The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway was red flagged for an unexpected reason. The pace car was late getting on to pit road before the restart to begin the second stage of Sunday's race and slid into the barrels which provide protection to the end of the inside wall on the racetrack.

The pace car crashed into the pit road entry sand barrels early in the NASCAR championship race on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Before the restart in stage two, the pace car suddenly veered sharply left toward the pit lane for the resumption of the race after a caution. However, it was too late to commit.