AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Ryan Blaney completed a Team Penske sweep at Phoenix Raceway by winning the Cup Series race Sunday — a victory that denied Tyler Reddick a fourth consecutive win to start the NASCAR season.
Blaney was the race favorite after winning last November's season-finale on the mile oval but he had to overcome at least three tire problems that cost him track position. He chased down Ty Gibbs — the 49th car he passed Sunday — to take the lead
with 10 laps remaining and seal his 18th career victory.
As he celebrated on the frontstretch, his parked Ford began to roll away and Blaney had to chase after it to ensure it was in park.
The victory came during a weekend celebration of Team Penske's 60th season of competition and during a “desert doubleheader” that bundled IndyCar and NASCAR together at Phoenix. David Malukas won the IndyCar pole for Penske and then Josef Newgarden won Saturday's race; Joey Logano won the pole for the Cup race and then Blaney completed the sweep.
The win was the first this season for Ford as Reddick in a Michael Jordan-owned Toyota for 23XI Racing set a NASCAR record by winning the first three races of the season.
Christopher Bell finished second in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson was third in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and Gibbs dropped to fourth.
Denny Hamlin, who lost the championship last November at this track, was fifth as JGR drivers took three of the top five positions.
Bubba Wallace was sixth for 23XI, William Byron was seventh for Hendrick, and Reddick was eighth. Toyota drivers took six of the top 10 spots.
The race was slowed by a record-tying 12 cautions, most caused by a rash of tire failures.
Contact between Joey Logano and Ross Chastain caused a multi-car crash with under 100 laps remaining that ruined Anthony Aldredo's season debut.
Alfredo got the call this week from Hendrick Motorsports to drive the No. 48 Chevrolet after Alex Bowman was ruled out with vertigo. Alfredo has spent hundreds of hours over the past four years inside a racing simulator doing test work for Hendrick and Sunday's start was the best opportunity of his career.
Phoenix marked Alfredo’s first Cup start of the season — he qualified for the Daytona 500 driving for tiny Beard Motorsports, but his car was disqualified and kicked out of the field. Alfredo has 43 career Cup starts for smaller teams. The crash caused him to finish 33rd in his first race with NASCAR's winningest team.
The Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Josh Berry is the defending race winner and Denny Hamlin won last fall.
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