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Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway - 3/9/2025
(Photo by Danny Peters)

Thinkin’ Out Loud at Phoenix: The Option Tires Fix NASCAR’s Short Track Problems

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What Happened?

Christopher Bell outdueled Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson to win at Phoenix Raceway in a thrilling side-by-side finish on Sunday (March 9). Josh Berry and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five behind them.

The victory is the third in a row for Bell. It’s the first time somebody has earned three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victories since Larson did it in 2021, and the first ever in the Next Gen car. Berry’s fourth-place result is also the first for Wood Brothers Racing on a non-superspeedway oval since 2021.

What Really Happened?

Goodyear is two-for-two when it comes to making certain tracks better with new tires in 2025. Does this mean short tracks and road courses are fun now?

I know Phoenix isn’t necessarily designated a short track considering its distance, but considering the new option tire’s usage at Richmond Raceway last year, I’m going to assume there are plans to bring it back again in 2025.

After what we saw on Sunday, it should be. Throughout the entire event, every team had a chance at making glory for themselves by driving through the field with the softer and faster compound. It was fun to watch.

We watched as the story changed from driver to driver after every pit stop. Everyone found themselves frantically asking, “Who put on options? Who has options tires left? How many option tires does this driver have left?” Those red-walled rubber monsters were the talk of the town.

We were talking strategy. You know, kind of like how you do at a race? But even better, we were doing it for Phoenix; a track that, let’s face it, has not received the most praise for its excitement in the last few years.

In fact, not many short tracks have received that sort of praise since the introduction of the Next Gen car, barring maybe one or two exceptions. Instead of being excited for a short track on the schedule, many of us have groaned and gritted our teeth through them because of the lack of passing and tire wear the small venues have suffered through of late.

It’s a shame, too, as NASCAR has gone out of its way to renovate and return to tracks like North Wilkesboro Speedway and Bowman Gray Stadium in recent years, with really nothing to show for it when it comes to on-track product. While those tracks are popular and see good turnout, fan service alone won’t keep these historic venues alive forever. The races need to have a consistent level of excitement every year, and they haven’t had that for a couple of seasons.

But the new option tire has changed that in its appearances. Its debut at Richmond last season saw a variety of strategies to keep track of, and it culminated to an exciting, yet controversial, finish.

Sunday at Phoenix was no different. The constant guessing and even surprise appearances of some underdogs kept us all guessing up to the end, which, by the way, had another exciting finish. It’s been a while since the Cup Series has had one of those at Phoenix.

Was it reminiscent of the short track races of old, complete with beating and banging, name-calling, bird-flipping, bump and run highlights? No.

But it was definitely the best Phoenix race we’ve seen in some time.

Who Stood Out?

It’s Bell’s world. We’re just living in it.

It’s been four years since we’ve seen a consecutive run of success the likes of which the No. 20 team is currently experiencing. The last time a driver won three races in a row was Larson during his championship year. Is Bell on the same track as his dirt track rival in 2025?

Before Sunday, it probably didn’t appear so. While Bell had already earned two wins in the first three races, he had only led a combined total of nine laps in each of those races. That’s far and away from a dominant performance.

However, Sunday told a different story. On top of his stage two victory, Bell’s Toyota paced the field for a race-high 105 laps. Keep in mind, that’s all while the unpredictability of the option tire occurred through many of the race’s green flag runs.

If that doesn’t give a driver like Bell confidence of winning a sudden death championship finale race taking place at the same track later this fall, there is no other victory that will.

Now the question remains if he can go for four, and the odds look good.

Three of the last four Las Vegas Motor Speedway races have hosted a top-five result for Bell. Two of those were runner-up results to boot, with one of them being his near victory in the fall of last year, if it weren’t for some fuel-saving magic performed by Joey Logano.

It hasn’t been done since seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson accomplished the feat on his championship route in 2007, but that was at the end of the year.

Bell would set an unprecedented standard for the rest of the field if he were to earn four victories in the first five races of the season. Even the likes of Johnson never managed that.

Who Fell Flat?

Spire Motorsports’ Sunday had started with probably the most optimism the team has ever experienced in its existence.

It was the first time the young team has ever seen all of its three cars qualify within the top 10 in the same race. The feat appeared to be a statement about its speed for the weekend, and many expected the trifecta to run near the front and score some decent finishes.

All of the teams’ hopes were dashed before the first 100 laps.

Their woes began with Michael McDowell. The hometown hero started the day in seventh and steadily remained in the top 20 until lap 93 after the first stage.

Spire’s day got worse almost immediately after. Two laps after the restart, Justin Haley had taken on the option tires and was attempting to climb his way through the field. Carson Hocevar, who had finished eighth in stage one, sat on the edge of the top 10 near teammate Haley when the two were caught up in an eight-car pileup on the speedway’s backstretch.

The melee ended both Hocevar and Haley’s days. Only McDowell, who suffered a second tire puncture later in the event, would remain to fly the Spire banner. Both Haley and Hocevar would be credited with 34th and 36th-place finishes, respectively. McDowell finished 27th.

A day that started with so much hope for the team had ended with each drivers’ worst finish of the year so far.

Paint Scheme of the Race

It’s been a staple for Alex Bowman to race his Best Friends Ally scheme at Phoenix for a number of years now, and 2025 was no different.

It’s not the first time Bowman’s canine-themed No. 48 has been featured on Thinkin’ Out Loud, and let’s be honest, it probably won’t be the last. Known for his work with no-kill animal shelters and his love for dogs, Bowman has run a variation of this scheme at his home track every year he’s been in the No. 48.

And that’s for good reason. On top of it being an attractive design with a bright orange secondary color complimenting Ally’s darker purple base, it’s also a good cause.

What’s Next?

NASCAR goes to Sin City.

The NASCAR Cup Series continues its next stop on the western leg of the schedule at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend for the Pennzoil 400. Coverage for Sunday’s (March 16) main event will be live on FOX Sports 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loudcolumn, co-host of the Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.

Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT

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