NASCAR is getting ready for its fourth race of the 2026 Cup Series season, the Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway. This will be the first of two Phoenix visits for NASCAR, with the second being the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race in November.
Tyler Reddick comes into Sunday’s race on a hot streak, winning the first three races of the year. It’s not likely he will win at Phoenix, but with him having such a strong start ot the year, he just needs to have a solid performance to stay on top of the Chase standings.
One driver to watch on Sunday is Christopher Bell, who has had a lot of success at Phoenix. Bell has won the last two spring Phoenix races, and he’s coming off a P3 finish at COTA this past weekend.
This will be the first time NASCAR drivers will compete on an intermediate track this season. Here’s a look at the betting favorites for this year’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 (via BetMGM).
1. Ryan Blaney (+475)
The last time NASCAR was in Phoenix, Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race. He didn’t win the Cup Series title, but Blaney closed out the 2025 season with the 17th race victory of his career.
That was Blaney’s first win at Phoenix, but he races well at the track. In his last nine races at Phoenix, Blaney has finished in the top five eight times.
2. Denny Hamlin (+500)
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Hamlin has won at Phoenix a couple of times and ran well there last season. In the spring race, Hamlin finished second, and he finished that up with a P6 finish in November.
But that November race was a tough one for Hamlin, as he was looking to win his first Cup Series championship. Despite finishing sixth, Kyle Larson finished ahead of him, which led to him winning the title for the second time in his career.
3. Christopher Bell (+600)
As mentioned earlier, Bell won the last two spring Phoenix races. He also finished fifth in the 2024 fall race and finished 11th in November.
After finishing third at COTA this past weekend, Bell is looking to go on a run after struggling at Daytona and Atlanta. He is currently 24th in Cup points, so a win at Phoenix should put him in the mix for the Chase.
T4. Kyle Larson (+700)
Larson is another top driver who is off to a slow start to the 2026 season. He finished 16th in the Daytona 500, 32nd at Atlanta, and he finished sixth at COTA.
Phoenix Raceway has been good to Larson recently. He has finished third in the last two races at the track and has finished in the top five in five of his last six races at Phoenix.
T4. William Byron (+700)
Oct 26, 2025; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) before the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Greg Atkins-Imagn Images
Byron’s first three races have been a mixed bag, earning a P12 finish at Daytona, a P28 finish at Atlanta, and a P13 finish at COTA. The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Regular-Season Champion is currently 13th in the Chase standings.
Phoenix has been a good track for Byron, despite earning a P33 finish in his previous race. He won at Phoenix in 2023 and has finished in the top five in three races since the victory.
6. Joey Logano (+1300)
Logano is off to a solid start to the 2026 season after missing out on winning his fourth Cup Series title last year. He finished third at Daytona and earned a top-20 finish at Atlanta and COTA.
Logano has had plenty of success at Phoenix. In his career, Logano has won at the track four times and has finished in the top five in two of his last three appearances.
7. Chase Briscoe (+1400)
Briscoe is looking for more consistency this year. In between a P36 finish at Daytona and a P37 finish at COTA, Briscoe finished second in Atlanta behind Tyler Reddick.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Briscoe runs, considering Phoenix has not been great to him recently. He got into an accident during the spring race last year and finished 29th in the fall race in 2024. Briscoe has had success at Phoenix, winning the spring race in 2022, which was his first career victory in the Cup Series.
8. Chase Elliott (+1600)
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Elliott has been strong to start the year, earning two top-10 finishes in the first three races. That has led to him earning a third-place spot in the current NASCAR Chase standings.
Elliott won at Phoenix in 2020, and that victory secured a NASCAR Cup Series title for him. In the last three races at Phoenix, the Georgia native has finished in the top 10 three times.
9. Tyler Reddick (+2000)
Reddick is looking to make more NASCAR history at Phoenix. After winning the first three races of the year, Reddick is looking to be the first driver to win the first four races in the year.
Reddick has yet to win a race at Phoenix, and his best finish at the track is third. In the last two Phoenix races, the 23XI driver finished 20th in the spring race and 26th in the November race.
10. Josh Berry (+2200)
Berry started the year with a P9 finish at Daytona, but that was followed by a P38 finish at Atlanta and a P26 finish at COTA. In the current standings, Berry is in 28th place and 141 points behind the leader.
Phoenix is a good opportunity for Berry to start turning things around. In last year’s spring race, Berry finished fourth, and he followed that up with a P7 finish in the November Phoenix race.
Full odds for 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway
Ross Chastain (+2500)
Chris Buescher (+3000)
Brad Keselowski (+300)
Carson Hocevar (+3000)
Connor Zilisch (+4000)
Kyle Busch (+5000)
Austin Cindric (+5000)
Bubba Wallace (+5000)
Austin Dillon (+6000)
Ty Gibbs (+6000)
Alex Bowman (+6000)
Ryan Preece (+6000)
Michael McDowell (+10000)
Daniel Suarez (+20000)
Noah Gragson (+25000)
Zane Smith (+25000)
Erik Jones (+25000)
Shane van Gisbergen (+25000)
Todd Gilliland (+35000)
AJ Allmendinger (+35000)
John Hunter Nemechek (+35000)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+35000)
Austin Hill (+50000)
Cole Custer (+100000)
Ty Dillon (+100000)
Riley Herbst (+100000)
Cody Ware (+100000)
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