BELL TRIUMPHS IN PHOENIX OVER TEAMMATE HAMLIN

Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota won the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway.NASCAR photo

Frankie Volz Jr.’s car after earning third place and the Hard Charger Award at the Super Modified Shootout in Las Vegas.

By Holly Cain; NASCAR Wire Service

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

BROWN, GREEN, GLENN & HERRERA START 2025 WITH WINS AT GATORNATIONALS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 9, 2025) – Defending Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown kicked off the 2025 NHRA season with a victory on Sunday at Gainesville Raceway, defeating defending event winner Shawn Langdon in the final round of the 56th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Chad Green (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the first of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Brown went 3.673-seconds at 333.99 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools dragster to slip past Langdon’s 3.684 at 332.67, as the four-time world champion won for the 81st time in his career. Brown, who qualified No. 1, defeated Krista Baldwin, Clay Millican and Steve Torrence to reach the final round before picking up his second career win at Gainesville Raceway.

That gives Brown, who posted reaction times of .032 and .036 in the semifinals and finals, respectively, eight straight round wins dating back to last season as the year started in perfect fashion for the longtime star.

“It’s tough to go against Shawn Langdon and [crew chief] Brian Husen,” Brown said. “Brian [Corradi, crew chief] and my guys were just adamant that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Landgon, who won in Gainesville a year ago, drove past Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart and Jasmine Salinas to reach the final round for the 46th time in his career.

Chad Green opened his 2025 Funny Car season in standout fashion, going 3.921 at 329.18 in his 11,000-horsepower Bond- Coat Ford Mustang to roll past Ron Capps and earn his first career Gatornationals win. This will be one Green surely remembers, as Green went 3.922 and 3.921 in back-to-back rounds to claim his second career victory.

“This race is so special, I mean it’s the Gators,” Green said. “There are so many historical things that have happened at this race for so many years.”

In Pro Stock, Dallas Glenn extracted some bit of revenge on his KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson, defeating the reigning world champion to open the 2025 season with a run of 6.549 at 211.13 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro. It is Glenn’s 14th career win and second at Gainesville (2022).

“I’m thankful because there were a few rounds where I felt like I didn’t have the best car but we picked away at it,” Glenn said.

There appears to be no stopping Gaige Herrera at Gainesville Raceway, as the back-to-back defending world champion remained unbeaten at the historic facility, picking up his third straight Gatornationals victory with a run of 6.722 at 200.23 on his RevZilla/ Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki to defeat rival Matt Smith.

“This was a good day for me and a great day for Vance & Hines,” Herrera said.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action March 21-23 with the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park in Phoenix.