| AVONDALE, AZ – March 9, 2026 – Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway, claiming his first win of 2026 and the 18th Cup Series win of his career. This win also marks Team Penske’s 108th series win with Ford and Doug Yates’ 450th NASCAR career win since beginning his career in 1990. “Congratulations to Roger, Jonathan, Ryan, and everyone at Team Penske on the win at Phoenix,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Ryan was able to drive to the front of the field throughout the race and Jonathan made a great call on that final pit stop. This win marks the 450th NASCAR win of my career across the Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and Craftsman Truck Series since I started with Robert Yates Racing in 1990. Every single one of those wins has come with Ford Racing. I am thankful for the Ford family, all the employees at Ford Motor Company, and our employees who contributed to those wins.”“Perseverance. That’s a great word to kind of describe our day. I had a couple mistakes on pit road and learned from them and moved forward, and I didn’t have a mistake the rest of the day. It was unfortunate that they happened back-to-back, but these guys learned from it and rectified it and we were able to stay in the game. Our car was fast enough to be in the game. I thought the 20 was the best car on the day for sure, but we stayed in the game enough and Jonathan made a great call for two on the last caution and we were able to get the lead there and then hold the 20 off. I don’t know how many more laps I could have held him off, but it was enough laps to do it. I’m proud of the whole group for sticking with it all day and cool to win here again, just a handful of months later,” commented Blaney.Team Penske’s Joey Logano started Sunday’s race from the pole position and led the opening 45 laps, while teammate Ryan Blaney ran inside the top five early. Blaney went on to capture his sixth career stage win at Phoenix Raceway, the most he has earned at any track, while Logano finished Stage 1 in P3. Stage 2 brought a wave of cautions that shaped the remainder of the race. A crash on lap 104 collected two drivers running inside the top 15, and several additional cautions followed due to tire failures. Ryan Blaney battled back from the rear of the field twice after issues on pit road forced him to restart at the back of the pack, but the No. 12 team worked its way back toward the front. The final stage featured constant strategy calls and shifting track position as teams navigated the race’s record-tying 12 cautions. A late restart placed Ty Gibbs on the front row with Blaney lined up inside the top five. Blaney quickly charged forward, passing Gibbs within two laps and taking control of the race. Following a two-tire call from crew chief Jonathan Hassler on the final pit stop, Blaney maintained the lead on the final restart with 12 laps remaining and held off Christopher Bell by 0.400 seconds to capture the victory. Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland finished in P12, and RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece finished in P13, Chris Buescher finished in P14, and Brad Keselowski finished in P15.In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Daniel Dye with AM Racing and Chandler Smith with Hettinger Racing were the top 2 finishing Fords in the GovX 200 race. The NASCAR Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series travel to Las Vegas, Nevada next week and race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 42 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 486 WINS – 450 POLES |
