Race report

NASCAR Cup Phoenix

Byron beats Larson - again - for Phoenix Cup win

For the second consecutive week, William Byron rallied in overtime to reclaim a lead he lost earlier in the race and score a victory.

Jim Utter

Edited: Mar 13, 2023, 8:09 PM

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Kevin Harvick appeared in command and head to the win at Phoenix Raceway when a late-race caution for a spin by Harrison Burton sent all the lead-lap cars to pit road.

The top six, including Byron, took on only two new tires, but Kyle Larson was first off pit road.

Shortly after the restart with three laps remaining, another wreck sent the race into a two-lap overtime. On the ensuing restart, Byron went to the outside of Larson and with a shove from Tyler Reddick, powered into the lead with one lap to go.

Byron then held off Ryan Blaney by 0.330 seconds to secure his second straight NASCAR Cup Series win and sixth of his career.

“Owe the last couple weeks to him,” Byron said of his crew chief, Rudy Fugle. “He’s done a really good job strategy-wise and execution-wise and we’ve done a good job to put ourselves in those positions on the front row with a shot at the end.

“Thanks to everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports, putting together great cars, doing a great job. This is a big credit to them.”

Reddick ended up third, Larson – who led the most laps (201) – was fourth and Harvick rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 were Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman and Josh Berry, who was in his second start filling in for the injured Chase Elliott.

On the final lap, Denny Hamlin appeared to go up the track and into Ross Chastain as both hit the wall. Hamlin was credited with a 23rd place finish and Chastain 24th.

Stage 3

During the break between Stages 2 and 3, the lead-lap cars all pit with Larson first off pit road. Ty Gibbs had to restart from the rear of the field for speeding on pit road during his stop.

On the restart on Lap 195, Larson was followed by Harvick, Byron, Brad Keselowski and Reddick.

With 100 laps remaining, Larson had run out to 3-second lead over Harvick as Byron remained in third.

Berry pit on Lap 241 to kick off a final round of green-flag pit stops to take on new tires and fuel to make it to the finish of the race.

Daniel Suarez was assessed a pass-through penalty after speeding on pit road during his stop. He was caught speeding again while serving his penalty and was assessed another pass-through.

Once the cycle of stops was completed on Lap 261 when Jones finally pit, Larson returned to the lead. He was followed by Harvick, Bell and Byron.

After hounding Larson for several laps, Harvick finally went to his inside on Lap 269 and grabbed the lead for the first time in the race.

With 35 laps remaining, Harvick had extended his lead to 1.7 seconds over Larson as Bell remained in third.

On Lap 302, Burton spun on the frontstretch and dropped debris on the track to bring out the fourth caution of the race.

The lead-lap cars all pit with Larson the first off pit road thanks to a two-tire pit stop. Martin Truex Jr. was penalized for speeding on pit road and had to restart from the rear of the field. The top six cars took only two tires. Harvick in seventh was the first off pit road with four new tires.

On the restart with three laps remaining, Larson was followed by Byron, Blaney, Chastain, Busch and Harvick.

Shortly after the restart, A.J. Allmendinger, Noah Gragson and Gibbs all ran up into the wall to bring the caution back out and send the race into overtime.

To start overtime, Larson led followed by Byron, Blaney, Reddick, Chastain, Hamlin and Harvick.

Stage 2

Larson led every green-flag lap and cruised to a 1.3-second win over Byron for his first stage win of the 2023 season.

Harvick finished third, Keselowski fourth and Reddick rounded out the top-five.

During the break between Stages 1 and 2, all the lead-lap cars pit with Larson first off pit road. Allmendinger had to restart from the rear of the field for speeding during his pit stop.

On the restart on Lap 69, Larson was followed by Byron, Bell and Hamlin.

With 90 laps to go in the stage, Byron had closed back just behind Larson to challenge for the lead while Harvick had advanced to sixth – the top running Ford in the race.

On Lap 118, Hamlin was the first driver to hit pit road to kick off a round of green-flag pit stops to take on new tires and fuel to make it to the end of the stage.

Busch, Erik Jones, Michael McDowell and Austin Cindric all had to serve pass-through penalties after they were caught speeding on pit road during their respective stops.

Once the cycle of stops was completed on Lap 121, Larson returned to the lead with about a 1-second advantage over Byron.

On Lap 138, a wheel hub came off the No. 10 Ford of Aric Almirola after he hit the wall and NASCAR was forced to throw a caution.

All the lead-lap cars elected to pit with Larson first off pit road. Almirola was assessed a two-lap penalty for the loose wheel on the track under green conditions.

On the restart on Lap 147, Larson was followed by Byron, Hamlin and Harvick.

With 20 laps remaining in the stage, Larson had built up another 1-second lead over Byron as Harvick ran third, 2.2 seconds behind the leader.

Stage 1

Byron led all but one lap and easily held off Larson to take the Stage 1 win.

Bell was third, Hamlin fourth and Reddick rounded out the top-five.

Larson started on the pole and led the first lap but was quickly overtaken by Byron on Lap 2.

With 40 laps remaining in the stage, Byron had built a nearly 2-second lead over Larson as Hamlin ran third.

After 35 laps, Byron’s lead over Larson had expanded to more than 3 seconds. Hamlin remained third, Bell was fourth and Blaney moved to fifth.

With five laps to go, Byron still maintained a 2.5-second lead over Larson as Hamlin ran third, 5.7 seconds behind the leader.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also brushed the wall but did not appear to suffer any significant damage.

Zane Smith, driving the No. 38 this week for Front Row Motorsports, started from the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments.

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