NASCAR's championship field heads to Phoenix with no clear favorite to win Cup title

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Roger Penske already won 2 sports car championships this play and heads to Phoenix Raceway pinch 2 chances to triumph a 3rd consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title pinch some Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney successful nan winner-take-all play finale.

The 2 Penske drivers will effort to make it 3 consecutive Cup titles for “The Captain,” who won nan 2022 title pinch Logano and past year's title pinch Blaney.

They are up against Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, 1 of 2 teams embroiled successful an antitrust suit pinch NASCAR. The first proceeding successful nan lawsuit was Monday and a national judge promised a ruling connected a preliminary injunction by Friday, nan aforesaid time NASCAR hits nan way astatine Phoenix for its first believe of nan weekend.

And past there's William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports, who made nan section complete Christopher Bell erstwhile NASCAR ruled Bell had committed a information violation successful riding nan wall Sunday astatine Martinsville Speedway. That move has been banned since Ross Chastain did it successful 2022.

All said, it is simply a brace of Fords from Team Penske against nan Toyota from 23XI and a Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR's winningest squad successful history. The highest finishing driver among nan 4 title contenders will beryllium crowned champion.

The 30 twelvemonth aged is simply a third-generation driver from Ohio and nan boy of retired NASCAR driver Dave Blaney. He's making his 2nd quality successful nan last 4 and won successful his debut past year.

He bounced backmost this twelvemonth from a devastating conclusion 2 weeks agone astatine Homestead-Miami Speedway, wherever Reddick passed him successful nan last move to bargain a spot successful nan championship. Blaney recovered past Sunday to triumph astatine Martinsville Speedway successful Virginia — aforesaid spot he earned his title berth successful 2023 — and he's very bully astatine Phoenix.

No driver has led much laps successful nan Next Gen car astatine Phoenix than Blaney, who has 2 wins this twelvemonth astatine tracks 1-mile aliases shorter. Phoenix is simply a 1-mile low-banked tri-oval.

Working against Blaney is that nary driver has won back-to-back championships successful nan playoff elimination era, which started successful 2014. The past driver to take sides his title was Jimmie Johnson, who won 5 consecutive championships from 2006 to 2010.

Logano is nan only two-time champion successful nan section — and on pinch Kyle Busch nan only progressive aggregate champion successful NASCAR — and is making his sixth quality successful nan last four. The 34-year-old from Connecticut won successful 2018 and 2022, which has earned him nan nickname “Even Year Logano."

Logano won a five-overtime title astatine Nashville conscionable to get into nan playoffs, and he vanished 15th successful nan regular-season standings. He won nan playoff opener astatine Atlanta but was eliminated successful nan 2nd information until NASCAR disqualified Alex Bowman for failing post-race inspection.

That put Logano backmost into nan playoffs and he promptly won nan third-round opening title astatine Las Vegas, which has put his Team Penske unit connected cruise power preparing for Phoenix.

But, of nan 4 contenders, Logano had nan weakest play and wouldn't moreover beryllium successful nan finale if not for Bowman's disqualification.

The Daytona 500 victor has 3 victories this play and will return to nan last 4 for nan 2nd consecutive year. The 26-year-old from Charlotte only made nan title championship because Bell's move astatine Martinsville was disallowed.

His circumstances person changed successful that a twelvemonth agone he was successful a narration pinch Blaney's youngest sister and nan 2 drivers referred to each different arsenic “brother-in-laws.” Byron is nary longer making love Erin Blaney, and nan hostility betwixt Byron and Ryan Blaney has flared on-track astatine times this season.

Byron won astatine Phoenix successful March 2023 and is nan only Hendrick driver successful nan championship. But he hasn’t won a Cup title since April and has a 27-race winless streak headed into Sunday.

Reddick is nan only driver making his first quality successful nan title 4 and doing it pinch a squad that is only 3 years old. His squad is owned by some NBA awesome Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 victor Denny Hamlin, who was eliminated past week from title contention.

The 28-year-old from California was nan regular-season champion and has led much laps this twelvemonth than immoderate different driver successful nan finale. He was besides joined earlier this season, making this 1 of nan biggest years of Reddick's life.

But to headdress it off, he'll request a Cup title. Both Reddick and unit main Billy Scott are successful nan finale for nan first clip and Phoenix is not 1 of his champion tracks: Reddick's wins this play person been connected tracks 1.5-miles successful magnitude aliases longer.

Reddick did triumph a brace of Xfinity Series titles successful this elimination format.

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