results to kick-off the season. The finish, along with a 45-point day, was enough to push Van Gisbergen up 11 spots to fifth in the standings. Allmendinger and McDowell each earned their best finish of the season at COTA and will head to Phoenix ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, in the points standings. |
 DOUBLING-UP Sharing the seat of the organization’s third NASCAR Cup Series entry, Austin Hill will take his turn behind the wheel of the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet this weekend for his first of five starts in the division this season. Currently competing in his fifth full-time campaign in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with the Chevrolet organization, Hill enters the weekend with 15 Cup Series starts under his belt, including a career-best finish of ninth that came in the entry at the Chicago Street Race last season. The 31-year-old Winston, Georgia, native has already earned one trip to victory lane this season – driving his No. 21 Chevrolet to the win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Since then, Hill has managed to maintain the points lead through the first-three weekends – holding a 28-point lead over his teammate and reigning champion, Jesse Love. Hill’s experience at the one-mile desert oval includes eight career starts in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series – producing six top-10s, including a best-finish of fourth in the March 2024 event. |
 BYRON’S BACK With a rotation of Team Chevy drivers behind the wheel of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this season, it’s the 2017 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Champion, William Byron, that will be behind the reigns for a double-duty weekend in the desert. The 28-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native has a short but successful resume in the second-tier series. Byron competed in just one full-time campaign in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series before his venture to the Cup Series – a stint that ended with four wins, ‘Rookie of the Year’ honors and a championship title. The Team Chevy driver made two appearances in the series last season – finishing no worse than second, including the win in front of a hometown crowd at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Byron is on an elite list of drivers that have earned victories in both of NASCAR’s top-two divisions at Phoenix Raceway – earning one win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with JR Motorsports in 2017 and one win in the Cup Series with Hendrick Motorsports in 2023. |
