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Chase Briscoe gets his first NASCAR victory at Phoenix

Chase Briscoe guides his No. 14 car through a turn at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday.
(Darryl Webb / Associated Press)
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Chase Briscoe raced to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory, executing two great restarts over the final 20 laps to pull away from Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

It was an intense late battle between three drivers who had never won in the Cup Series. It’s more evidence of the parity across the series in the Next Gen cars, with four drivers winning the first four races this season.

Chastain and Reddick — both driving Chevrolets — made things interesting but Briscoe’s Ford was simply too strong. On the final restart with four laps left, the 27-year-old Briscoe started on the inside, dipped low on the dogleg apron, and was able to hold off the rest of the field.

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Ryan Blaney started on the pole and dominated the first half of the race, winning the second stage after leading 138 of the first 185 laps. He settled for fourth.

Kyle Larson won the series championship last year after a fall victory at Phoenix, but engine trouble ended his day early. He finished 34th. It was the end of a frustrating day for Larson, who qualified seventh but had to move to the rear of the starting grid because of unapproved steering wheel changes.

Harrison Burton (unapproved adjustments) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (engine) also started from the back.

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