Winners and losers from thrilling NASCAR race weekend at Phoenix

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Photo finishes, wild incidents, multiple tire options and and a seemingly unstoppable Christopher Bell were the highlights from the fourth round of the 2025 NASCAR season at Phoenix Raceway. Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races ended in dramatic fashion, as did the ARCA race on Friday night. While the first three races of the year were considered ‘wildcard’ events, Phoenix proved to be unpredictable as well and the battle for the win came down to the very last turn.

Now, let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from a thrilling weekend of racing at Phoenix.

WINNER: Bell handles the pressure … again

Christopher Bell actually did it, winning three consecutive Cup races in a feat not yet seen with the current era of race car (dating back to 2022). And while it’s easy to call him a ‘winner’ for that fact alone, we’re taking a different approach. Not only did Bell win these races, but he did it despite immense pressure and nail-biting battles to the very end. None of these victories were a Sunday drive for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

First, he was shoved wide at Atlanta, battling from the outside in a three-wide situation when the race-ending caution came out. Bell had surged from fourth to first in the final restart to win that race. The following week at COTA, he battled hard with two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch for several laps before finally completing the pass, only to then have to deal with a charging William Byron and Tyler Reddick. Finally, there was Phoenix, where he held off teammate Denny Hamlin and a lurking Kyle Larson to pull off a three-peat in a dramatic photo finish. Bell keeps showcasing that when the pressure is on, he is more than ready to rise to the occasion.

Watch: Bell keeps Hamlin at bay to win third Cup Series race in a row

LOSER: Early error denies Logano a true shot at the win

The reigning Cup Series champion and four-time Phoenix winner came into this race with high hopes. Once again, he had one of the cars to beat on Sunday, but a self-inflicted error put him on the back foot for the majority of the event. Very early on he dipped his left-side tires below the line a moment too soon on a restart, resulting in a drive-through penalty that sent him to the rear of the field. His team then used up one of the two sets of option tires they had available in order to regain some track position, which put him at a real disadvantage for the final run. We only got glimpses of the No. 22’s true potential as Logano finished 13th after leading 81 laps.

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

WINNER: Goodyear brings the action with multiple tire compounds

The use of multiple tire compounds was an absolute and resounding success on Sunday. The added strategy made for constant action throughout the field as drivers like Ryan Preece surged from 33rd to 3rd in a single stage while others hoarded their tires for the end. With passing proving to be difficult at the Arizona oval, the tires were a huge plus in ensuring there was always something happening around the track. Hopefully, we see a lot more of this from Goodyear and NASCAR in the future after Sunday’s race.

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

LOSER: Briscoe take blame for restart pileup

Briscoe regained 100 valuable points earlier in the week when Joe Gibbs Racing won its appeal, but unfortunately, the good fortune didn’t follow him into Phoenix. On Lap 99, Briscoe climbed over the right-front of Justin Haley’s car and triggered a massive accident, eliminating seven cars from the race and damaging several others. Briscoe hit extremely hard as he and Carson Hocevar slammed the outside wall, blowing the right-side window out of the No. 19 car. Afterwards, he took responsibility for it, saying “that’s about the biggest you can crash at Phoenix.”

Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images

WINNER: Phoenix and its late-race restarts

It seems like the key to dramatic finishes at Phoenix is to make sure there’s always a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. All three races this weekend (ARCA, Xfinity and Cup) ended in such a way, and each had two drivers door-to-door through the final set of corners in a spectacular showdown for the race win. If you added the margin of victory from the Xfinity and Cup races together, it would still be less than a single tenth. In fact, Bell’s victory was actually the first last-lap pass for the win in the entire history of Cup racing at Phoenix Raceway. The only drawback was the fans in Atlanta who didn’t get to actually see one of the finishes…

Watch: Aric Almirola bests Alex Bowman with contact at the finish line

LOSER: Austin Hill’s misjudges the entry

Austin Hill made a rare mistake this weekend, or as he said: “That might be the dumbest move I’ve ever had happen to me in racing.” Hill, who is already locked into the Xfinity playoffs courtesy of his win at Atlanta two weeks ago, was running just outside the top-five at Phoenix during a mid-race restart. However, his car suddenly shot across the track and collected two others, destroying the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. A replay showed that Hill had actually touched the inside wall while entering the corner, attempting to be just a little bit lower than the car ahead of him. The contact sent him careening across the track, wrecking himself, but also Sheldon Creed and Dean Thompson.

Watch: Austin Hill goes spinning after contact with inside wall on restart

WINNER: Ryan Sieg turns garage mishap into top-five run

The veteran driver/owner is used to having the odds stacked against him, but this weekend was a unique challenge for the Sieg and the No. 39 team. His car suffered significant nose damage back in the garage due to a lip at the entry of a garage stall, forcing his team to scramble and pull out the backup car. Starting from the rear of the field, Sieg methodically marched his way forward, placing fourth in a wildly impressive rebound from how the day started.

Ryan Sieg, RSS Racing Ford

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

LOSER: Allgaier can’t catch a break at Phoenix

In the Xfinity Series, Justin Allgaier is often the driver to beat when the series comes to Phoenix. However, it also seems like he has figured out every possible way to lose this race. Even when he won the 2024 Xfinity title at Phoenix, he faced several setbacks and had to give the win away on the final lap in order to preserve his championship. Last spring at Phoenix, he blew a tire and crashed while leading in the closing laps.

While there are several other examples, the latest came this past weekend. Allgaier led 130 of 208 laps in an absolutely dominant showing, but alas, a late-race caution forced the race into overtime. Once again, it didn’t work out for Allgaier as he pushed wide in Turn 1 and fell back to fifth as the field went four-wide for the race lead. He was absolutely dejected afterwards, and understandably so. Since his most recent Phoenix win in 2019, Allgaier has led a total of 396 laps at the track without earning another Phoenix victory.