The NASCAR Cup Series will race at Phoenix Raceway Sunday. This will be the first of nine races this year on the short, flat tracks. The Fantasy Live picks came close to striking gold last week, but I put Chase Elliott (finished 7th) in the Garage and left Ross Chastain, who spun-out into the gravel, in my lineup (finished 35th). The rest of the lineup; Tyler Reddick (1st), Shane van Gisbergen (2nd), Christopher Bell (3rd) and William Byron (13th) all scored well. The picks went from out-scoring 70% of the entries to outscoring 76% of the entries. We are trending in the right direction. We just need some better luck.
STRATEGY FOR PHOENIX
The race at Phoenix Raceway is not the race to try and save allocations with your top drivers. Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have dominated the races in the desert. I doubt that is going to change this week. 23X1 Racing has been the best team in 2026 and Tyler Reddick has scored well at Phoenix Raceway too. The Straight Talk Wireless 500 is a good race to use your top drivers in the Fantasy Live game.
Here are the picks for the race at Phoenix…
JOEY LOGANO (9): Logano is at his best on the short, flat tracks. He was one of the best drivers in the field in this race last year. Logano led 81 laps, finished 2nd in Stage 2, but the No. 22 car was penalized for cutting the dog-leg before the start-finish line on the restart. Logano has wins at Phoenix in 2022 and 2024. Logano starts from the pole and has the No. 1 pit stall. He should score a lot of Stage Points and score well for your Fantast Live lineup.
KYLE LARSON (10): Larson has the best average finishing position over the last three seasons at Phoenix Raceway (2023-2025). Larson finished 3rd, 3rd, 14th, 3rd, and 4th in those races. Larson hasn’t won and he doesn’t lead many laps at this track, but he does score a lot of Stage Points and typically finishes in the top-five. The No. 5 car has the track position to finish up front again Sunday.
RYAN BLANEY (9): Phoenix Raceway has been one of the best tracks for Blaney. He finished five of the last seven races in the desert in the top-two. That is some amazing consistency. Blaney posted the fastest long run speed in his group in practice and the No. 12 car qualified 5th for the race. Blaney should score a lot of Stage Points and be a threat to win the race at Phoenix.
DENNY HAMLIN (10): Hamlin totally dominated the last race at Phoenix Raceway. He led 208 laps, finished 3rd in Stage 1, won Stage 2 and finished 6th in the race. Hamlin also finished 2nd in the spring race at Phoenix last year. Hamlin is a short, flat track master. The No. 11 car has the speed to win the race Sunday.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (9): Bell has been a beast in the spring races at Phoenix Raceway. He won the spring race at Phoenix in 2024 and then bell came back to the track last year and won again. Bell has also won two of the last four Stages in the spring races at Phoenix Raceway. The No. 20 car is just too good in this race to leave out of your lineups Sunday. I will take a chance with Bell at one of his best races on the schedule.
(GARAGE PICK) WILLIAM BYRON (9): Byron has a habit of getting on a hot streak once the Cup Series travels to the West Coast and he doesn’t cool down until the summer. Byron won the race at Phoenix Raceway in 2023 and he finished 6th in this race last year. The No. 24 car has the speed and the track position to score well for your Fantasy Live lineup Sunday. I will have Byron in the Garage as an insurance policy Sunday.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.