Three races into the NASCAR Cup Series season, the sport now heads to Phoenix Raceway this weekend. As of last Sunday’s competition, Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing have exhibited serious pace among the field, winning the opening three rounds and sitting on top of the driver’s points table, followed by teammate Bubba Wallace in P2.
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Within the Hendrick Motorsports camp, only Chase Elliott has managed to stay in the top ten so far, holding third place with 114 points to his name. At this point last season, and even in 2024, the team had already won at least one race. This year, however, their tally has not kicked off yet, and apart from Elliott, the rest of the lineup has struggled to land inside the top ten. Kyle Larson recorded his first top-ten finish of the year at COTA, yet he still sits 15th in the standings. William Byron, who opened last year by winning the Daytona 500, has yet to post a single top-ten finish.
The hole runs even deeper for Alex Bowman. After finishing 40th at Daytona, 23rd at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and 36th at COTA, Bowman sits 36th in the standings with only 23 points. As the tour moves towards the west coast, Larson believes the stop in the Arizona desert this Sunday will reveal where the team stands.
“I’m excited to get to this style of track this time of year. It’s where you kind of learn where you’re at as an organization, speed-wise anyway, relative to the rest of the field. I’m even more excited this year because we have the new body style. I think everything we’ve learned about it to this point has been positive and definitely an upgrade, which it should be,” saidthe No. 5 Chevrolet driver.
HMS drivers’ past runs at Phoenix offer an optimistic path forward. In total, Larson owns 11 top-five finishes and 15 top-ten results at the upcoming intermediate track. Last year, he finished inside the top five in both Phoenix races, taking third place each time.
Elliott also has good chances going this Sunday, according to his past results. The No. 9 driver has logged three top 10 results at the venue in his last three visits, and holds an overall average finish of 12.6 since 2023.
For Byron, Phoenix has also produced results over the years. He owns one Cup Series win there from 2023, along with two poles, three top-five finishes, and nine top-ten results since 2018.
Bowman, however, will not take the green flag on Sunday at Phoenix. The No. 48 Chevrolet driver has been sidelined for now after being diagnosed with Vertigo earlier this week, and Anthony Alfredo will be seen driving his car this weekend. It remains to be seen if Kyle Larson’s words come true and he, along with his teammates, discover their true pace ahead of the long 2026 season this weekend.
