Kevin Harvick predicts winner for Phoenix NASCAR race

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the Straight Talk Wireless 500. Ahead of all of the action, Kevin Harvick already has a clear favorite.

On the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the former Cup Series champion made his pick for Sunday’s race, and he’s backing a driver who has been consistently strong at the one-mile desert track. Harvick is going with Ryan Blaney.

Blaney enters the Phoenix weekend with plenty of momentum at the track. The Team Penske driver closed out the 2025 season by winning the Cup Series race at Phoenix, earning the 17th victory of his career. While that win did not secure the championship, it reinforced just how comfortable Blaney has become at the venue.

The numbers back it up. In his last nine starts at Phoenix, Blaney has finished inside the top five eight times. That’s one of the most consistent records of any driver in the field at the track.

Meanwhile, Harvick’s fellow panelists on the show had slightly different predictions. Kaitlyn Vincie selected Christopher Bell, who has quietly turned Phoenix into one of his best tracks. 

Bell has won the last two spring races at Phoenix and is coming off a strong third-place finish at COTA. After rough outings at Daytona and Atlanta earlier this season, a return to Phoenix could provide the spark Bell needs to climb back into contention in the Cup standings.

Meanwhile, Mamba Smith went with William Byron. His start to the 2026 season has been inconsistent, with finishes of 12th at Daytona, 28th at Atlanta and 13th at COTA. Still, Phoenix has historically treated the Hendrick Motorsports driver well. Byron won at the track in 2023 and has posted multiple top-five finishes there since.

Sunday’s race will mark the fourth event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season and the first time drivers will compete on an intermediate-style track this year. Phoenix will host NASCAR twice in 2026, but the championship race will not return there in November, like in years past.

Of course, one storyline looming over the weekend is Tyler Reddick’s historic start to the season. The 23XI Racing driver has won the first three races of the year at Daytona, Atlanta and COTA, becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to open a season with three consecutive victories.

While repeating that feat at Phoenix would extend one of the most remarkable streaks in recent memory, Harvick believes another contender will step up this weekend. If his prediction holds true, Ryan Blaney could be the one celebrating in Victory Lane once again in the desert.