This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Christopher Bell bucked the odds and won a third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time since 2021 when Kyle Larson won three straight races en route to the championship. Sunday's victory was also the first time a driver won three of the first four races of a season since Kevin Harvick accomplished the feat in 2018. Win streaks are not uncommon in NASCAR, but it has been a while since we've seen one. Despite the wins, Bell still does not lead the points, though. That honor still belongs to William Byron, who grabbed a sixth-place finish on Sunday to maintain his run atop the standings with a seven-point advantage over Bell.
Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 was marked by the availability of Goodyear's option tire that enabled enhanced grip and gave teams the opportunity to add a little extra strategy to their plans. Using the tire at the right time enabled some drivers to gain track position, but several late cautions levelled the playing field in the final laps. The finish came down to a two-lap sprint to the checkered flag with Bell's superior speed holding off a hard charge from teammate Denny Hamlin. While choice of tire throughout the race spiced up the action, NASCAR currently has no plans to use it in the championship finale. It also won't be available this coming week at Las Vegas - the first 1.5-mile oval of the season. Kyle Larson and Joey Logano won the two races at
Christopher Bell bucked the odds and won a third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time since 2021 when Kyle Larson won three straight races en route to the championship. Sunday's victory was also the first time a driver won three of the first four races of a season since Kevin Harvick accomplished the feat in 2018. Win streaks are not uncommon in NASCAR, but it has been a while since we've seen one. Despite the wins, Bell still does not lead the points, though. That honor still belongs to William Byron, who grabbed a sixth-place finish on Sunday to maintain his run atop the standings with a seven-point advantage over Bell.
Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 was marked by the availability of Goodyear's option tire that enabled enhanced grip and gave teams the opportunity to add a little extra strategy to their plans. Using the tire at the right time enabled some drivers to gain track position, but several late cautions levelled the playing field in the final laps. The finish came down to a two-lap sprint to the checkered flag with Bell's superior speed holding off a hard charge from teammate Denny Hamlin. While choice of tire throughout the race spiced up the action, NASCAR currently has no plans to use it in the championship finale. It also won't be available this coming week at Las Vegas - the first 1.5-mile oval of the season. Kyle Larson and Joey Logano won the two races at that track last season, and both of those drivers were in the mix for the win Sunday but walked away empty handed. The coming week is another chance for them, and the rest of the garage, to catch the streaking Christopher Bell before he gets too far ahead.
UPGRADE
Christopher Bell - Bell qualified 11th for Sunday's race, but he quickly made up ground to finish the first stage inside the top five. He built momentum from there to get out front for the first time in the second stage, and that was when Bell's No. 20 really started to flex its muscle. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was the fastest car on track in the final laps of that stage, and Bell chased down Joey Logano, making a pass for the lead to win the stage. That segment victory was just a hint of what to come as Bell was a dominant force for the rest of the race, holding off the competition through multiple restarts to cross the line first for the third time in just four races. Bell's form is the best in the series and up next is another track where he has been delivering the goods with two pole positions and two runner-up finishes from his last three Las Vegas visits. His 2025 championship effort is off to an enviable start and it looks like more success is on the horizon.
William Byron - The closest driver to matching Bell's early-season success has been William Byron. The back-to-back Daytona 500 winner won the first stage of Sunday's Phoenix race and finished the race sixth to claim his third top-10 finish of the season. He led 83 laps Sunday afternoon, which was second only to the race winner. Byron's consistent results through the first four races put him ahead of Bell in the points, but Bell's JGR challenge has been closing that gap. Even with the success Byron has had, the No. 24 team is still a step behind as the season picks up steam. The coming week's race at Las Vegas could provide some hope of gaining ground, though. Unlike Bell, Byron has a win at that track and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson won there last last season. Byron finished 10th and fourth in the two Las Vegas races last season with a total of 16 laps led.
Denny Hamlin - After a disappointing road course race in Texas, Hamlin bounced back with an impressive runner-up finish at Phoenix. It was an encouraging weekend from start to finish for the No. 11 team, too. Hamlin qualified 10th and raced inside the top 10 all afternoon, scoring stage points in both segments before lining up to challenge his teammate for the win. Despite his best efforts, Bell's car was just too much for Hamlin to overcome, losing out just at the finish line in a very close finish. Still, it was Hamlin's best result of the season so far and his second top-10 from the first four races. The coming trip to Las Vegas could keep that momentum building, too. Hamlin finished 11th or better in the last five races at that track and eight of the last nine, too. He won the fall race there in 2021 and has been quite consistent through his long career. He heads into the coming race weekend seventh in the standings and hoping to join the 2025 winner's list.
Chris Buescher - Buescher's excellent start to the 2025 season rolled on with his first top-five finish of the year at Phoenix. His fifth-place finish was also his third top-10 from the first four races and he now sits 10th in the standings. Buescher and team have shown speed on all types of tracks so far and his recent finishes at Las Vegas have also taken a turn for the better, which could be good news for the coming race weekend, too. Buescher finished 11th and 10th in the last two fall visits to the track, which were his best results there since his ninth-place finish in 2020. The bad news may be that all of those results came in the fall and not the spring, though. Despite that small question, Buescher appears to be on a roll and could be a contender for a playoff spot as well as advancement through the knockout format. He has won at least one race a season for the last three years, and it looks like that trend may be set to continue in 2025, too.
Kyle Larson - Sunday's third-place finish at Phoenix was Larson's second top-three finish of the season. The former champion qualified just 17th, but he was able to work his way into the top 10 quickly and scored points in both stages. In the final stage, Larson used his speed to climb even closer to the lead, ultimately coming within reach of a potential victory in the closing laps. His race on Sunday was a hard-fought effort that, coupled with some unexpected superspeedway success, puts him 11th in the current standings. These early results from Larson should be a good indicator of things to come, too. Larson has been very good at 1.5-mile ovals and there are two of those up next on the schedule. First is Las Vegas, where he has three prior wins including last year's spring visit. After that, the series heads to Homestead where he won in 2022. Larson and his No. 5 team are building momentum, which could be bad news for the rest of the garage.
DOWNGRADE
Ryan Blaney - One of the most disappointed drivers after the Phoenix race weekend has to be Blaney. The Team Penske driver had been one of the top contenders at the track despite having never visited Victory Lane. In fact, he has the most number of runner-up finishes there without a win and was hoping to change that last week. The weekend started well enough with a 12th-place starting effort from which he went on to race inside the top 10. Blaney scored stage points in both segments and looked to be on his way to another Phoenix top-10 finish when things started coming undone. After sensing a problem in the engine with just over 20 laps remaining, Blaney's No. 12 Ford gave up in a plume of smoke and flames, taking him out of the race just as the finish was coming within reach. His 28th-place result was the second in a row outside of the top 15. Blaney needs to reverse that trend at Las Vegas where he finished third last season.
Chase Briscoe - The weekend's visit to Phoenix was one to forget for Briscoe with his worst race start and finish of the season so far. Things were tough for the JGR team from the beginning when they managed just a 30th-place start. Things didn't get better in the race, either. Briscoe spent the first and second stage deep in traffic and unable to climb forward. That poor track position proved even more detrimental when three-wide racing on a restart just before 100 laps were completed spurred a multi-car crash that Briscoe was at the heart of. The heavy damage ended the team's day on the spot. The 35th-place classification in the race was Briscoe's second finish outside of the top 20 from the first four races and puts him just 20th in the early standings. The coming week's trip to Las Vegas may not be a confidence booster either. Briscoe has just two finishes of 14th or better there from eight tries and a best finish of just 21st from the last four.
Daniel Suarez - For the second week in a row, Suarez was taken out due to contact with another car. Track position was not on Suarez's side all afternoon, and a crash with Katherine Legge was just a symptom of those troubles. First, Suarez qualified a lowly 31st. He used pit and tire strategy to score some points in the second stage, but slipped back again in the final segment. Legge then lost control and spun ahead of the No. 99, and Suarez had nowhere to go, striking Legge's car and causing significant front-end damage to the No. 99. He kept the car running and his team kept him on track, but the damage was done and Suarez finished four laps behind the leaders in the 23rd position. The result was Suarez's third consecutive finish outside of the top 20 to start the season, and his best finish is still his 13th-place finish in the Daytona 500. He and the team need to turn things around quickly, but that may be hard at Las Vegas where Suarez has a best finish of 16th from his last four tries.
Bubba Wallace - A flat front tire sent Wallace careening into the outside wall and out of Sunday's race. His 29th-place finish was his third result of 20th or worse from the first four races, but he still sits inside the playoff positions by virtue of stage points and his ninth-place result at Atlanta. Were it not for those stage points from the previous races, the championship picture would look significantly worse. There is plenty of time to turn things around, but mishaps like Sunday's have to be avoided. Wallace has been quick on certain 1.5-mile ovals in the past, but Las Vegas hasn't been one of those. He finished 35th and 12th in the two races there last season and has an average finish of 22.2 from 14 starts. Converting those stage finishes into complete races will turn the current picture around, though. There seems to be potential based on those mid-race highlights, but it is up to Wallace and the team to put the whole puzzle together.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Josh Berry - Four races into his first season with Wood Brothers Racing and Berry is making a positive impact. The pairing produced 56 laps led at Atlanta and Sunday's fourth-place start and finish at Phoenix pushed them to the cusp of the top 20 in points. In four races, Berry has shown potential and Phoenix's result on Sunday was the clearest one yet. The finish was the team's first top-five since Harrison Burton won at Daytona last August and it already matches the squad's top-five tally from last season. Berry is coming up to speed quickly in the No. 21 and with some luck, and better execution throughout the team, more top-10 finishes could be on the horizon. The coming week's race at Las Vegas could be one of those opportunities, too. Burton finished 15th there behind the wheel last fall. Berry won there twice in the Xfinity Series, too.
