Monday Morning Pit Box: Option Tires Make a Big Difference at Phoenix

It seems like all Christopher Bell does is win.

Bell led 105 of 312 laps in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, holding off teammate Denny Hamlin in a two-lap shootout to take the checkered flag in the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon (March 9).

With the win, Bell becomes the first driver to win three straight NASCAR Cup Series races in the Next Gen era, and the first to earn three consecutive victories overall since Kyle Larson did it in the 2021 season.

With two different tires, speeding penalties aplenty and clutch pit stops, there was no shortage of pit road plotlines in the desert, so here is the rundown.

Option Tires the Right Option All Day

Last year, NASCAR and Goodyear introduced a new wrinkle to short track racing, giving teams the choice between the hard, primary tires and an option tire with a softer compound. It proved to be a big hit at North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway last season, so the option tire made its Phoenix debut on Sunday.

All teams were issued seven sets of the primary tires with yellow lettering as well as two sets of the option tires with red lettering. It was only a matter of when, not if, a pit crew affixed the option tires to their race car.

#NASCAR Cup teams will have both "Prime" and "Option" tires to use at Phoenix. The Prime tire set-up is the same used at this track last November, while the Option tire was run at both North Wilkesboro and Richmond in 2024. pic.twitter.com/fGFX1h6eYN

— Goodyear Racing (@GoodyearRacing) March 7, 2025

Ryan Preece and the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford team fired the opening salvo for pit strategy, becoming the first team to put on option tires on lap 12. Preece experienced immediate benefits, rocketing through the field. By the end of stage one on lap 60, Preece had navigated all the way to third, earning eight stage points thanks to the pit call.

From there, the floodgates opened for more teams to put on the option tires.

Several drivers put on option tires under the post-stage one caution, led by Austin Cindric, who restarted in 14th on lap 72. Just 17 laps later, Cindric passed William Byron for the race lead, with four other drivers on options tires in the top 10.

Later in stage two, Cindric’s Team Penske teammate Joey Logano also put on option tires, vaulting all the way to the lead and an eventual second-place finish to stage two, with Cindric taking the green-and-white checkered flag in seventh.

While some teams reaped rewards for their early option tire calls, saving both sets for the final stage proved to ultimately be the winning strategy. All of the top-10 finishers entered the third and final stage with both sets of option tires available in the pits.

So, what did we learn from bringing option tires to Phoenix? Having the two different tire compounds really helped shake up the racing at Phoenix, a track that has often been accused by fans of not creating the best product in recent years.

The option tire has received widespread praise from drivers, crew chiefs and fans alike, and it has improved short track racing in the Next Gen era. I hope to see more of the primary vs. option tire throughout the season, and I am sure we will.

Pit Road Police

After a relatively quiet opening three races, the pit road police stayed busy on Sunday, nabbing five different drivers for speeding penalties. Here is a summary of those penalties and how the drivers fared at the finish:

• On lap 65, Ross Chastain was too fast on the way to his pit stall during the post-stage one pit stops. After getting the penalty, Chastain got a set of the option tires to aid him to a seventh-place finish to stage two. In the end, the driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Chevrolet wound up just outside the top 10 in 11th.
• Legacy Motor Club endured an unfortunate series of events during the lap 94 caution pit stops. Both John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones got caught speeding on pit exit in their No. 42 and No. 43 Toyotas, respectively. Both drivers recovered for respectable lead lap finishes, with Nemechek in 14th and Jones placing 18th.
• Perhaps the most devastating speeding penalties came with just 43 laps remaining. Tyler Reddick, who entered pit road in third, did not leave that way as NASCAR posted him for being too fast exiting. Combine that penalty with power steering issues, and you have yourself a disappointing 20th-place showing for the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota team.
• On the same lap as Reddick, Ty Dillon, who piloted his No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to fourth with patience and good pit strategy, also sped on pit exit. Ty Dillon salvaged a 16th-place finish, still a significant improvement from his starting spot in 25th.

Pit Crew of the Race: No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Team

I know, it’s a bit of a cop out to pick the race winner for pit crew of the race, but this team was on point not only yesterday but all season so far.

No. 20 crew chief Adam Stevens showed confidence in both Bell and the car by patiently holding on to their two sets of option tires for the final stage.  Then, with 43 laps to go, the pit crew rose to the occasion to get Bell off of pit road first with that final set of option tires. The man behind the wheel took it from there.

A driver does not win three races in a row without a great team behind him. With Stevens atop the pit box, Stevie Reeves in the spotter’s stand, and a strong over-the-wall crew, the No. 20 team is firing on all cylinders through the first four races of the 2025 season.

Look Ahead to Next Week

The NASCAR Cup Series will stay out west for the running of the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Sunday, March 16. Green flag is scheduled for shortly after 3:30 p.m., and the broadcast will be on FOX Sports 1.

Last fall, we saw a fuel strategy call propel Logano to victory lane in Vegas, jumpstarting his championship run. Expect at least one team to gamble late and go off strategy, whether it be saving fuel or going for two tires instead of four.