Photo from www.x.com/f1 By Ryan Wu It was a day to forget for McLaren as both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were unable to start the race. The nightmare start to the 2026 season continued for Piastri as he has not completed a single grand prix lap in the first two races of this year. Kimi Antonelli achieved his maiden Formula 1 victory and became the second youngest driver to do so. His teammate George Russell and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the podium places. For Hamilton, this was the seven-time World Champion’s first podium with Ferrari and surely one he will remember for a long time. Race Recap The advantage the Ferrari drivers have in race starts showed again in China. Hamilton got off to an amazing start and overtook pole sitter Antonelli into the first turn. The same could not be said for Max Verstappen who started eighth but was down six places right off the start. The power advantage of Mercedes showed early with Antonelli and Russell regaining their places within a few laps. A safety car deployment after Lance Stroll stopped his car off the track on lap 10 ended the Canadian’s race and brought all the top four drivers in for fresh tires as both teams opted for hard tires and committed to one-stop strategies. Both Ferrari drivers were then able to pass Russell who was running in a close fourth and showed great mettle as they dueled back and forth for second position. On lap 27, Russell made his move to pass Hamilton then passed Leclerc on lap 29 to gain second place. With 12 laps to go, Hamilton was finally able to break free of his teammate once and for all to claim the 203rd podium of his career. Reliability Issues Hits Teams Hard In addition to the two McLarens, neither Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi nor Williams driver Alex Albon started the race. Aston Martin also saw two retirements with Stroll reporting electrical issues early and Fernando Alonso needing to end his race prematurely as vibration issues due to the Honda engine became unbearable. Max Verstappen was also another late retiree on lap 46 due to a due to an Energy Recovery System coolant failure. Racing Refresh Driver of the Day Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari Final Points Finishing Positions 1st:  Kimi Antonelli 2nd: George Russell 3rd: Lewis Hamilton 4th: Charles Leclerc 5th: Oliver Bearman 6th: Pierre Gasly 7th: Liam Lawson 8th: Isack Hadjar 9th: Carlos Sainz 10th: Franco Colapinto Next on the F1 Schedule: Japanese Grand Prix: March 27th-29th

LAS VEGAS (March 15, 2026) —  Denny Hamlin rallied from a mid-race pit road speeding penalty to capture his 61st career victory in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, moving into sole possession of 10th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. Photo: Elvin Anderson Jr. Driving the No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin charged through the field after the penalty and reclaimed the lead late at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The speed was evident throughout the weekend. Hamlin topped Saturday’s practice session while teammate Christopher Bell won the pole, highlighting the strength of the Joe Gibbs Racing lineup entering Sunday’s race. The race featured multiple pit-road penalties and strategy swings throughout the afternoon, including Hamlin’s speeding violation that sent the No. 11 car to the rear of the field midway through the race. Despite the setback, Hamlin methodically worked back through traffic, climbing into the top five by the end of the second stage before contending for the lead in the closing laps. “Typically when you speed on pit road somewhere in the middle of the race, you’re usually not seen again,” Hamlin said. “But within about 15 laps after that restart, when I was cutting through everyone, I knew there was still time.” The win was Hamlin’s first victory of the 2026 season and his third career win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It also made him the fifth driver in NASCAR history to win Cup races in 20 different seasons, joining Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. Photo: Elvin Anderson Jr. Crew chief Chris Gayle said the No. 11 team never lost confidence despite the setback. “We knew we had a really fast car,” Gayle said. “Once Denny started moving forward after the penalty, we knew we could get back in position.” Team owner Joe Gibbs praised Hamlin’s resilience following a difficult offseason. “Denny has the ability to work through things and still stay extremely competitive,” Gibbs said. “He works hard and stays after it.” Chase Elliott finished second while William Byron placed third. Connor Zilisch finished 32nd and was the highest-finishing rookie. Hamlin also continues to lead the Cup Series owner standings through his co-ownership of 23XI Racing, while 23XI driver Tyler Reddick leads the driver standings by 61 points over teammate Bubba Wallace.

LAS VEGAS (March 14, 2026) —  Kyle Larson capitalized on a late restart to win Saturday’s LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, earning his first victory of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season. Photo: Elvin Anderson Jr. Driving the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for JR Motorsports , Larson positioned himself among the leaders after a late caution reset the field and created an opportunity to attack on fresh tires. “I left pit road third or fourth of the guys on equal tires, and I felt like it was a good opportunity,” Larson said. “Then it was just about managing the racetrack the way I like to manage it here.” Larson stayed patient through a race that featured 17 lead changes among nine drivers, eventually seizing control at the final restart on lap 154 to secure the win. The race included eight cautions for 42 laps, creating multiple restarts that kept the field tightly bunched and shuffled the running order throughout the afternoon. Justin Allgaier led a race-high 48 laps, while Jesse Love paced the field for 36 laps earlier in the event. Larson admitted his car wasn’t perfectly balanced throughout the race but credited his team for keeping him competitive when it mattered most. “We didn’t really have the speed we wanted, and I was tight most of the race,” Larson said. “But anytime you stay mentally in it and take advantage of opportunities, it makes those wins feel really special.” Photo: Elvin Anderson Jr. Chase Briscoe finished second, earning his first top-10 finish of the season, while Sheldon Creed completed the podium in third. Earlier Saturday, Sam Mayer secured the pole position with a lap of 29.462 seconds (183.287 mph) in qualifying. Mayer led 32 laps during the race after starting from the front row alongside Larson. The victory marked Larson’s 18th career win in the NOAPS and his second victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The result also came during a busy day for Larson, who also competed later Saturday night in a sprint car event in the High Limit Racing series. Meanwhile, Allgaier’s performance helped him maintain the championship lead, holding a 13-point advantage over Love in the early-season standings.

LAS VEGAS (March 14) — Christopher Bell won the pole Saturday for the Pennzoil 400, turning the fastest lap in qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bell drove his No. 20 Toyota to qualifying a lap under 29 seconds, beating the field by more than a tenth of a second. Photo Credit: Elvin Anderson Jr. “We had a lot of grip and I held my foot down,” Bell said. “My team hit their P’s and Q’s.” Bell said the lap-time jump from practice to qualifying was typical when teams switch to qualifying trim, but the gap to the rest of the field reflected strong execution from his crew. Las Vegas presents a setup challenge because of bumps in Turns 1 and 2 compared with the smoother surface in Turns 3 and 4. “Every time you come to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it’s a compromise,” Bell said. “Anytime you make the car drive better across the bumps, you’re giving up performance on the smooth part of the racetrack.” Sunday’s race is expected to be hotter than qualifying conditions, which should make the track slicker. Bell said that tends to improve the racing with NASCAR’s Next Gen car. “The slicker it is, the more enjoyable it is to race these cars,” Bell said. Bell also noted that fellow Toyota driver Denny Hamlin showed strong pace in longer practice runs. “They beat me in practice,” Bell said. “I won the one-lap race, but he was consistently faster than me over the course of the entire practice session.” The Pennzoil 400 is scheduled for Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, it’s time for another edition of O’Reilly Stats Friday. This weekend the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series travels to Las Vegas, Nevada for The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.    Las Vegas is a 1.5-mile tri-oval speedway.  It opened in 1971, though O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races didn’t start taking place there until 1997.  Jeff Green won the first race there in this series.  Justin Allgaier won this race last year in the spring, and Aric Almirola won the one in the fall.   Tomorrow’s race will be 200 laps long (for a total of 300 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 45 – 90 – 200.  Pit road speed is 45 mph, and the caution vehicle runs at 55 mph.    This year, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has run 548 laps, for 904.16 miles so far.  Only 4 cars have completed 100% of all laps.   Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Las Vegas: Corey Day 4.00 over 1 race Justin Allgaier 6.78 over 23 races (1 win) Jesse Love 8.00 over 4 races Harrison Burton 9.17 over 6 races Austin Hill 10.00 over 9 races (1 win)   Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Las Vegas: William Sawalich 37.00 over 2 races Austin Green 33.50 over 2 races Dean Thompson 31.50 over 2 races Josh Bilicki 30.60 over 5 races Blaine Perkins 28.29 over 7 races   Las Vegas is an Intermediate Track   Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Intermediate Tracks: Corey Day 7.00 over 4 races Austin Hill 9.72 over 65 races (8 wins) Jesse Love 10.32 over 27 races Justin Allgaier 11.34 over 231 races (13 wins) Harrison Burton 11.49 over 45 races (3 wins)   Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Intermediate Tracks: Blaine Perkins 27.68 over 44 races Josh Bilicki 26.59 over 44 races Ryan Ellis 25.61 over 71 races William Sawalich 24.61 over 14 races Dean Thompson 22.65 over 14 races   Mark Martin is the winningest driver in this series at Las Vegas, with four wins.  Jeff Burton is just behind him with three, followed by a group of five drivers who all have  two each.   Drivers who ran their first O’Reilly’s Series race at Las Vegas: Brennan Poole 2015 – P9   Drivers who WON their first O’Reilly’s Series race at Las Vegas: Nobody N/A   Drivers whose most recent O’Reilly Series Victory was at Las Vegas: Nobody N/A   Notable drivers who have not won at Las Vegas: Sam Mayer (has won at 6 other tracks) Brandon Jones (has won at 4 other tracks) Harrison Burton (has won at 4 other tracks) Sammy Smith (has won at 3 other tracks)   Based on average finish, no driver lists Las Vegas as their BEST or WORST track.   Based on their point pace, let’s have a look at how this season is comparing to last season for drivers:   Drivers Faring Better than in 2025 Austin Hill +387 pts Jesse Love +380 pts Sheldon Creed +296 pts Justin Allgaier +254 pts Sammy Smith +193 pts   Drivers Faring Worse than in 2025 Harrison Burton -540 pts Nick Sanchez -401 pts Dean Thompson -269 pts Brandon Jones -198 pts Sam Mayer -180 pts   Next, let’s look at who’s having their best and worst career year by Average Finish:   Best Career Year Jesse Love 5.00 Austin Hill 6.75 Sheldon Creed 10.00 Sammy Smith 11.00 Parker Retzlaff 15.00 Anthony Alfredo 17.25 Blaine Perkins 22.25 William Sawalich 23.25 Dean Thompson 24.25   Worst Career Year Cole Custer 23.54 Carson Hocevar 21.40 Zane Smith 20.86   Rookie of the Year Battle Patrick Staropoli 71 Lavar Scott 49   The Manufacturer Standings are calculated by awarding points to the highest finisher for each manufacturer according to their finishing position.  (40 for 1 st , 35 for 2 nd , 34 for 3 rd , etc.)  No stage points or playoff points count.   Manufacturer Standings Chevrolet 220 Toyota 92 Ford 77   Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:   Chartered Team Standings JR Motorsports 174 RCR 157 Haas Factory 127 Jordan Anderson 122 Hendrick 103 Viking 99 Joe Gibbs 92 Alpha Prime 80 RSS Racing 76 SS-Green Light 75 Big Machine 71 Young’s 60 Sam Hunt 57 Peterson 50 AM Racing 49 Hettinger 47 Jeremy Clements 44 DGM 37 Barrett-Cope 28 Joey Gase 7   At each stage break, the Top 10 drivers are awarded points based on their finishing positions.  Here are the leaders this year:   Stage Point Leaders Justin Allgaier 61 Jesse Love 52 #1 Car 46 #88 Car 43 Austin Hill 39 Sammy Smith 28 Brandon Jones 20 Sam Mayer 19 Sheldon Creed 16 Corey Day 15   Milestone Watch Justin Allgaier Looking for his 30 th  Career Win Jesse Love Looking for his 20 th  Career Top 5 Taylor Gray Looking for his 10 th  Career Top 5 Austin Hill Looking for his 90 th  Career Top 10 Jeb Burton Looking for his 50 th  Career Top 10 Harrison Burton Looking for his 60 th  Career Top 10 Taylor Gray Looking for his 20 th  Career Top 10   Here are the top 10 longest active winless streaks:   Winless Streaks Jeremy Clements 113 races Jeb Burton 94 races Harrison Burton 71 races Sammy Smith 27 races Nick Sanchez 20 races Sam Mayer 15 races Brandon Jones 9 races Taylor Gray 5 races Jesse Love 4 races Austin Hill 3 races   The race begins Saturday, March 14 th  at 5:30 pm EST (2:30 pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone!   Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter  @RacingRefresh   Is there an error? Is there a stat missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

By Adam Carabine Welcome to the StatChat NASCAR Games!   If you’re new here, this year I thought it might be fun to share some of the silly little games I play on my NASCAR Excel Sheet throughout the season as we follow along.   BRACKET GAMES These games are similar to NASCAR’s In-Season Tournament, as created by Denny Hamlin, but it lasts all season long.    Drivers are originally seeded by a mixture of performance from last year, with some creative discretion from myself.  Each week, whichever driver finishes better in each matchup moves on to the next round.    Winning also gives you points which grow with each round. Round 1 win: 1 pt Round 2 win: 2 pts Round 3 win: 3 pts Round 4 win: 4 pts Finals win: 5 pts   Those points then determine the seeding for the next round of the Bracket Games, and they continue until the end of the season.  Whichever driver has the highest points at the end of the season wins the Bracket Game!   There is a bracket for each of the three NASCAR Series, but this week the Truck Series was off, so let’s see how things look for the top-two series in Week 4:   Cup Series   O’Reilly Auto Parts Series   ELIMINATION GAMES These games are just another fun way I like to keep things interesting throughout the grind of the long NASCAR season.  These games only follow the NASCAR Cup Series, though that could change in the future.    Because there are 36 races, and 36 full-time drivers in the Cup Series, this works out very nicely.  The first elimination happens after Race #2, and continues through the season, so there will be a final two head-to-head matchup at the final race.    Each week, a new driver is eliminated in each game.  The criteria for each game is different, so it’s not always the same driver being eliminated in each game.    Power Rankings Elimination Whichever driver has the worst score in the StatChat Power Rankings gets eliminated.    After Week 2, Josh Berry was eliminated.   After Week 3, Erik Jones was eliminated.   This week, Cole Custer gets eliminated.   Last Place Elimination Whichever driver finishes the worst out of all the remaining drivers is eliminated.   After Week 2, Josh Berry was eliminated   After Week 3, Chase Briscoe was eliminated   This week, Chase Briscoe was the last-placed driver, but since he is already eliminated, it moves to the next worst finisher, which this week was Noah Gragson.   Average Finish Elimination Whichever driver has the worst average finish out of all the remaining drivers at the end of each week is eliminated.   After Week 2, Austin Dillon was eliminated.   After Week 3, Alex Bowman was eliminated.   This week, Austin Cindric was eliminated.   Stay tuned each week to see who is winning the StatChat NASCAR Games!

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images By Adam Carabine The StatChat Power Rankings return in 2026! While finishing position is important, it’s not always indicative of the full picture.  StatChat rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs. Let's look at the Top 10:   Kyle Larson – This week: 10 – Last week: 12 Larson joked that he seems to always finish P3 at Phoenix, and it is kind of true.  He’s finished third at Phoenix six times over the course of his Cup Series career, including three in a row, and four in the last six races there.  While I’m sure he’d prefer P1, it was a quiet and solid day for Larson, and it pushes him up into the Top 10 of the Power Rankings.   AJ Allmendinger – This week: 9 – Last week: 6 Still riding high from a solid week at COTA the previous week, Allmendinger’s P19 finish at Phoenix ties his worst for this year – meaning he has finished in the Top 20 for all four races.  Only three other drivers have done that this year.  So while a good road course performance is expected, props to AJ and the 16 team for being consistent to start this year.  He’s rewarded with a spot in the Top 10!    Ty Gibbs – This week: 8 – Last week: 15 Despite being in the press these past few weeks for not-so-great reasons (relating to the JGR v. Chris Gabehart installment of NASCourt), Ty Gibbs showed up on Sunday in Phoenix.  He had a solid run most of the day, and he was even in contention to take the win near the end of the race.  I have been predicting Gibbs gets his first Cup win for years now, but it does feel like it’s getting closer.   Denny Hamlin – This week: 7 – Last week: 20 If Denny Hamlin still has nightmares about Phoenix dating back to last year’s championship race, it didn’t show this past Sunday.  He finished in the Top 5 and had a solid day all around.  His average running position was 6 th , and he got extra points in both stages.  Aside from a rough start to the year at Daytona, Denny has looked solid.  This Top 5 jumps him way up into the Top 10 of the Power Rankings.   William Byron – This week: 6 – Last week: 8 Another week, another seemingly ‘classic’ William Byron performance.  He’s pretty quiet, he’s not flashy, and yet he’s always near the front at the end.  He led one lap, earned points in Stage One, and then finished P7.  And yet it feels like we didn’t see a whole lot of him on the broadcast.  I’m sure he doesn’t mind how much we talk about him, as long as he’s racking up points.    SVG – This week: 5 – Last week: 4 How about this road course wiz on an oval! Not only an oval, but Phoenix is kind of a strange one.  With the unique dogleg at the start-finish line, there aren’t any other comparable tracks.  While he was destined to fall some spots in the Power Rankings after gaining a big advantage at COTA, I would have predicted worse for him.  He finished P11 at Phoenix, and that’s despite two separate spinning incidents! Watch out for this guy.   Christopher Bell – This week: 4 – Last week: 24 Christopher Bell’s first two races of the season – P35 and P21.  The next two races? P3 and P2.  This is where we’re more accustomed to seeing Bell run, and after some bad luck to start the season, it’s nice to see him return to his form.  Usually a force to be reckoned with at Phoenix, he probably had the best car on the day, but couldn’t pass eventual winner Ryan Blaney to get it done.   Bubba Wallace – This week: 3 – Last week: 2 Bubba Wallace’s racecraft has certainly been on the rise over the last few years, but I’m not sure many would have predicted these results to start this year.  He’s in the Top 3 in the points standings – the top driver without a win so far – and that’s even with a road course mixed in there – admittedly not Bubba’s forte (he finished P11 there – his worst finish of the year).  Blaney deserved to bump him from his spot in the Power Rankings since he won at Phoenix, but credit where it’s due – Bubba has been on a heater to start 2026!   Ryan Blaney – This week: 2   – Last week: 3 Blaney won at Phoenix, which is good. But what made it great was the method in which he did it.  Two loose wheel incidents sent him to the back at two different times in the race, and he managed to still overcome it all.  He had a fast car, for sure, but he managed the race beautifully.  Is it any wonder that he had the best Pass Differential of anyone all day too? (+50).   Tyler Reddick – This week: 1 – Last week: 1 We knew he’d have to lose one eventually – Tyler Reddick didn’t make it four in a row at Phoenix, but he still had a pretty solid day.  Points in both stages, the most Quality Passes of anyone (63), and a P8 finish – all more than enough to keep him atop the Power Rankings.  Oh, and the points standings too.  Ryan Blaney is now 60 points behind him in 2 nd  place.    Biggest Movers   Daniel Suarez – This week: 19 – Last week: 9 Falls 10 places   Christopher Bell – This week: 4 – Last week: 24 Gains 20 places   Rest of the List 11. Chase Elliott LW: 5 -6 12. Michael McDowell LW: 10 -2 13. Joey Logano LW: 11 -2 14. Ross Chastain LW: 7 -7 15. Carson Hocevar LW: 14 -1 16. Ryan Preecer LW: 13 -3 17. Chris Buescher LW: 19 +2 18. Ty Dillon LW: 16 -2 19. Daniel Suarez LW: 9 -10 20. Kyle Busch LW: 18 -2 21. Zane Smith LW: 17 -4 22. Brad Keselowski LW: 22 -- 23. Todd Gilliland LW: 29 +6 24. Riley Herbst LW: 24 -- 25. Austin Dillon LW: 31 +6 26. Austin Cindric LW: 25 -1 27. Noah Gragson LW: 21 -6 28. Connor Zilisch LW: 27 -1 29. Cody Ware LW: 28 -1 30. JH Nemechek LW: 30 -- 31. Erik Jones LW: 36 +5 32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. LW: 32 -- 33. Chase Briscoe LW: 26 -7 34. Alex Bowman LW: 33 -1 35. Josh Berry LW: 34 -1 36. Cole Custer LW: 35 -1

Photo from www.x.com/f1 By Ryan Wu Australian native and fan-favourite Oscar Piastri’s crash during the formation lap signaled the chaos that unfolded during the Australian Grand Prix. It was also another disappointing weekend for Piastri in front of his home crowd, following his DNF last year at Melbourne Park when rain hit the track. In total, five drivers failed to finish the race. Nico Hulkenberg joined Oscar Piastri with the dreaded DNS (did not start), while Valtteri Bottas, Isack Hadjar, and Fernando Alonso all retired during the race. Mercedes Dominates the Weekend While Ferrari Strategy Blunders Continue After locking out the front row in qualifying, with 0.8 seconds separating George Russell and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, the closest non-Mercedes competitor, Lewis Hamilton was already proclaiming that the season could be over if the Silver Arrows maintain that advantage. Mercedes appeared to hold a clear edge in engine power, reaching speeds nearly 20 km/h faster than Red Bull on the straights. The dominant qualifying performance was challenged on the opening lap when Charles Leclerc made a daring move from fourth to take the lead, showing that Ferrari’s strong race starts seen during preseason testing were no fluke. Russell quickly retook the lead on lap two, and he and Leclerc engaged in an intense battle during the opening laps. Behind them, Kimi Antonelli was dueling Hamilton, who was running in third. The new regulations were clearly on display as Russell and Leclerc traded positions in the early stages while managing their battery deployment. When Isack Hadjar suffered engine problems on lap 11 and was forced to retire, Mercedes immediately pitted both drivers to gain several seconds. Ferrari kept their cars out on track, a decision that clearly frustrated Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso was then forced to retire on lap 15 due to engine vibrations, and two laps later Valtteri Bottas also retired with a faulty fuel system, marking the fifth retirement in just 18 laps. Ferrari finally made their stop on lap 25 when Leclerc came in for hard tires. The stop handed the advantage to Mercedes, as Russell passed Hamilton on lap 28 before Hamilton made his own pit stop. Antonelli then moved into second place shortly afterward. George Russell ultimately won the race by 2.9 seconds over Kimi Antonelli. Leclerc finished more than 15 seconds behind the Englishman, with Hamilton close behind and the reigning World Champion Lando Norris a distant fifth as he was over 50 seconds off the lead. Verstappen Finishes Strong After starting 20th due to being unable to set a lap time, the Dutchman salvaged his race weekend by finishing sixth. If Verstappen hopes to contend in 2026, Red Bull will need to resolve the reliability issues that have plagued the team early in the season or risk Mercedes pulling away quickly. Rookie Report The only rookie on the grid in 2026, Arvid Lindblad was able to secure four points after finishing in eighth place. This is encouraging for the young Brit who at 18 years of age qualified ninth behind his teammate Liam Lawson and was five places clear of him at the chequered flag. Lindblad showed impressive racecraft, making the jump from Formula 2 into a new era of cars and handling the promotion well. Racing Refresh Driver of the Day George Russell, Mercedes Final Points Finishing Positions 1st: George Russell 2nd: Kimi Antonelli 3rd: Charles Leclerc 4th: Lewis Hamilton 5th: Lando Norris 6th: Max Verstappen 7th: Oliver Bearman 8th: Arvid Lindblad 9th: Gabriel Bortoleto 10th: Pierre Gasly Next on the F1 Schedule: Chinese Grand Prix: March 12th-15th

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images By Adam Carabine Ryan Blaney overcame the odds to break Tyler Reddick’s winning streak, and wins for the second time in a row at Phoenix Raceway.    Blaney suffered through much adversity all day long, but clearly had one of the best cars and managed to make his way back to the front to cross the finish line first.    Lap 1: Logano starts on the pole, with Kyle Larson beside him to start the race.    Lap 40: A fairly uneventful start to the race, no cautions yet. Interesting to note that tire fall-off has already slowed the cars down about 1.5-2 seconds per lap.   Lap 42: As we’re on #ReddickWatch to see if he can win four in a row, he’s made his way up to 3 rd  after starting 8 th .   Lap 47: Logano’s teammate Ryan Blaney takes over the lead.   Lap 58: Christopher Bell starts charging forward and moves to P3.   Lap 59: Logano is fading back, Bell moves to P2 just ahead of the end of the stage.   Lap 60: Ryan Blaney wins a caution-free Stage One! There are 25 cars on the lead lap, and Riley Herbst gets the free pass.   Lap 65: Pits open, Bell wins the race off pit road.  Larson is nabbed for speeding on pit road and will start at the rear.   Lap 71: Stage Two is green with Bell and Logano on the front row.   Lap 93: Kyle Busch tags the wall, though it stays green.  He has a tire down and manages to limp it to pit road.   Lap 94: Just one lap later, though, Shane Van Gisbergen spins on his own right at the start-finish line, CAUTION comes out.   Lap 97: Pits open, Bell just beats Logano to the line to win the race off pit road.  Brad Keselowski gets the free pass.   Lap 98: Ryan Blaney has to come back to pit road a second time to fix a loose wheel.  Bubba Wallace gets a speeding penalty as well, the two of them will start at the back.   Lap 102:  Back to green (get ready because we’ll be saying this a lot coming up)   Lap 103: CAUTION – Big pileup in Turn 2 – Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, Josh Berry are all involved.  They’ll pit to get fresh tires again (which will come into play later on in the race)   Lap 109: Back to green.   Lap 132: CAUTION is out for Chase Briscoe as he has a tire go down and he slams the outside wall.  He’s out of the race, and now he has finished outside of the Top 35 in three of the four races so far this season.   Lap 134: On pit road, Blaney has another wheel that’s not tight.  They catch it in time, and he stops in his teammate Logano’s pit box to get it tightened.  However, that’s a penalty that will send him to the back of the field a SECOND time.   Lap 140: Back to green.   Lap 158: Noah Gragson tags the wall with a tire down, but it also seems to be tire-mageddon as under the ensuing caution, William Byron, Connor Zilisch and Michael McDowell all have tires go down too.    Lap 167: Back to green.  Denny Hamlin took two tires on pit road and leads the field to green.  As concern over tire wear continues to grow, there’s a mixture of teams who have put qualifying scuffs on here to conserve fresh tires for later in the race.   Lap 174: With Hamlin only having two fresh tires, he gives up the lead to Christopher Bell who has 4 fresh sticker tires.   Lap 185: Bell wins Stage Two.   Lap 191:  Christopher Bell wins the race off pit road again.   Lap 197: Final stage is green!   Lap 209: CAUTION for Ryan Preece spinning after some contact with Connor Zilisch.   Lap 213: As pit road opens, more and more concern that the 8 sets of tires given to teams might not be enough to make it to the end.   Lap 217: Just as we go back green, another CAUTION comes out involving quite a few cars.  Joey Logano put Chastain in a bad spot and ended up spinning him into a sea of 4-and-5-wide in the dog leg.    Lap 225: Back to green.  Josh Berry and Christopher Bell on the front row.   Lap 228:  Riley Herbst bounces off the wall, but manages to not cause another caution.   Lap 246:  CAUTION – SVG is around after some contact from Austin Dillon.    Lap 248: Pits open, almost everyone comes down for tires.  Chris Buescher gets a speeding penalty.   Lap 253: Back to green.   LAP 254: CAUTION – Logano, Josh Berry and Daniel Suarez are all involved.    Lap 264: Lots to clean up after that caution, so finally we are back to green.   Lap 282:  Connor Zilisch makes it to pit road with a tire down – no caution.   Lap 286:  Austin Hill, driving the 33 car for RCR, also has a tire down, and also makes it to pit road without a caution.   Lap 288:  CAUTION – Austin Dillon has a tire down.   Lap 290:  Pits open, pretty much everyone comes down, but some are at a disadvantage because of taking too many tires earlier in the race.  Ty Gibbs wins the race off pit road with two tires.  Bell comes out P7 with four tires.   Lap 294:  Back to green, but CAUTION immediately again, as Zane Smith, Ty Dillon and John Hunter Nemechek tangle in the back of the pack.   Lap 301: Back to green with 12 to go in the race.   Lap 303:  Ty Gibbs loses the lead to Ryan Blaney.   Lap 305:  Christopher Bell makes it to P2, being on four fresh tires.  Blaney is leading.   Lap 312:  Blaney WINS the race, holding off the charging Christopher Bell.  He ends the 23XI winning streak, and also earns a Team Penske sweep for the weekend at Phoenix, as their IndyCar counterparts won over the weekend too.   Tyler Reddick finished P8, but still has a 60-point standings lead over Blaney who is now in 2nd place.   Next weekend we head to Las Vegas!

Press Release | RON CAPPS MOTORSPORTS GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 6, 2026) – Monster Energy has joined NHRA Rookie of the Year candidate Maddi Gordon and the championship-winning Ron Capps Motorsports team in a multi-year partnership beginning with the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Announced today at Gainesville Raceway ahead of qualifying for the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals, the partnership will see Monster Energy support Gordon’s rookie campaign competing in the sport’s premier Top Fuel class as a major associate-level partner. “This is a huge weekend for us,” said RCM team owner and NAPA Auto Care Funny Car driver Ron Capps. “We’re debuting as a two-car team with Carlyle Tools, it’s Maddi’s first-ever Top Fuel race, the start of NHRA’s 75th anniversary season, and now the cherry on top – we get to announce a partnership with Monster Energy. It’s a brand that carries a lot of weight and has always backed some of the coolest, most extreme athletes in the world, and there’s not much more extreme than what we do, driving these nitromethane-burning beasts at 330 miles per hour. It’s an incredible brand to be aligned with, and I’m beyond proud that Ron Capps Motorsports gets to make this announcement today.” The collaboration with Gordon and the fifth-year RCM organization will feature Monster Energy branding across both team entries, with a larger presence on Gordon’s Top Fuel dragster. The signature Monster Energy M-claw logo will be on full display Friday afternoon when Gordon stages her 12,000-horsepower Carlyle Tools machine in NHRA national event competition for the first time during the opening round of qualifying. Gordon arrives in Top Fuel after years spent both behind the wheel and working on race cars alongside her family where she developed a reputation for her hands-on approach and deep mechanical understanding. That work ethic and dedication reflect the kind of driven, high-performance athletes Monster Energy has long been associated with across the world of motorsports. “It’s really exciting to have a brand like Monster Energy supporting me as I begin my professional career,” said Gordon, who spent the past two seasons piloting her family’s Top Alcohol Funny Car where she picked up three national event wins and a regional championship. “They’ve been involved with some of the most incredible athletes in motorsports, so to now be a part of that Monster family is truly an honor, and honestly, somewhat surreal. If someone would’ve told me a few years ago that in 2026 I’d be driving for Ron Capps, in a fuel car, and with huge, well-known brands such as Carlyle Tools and now Monster Energy, I would’ve told them they were crazy! I’m just so incredibly grateful for the opportunity and proud to represent Monster Energy with this Ron Capps Motorsports team.” Gordon’s Monster Energy-backed Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster will make its competition debut this weekend, March 6-8, at Gainesville Raceway during the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals. Qualifying kicks off at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday. About Ron Capps Motorsports Established in 2021, Ron Capps Motorsports is a multi-car NHRA team owned and operated by three-time Funny Car world champion Ron Capps. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., the team made its on-track debut in 2022 and competes on the 20-race NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series circuit thanks to the support of NAPA Auto Parts, Carlyle Tools, Monster Energy, USA Compression, Champion Spark Plugs, Mobil 1, Blue Wolf, Johnsen’s Brake Clean, and Core Scientific. Capps, who pilots the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car, is the second-winningest Funny Car driver in NHRA history and a class leader among active drivers with 76 wins in the category. His 77 overall wins (1 Top Fuel) rank seventh amongst NHRA’s four premier classes. The 2026 NHRA season marks Capps’ 32nd year competing in the sport’s professional ranks and 19th representing NAPA Auto Parts. Driving the organization’s second entry is third-generation drag racer Maddi Gordon, who will make her professional NHRA debut during the 2026 season aboard the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster. Previously, Gordon competed in the Top Alcohol Funny Car category where she became the 100th woman to win an NHRA national event in 2024

By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, it’s time for another edition of Stats Saturday. This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series travels to Avondale, Arizona for the Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway.   Phoenix is a 1-mile oval with a signature dogleg just past the start/finish line.  It served as the Championship Race for the past six years, though that has changed in 2026.  The track opened in 1964, but the Cup Series didn’t start racing there until 1988.  Alan Kulwicki won the first race there in this series.  Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney won the races at this track last year.   Tomorrow’s race will be 312 laps long (for a total of 312 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 60 – 185 – 312.  Pit road speed is 45 mph, and the caution vehicle runs at 50 mph.  The fuel window is approximately 95-105 laps.   This year, the NASCAR Cup Series has run 566 laps, for 1,141.16 miles so far this season.  14 drivers have completed 100% of them so far.   Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Kyle Larson 10.35 over 23 races (1 win) Denny Hamlin 10.49 over 41 races (2 wins) Ryan Blaney 10.90 over 20 races (1 win) Kyle Busch 11.24 over 41 races (3 wins) Chase Elliott 12.11 over 19 races (1 win)   Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Cody Ware 30.33 over 9 races Riley Herbst 30.00 over 2 races Michael McDowell 27.67 over 30 races SVG 27.50 over 2 races Zane Smith 27.40 over 5 races   For the purposes of this article, we are calling Phoenix a Short Track. (Any tracks 1 mile and less)   Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Joey Logano 11.19 over 196 races (13 wins) Chase Elliott 11.51 over 109 races (4 wins) Ryan Blaney 12.03 over 113 races (5 wins) Christopher Bell 12.12 over 65 races (7 wins) William Byron 12.73 over 87 races (5 wins)   Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Cody Ware 31.88 over 40 races Riley Herbst 28.19 over 12 races SVG 26.44 over 12 races Michael McDowell 26.31 over 173 races Ty Dillon 25.60 over 85 races   Kevin Harvick is far and away the winningest driver at Phoenix of all time.  He has 9 wins.  Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson are tied for 2 nd -most with 4 each.   Drivers who WON their first Cup Series race at Phoenix: Chase Briscoe 40 th  Career Cup Series Start   Drivers whose most recent Cup Series Victory was at Phoenix: Ryan Blaney 2025   Notable drivers who have not won at Phoenix: Brad Keselowski (has won at 17 other tracks) Tyler Reddick (has won at 10 other tracks) Alex Bowman (has won at 8 other tracks) Chris Buescher (has won at 6 other tracks) SVG (has won at 5 other tracks)   Based on average finish, no driver lists Phoenix as their BEST or WORST track.   Based on their point pace, let’s have a look at how this season is comparing to last season for drivers:   Drivers Faring Better than in 2025 Tyler Reddick +1199 pts Bubba Wallace +490 pts Daniel Suarez +437 pts AJ Allmendinger +383 pts Noah Gragson +340 pts   Drivers Faring Worse than in 2025 Alex Bowman -612 pts Christopher Bell -593 pts Chase Briscoe -579 pts Denny Hamlin -473 pts Kyle Larson -440 pts   The Manufacturer Standings are calculated by awarding points to the highest finisher for each manufacturer according to their finishing position.  (55 for 1 st , 35 for 2 nd , 34 for 3 rd , etc.)  No stage points or playoff points count.   Manufacturer Standings Toyota 165 Chevrolet 104 Ford 93   Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:   Chartered Team Standings 23XI 165 Hendrick 90 Penske 90 Spire 89 Trackhouse 86 Joe Gibbs 83 RFK 79 Front Row 77 Kaulig 76 RCR 55 Legacy MC 54 Hyak 45 Wood Bros 40 Haas Factory 37 Rick Ware 37   At each stage break, the Top 10 drivers are awarded points based on their finishing positions.  Here are the leaders this year:   Stage Point Leaders Bubba Wallace 34 Ryan Blaney 25 Tyler Reddick 21 Austin Cindric 19 William Byron 18 Chris Buescher 16 Daniel Suarez 15 Chase Elliott 15 AJ Allmendinger 15 Ty Gibbs 15   Milestone Watch Ross Chastain Looking for his 40 th  Career Top 5 Chase Briscoe Looking for his 30 th  Career Top 5   Scorigami Update COTA was the first time that: Connor Zilisch finished 14 th   Carson Hocevar finished 4 th     Here are the top 10 longest active winless streaks: Winless Streaks Cole Custer 136 races Erik Jones 120 races Kyle Busch 96 races Michael McDowell 87 races Daniel Suarez 73 races Brad Keselowski 62 races AJ Allmendinger 59 races Alex Bowman 51 races Chris Buescher 47 races Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 44 races   The race begins Sunday, March 8 th   at 3:30 pm EST (12:30 pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone!   Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter  @RacingRefresh   Is there an error? Is there a stat missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, it’s time for another edition of O’Reilly Stats Friday. This weekend the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series travels to Avondale, Arizona for the GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway.   Phoenix is a 1-mile oval with a signature dogleg just past the start/finish line.  It served as the Championship Race for the past six years, though that has changed in 2026.  The track opened in 1964, but the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series didn’t start racing there until 1999.  Jeff Gordon won the first race there in this series.  Aric Almirola and Jesse Love won the races at this track last year.   Tomorrow’s race will be 200 laps long (for a total of 200 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 45 – 90 – 200.  Pit road speed is 45 mph, and the caution vehicle runs at 50 mph.    This year, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has run 348 laps, for 704.16 miles so far.  Only 7 cars have completed 100% of all laps.   Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Jesse Love 4.50 over 4 races (1 win) Taylor Gray 6.50 over 2 races Harrison Burton 9.00 over 6 races Sammy Smith 9.14 over 7 races (1 win) Justin Allgaier 9.42 over 31 races (2 wins)   Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Josh Bilicki 27.38 over 8 races Dean Thompson 27.00 over 2 races Anthony Alfredo 26.38 over 8 races Kyle Sieg 25.56 over 9 races Parker Retzlaff 24.38 over 8 races   For the purposes of this article, we are calling Phoenix a Short Track. (Any tracks 1 mile and less)   Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Harrison Burton 11.16 over 33 races (1 win) Taylor Gray 12.48 over 13 races (1 win) Justin Allgaier 13.02 over 158 races (11 wins) Sammy Smith 13.14 over 30 races (2 wins) Brandon Jones 13.91 over 100 races (2 wins)   Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Austin Green 29.50 over 4 races Josh Bilicki 28.09 over 29 races Blaine Perkins 27.51 over 30 races Dean Thompson 26.50 over 10 races Ryan Ellis 26.34 over 47 races   Kyle Busch is the winningest driver in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Phoenix, with 11 wins, followed by Carl Edwards, who had 4.   Drivers who ran their first O’Reilly’s Series race at Phoenix: Ryan Sieg 2013 – P21 Blaine Perkins 2021 – P24 Nick Sanchez 2022 – P26 Parker Retzlaff 2022 – P36   Drivers who WON their first O’Reilly’s Series race at Phoenix: Sammy Smith This was his 13 th  Career O’Reilly’s Start   Drivers whose most recent O’Reilly Series Victory was at Phoenix: Jesse Love 2025   Notable drivers who have not won at Phoenix: Austin Hill (has won at 7 other tracks) Sam Mayer (has won at 6 other tracks) Harrison Burton (has won at 4 other tracks) Jeremy Clements (has won at 2 other tracks)   Based on average finish, Jesse Love lists Phoenix as his BEST track, but no driver lists it as their WORST.   Based on their point pace, let’s have a look at how this season is comparing to last season for drivers:   Drivers Faring Better than in 2025 Austin Hill +604 pts Sheldon Creed +282 pts Jesse Love +273 pts Blaine Perkins +171 pts Brennan Poole +162 pts   Drivers Faring Worse than in 2025 Harrison Burton -606 pts Nick Sanchez -280 pts Dean Thompson -261 pts Sam Mayer -229 pts Jeremy Clements -204 pts   Next, let’s look at who’s having their best and worst career year by Average Finish:   Best Career Year Austin Hill 5.00 Jesse Love 6.00 Sammy Smith 12.67 Parker Retzlaff 15.33 William Sawalich 18.67 Blaine Perkins 20.33 Ryan Ellis 20.67 Dean Thompson 24.00   Rookie of the Year Battle Patrick Staropoli 60 Lavar Scott 45   The Manufacturer Standings are calculated by awarding points to the highest finisher for each manufacturer according to their finishing position.  (55 for 1 st , 35 for 2 nd , 34 for 3 rd , etc.)  No stage points or playoff points count.   Manufacturer Standings Chevrolet 165 Toyota 70 Ford 60   Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:   Chartered Team Standings RCR 122 JR Motorsports 119 Haas Factory 94 Jordan Anderson 92 Hendrick 75 Viking 72 Alpha Prime 70 Joe Gibbs 70 SS-Green Light 67 Big Machine 60 Young’s 59 RSS Racing 56 AM Racing 47 Sam Hunt 45 Peterson 35 DGM 32 Hettinger 31 Barrett-Cope 25 Jeremy Clements 18 Joey Gase 7   At each stage break, the Top 10 drivers are awarded points based on their finishing positions.  Here are the leaders this year:   Stage Point Leaders Justin Allgaier 47 Austin Hill 39 Jesse Love 33 #1 Car 29 #88 Car 29 Brandon Jones 19 Sam Mayer 19 Sammy Smith 13 #91 Car 13 Sheldon Creed 12   Milestone Watch Justin Allgaier Looking for his 170 th  Career Top 5 Taylor Gray Looking for his 19 th  Career Top 5 Sheldon Creed Looking for his 70 th  Career Top 10 Harrison Burton Looking for his 60 th  Career Top 10 Taylor Gray Looking for his 20 th  Career Top 10 Austin Hill Looking for his 90 th  Career Top 10 Austin Hill This will be his 150 th  Career O’Reilly’s Start   Here are the top 10 longest active winless streaks:   Winless Streaks Jeremy Clements 112 races Jeb Burton 93 races Harrison Burton 70 races Sammy Smith 26 races Justin Allgaier 22 races Nick Sanchez 19 races Sam Mayer 14 races Brandon Jones 8 races Taylor Gray 4 races Jesse Love 3 races   The race begins Saturday, March 7 th  at 7:30 pm EST (4:30 pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone!   Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter  @RacingRefresh   Is there an error? Is there a stat missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

By Adam Carabine Welcome to the StatChat NASCAR Games!   We are now three races into the 2026 season, and I thought it might be fun to share some of the silly little games I play on my NASCAR Excel Sheet.   BRACKET GAMES These games are similar to NASCAR’s In-Season Tournament, as created by Denny Hamlin, but it lasts all season long.    Drivers are originally seeded by a mixture of performance from last year, with some creative discretion from myself.  Each week, whichever driver finishes better in each matchup moves on to the next round.    Winning also gives you points which grow with each round. Round 1 win: 1 pt Round 2 win: 2 pts Round 3 win: 3 pts Round 4 win: 4 pts Finals win: 5 pts   Those points then determine the seeding for the next round of the Bracket Games, and they continue until the end of the season.  Whichever driver has the highest points at the end of the season wins the Bracket Game!   There is a bracket for each of the three NASCAR Series.  Let’s see how things look in Week 3:   Cup Series   O’Reilly Auto Parts Series     Craftsman Truck Series   ELIMINATION GAMES These games are just another fun way I like to keep things interesting throughout the grind of the long NASCAR season.  These games only follow the NASCAR Cup Series, though that could change in the future.    Because there are 36 races, and 36 full-time drivers in the Cup Series, this works out very nicely.  The first elimination happens after Race #2, and continues through the season, so there will be a final two head-to-head matchup at the final race.    Each week, a new driver is eliminated in each game.  The criteria for each game is different, so it’s not always the same driver being eliminated in each game.    Power Rankings Elimination Whichever driver has the worst score in the StatChat Power Rankings gets eliminated.    After Week 2, Josh Berry was eliminated.   After Week 3, Erik Jones was eliminated.   Last Place Elimination Whichever driver finishes the worst out of all the remaining drivers is eliminated.   After Week 2, Josh Berry was eliminated   After Week 3, Chase Briscoe was eliminated   Average Finish Elimination Whichever driver has the worst average finish out of all the remaining drivers at the end of each week is eliminated.   After Week 2, Austin Dillon was eliminated.   After Week 3, Alex Bowman was eliminated.   Stay tuned each week to see who is winning the StatChat NASCAR Games!

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images By Adam Carabine The StatChat Power Rankings return in 2026! While finishing position is important, it’s not always indicative of the full picture.  StatChat rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs. Let's look at the Top 10:   Michael McDowell – This week: 10 – Last week: 23 McDowell is great at the drafting tracks, and at road courses.  After the first two races of the year didn’t go his way (he finished P22 and P20), he rebounded at COTA with his first Top 5 of the year.  I’m not sure McDowell stays in the Top 10 after Phoenix next week, but this week it counts.   Daniel Suarez – This week: 9 – Last week: 9 Suarez had a decent run through the second stage of the race at COTA this past weekend, but a somewhat baffling strategy call ruined his day.  Instead of flipping the stage and maintaining some track position, they opted to let him finish Stage Two without pitting, where he earned 8 Stage Points.  However, he finished P25 on the day, and likely deserved better.    William Byron – This week: 8 – Last week: 5 William Byron didn’t really have much to compete with the front runners at COTA.  He was solid, and even led a lap because of some pit strategy, but ultimately wasn’t good enough to compete with the wizards of road coursing.  P13 and two stage points.   Ross Chastain – This week: 7 – Last week: 4 Ross Chastain got bit by the tire bug this past weekend!  He was having a great day to start things off too.  He was running up front, led a few laps, and even won the first stage.  But his tire came off his car and created the only caution outside of stage breaks for the race at COTA.  He finished P35, so is probably pretty happy he got that first stage win.   AJ Allmendinger – This week: 6 – Last week: 15 The poor guy, Allmendinger was running COTA with a broken cool-suit.  And unfortunately for anyone who’s cool-suit fails, it can actually make your warmth situation even worse than if you didn’t have it at all.  The cool water that’s supposed to travel around your body is now just hot water.  Allmendinger held on and finished P9, impressively, but was treated by EMS after the race.  For the record – he was fine, just exhausted and probably dehydrated!   Chase Elliott – This week: 5 – Last week: 7 Once known as the road course king, Elliott hasn’t won at a road course in this Next-Gen car yet.  However, he wasn’t terrible this past weekend at COTA.  He earned some stage points, and finished in the Top 10.  He’s also been quite consistent, and sits third in the Points Standings.   SVG – This week: 4 – Last week: 12 No surprise to see SVG make his way up into the Top 5 of the Power Rankings after a road course.  He looked great a lot of the day, but just didn’t have quite enough to take down eventual winner, Tyler Reddick.  He is still so fun to watch on Road Courses.    Ryan Blaney – This week: 3 – Last week: 6 Ryan Blaney had what might have been the best car at COTA, but just couldn’t get past Tyler Reddick.  For the majority of the second stage, he was trailing Reddick – at one point even getting frustrated that all he could see was Reddick’s bumper.  He got stuck on old tires on the final run and faded to P8, but he was in contention for much of the day.    Bubba Wallace – This week: 2   – Last week: 2 Not necessarily known for his road course racing, Bubba Wallace had a very respectable outing at COTA this past weekend.  He earned some stage points, had a really solid +54 Pass Differential (only bested by Ty Gibbs), and finished in P11.  He sits 2 nd  in the Points Standings after a solid three weeks to start this season.    Tyler Reddick – This week: 1 – Last week: 1 The most obvious of obvious answers – Tyler Reddick retains the top spot in our Power Rankings after becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to win the first three races of a season.  It was a fairly dominant win, though not without its drama.  Props to Reddick for having the mental fortitude to keep things mistake-free, even when SVG was hot on his tail over the final run to the checkered flag.  Great show by the 45 team, and suddenly he’s got a 70-point lead over 2 nd  place.   Biggest Movers   Chase Briscoe – This week: 27 – Last week: 11 Falls 16 places   Ty Gibbs – This week: 15 – Last week: 32 Gains 17 places   Rest of the List 11. Joey Logano LW: 10 -1 12. Kyle Larson LW: 19 +7 13. Ryan Preece LW: 16 +3 14. Carson Hocevar LW: 8 -6 15. Ty Gibbs LW: 32 +17 16. Ty Dillon LW: 14 -2 17. Zane Smith LW: 3 -14 18. Kyle Busch LW: 24 +6 19. Chris Buescher LW: 17 -2 20. Denny Hamlin LW: 21 +1 21. Noah Gragson LW: 13 -9 22. Connor Zilisch LW: 20 -2 23. Brad Keselowski LW: 22 -1 24. Christopher Bell LW: 27 +3 25. Riley Herbst LW: 26 +1 26. Austin Cindric LW: 18 -8 27. Chase Briscoe LW: 11 -16 28. Cody Ware LW: 25 -3 29. Todd Gilliland LW: 31 +2 30. JH Nemechek LW: 30 -- 31. Austin Dillon LW: 34 +3 32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. LW: 33 +1 33. Alex Bowman LW: 28 -5 34. Josh Berry LW: 36 +2 35. Cole Custer LW: 35 -- 36. Erik Jones LW: 29 -7