Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.
Fantasy Update: New Cup Series season, same Team Penske speed at a flat, 1-mile oval. All three of its Fords slotted into the top five in qualifying, with Joey Logano winning the Busch Light Pole Award. Meanwhile, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney gapped the field over the long haul in practice. The lone switch in my lineup is bumping Cindric in over William Byron, knowing the No. 24 car has stage points in 21 consecutive Phoenix stages. I also flipped Logano ahead of Hamlin in the head-to-head battle.
My lineup: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric.
Garage: Denny Hamlin.
After an eventful first three races to begin the 2026 Cup Series season in which Tyler Reddick went perfect, the rest of the field is in catch-up mode. Up next is Phoenix Raceway, where the series’ best tend to shine. Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing win frequently in the desert, but there are a trio of Hendrick Motorsports teammates that are formidable here. You also can’t count out the scorching hot 23XI Racing, which continues to be the disruptor of the “big three.”
Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.
RELATED: NASCAR Fantasy Live hub | Play 36 for 36
MUST START
Driver: Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Selections remaining: 8
Comment: After being the model of consistency at Phoenix, Blaney finally broke through to Victory Lane in the series’ most recent trip to the desert. The 2023 Cup champion has 14 top-10 finishes in 20 Phoenix starts, including eight top-five efforts in the last nine races. Five of those have been finishes of second or better.
Driver: Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Selections remaining: 9
Comment: Bell has won the spring race at Phoenix two years in a row in dominant fashion. Phoenix is only one of two tracks on the circuit where Bell has multiple victories, and he has cracked the top five in three of the last four visits.
Driver: William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 10
Comment: While Byron has come up short in recent championship quests at Phoenix, he runs up front like clockwork. In the eight Next Gen races at the 1-mile oval, he has an average running position of 4.9 and has won a stage in five races. Dating back to 2020, he has earned stage points in 21 consecutive stages at Phoenix, the longest streak at a track in history.
DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Selections remaining: 10
Comment: The No. 19 team is off to a sluggish start through three races in 2026, and that trend could continue at Phoenix. Briscoe had multiple tire failures here in the fall – Goodyear is bringing the same tire – and only has one top 10 in the previous five Phoenix races.
Driver: Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
Selections remaining: 9
Comment: Momentum is at an all-time high at 23XI Racing with Tyler Reddick winning the first three races of 2026. Phoenix has been a weak spot for Wallace, though, with only three top-10 finishes in 16 starts.
SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver: Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Selections remaining: 10
Comment: It wasn’t long ago when Phoenix was considered one of Buescher’s worst venues on the schedule. The Texas native has turned that around over the last three seasons, with four top-10 finishes in the last five Phoenix races, including a trio of top fives.
Driver: Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Selections remaining: 10
Comment: For years, Team Penske has had a knack for flat ovals, and Phoenix fits into that criteria. Through an affiliation with Penske, expect Berry to be in the mix on Sunday, just as he was in this race last year with a fourth-place effort. Phoenix is the only track that he has at least three top-10 finishes at, coming in just five attempts.
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Tyler Reddick vs. Kyle Larson
Pick: Larson
Comment: With the amount of success Larson has had at Phoenix, including winning a pair of championships, it could be argued that he should be listed as a must-start. His 11 top-five efforts and 15 top-10 finishes are his most at a singular track. As Denny Hamlin pointed out post-race at Circuit of The Americas, Reddick’s numbers aren’t the best at Phoenix, with a pair of top fives in 12 starts.
Ryan Blaney vs. Christopher Bell
Pick: Blaney
Comment: As noted earlier, both drivers excel at Phoenix, combining to win three of the last four races. Both organizations are elite at flat race tracks, though the upperhand should go to Penske. Blaney is always in contention for the win at the end of Phoenix races.
Denny Hamlin vs. Joey Logano
Pick: Hamlin
Comment: This matchup should go to Toyota. In November, Hamlin had his heart broken at Phoenix, leading 208 laps but losing the championship battle when a caution flew with just three laps remaining in regulation. Logano has a series-high four victories here and leads all drivers with laps led in the Next Gen car at Phoenix (379).
Ross Chastain vs. Chris Buescher
Pick: Buescher
Comment: Of this pairing, Chastain is the driver who has visited Victory Lane, but Buescher has been more consistent in the Next Gen car. The No. 1 team has four top-10 finishes in the eight Next Gen races, while Buescher has the same number of top 10s in the last five races alone.
MY LINEUP
Starting five: Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson.
Garage pick: Joey Logano
36 FOR 36
Pick: Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford.
Comment: Having two drafting-style races and a road course make up the first three races of the season can make Phoenix a tricky place to pick. No team will have shown their true potential at a standard oval until this weekend. Naturally, Penske is strong at Phoenix and tracks alike, so Blaney will be my starting point entering the week, though it could be altered after practice.