AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Tyler Reddick had a late surge on Sunday to earn his sixth win of the season in a NASCAR playoff race at Phoenix Raceway, rising up the Cup Series standings to give himself a shot at the championship.
He's not the only one who benefited from Kyle Larson's very, very bad day.
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Tyler Reddick celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Kyle Larson (5) leads Austin Dillon on the 12th lap during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Ryan Blaney makes a pit stop on lap 128 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Denny Hamlin (11) leads Tyler Reddick on the 30th lap during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Reddick, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe were among the drivers who are leaving the desert in much better position to win a title than when they a rrived. Reddick's No. 45 Toyota overtook Briscoe with 17 laps remaining and held on for the win, shaking up NASCAR's postseason with three races remaining.
“This group never lost motivation, never lost the drive to keep searching and keep trying to find ways to make ourselves better, just be an all-around better team,” Reddick said. “Something about today... I had a really good feeling.”
Larson — who started Sunday with a 49-point lead in the Cup Series standings — is now just five points ahead of Christopher Bell heading into Talladega next week. Briscoe is in third, 24 points back, while Denny Hamlin (31), Ryan Blaney (40), Joey Logano (44) and Reddick (56) are still in the hunt.
“It’s going to be a battle, that’s for sure,” Bell said. “We’re right there in it. Really proud of our team. They’ve been doing a really good job of bringing fast race cars, executing races. We’ve been able to qualify well and run up front in stages.”
Ryan Blaney finished second on Sunday while Chase Elliott was third and Bell fourth. Briscoe finished eighth after back-to-back wins in Las Vegas and Charlotte and picked up more points in Phoenix.
Reddick and his 23XI team had the hottest car in the sport early in the year, winning four of the season’s first six races, but had a big lull over the summer. He was mostly an afterthought entering Sunday's race, but is back in victory lane and now can dream about even bigger accomplishments.
Bubba Wallace led 52 laps in the second half of the race, but a pit road speeding penalty ended the 23XI driver’s chance at a win.
Larson's No. 5 Chevrolet struggled all day and then smacked the wall late in the race after his right front tire went flat going into a turn. His day was over and he finished 34th.
Larson had looked nearly unstoppable over the first six races of the playoffs, but had a disappointing qualifying effort on Saturday and started 22nd, well behind most of the other title contenders.
He wasn’t any better on Sunday — the Hendrick Motorsports star stayed in the middle to back of the pack most of the afternoon and fell a lap behind the field midway through the second stage. The flat tire made things even worse.
“I was just trying to salvage anything — in the top 20 would have been great,” Larson said. “It's a bummer, but it is what it is. It happens.”
It was a surprising hiccup after a dominant six-race postseason run that included two wins, two second-place finishes and an average finish of 2.83.
Hamlin — who is still looking for his first Cup Series championship — couldn't take full advantage of Larson's tough day after a flat right rear tire while running fourth on lap 221. The No. 11 Toyota was also penalized for speeding on pit road as he struggled to control the car coming off the track. He finished 28th.
Logano won both the 60-lap first stage and 125-lap second stage, picking up the maximum possible 20 points.
He took four fresh tires during a yellow-flag stop late in the first stage before grabbing the lead from Hamlin, who took just two. Blaney led the first 46 laps but a slow pit stop dropped him back to eighth. He recovered to place fourth in the stage.
Logano — who has won four times in Phoenix and finished sixth on Sunday — breezed to the second stage win, finishing well ahead of Briscoe and Bell.
The Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama next weekend for the eighth of 10 postseason races.
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here
Tyler Reddick celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Kyle Larson (5) leads Austin Dillon on the 12th lap during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Ryan Blaney makes a pit stop on lap 128 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Denny Hamlin (11) leads Tyler Reddick on the 30th lap during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Four Canadian service members were killed and 39 people injured, including 19 critically, when a fast-moving fire overtook soldiers conducting live-fire combat training at a military base in Alberta, officials said Sunday.
Maj. Gen. Wade Rutland said military officials knew about the fire for hours but believed it was sufficiently contained to allow training to continue before winds suddenly shifted, sending flames racing toward the soldiers.
“The fire was a kilometer away when the wind shifted. That is not normal for a fire to move a kilometer in 36 seconds,” he said at a news conference in Edmonton.
Rutland said a commander at the scene told him soldiers went from seeing no fire to having flames upon them in less than a minute.
The fire broke out Saturday during high-intensity combat training involving Charlie Company of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
About 84 soldiers were split between a grenade range and an area where they practiced attacks on simulated enemy positions. The fire swept into the second training area.
Rutland said investigators had not determined what ignited the grass fire.
He said the battalion was preparing for rapid deployment to global crises and a mission to reinforce Canadian troops in Latvia next spring.
The military identified those killed as Sgt. Morgan Wong of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and Privates Shaun Farrell, Aidan Goulding and Hayden Lykkemark of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. All four were serving with the battalion, based in Edmonton.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said 39 people were receiving medical care. Sayeh Zielke, chief executive of Acute Care Alberta, said 19 were in critical condition, eight were stable and 12 were ambulatory and receiving treatment for less serious injuries.
Smith said some suffered severe burns and could face weeks or months of intensive treatment.
Prime Minister Mark Carney described the incident as one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military on domestic soil. He ordered flags lowered to half-staff on federal buildings nationwide.
Carney said the families of those killed had been notified. Those affected included regular forces personnel, reservists and soldiers from bases across Canada.
Alberta health officials said patients were transferred from Wainwright to four hospitals — the University of Alberta Hospital and Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary and Red Deer Regional Hospital.
Alberta officials said they had lifted the “Code Orange” emergency activated at several hospitals Saturday night to mobilize staff and beds for the casualties.
The response involved 22 ground ambulances, six airplanes and two helicopters, with assistance from neighboring Saskatchewan. Smith said all patients had been accounted for and no further patients were awaiting transport.
Wainwright Mayor Bruce Pugh said the town’s small hospital was not designed to handle a mass-casualty incident but praised local medical personnel.
Rutland confirmed that military search-and-rescue technicians parachuted into Wainwright to reinforce the emergency response. Pugh said their red parachutes were illuminated by flares as they descended shortly before midnight.
Cathy Keane, a mayoral candidate in Ontario, said her eldest son was among those critically injured. “As a mother, right now I need to be with my son and family,” she wrote on Facebook, saying she was traveling to Alberta.
Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, who represents the area in Parliament, visited Wainwright on Sunday and said he had heard accounts of people who ran toward the danger to help others and were now fighting for their lives in hospitals.
Rutland said the fire ignited in the military training area, where multiple exercises were underway, and spread rapidly in unusually strong winds.
He said winds had been within normal operating limits for much of Saturday, generally below 50 kph (31 mph), before intensifying rapidly. Range controllers rely on weather reports to determine whether training can safely continue, he said.
The fire crossed established firebreaks before being contained with help from municipal firefighters.
The Canadian military said there were no indications of terrorism.
Rutland said military investigators would examine the circumstances, including whether safety protocols needed to change. “If our protocols need to change, then they’ll be updated,” he said.
The military typically convenes a formal board of inquiry after such incidents, Rutland said, cautioning that determining what happened would take time.
Rutland said Charlie Company had been withdrawn from the training area and the rest of the battalion suspended training Sunday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said officers were called shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday following reports of a fire in the base’s training area.
Large areas of Alberta were hit by a windstorm Saturday, with gusts up to 100 kph (62 mph). The winds toppled trees, sent signs flying and pushed flames beyond the base into surrounding rural areas.
By late Saturday, the Municipal District of Wainwright said the fire was being held and that property and critical infrastructure were protected. No evacuation order was issued for residents.
CFB Wainwright is one of Canada’s busiest military training bases, where soldiers prepare for combat operations.
The fire also disrupted advance voting ahead of Monday’s referendum on whether Alberta should begin a process that could lead to independence from Canada. Elections Alberta said the Wainwright Communiplex advance polling location closed early Saturday and election materials were transported securely.
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to deliver a statement on Parliament Hill following a deadly fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, in Ottawa on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a statement on Parliament Hill following a deadly fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, in Ottawa on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP)
Paramedics load an injured person into an ambulance at the Wainwright Health Centre as injured military members are treated after a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, outside of Wainwright, Alberta Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Emergency crews and military personnel are seen at the Wainwright Health Centre as injured military members are treated after a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, outside of Wainwright, Alberta Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Paramedics work at the Wainwright Health Centre as injured military members are treated after a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, outside of Wainwright, Alberta Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Emergency crews and military personnel gather at the Wainwright Health Centre as injured military members are treated after a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, outside of Wainwright, Alberta Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Paramedics load an injured person into an ambulance at the Wainwright Health center after a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, outside of Wainwright, Alberta Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press via AP)
