Memorable moments at Phoenix
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1988
In the first NASCAR Cup Series race at the track, Alan Kulwicki earns his first series win and drives clockwise around the track, coining the move a "Polish Victory Lap."
WATCH: Classic Phoenix races on The NASCAR Channel
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1991
Davey Allison hoists his first of two consecutive trophies at the track.
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1996
Bobby Hamilton earned his first NASCAR Cup Series victory and put the No. 43 car back in Victory Lane for the first time in 12 years.
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2004
Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates back-to-back wins at Phoenix Raceway.
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2006
Kevin Harvick completes the first-ever season sweep at Phoenix Raceway, which has hosted two races per year beginning in 2005.
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2007
Jeff Gordon ties Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career premier series win.
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2008
Jimmie Johnson becomes the winningest NASCAR Cup Series driver at Phoenix Raceway (at the time) with a third consecutive victory at the track.
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Tyler Barrick | Getty Images
2012
Perhaps the most visually memorable moment at Phoenix Raceway came in late 2012, with Clint Bowyer -- deep in the hunt for his first title -- sprinting through the garage area to confront Jeff Gordon. The pair had a run-in on track that effectively took Bowyer out of title contention, and a fracas ensued as the two drivers and their crews tussled.
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2014
Kevin Harvick had a walk-off win, but a second last-lap story line emerged. Needing to advance one position to advance to the Homestead-Miami Speedway championship race, Ryan Newman knocked non-playoff driver Kyle Larson up the track and out of the way to get the necessary spot, securing his berth in the championship race ... and ruffling a few feathers in the process.
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2015
Kevin Harvick wins for the fourth straight time at Phoenix Raceway, exhibiting the dominance he has had in the Valley of the Sun this decade.
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2015
Rain came at a fortuitous time for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the November 2015 race at Phoenix Raceway. Earnhardt came to pit road for fuel and tires one lap before a wreck on Lap 196. While on pit road, Earnhardt crossed the scoring line at the flag stand before Kevin Harvick, who had dominated with 143 laps led. Earnhardt inherited the top spot, and before track workers could clean up from the wreck, rain began to pour and the race was called. The win turned out to be Earnhardt's last Cup win.
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2016
Photo finish! Kevin Harvick beat Carl Edwards to the start-finish line by 0.010 seconds after a fender-clanging overtime finish in the spring 2016 race.
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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images
2017
In his second-to-last start with Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth piloted his No. 20 Toyota to Victory Lane for the 39th win of his career.
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2018
Kevin Harvick further cemented his hold as the best driver at Phoenix Raceway with his ninth NASCAR Cup Series win at the 1-mile track.
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2018
The fall race at Phoenix Raceway marked the opening of a new garage area that brought fans closer to the action. This also marked the first race of the track's reconfiguration that saw the track's start-finish moved to what was previously Turn 2. The dogleg portion of the track also became a bigger factor on restarts.
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Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
2019
Denny Hamlin came into the Round of 8 finale on the outside looking in of advancing to the Championship 4. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver turned in a clutch performance to secure his ticket to Homestead-Miami Speedway by leading 143 laps on the way to his sixth victory of the season.
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
2020
Austin Cindric scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in a NASCAR Overtime finish when he got by fellow Championship 4 driver Justin Allgaier and then took the lead from Noah Gragson just before the white flag.
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2020
The NASCAR Cup Series title race marked a change of the guard at Hendrick Motorsports, as Chase Elliott scored his first Cup championship and Jimmie Johnson made his final full-time start in the sport's top series.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2021
Ben Rhodes scored the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship and then had a memorable press conference in the media center after his celebration.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2021
Daniel Hemric's first national series win came on the biggest stage as a late-race battle with Austin Cindric propelled him to the race win and NASCAR Xfinity Series championship
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Chris Graythen | Getty Images
2021
Kyle Larson capped a 10-win season with the NASCAR Cup Series championship thanks to some stellar work from his pit crew on the final stop late in the race.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
2022
After battling through multiple late restarts, Chase Briscoe finally found his Cup Series breakthrough with an impressive win. His Phoenix triumph also made him the 200th different winner in premier series history.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
2022
With a Championship 4 berth in hand weeks before the actual race, Joey Logano and the No. 22 crew came into the Phoenix finale well-prepared — and it showed. The Team Penske driver cruised to a second Cup Series title in the past five seasons.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2023
Riding a surge of late-season momentum, Ryan Blaney secured his first Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway, besting title contenders Kyle Larson, William Byron and Christopher Bell in the final. Blaney won twice in the playoffs and gave Team Penske its second consecutive Cup title.
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James Gilbert | Getty Images
2024
In the closing laps of the 2024 Cup Series Championship, the battle for the Bill France Cup came down to a pair of Team Penske teammates. Joey Logano was seeking to become the 10th driver in Cup history to win at least three Cup titles, while Ryan Blaney was determined to become the first back-to-back Cup champion since 2010. Blaney closed the gap with a few laps to go but could not get around Logano's No. 22 Ford. As a result, Logano claimed the race win and title No. 3 in what was a thrilling conclusion to the 2024 NASCAR season.
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Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
2025
In search of his third straight 2025 victory and second in a row at Phoenix in the spring, Christopher Bell held off hard charges from teammate Denny Hamlin and rival Kyle Larson on the final restart to finish the job and deliver another dramatic run to the checkered at the desert track.
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
2025
Although Denny Hamlin led for 208 laps during the championship race, a late caution resulted in varying pit strategies for NASCAR Overtime. Hamlin took four tires and Larson took two, resulting in the No. 5 driver restarting ahead of the day's most dominant driver. In a two-lap shootout, Larson came across the start/finish line third to secure the championship while Hamlin finished sixth.