March 9, 2025 | By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

C Bell wins third straight NASCAR Cup race

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Christopher Bell prevailed in a dramatic side-by-side finish with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin — the second-closest finish in Phoenix Raceway history — to earn Bell his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory this season, a record in the sport’s Next Gen Car era.

Bell’s No. 20 JGR Toyota went high alongside Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota as the two cars dueled it out in the final two corners of a two-lap shootout on the one-mile speedway. The 30-year-old Oklahoman claimed the historic win by a mere .049 seconds, marking his second straight victory in this spring race at Phoenix.

“How about that one, race fans? Oh my gosh!” a jubilant Bell shouted to the Phoenix crowd after collecting the winner’s checkered flag at the start-finish line.

“It was all about who could get clear on the restart. Neither of us could. We were racing really hard coming to the line. JGR ran 1-2 — how about that?”

Hamlin’s runner-up finish was disappointing in the moment but still his best of the early season in the No. 11 JGR Toyota, earning the team its first 1-2 finish of 2025. He led the white-flag lap but couldn’t fend off Bell, who drove the fastest car of the day, leading a race-high 103 of the 312 laps.

“Great job by the Sport Clips team, it got better as it went,” Hamlin said. “Pit crew did a phenomenal job keeping us in the game. We had a bad stop in the middle but made up for it in the end.

“[The end] was the first time we were able to get some clean air all day, and our car was really fast. I really wanted it to stay green because I thought that’s where we’d excel, especially on these tires. We got a good restart – the five [Kyle Larson] really gave me a good push on the frontstretch and down the backstretch. I had position on the 20, but I knew he was going to send it in there if he could. We just ran out of racetrack. But great finish.”

Team owner Joe Gibbs joked afterward that having his two drivers battle for the win and finish 1-2 was a huge positive, but it had him on pins and needles during the closing laps Sunday.

“It can be a tense Monday meeting if it doesn’t work out,” he said with a laugh.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson claimed third place, with Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher rounding out the top five. It was the best finish of the year for Berry and came on a busy afternoon where teams had to strategize using two kinds of tires — option (red) or primary (yellow) — for only the second time in Next Gen points-racing competition.

Goodyear allotted each team two sets of the option tires and six of the primary, with the idea that the red option tires were quicker but presented a challenge due to their quicker wear. The initial response to the extra element in the race was positive.

“Everything went according to plan at Phoenix, and the option tire worked very well,” Goodyear’s NASCAR project manager Mark Keto said after the race. “It gave teams a chance to vary their strategies and maximize their effectiveness to gain track position over teams that were on the primary tires.

“Teams were also able to manage their options once they got track position and make them last longer into a run. Overall, we were very happy with the balance and strategy of the prime/option tire setup and how it added to the racing all day.”

The tire option played into the race, with RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece, for example, switching early to the red tires and ultimately advancing more than 25 positions on track to lead 34 laps. Winning crew chief Adam Stevens said after the race that a lot was learned about the tires and hoped the series would be open to using them again. NASCAR will hold a closed tire test Monday at Phoenix.

Hendrick teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman finished sixth and seventh, followed by Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith, and Hendrick’s Chase Elliott, rounding out the top 10. It was the third consecutive top 10 for two-time series champion Busch and a season-best finish for Smith.

“It was just crazy there at the end,” Byron said of the race strategy. “We restarted 21st and got into the top 10 pretty quickly. I feel like we probably used up a lot of tire on the reds to get those last few spots, so it was hard to get much more.

“I’m happy with it. The No. 24 Chevrolet team put together a good weekend. We learned a lot and got a solid finish, so that’s something to be proud of.”

Katherine Legge, a sports car race winner and former Indianapolis 500 starter, finished 30th on the 37-car grid in her NASCAR Cup Series debut, driving the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet. The British driver became only the eighth woman in NASCAR’s modern era (1972-present) to compete in the sport’s highest level, and the first since Danica Patrick raced in the 2018 DAYTONA 500.

One-mile tracks like Phoenix are not typically known for big multi-car accidents, but the “big one” in the desert occurred early in Sunday’s race. Spire Motorsports’ teammates Justin Haley and Carson Hocevar, along with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe, made heavy contact racing four-wide out of Turn 2, ultimately collecting and eliminating five other cars from the race.

Despite the early end to his chances, Haley was impressed with the softer option tires.

“I wish I would have been on the option tires the whole time and everyone else on the primaries,” Haley said. “They just make you feel like Superman. I like the tire. I honestly feel like we should go to them everywhere. They make the cars drive a lot better. I don’t know if that’s what you want, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.”

Bell now heads to the 1.5-mile Las Vegas high banks next week, hoping to match a milestone set by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who is the only driver to win four of a season’s first five races, doing so in 1992.

Byron leads the championship standings by 13 points over Bell as the NASCAR Cup Series returns to competition Sunday in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Larson is the defending race winner.


NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 4
Race Results for the Shriners Children's 500 - Sunday, March 9, 2025
Phoenix Raceway - Avondale, AZ - 1. - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 312 Laps - 312. Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 3/9/2025 @ 07:24 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 11 20 Christopher Bell Reser's Fine Foods Toyota 312 4 1 57 Running 6 105 6
2 10 11 Denny Hamlin Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota 312 8 6 43 Running 2 3
3 17 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 312 10 9 37 Running  
4 4 21 Josh Berry Eero Ford 312 6 10 39 Running  
5 13 17 Chris Buescher Fry's/Thomas'/Philadelphia Ford 312   32 Running  
6 1 24 William Byron Z by HP Chevrolet 312 1 3 49 Running 3 83 1
7 32 48 Alex Bowman Ally Best Friends Chevrolet 312   30 Running  
8 15 8 Kyle Busch Zone/QuikTrip Chevrolet 312   29 Running  
9 26 38 Zane Smith Aaron's Rent To Own Ford 312   28 Running  
10 6 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 312 9  29 Running  
11 24 1 Ross Chastain Kubota Orange Days Sales Event Chevrolet 312   26 Running  
12 21 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet 312   25 Running  
13 2 22 Joey Logano Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 312  2 33 Running 4 81
14 36 42 John Hunter Nemechek Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota 312   23 Running  
15 28 60 Ryan Preece Solomon Plumbing Ford 312 3  30 Running 1 34
16 25 10 Ty Dillon Hybrid Light Chevrolet 312   21 Running  
17 27 34 Todd Gilliland Frontline Enterprises Inc. Ford 312   20 Running  
18 5 43 Erik Jones Family Dollar Toyota 312   19 Running  
19 14 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Monster Ford 312  7 22 Running 1 6
20 9 45 Tyler Reddick Mobil 1 Toyota 312 2 5 32 Running  
21 22 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ram Self Storage Chevrolet 311   16 Running  
22 16 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 311   15 Running  
23 31 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 308  8 17 Running  
24 35 51 Cody Ware Mighty Fire Breaker Ford 306   13 Running  
25 34 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 304   12 Accident  
26 33 4 Noah Gragson Long John Silver's Ford 303   11 Running  
27 7 71 Michael McDowell Workforce Chevrolet 290   11 Running  
28 12 12 Ryan Blaney Wurth Ford 289 5 4 22 Engine  
29 19 23 Bubba Wallace Leidos Toyota 265   8 Accident  
30 37 78 * Katherine Legge Droplight Chevrolet 210   7 Accident  
31 29 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 100   6 Accident  
32 23 41 Cole Custer Hass/Andy's Ford 99   5 Accident  
33 20 6 Brad Keselowski Consumer Cellular Ford 99   4 Accident  
34 8 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Chevrolet 98   3 Accident  
35 30 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 98   2 Accident  
36 3 77 Carson Hocevar Miner Docks Doors and more Chevrolet 98 7  5 Accident  
37 18 35 Riley Herbst # Monster Energy Toyota 98   1 Accident  

Fastest Lap Bonus:  # lap 274 / 27.02
71                                                                   
,
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 23 Mins, 10 Secs. Average Speed: 92.141 MPH Margin of Victory: .049 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 24, 45, 60, 20, 12, 21, 77, 11, 9, 5
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 22, 24, 12, 45, 11, 2, 99, 5, 21

Race Comments: Christopher Bell has won the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway, his 12th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: No. 71 (Unapproved Adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 10 for 73 laps; Laps: 5-9 (#78 Spin Backstretch [None]); 11-14 (#4, 34, 41, 47 Incident Backstretch [None]); 62-71 (Stage 1 Conclusion [10]); 93-98 (#71 Incident Turn 4 [51]); 100-112 (#6, 77, 35, 7, 19, 41, 88, 3 Incident Turn 2 [78]); 187-194 (Stage 2 Conclusion [43]); 216-223 (#78, 99 Incident Backstretch [10]); 268-276 (Debris [54]); 291-295 (Possible Fluid On Track [45]); 306-310 (#54 Incident Turn 4 [34]).

Lead Changes: 17 among 6 drivers; W. Byron 0; J. Logano 1; W. Byron 2-9; J. Logano 10-13; W. Byron 14-87; A. Cindric 88-93; W. Byron 94; C. Bell 95-128; J. Logano 129-177; C. Bell 178-189; J. Logano 190-216; C. Bell 217-235; R. Preece 236-269; C. Bell 270-294; D. Hamlin 295; C. Bell 296-309; D. Hamlin 310-311; C. Bell 312.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: March 16, 2025 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875



NASCAR Cup Series Points Report
Phoenix Raceway
Shriners Children's 500

UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 3/9/2025 @ 07:39 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL

Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. William Byron 24 4 0 165 0 0 1 1 6
2. Christopher Bell 20 4 -2 152 -13 13 3 1 16
3. Tyler Reddick 45 4 0 143 -22 9 0 0 0
4. Ryan Blaney 12 4 2 136 -29 7 0 1 1
5. Chase Elliott 9 4 0 124 -41 12 0 0 0
6. Alex Bowman 48 4 -1 117 -48 7 0 0 0
7. Denny Hamlin 11 4 -10 110 -55 7 0 0 0
8. Kyle Busch 8 4 -1 110 -55 0 0 0 0
9. Joey Logano 22 4 -3 110 -55 0 0 1 1
10. Chris Buescher 17 4 -1 109 -56 1 0 0 0
11. Kyle Larson 5 4 -5 108 -57 1 0 1 1
12. Bubba Wallace 23 4 6 102 -63 6 0 1 1
13. John Hunter Nemechek 42 4 0 99 -66 3 0 0 0
14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 4 4 96 -69 3 0 0 0
15. Michael McDowell 71 4 7 96 -69 0 0 0 0
16. Ross Chastain 1 4 -4 88 -77 8 0 0 0
17. Todd Gilliland 34 4 -2 83 -82 5 0 0 0
18. Carson Hocevar 77 4 4 77 -88 6 0 0 0
19. Erik Jones 43 4 -3 75 -90 2 0 0 0
20. Chase Briscoe 19 4 5 74 -91 1 0 0 0
21. Josh Berry 21 4 -12 73 -92 1 0 1 1
22. Shane Van Gisbergen # 88 4 4 69 -96 4 0 0 0
23. Ty Dillon 10 4 -1 69 -96 0 0 0 0
24. Ryan Preece 60 4 -6 68 -97 1 0 1 1
25. Austin Dillon 3 4 -3 66 -99 2 0 0 0
26. Zane Smith 38 4 -5 63 -102 3 0 0 0
27. Riley Herbst # 35 4 6 61 -104 2 0 0 0
28. AJ Allmendinger 16 4 3 58 -107 3 0 0 0
29. Daniel Suarez 99 4 0 55 -110 3 0 0 0
30. Justin Haley 7 4 7 55 -110 0 0 0 0
31. Noah Gragson 4 4 4 53 -112 2 0 0 0
32. Austin Cindric 2 4 -3 52 -113 1 0 0 0
33. Brad Keselowski 6 4 7 47 -118 5 0 0 0
34. Ty Gibbs 54 4 -2 41 -124 6 0 0 0
35. Cole Custer 41 4 1 36 -129 5 0 0 0
36. Jimmie Johnson  1 4 34 -131 2 0 0 0
37. Cody Ware 51 4 -1 23 -142 11 0 0 0
38. Corey Lajoie  2 1 21 -144 2 0 0 0
39. * Katherine Legge 78 1 39 7 -158 14 0 0 0
40. Jj Yeley  1 1 1 -164 6 0 0 0
41. Martin Truex, Jr.  1 1 1 -164 0 0 0 0
42. Justin Allgaier(i)  1 1 0 -165 1 0 0 0
43. Bj Mcleod(i)  1 1 0 -165 0 0 0 0
44. Connor Zilisch(i)  1 1 0 -165 0 0 0 0
45. Chandler Smith(i)  0 3 0 -165 0 0 0 0
46. Anthony Alfredo(i)  0 1 0 -165 0 0 0 0
47. Helio Castroneves  1 -1 0 -165 0 0 0 0

-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series