2026 Freeway Insurance 500
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 33 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | October 18, 2025 | ||
| Location | Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.000 miles (1.609 km) | ||
| Distance | 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km) | ||
| Average speed | 103.207 miles per hour (166.096 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 26.250 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 85 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | |
| Time | 27.101 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dan Hubbard (1 & 2) and Tim Catafalmo (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Freeway Insurance 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 18, 2026, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. It was held over 312 laps on the 1.000 mi (1.609 km) oval, it was the 33rd race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the seventh race of the NASCAR Chase.
Tyler Reddick won the race.[10] Ryan Blaney finished 2nd, and Chase Elliott finished 3rd. Christopher Bell and Corey Heim rounded out the top five, and Joey Logano, Daniel Suárez, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top ten.
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. Phoenix Raceway has also hosted the CART, IndyCar Series, USAC and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The raceway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.
Freeway Insurance was announced as the title sponsor.[11]
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
- (CC) denotes chase contender.
Practice
[edit]Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 26.969 seconds and a speed of 133.487 mph (214.827 km/h).
Practice results
[edit]| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 26.969 | 133.487 |
| 2 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (CC) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.998 | 133.343 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 27.015 | 133.259 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
[edit]Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.250 and a speed of 137.143 mph (220.710 km/h).[12]
Qualifying results
[edit]Race
[edit]Race results
[edit]Stage Results
[edit]Stage One Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 125
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Final Stage Results
[edit]Stage Three Laps: 127
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 312 | 61 |
| 2 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 312 | 48 |
| 3 | 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 39 |
| 4 | 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 312 | 49 |
| 5 | 36 | 67 | Corey Heim (i) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 312 | 0 |
| 6 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 312 | 51 |
| 7 | 14 | 7 | Daniel Suárez (CC) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 30 |
| 8 | 3 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 312 | 44 |
| 9 | 11 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 31 |
| 10 | 7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 312 | 27 |
| 11 | 9 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 312 | 34 |
| 12 | 28 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (CC) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 25 |
| 13 | 30 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 312 | 24 |
| 14 | 13 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 312 | 25 |
| 15 | 20 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 312 | 22 |
| 16 | 18 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 312 | 21 |
| 17 | 23 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 312 | 26 |
| 18 | 26 | 60 | Ryan Preece (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 312 | 19 |
| 19 | 15 | 2 | Austin Cindric (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 312 | 18 |
| 20 | 12 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 17 |
| 21 | 10 | 24 | William Byron (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 21 |
| 22 | 17 | 17 | Chris Buescher (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 312 | 15 |
| 23 | 21 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 14 |
| 24 | 35 | 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 |
| 25 | 29 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 312 | 12 |
| 26 | 25 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 11 |
| 27 | 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 312 | 10 |
| 28 | 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 311 | 21 |
| 29 | 34 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 8 |
| 30 | 31 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 7 |
| 31 | 33 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 310 | 6 |
| 32 | 19 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 308 | 5 |
| 33 | 32 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 307 | 4 |
| 34 | 22 | 5 | Kyle Larson (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 281 | 3 |
| 35 | 37 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 220 | 2 |
| 36 | 8 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 201 | 1 |
| 37 | 24 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 155 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
[edit]- Lead changes: 21 among 10 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 43
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 1 minute and 23 seconds
- Average speed: 103.207 miles per hour (166.096 km/h)
Media
[edit]Television
[edit]USA Sports covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider handled pit road, while Trevor Bayne provided analysis from the pace car for the television side.
| USA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | Pace car |
| Lap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Dave Burns Kim Coon Marty Snider | Trevor Bayne |
Radio
[edit]MRN covered the radio action for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and former crew chief Todd Gordon called the race when the field races past the start/finish line. Dan Hubbard called the action from turns 1 & 2, and Tim Catafalmo called the action from turns 3 & 4. Pit lane was manned by Lead MRN Pit Reporter Steve Post, Chris Wilner, and Jacklyn Drake.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Mike Bagley Announcer: Todd Gordon | Turns 1 & 2: Dan Hubbard Turns 3 & 4: Tim Catafalmo | Steve Post Chris Wilner Jacklyn Drake |
Standings after the race
[edit]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Phoenix Raceway". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Entry list" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 12, 2026. Retrieved October 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Practice Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 17, 2026. Retrieved October 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Qualifying Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 17, 2026. Retrieved October 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Starting Lineup" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 17, 2026. Retrieved October 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 18, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 18, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026.
- ↑ Page, Scott (October 18, 2026). "Tyler Reddick wins Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 19, 2026.
- ↑ Srigley, Joseph (October 31, 2025). "Freeway Insurance Named Premier Partner of NASCAR". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
- ↑ DeGroot, Nick (October 17, 2026). "NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles". Motorsport.com. Avondale, Arizona: Motorsport Network. Retrieved October 17, 2026.