Yesterday (3/10) the NASCAR Cup Series was in Phoenix, Arizona for the Shriners Children’s 500. The race started out looking like things could be messy early.

The first caution came just a handful of laps into the race. On lap six, Derek Kraus spun causing a four-car crash. However, there were no more cautions in the first two stages of the race. Tyler Reddick was the winner in stage one while Christopher Bell was the winner in stage two.

It looked as though the race would come down to a battle between Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick. The two drivers were among the six that exchanged the lead 10 times during the race. Denny and Tyler end the race in a tie for most laps led at 68 each. However, there were three cautions in the third and final stage of the race. The last caution came when Denny Hamlin spun his car. That caution on lap 205 of the race flipped the order of cars on the track as many had gone to the pits just prior to the incident.

That put Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell out front to battle each other on the re-start. Martin got the advantage to start out with. He led the race for 55 laps. Christopher was better on the long run and was ultimately able to get past Martin.

Christopher held the lead for the final 41 laps to claim his first Phoenix win in the Cup Series. It was his seventh career win in NASCAR’s top division. By the way, all seven of his wins have come at different tracks. Since Christopher drives a Toyota, this is the first race this season that a driver in a Chevrolet has not won.

Chris Buescher was able to race forward to claim a runner-up finish with Ty Gibbs taking home third-place. See the complete race results for the Shriners Children’s 500 here.

Ryan Blaney moved up a spot to take over the lead in the point standings. Kyle Larson slipped back a spot to second. Martin Truex Jr. was able to hold steady in third-place. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings here.

Next up on the schedule … NASCAR goes short-trackin’ at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500 Sunday, March 17th. We’ll find out what driver and team has the “Luck of the Irish” on St. Patrick’s Day!

By: Buck Stevens