Straight Talk Wireless 500
Avondale, Ariz. – March 8, 2026
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/QUAKER STATE FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 3RD STAGE 1: 6TH STAGE 2: 6TH FINISH: 34TH POINTS: 30TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric finished 34th in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway after a late-race incident ended his day early in the No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Cindric started third and spent much of the opening stage running among the leaders. Early in the race he reported needing more drive on corner exit while maintaining third position behind his Team Penske teammates. He held steady inside the top three through the opening run before slipping to fifth after being passed by Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell with 15 laps remaining in Stage 1. As the run continued, Cindric reported the car becoming increasingly loose and dropped to sixth by the end of the stage. The No. 2 team pitted for four tires and fuel during the stage break. Cindric restarted ninth to begin Stage 2 and quickly noted improvement in the balance of his Ford Mustang Dark Horse as the run progressed. A caution later in the stage found him running ninth, and after another stop for four tires and fuel he lined up 11th for the restart. Following a series of cautions, Cindric worked his way back toward the front and climbed to sixth by Lap 132. The No. 2 team continued routine service on pit road, including a two-tire call during a caution on Lap 158 that gained four positions and moved Cindric into fifth for the restart despite most of the field taking four tires. Cindric remained inside the top five during the closing laps of Stage 2 and finished the segment in sixth. After pitting for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, he restarted fifth with 116 laps remaining in the race and continued to run among the lead group. A caution on Lap 209 brought the No. 2 Ford back to pit road for fresh tires, and Cindric lined up fifth for the restart. However, on Lap 217, several cars ahead drifted up the track and forced Cindric into the outside wall. The contact caused heavy damage to the Menards/Quaker State Ford Mustang Dark Horse and ended his day prematurely.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “Obviously, it’s a frustrating start with so many fast race cars and to have another one today with our Quaker State/Menards Ford Mustang. The restarts get crazy here and I’m not really sure what happened other than just cars jumping right across the racetrack. I’m not sure I’ve ever jumped head-on into a wall, but that changed today. It’s just a shame. I’m not discouraged. This 2 team has shown me a lot in the first four races, but it’s just a shame we don’t have the results for them.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 DENT WIZARD FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 5TH STAGE 1: 1ST STAGE 2: 12TH FINISH: 1ST POINTS: 2ND
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang Dark Horse team faced adversity early Sunday in Phoenix, but crew chief Jonathan Hassler’s late-race, two-tire call set the stage for Blaney to charge to the lead with 10 laps to go en route to his 18th-career Cup Series victory, completing the weekend sweep for Team Penske following Josef Newgarden’s INDYCAR Series win on Saturday afternoon. Blaney becomes the first driver since 2019 to win consecutive Cup Series events at Phoenix while logging a top-five finish at the one-mile track for the eighth time in nine starts in the NextGen era, all while leading 314 laps over that stretch. Blaney’s 18th Cup Series victory place him in a tie with the likes of Harry Gant, Geoff Bodine, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Marvin Panch, and Curtis Turner on the series’ all-time wins list.
The No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford proved to be one of the strongest in the field early on as Blaney took his first lead of the day with 13 laps remaining in Stage 1 before going on to pick up the 12 team’s first stage win of the season. Blaney challenged the No. 20 for the lead from the onset of the second segment prior to the caution on lap 94, but a loose wheel following the four-tire stop prompted an additional trip to pit road prior to the restart. After restarting outside of the top-20, Blaney worked his way back into the top-10 within 17 laps, but another issue on pit road relegated him to 32nd in the running order. Blaney once again charged through the field over the course of the following run to come away with a 12th-place finish in Stage 2. The Dent Wizard Ford became a mainstay in the top-five the rest of the way as Blaney and the No. 20 resumed their fight for the top spot with the laps winding down. A caution on lap 287 brought on one final round of pit stops when Hassler made the call for right side tires only, allowing Blaney to make his way off pit road second before the field took the green with 19 laps to go. A caution on the opening lap set up one final restart with 12 to go as Blaney took the green from the outside of row two before making the race-winning pass around the No. 54 into turn one with 10 laps remaining. Blaney was able to hold off the No. 20 the rest of the way – who had taken four tires on the previous stop – to seal the victory in Phoenix. Blaney led a total of 28 laps on the day as he has now led in all four races to begin the 2026 season.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “I mean, just perseverance. Everybody on the 12 group persevered all day. We had a couple mistakes that we learned from, got better, had to come from the back a couple times. Jonathan [Hassler] made a great call to take two [tires]. We were able to get the lead and hold them off. I don’t know how many more laps I could have held them off. We were able to do that. Really proud of everybody at Team Penske. We swept the weekend – [Josef] Newgarden winning yesterday, us winning today. Can’t wait to see Roger [Penske]. Appreciate Dent Wizard, Ford Racing, Menards, Wabash, Discount Tire, BODYARMOR, Advance Auto Parts, DEX Imaging for what they do. Everything that these people put into our program is cool. It’s cool to win, especially after a day like that. Can’t say enough about the 12 guys for keeping their head down and doing what they do and Jonathan again for making a good call at the end.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 1ST STAGE 1: 3RD STAGE 2: 3RD FINISH: 31ST POINTS: 7TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse team led 73 laps and logged a pair of third-place stage finishes Sunday in Phoenix, but ultimately saw their day come to an abrupt end with 59 laps to go following a multi-car incident in turn one. Logano began the weekend by earning his 34th-career Cup Series pole award – and third at Phoenix – as he went on to lead the first 46 laps of Sunday’s 312-lap event. A loose-handling condition in the latter parts of the opening segment saw Logano relinquish the lead with 13 laps remaining in Stage 1 before crossing the line third. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments, Logano was back to challenging for the lead before regaining the top spot on lap 110. Despite losing a bit of front turn over the course of the run, Logano continued to maintain pace with the leaders to turn in a third-place effort in Stage 2. The 22 team turned in another quick, four-tire stop prior to the ensuing restart as Logano took the green from the inside of row one before settling into third in the running order. A caution on lap 246 brought on differing tire strategies throughout the field prior to the restart with 60 laps remaining. After restarting fifth, contact between Logano and the No. 16 sent the Shell-Pennzoil Ford sliding across the track towards the inside wall before changing direction towards turn one, setting off a multi-car incident in the process. Logano sustained heavy front-end damage that signaled an end to the afternoon, resulting in a 31st-place finish.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It was a tough day, a really tough day. We didn’t have the car like we wanted. We had some bright spots there and got some track position and looked alright. Ultimately, we were down a set of tires and, honestly, we were just trying to finish it out and take what we could today. We just got caught up in the issues. You know the old saying, you run with the squirrels, you get what you get.”
The NASCAR Cup Series continues its west coast swing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400 on Sunday, March 15. Live coverage begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
