Motors roundup: Blaney holds on in Phoenix, ends Reddick's streak
· Yahoo Sports
Ryan Blaney overcame two loose wheels after pit service and denied Tyler Reddick a chance for a NASCAR record-setting fourth straight victory to open a season, winning Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 500 over Christopher Bell at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.
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After a track-record-tying 12th caution, Blaney, who made a late two-tire stop, started second to Ty Gibbs on a 12-lap sprint, but he maneuvered his No. 12 Ford under the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who was seeking his first Cup Series win.
The 2023 Cup champion led 28 laps overall and held off Bell, on four tires, by 0.399 seconds for his 18th career win.
Kyle Larson, Gibbs and Denny Hamlin completed the top five.
Seeking his fourth straight win, Reddick came home eighth in his No. 45 Toyota.
Polesitter Joey Logano and Team Penske teammates Blaney and Austin Cindric ran 1-2-3 until Blaney's Ford rolled the center better than Logano's No. 22 in a gaggle of cars and took the lead for the first time.
Stage 1 ended with Blaney taking the checkers followed by Bell, Logano, Reddick and Hamlin.
Kyle Busch and Shane van Gisbergen had issues on Lap 93 for the second caution. Daniel Suarez and Chase Elliott had trouble together on Lap 104.
Hindered by a tire vibration, third-place Chase Briscoe's right tire blew out seven circuits after passing Reddick on Lap 125 and smacked the wall for the fourth yellow.
Tires became even more of an issue on Lap 158 as Noah Gragson's No. 4 Ford, William Byron's No. 24 Chevrolet, Connor Zilisch's No. 88 Chevrolet and Michael McDowell's No. 71 Chevrolet all experienced rubber failure.
Hamlin — who did not take two tires while leading late in the Championship Race last November and lost the title to Larson — did so this time on the ensuing pit stop and easily moved to the front, but Bell won Stage 2 with Hamlin, Logano, Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace behind.
Logano spun Ross Chastain to create the race's hardest hit, Cindric's No. 2 Ford, on Lap 217.
Contact with AJ Allmendinger ended Logano's day on Lap 254, and Elliott, van Gisbergen and Josh Berry were among those receiving damage.
Formula One
George Russell led a 1-2 finish for Mercedes on Sunday, winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after holding off a challenge from the Ferrari team.
Starting from the pole position at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Russell quickly was passed by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who jumped from fourth to first into Turn 1. The two alternated in the lead for the first 11 laps, with Leclerc's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, pushing the leaders.
When the virtual safety car was activated because of a problem with the car of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, the Ferrari cars stayed on the track while the Mercedes cars went to the pit lane.
It was a strategy that didn't pay off.
Leclerc had to pit on Lap 25 and Hamilton on Lap 28 for tire changes, giving Russell back the lead and allowing Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli to take second. And that's just how the race ended, with Leclerc finishing third and Hamilton fourth.
Antonelli finished 2.9 seconds behind Russell, with Leclerc another 12.5 seconds back.
Defending Formula One season champion Lando Norris finished fourth and Max Verstappen fifth. Oscar Piastri, Norris' McLaren teammate, crashed on the reconnoitering laps 35 minutes before the start and didn't race.
"I'm feeling incredible. It was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging," Russell said.
"I got on the grid, saw my battery level had nothing in the tank, made a bad start and then obviously some really tight battles with Charles, so I was really glad to cross the finish line."
As F1 transitioned to new car regulations this season, Leclerc said the race gave him a chance to learn more about his car.
"We were quite strong in the race, which was a positive given that our expectations yesterday were not that high. I had a good start and learned a lot on those opening laps," he said. "There are lots of things to manage at the same time … and I'm happy with how I handled the situation from inside the car. Unfortunately, we didn't have the pace to hold onto first place later on.
"We've got to be on it in terms of development and push to the maximum to reduce the gap. We have gained a lot of insight in these days. We will take that knowledge with us and work on making a step forward for China."
The Chinese Grand Prix will be held next Sunday at the Shanghai International Circuit.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Motors roundup: Blaney holds on in Phoenix, ends Reddick's streak