With the two leaders side-by-side coming off Turn 4, Bell prevailed in the drag race back to the finish line to win by .049 seconds, the second-closest margin of victory in Phoenix history and the closest since the frontstretch was moved from what is now the back straightaway to the dogleg in 2018.

Christopher Bell was just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin after a late restart, in good position to win his third straight NASCAR Cup Series race. Another restart led to some tense moments — enough to make his team owner feel a bit queasy.

Denny Hamlin came into Sunday’s race at Phoenix hoping to improve on his start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, which included a pair of finishes outside of the top 20 at Daytona (24th) and Circuit of the Americas (21st) sandwiched around a sixth-place result at Atlanta.