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NEWTON, IOWA – AUGUST 09: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Pennington Ford, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, lead the field on a pace lap prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway on August 09, 2026 in Newton, Iowa. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Ryan Blaney looked like the man to beat when the green flag dropped at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. Kyle Larson, meanwhile, was hoping to work his way toward the front.

Neither driver could have been particularly happy with how things were unfolding as the Freeway Insurance 500 approached its halfway point.

What started as a promising afternoon for Blaney quickly turned into a fight to keep his No. 12 Ford underneath him. Larson was having an even tougher time, struggling to find any grip in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

And their radio messages told the story.

Ryan Blaney’s Strong Start Takes a Frustrating Turn

Blaney started from the pole and led 47 laps, but the speed that made his Team Penske Ford so impressive early in the race began to disappear during a lengthy green-flag run.

Teammate Joey Logano eventually chased him down and took second place as Blaney fought an increasingly loose race car.

“I’m just [expletive] sideways here,” Blaney told his team.

Joey Logano chases Ryan Blaney back down and takes the runner-up spot.

“I’m just f****** sideways here” Blaney tells the No. 12 team.

#NASCAR

The handling wasn’t his only concern. Blaney was also worried about how much longer his right-rear tire would survive.

“The right rear is going to cord any minute,” he said over the radio.

“The right rear is going to cord any minute,” says Blaney. He is not sure how to make it last 20 more laps.

Blaney wasn’t sure how he could make the tire last another 20 laps. For a driver who had controlled the race early, it was a dramatic change in circumstances.

Kyle Larson Has His Own Problems at Phoenix

Across the garage, Larson was dealing with a miserable stretch of his own.

“No grip. No turn. Definitely no rear,” Larson reported over the radio.

“No grip. No turn. Definitely no rear.”
Larson in 23rd

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The numbers were just as ugly as the radio chatter. According to speed data shared by Jeff Gluck, Larson ranked 30th over each of the previous five-, 10-, 15-, 20- and 30-lap averages.

Larson had already delivered a colorful assessment of his No. 5 Chevrolet following an earlier restart.

“It didn’t feel completely like ass, but we were completely like ass,” he said.

“It didn’t feel completely like ass, but we were completely like ass” Kyle Larson says of how his No. 5 car was handling after the restart on two tires.
#NASCAR

There is still plenty of racing left at Phoenix, and both teams have opportunities to make adjustments.

But as the race nears halfway, Blaney is trying to recover the speed that put him on the pole, while Larson is searching for a competitive race car.

For two drivers accustomed to running near the front, Sunday has become an unexpectedly difficult afternoon.

Maggie MacKenzie Maggie MacKenzie covers NASCAR for Heavy.com. She previously worked for NASCAR.com, where she reported, wrote, and edited race-weekend coverage and traveled to key events throughout the season. She has more than ten years of experience in sports media and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. More about Maggie MacKenzie