Roush Yates Engines Powers Ryan Blaney to Victory at Phoenix Raceway

Doug Yates’ 450th NASCAR Career Win Since Beginning His Career in 1990.

 

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway, claiming his first win of 2026 and the 18th Cup Series win of his career. This win also marks Team Penske’s 108th series win with Ford and Doug Yates’ 450th NASCAR career win since beginning his career in 1990.

 

 

“Congratulations to Roger, Jonathan, Ryan, and everyone at Team Penske on the win at Phoenix,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Ryan was able to drive to the front of the field throughout the race and Jonathan made a great call on that final pit stop. This win marks the 450th NASCAR win of my career across the Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and Craftsman Truck Series since I started with Robert Yates Racing in 1990. Every single one of those wins has come with Ford Racing. I am thankful for the Ford family, all the employees at Ford Motor Company, and our employees who contributed to those wins.”

 

 

“Perseverance. That’s a great word to kind of describe our day. I had a couple mistakes on pit road and learned from them and moved forward, and I didn’t have a mistake the rest of the day. It was unfortunate that they happened back-to-back, but these guys learned from it and rectified it and we were able to stay in the game. Our car was fast enough to be in the game. I thought the 20 was the best car on the day for sure, but we stayed in the game enough and Jonathan made a great call for two on the last caution and we were able to get the lead there and then hold the 20 off. I don’t know how many more laps I could have held him off, but it was enough laps to do it. I’m proud of the whole group for sticking with it all day and cool to win here again, just a handful of months later,” commented Blaney.

 

Valve cover giveaway from the @phoenixraceway @NASCAR Cup Series race! This is @Blaney and the No. 12 @Team_Penske @FordRacing team’s valve cover from their #StraightTalkWireless500 @Ford @roushyates FR9 EFI winning engine. Share and tag @NextivityInc for your chance to win! pic.twitter.com/XfhSsIFrGC

— Doug Yates (@Yates_Doug) March 8, 2026

 

source: Roush Yates Engines Media

NASCAR Hauler Parade Returns to the Las Vegas Strip to Kick Off the Pennzoil 400 Weekend

• Parade starts at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13, and is free and open to the public.

• Route begins near the Luxor Hotel & Casino, heads north up Las Vegas Boulevard, continues through Downtown on Main Street, and proceeds to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

• Local businesses along the route will join the festivities, creating a citywide celebration leading into race weekend.

NASCAR / ARCA Race Weekend Recap (Phoenix)

Winners: Ryan Blaney (Cup); Justin Allgaier (O'Reilly); plus Carson Brown (ARCA)

NASCAR Cup

Ryan Blaney Rallies Late to Claim Second Straight Win at Phoenix

 

Ryan Blaney seized control late and held off a hard-charging and dominant Christopher Bell to win Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway. 

 

Ryan Blaney completed a Team Penske sweep on March 8 at Phoenix Raceway.

 

Blaney held off Christopher Bell to win his first race of the year, winning the Phoenix NASCAR race. It came a day after Hendersonville native Josef Newgarden won the IndyCar race at Phoenix for Penske.

“Perseverance. That’s a great word to kind of describe our day. I had a couple mistakes on pit road and learned from them and moved forward, and I didn’t have a mistake the rest of the day. It was unfortunate that they happened back-to-back, but these guys learned from it and rectified it and we were able to stay in the game. Our car was fast enough to be in the game. I thought the 20 was the best car on the day for sure, but we stayed in the game enough and Jonathan made a great call for two on the last caution and we were able to get the lead there and then hold the 20 off. I don’t know how many more laps I could have held him off, but it was enough laps to do it. I’m proud of the whole group for sticking with it all day and cool to win here again, just a handful of months later,” commented Blaney.

It also marked the first win in 2026 by a driver not named Tyler Reddick, who won the first three NASCAR Cup Series races of the season.

 

A @Team_Penske SWEEP OF THE DESERT DOUBLE. Ryan @Blaney WINS at Phoenix! pic.twitter.com/4UiD0smO2Y

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 8, 2026

Pole: Joey Logano

Click Here for Race Results

Next Race: The Cup Series will return on Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 4:00 pm ET for the ‘Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube’ at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

Justin Allgaier Overcomes Slow Stop to Win O’Reilly Series Race

 

JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier pushed forward when it mattered most, his No. 7 Chevrolet leading only the last 11 laps of Saturday night’s GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway to claim his third win at the 1-mile Arizona oval and take over the championship lead in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. 

Allgaier had to pass the night’s most dominant driver, Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love, to earn the trophy. Love came into the race with the best average finish in the last four Phoenix races and again proved how good he is in the desert, leading a race-best 114 of the 200 laps.

“So proud of this team,” said Allgaier, praising the team for overcoming a poor stop early. “It wasn’t for lack of adversity and it seems like those are the ones that are big for us. I cannot say enough about this team.

 

“It never gets old winning,” added Allgaier, who has now won at least one race for a record 10 consecutive seasons. “This team rallied and never gave up.”

 

Now it’s time to party! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/39z3EXoBZi

— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) March 8, 2026

Pole: Taylor Gray

Click Here for Race Results

Next Race: The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will return on Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 5:30 pm ET for the ‘The LiUNA!’ at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Trucks

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is not Racing this Weekend

Next Race: The Truck Series will return on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 7:30 pm ET for the ‘Buckle Up South Carolina 200’ at Darlington Raceway.

ARCA

Carson Brown Dominates at Phoenix, Wins his First National ARCA Menards Series Start

 

Carson Brown led almost every lap of the General Tire 150 prior to Dustin Hillenburg’s spin that brought out the final yellow of the day. The pressure of the situation did not phase Brown, who was thrilled to bring Pinnacle Racing Group back to Phoenix’s Victory Lane.

 

Brown withstood a charge from his teammate Tristan McKee to prevail in his maiden national ARCA Menards Series start, which also resulted in Pinnacle Racing Group’s first one-two finish with McKee following Brown across the start-finish line.

 

“All the guys back at PRG, [I have to give] a big thank you to them,” Brown said. “That green-white-checkered got a little hairy there. [McKee and I] made a little contact coming off [turn] two, but I thought I could kind of persevere there and make it to the finish line.

 

What a dominant day for Carson Brown! 🤩

📺 @FS1 | @phoenixraceway | @RacePRG pic.twitter.com/uwmklcmkYn

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) March 6, 2026

Pole: Carson Brown

Click Here for Race Results

Next Race: The ARCA Series will return on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. EST for the ‘Hickory 200’ at Hickory Motor Speedway.

 

source: NASCAR  and ARCA Media