The fourth NASCAR Cup Series race of the season resulted in a stellar finish as Christopher Bell held off fierce charges from Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson to score his third consecutive win of 2025.
RELATED: Official results | At-track photos
Some drivers had great runs in the desert and left Arizona on an upswing. Others took a turn for the worse and are ready to hit track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
THREE UP ⬆️
1. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Started: 4th
Finished: 4th
What happened: The start-and-finish box score won’t show it, but Berry fought hard for his first top-five finish of 2025. Berry and the No. 21 Wood Brothers team rebounded from a slow pit stop early at Phoenix to score their best finish of the season by a long shot. After the first three races of the year (and despite leading 56 laps at Atlanta), Berry hadn’t finished better than 25th. On Sunday, he netted the historic Wood Brothers team its first Phoenix top five ever — an impressive feat in the organization’s 75th year.
What’s next: A sophomore driver, Berry is still new to the Cup Series with limited experience at Las Vegas, finishing 20th or worse in his three starts. He does own two Xfinity Series wins there, however, and has a new team around him heading back to the 1.5-mile track in Nevada next week.
2. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Started: 13th
Finished: 5th
What happened: Buescher pieced together yet another quiet, steady yet impressive run toward the front of the field Sunday for his first top five of the year and third top 10 in four races. Sure, he may have schmeared some cream cheese from his paint scheme onto Ryan Blaney’s car while battling hard for a top-10 position, but it was an otherwise productive and uneventful day for the No. 17 team.
What’s next: In 16 tries, Buescher has not quite found what he’s looking for at Las Vegas, where he owns just two top 10s. The good news: One of those top 10s came in his last visit to Vegas in October, where he finished 10th.
3. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 32nd
Finished: 7th
What happened: Alex Bowman’s solid start to 2025 continued at Phoenix despite a dismal qualifying effort on Saturday. The Hendrick Motorsports driver now has three top 10s in four races to open the campaign after a hard-fought charge through the field at his home track.
What’s next: Bowman has had excellent results at Las Vegas since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022, winning the car’s inaugural race at Las Vegas in March 2022 with two other top fives in his last four starts.
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Spire Motorsports
Started: Carson Hocevar 3rd; Michael McDowell 7th; Justin Haley 8th
Finished: Michael McDowell 27th; Justin Haley 34th; Carson Hocevar 36th
What happened: A team-best qualifying effort Saturday went awry Sunday as the trio fell victim to some treacherous circumstances. At Lap 92, Michael McDowell suffered his first issue with a flat right-rear tire sending his No. 71 Chevrolet sliding into the wall in Turns 3 and 4 before driving back to the garage for repairs. On the ensuing restart, both of his teammates were eliminated in an 11-car pileup exiting Turn 2 when Chase Briscoe made contact with Justin Haley, rocketing them both into Carson Hocevar. Both Haley and Hocevar took on race-ending damage that wiped away a promising weekend.
What’s next: Historically, Spire Motorsports hasn’t found much success in the Nevada desert, holding a best finish of 15th scored twice — once by former driver Corey LaJoie and once by Hocevar. Hocevar qualified sixth there in October, however, and has two new teammates that could boost their odds in Sin City.
2. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Started: 12th
Finished: 28th
What happened: Blaney — who seemed to have a permanent residency inside Phoenix’s top-five results sheet — was relegated to the garage prematurely on Sunday after a blown engine derailed his seven-race streak of top fives at the 1-mile oval. Despite his mechanical troubles, Blaney was inside the top 10 most of the day, evidenced by a 9.52 average running position, per NASCAR Loop Data. The power plant beneath his hood, unfortunately, had different thoughts.
What’s next: Las Vegas has been a place of feast or famine for Blaney and the No. 12 team. In 17 career starts there, he has six top fives and 10 top 10s, including a third-place showing last spring. However, he has three finishes of 28th or worse in his last six Vegas starts, including a 32nd-place finish there in October.
3. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Started: 9th
Finished: 20th
What happened: Tyler Reddick was a mainstay in the top five all day, as his third-best 5.96 average running position indicates. Gremlins in his steering compartment undid those efforts late in the going, though, as an apparent leak in the power steering system hindered the No. 45 driver in the late stages of Sunday’s race. To add insult to injury, Reddick was caught speeding on pit road at Lap 270, sending him to the rear. Through four races in 2025, Reddick has finishes of second (Daytona) and third (COTA) … to pair with finishes of 19th (Atlanta) and 20th (Phoenix).
What’s next: Reddick has been quite strong at Las Vegas throughout his career, finishing inside the top 10 in five of his last seven starts there. He did, however, land on his lid during last year’s playoff race. So next week is bound to be better than that, right?
