BLANEY AND THE 12 TEAM PERSEVERES TO VICTORY IN PHOENIX

Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford Mustang Dark Horse team faced adversity early Sunday in Phoenix, but crew chief Jonathan Hassler's late-race, two-tire call set the stage for Blaney to charge to the lead with 10 laps to go en route to his 18th-career Cup Series victory, completing the weekend sweep for Team Penske following Josef Newgarden's INDYCAR Series win on Saturday afternoon. Blaney becomes the first driver since 2019 to win consecutive Cup Series events at Phoenix while logging a top-five finish at the one-mile track for the eighth time in nine starts in the NextGen era, all while leading 314 laps over that stretch. Blaney's 18th Cup Series victory place him in a tie with the likes of Harry Gant, Geoff Bodine, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Marvin Panch, and Curtis Turner on the series' all-time wins list.

The No. 12 Dent Wizard Ford proved to be one of the strongest in the field early on as Blaney took his first lead of the day with 13 laps remaining in Stage 1 before going on to pick up the 12 team's first stage win of the season. Blaney challenged the No. 20 for the lead from the onset of the second segment prior to the caution on lap 94, but a loose wheel following the four-tire stop prompted an additional trip to pit road prior to the restart. After restarting outside of the top-20, Blaney worked his way back into the top-10 within 17 laps, but another issue on pit road relegated him to 32nd in the running order. Blaney once again charged through the field over the course of the following run to come away with a 12th-place finish in Stage 2. The Dent Wizard Ford became a mainstay in the top-five the rest of the way as Blaney and the No. 20 resumed their fight for the top spot with the laps winding down. A caution on lap 287 brought on one final round of pit stops when Hassler made the call for right side tires only, allowing Blaney to make his way off pit road second before the field took the green with 19 laps to go. A caution on the opening lap set up one final restart with 12 to go as Blaney took the green from the outside of row two before making the race-winning pass around the No. 54 into turn one with 10 laps remaining. Blaney was able to hold off the No. 20 the rest of the way - who had taken four tires on the previous stop - to seal the victory in Phoenix. Blaney led a total of 28 laps on the day as he has now led in all four races to begin the 2026 season.