MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Ross Chastain proved in Sunday’s NASCAR Championship Race, drivers already eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series title still have a reason to win the race.
That is what the Trackhouse Racing driver did as he drove away from the three remaining championship contenders in his rear-view mirror. Those three fought it out before Ryan Blaney finished second and won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in a compelling 312 laps of racing at Phoenix Raceway.
It was Blaney’s first career Cup Series championship and the first time team owner Roger Penske has won back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series titles.
Joey Logano won the title for Team Penske last year when he finished ahead of Chastain in the race.
One year later, Chastain finally won at Phoenix, but he was eliminated at the second elimination race of the season at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL on October 8.
It was a split celebration afterwards with Chastain in victory lane celebrating his fourth career Cup Series win and Blaney on the champions stage as the Cup Series champion.
“Thank you, guys, what an awesome year, thank you so much,” Blaney said. “RP (Roger Penske), congrats. Thanks for giving me a shot.”
It was the first time in a decade the champion did not win the Championship Race, but it didn’t matter as Blaney took the championship flag and burned rubber in front of the main grandstand at Phoenix Raceway while Chastain lit it up on his No. 1 Chevrolet.
A thick, billowing cloud of rubber smoke formed with Blaney popping out of the No. 12 Ford Mustang as the champion. The final restart is what ultimately decided the title as Blaney scampered away from Larson to secure his spot in NASCAR history.
“Just time to go to work. I mean, did a good job of getting to where we needed to be,” Blaney said. “Those guys had two good pit stops. Just need to go to work. Hoping our car was good enough, which it was.
“Just so proud of this team. Unbelievable year, unbelievable Playoffs for us. To win back-to-back Cup titles for Mr. Penske, that’s so special. Having my family here, winning my first Cup title, I got emotional in the car. I’m not a very emotional guy.
“Thank you, guys, for coming. Hope it was an awesome show.”
Blaney finished two seconds ahead of Championship 4 driver Kyle Larson and three seconds ahead of another championship contender, William Byron, Jr., who finished third and fourth respectively.
“His car was really fast, especially here today,” Larson said of Blaney. “Our pit crew kept us in the game. We weren’t the greatest on the track, but the way our pit crew executed was our only shot.
“I needed to come out the leader on that restart. Ross got a really good restart on that second row. I’m not sure it would have made a difference. I wasn’t as good as Blaney or Ross.
“We had an up and down year and finally put together two solid weeks in a row.
“It was fun, all racing hard. Congrats to Ryan. He is a deserving champion.”
Byron led four times for 95 laps. Chastain led the most laps at 157.
“Once the track rubbered in, we got really tight,” Byron said. “The last run of the race, we were pretty tight.
“This is a great season for us.”
The other Championship 4 driver was Christopher Bell, who finished last when a front brake rotor exploded on lap 108 and sent his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota into the wall.
The Closing Laps
In the closing stages of the race with Chastain in front, Larson got very loose with 21 laps to go and that allowed Blaney to pull alongside. Blaney was able to clear Larson one lap later.
This battle allowed Chastain to pull away as the leader by over two seconds.
Chastain was the leader when the final stage began on lap 194 of the scheduled 312-lap contest. Byron was second, Truex, Blaney fourth and Larson fifth.
Blaney’s No. 12 Ford seemed to come to life after the 200th lap. He passed Byron for second place on lap 212 to become the highest of the championship drivers, 1.5 seconds behind Chastain.
With 85 laps to go, Blaney tried to pass Chastain for the lead, but was unsuccessful. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler reminded Blaney that he didn’t have to win the race to win the championship.
Hendrick teammates Byron and Larson were the first of the Championship 4 drivers to pit in the closing stages of the race, when they drove down pit lane with 72 laps to go. Blaney was the next to bring his Ford onto pit lane as did race leader Chastain.
That cycled all down the scoring list, but they were assured of making the rest of the race without an additional pit stop.
When Denny Hamlin pitted with 60 to go, that cycled Chase Briscoe into the lead with Chastain second and Blaney third. When Briscoe pitted two laps later, Chastain was the leader with Blaney second.
Although Blaney was upset that Chastain continued in the lead, the Team Penske driver was still three seconds ahead of Larson, his nearest championship contender.
The two drivers raced inches apart with Blaney on the bottom and Chastain on the high line. Blaney ran into the back of Chastain with an intentional tap, but the Trackhouse Racing driver did not take the bait.
Blaney was very loose and dropped back to third when Truex passed him for second. It also let Larson cut into the gap on Blaney.
It was obvious to the other Championship contenders who believed Blaney was melting down in his desire to win the race. Byron’s crew chief, Rudy Fugle, implored Byron to go after Blaney, who was two seconds ahead.
Blaney made another bid for the lead before Kyle Busch spun with 37 laps to go for a late-race caution.
The pit opened and Chastain lost three positions but beat Blaney off pit road. Blaney lost four spots.
The driver who benefitted the most was Larson, who gained three positions and moved up to third.
The green flag waved with 31 laps to go, and Hamlin was the leader. Chastain went to the outside of Hamlin and Larson to the inside in a mad scramble.
Larson and Chastain were side-by-side before Chastain pulled ahead with 29 to go.
Larson was second, Byron third and Blaney fourth.
It didn’t matter in terms of the championship that Chastain was in front because Larson, Blaney and Byron were all locked in a battle for the highest position that would determine the championship.
“We did something else that hasn’t been done before,” Chastain said. “This vision for Trackhouse is goals like this and it has been lofty. I couldn’t think of anything I would ever want to be than Kevin Harvick and racing against him early in the race was bucket list.
“That first caution, we were tight and crew chief Phil Surgen and everyone else helped make this car turn and we drove off into the sunset.”
Harvick’s Final Ride
It was the final race of Kevin Harvick’s racing career. He finished seventh.
“This really means a lot to me because I love driving this race car,” Harvick said. “I can’t wait to walk through that tunnel with my head up and look around and take in everything that is so important to NASCAR racing. Sometimes, you don’t see everything around you.
“I opened this chapter unexpectedly in 2001 and closed it in 2023 by being competitive. What means the most is earning the respect of everyone and all of the competitors.
“For me, we gave it all we had. Every lap, every week, in some shape or form, we touched every aspect of this race car. There isn’t any piece of it that we aren’t a part of in some shape or form. We built so many things from the bottom up. The hard work is what we will recognize. I love people. I care about people and it’s been fun to get to know a lot of the people and tell the story of the last 30 years of my career.”
Harvick ends his Cup Series career with 60 victories, 444 top-10’s and 251 top-five’s.
STAGE ONE
A warm day in the desert with temperatures over 90 degrees, created a slick race track.
After all of the ceremonies, it was time to go racing for the last time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023. Byron, starting on the pole, was able to open a 1.2-second lead over Harvick over the opening 10 laps. Championship 4 pursuer and teammate Larson was third with Bell 13th and Blaney 14th.
Through 25 laps, Byron was ahead of Harvick with Larson third, Bell 12th and Blaney 14th in the early stages of the race.
Larson began to complain that his No. 5 Chevrolet, was “way too free” with six laps left until the end of the stage.
Harvick was able to close to the rear of Bryon’s Chevrolet, cutting the gap to just .2-of-a-seconds. It was the first time Byron was under the attack in the Championship Race.
Harvick went low and Byron used the high line in the final two laps of the stage and Byron was able to narrowly hold off the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Harvick was second followed by Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Johnson at the end of Stage 1. The Championship 4 did not earn points for the stage because they were in a more simplified format, but all drivers outside of the Championship 4 that finished in the top 10 earned points for their final points totals of the season.
At the end of the season in a battle for the “Free Pass” between J.J. Yeley and Austin Cindric, Larson was swerved into by Cindric’s Ford, but didn’t appear to incur any damage.
All four Championship 4 drivers pitted during the yellow and the top three drivers all maintained their position. Larson actually gained a position.
STAGE TWO
The field fanned out heading to the restart for the second stage, per usual at this 1.0-mile oval since it was reconfigured.
Byron maintained the lead, but Chastain had raced up to second place briefly getting in front of Harvick.
Larson, Blaney and Bell were running fourth, fifth and sixth since the second stage started in an attempt to have the advantage later in the race.
Byron led the first 92 laps of the race before Harvick passed him for the lead on Lap 94. Tempers began to rise on Blaney’s end when he felt like he was being blocked.
Byron was passed by Chastain on lap 100 and that meant Byron, Blaney and Bell were running third, fourth and fifth respectively with Larson seventh, bringing all four Championship 4 drivers together.
Blaney passed Byron for third place on lap 108 to become the highest driver in the Championship 4.
Bell’s dream of a championship ended, however, when the brake rotor failed up on lap 109, sending the car into the wall. As soon as he touched the brake pedal, the right front brake rotor failed.
“That’s all she wrote,” Bell radioed back to his crew as his No. 20 Toyota limped around the track.
Bell made his way back to pit lane as his crew tried to assess the damage. But his big at a championship ended for the second-straight season in the final race of the year.
“That was the first time I’ve ever exploded a rotor in my career,” Bell said. “I was surprised.
“A disappointing end, but super proud of my team. Being in the Final Four is something I’m very proud of. It stings to not have a shot at it. We were really close, and I think it’s going to be a great Championship Race. Whoever wins it is going to be very deserving.”
The pits opened during the caution and the championship contenders all came down pit lane for their second stop.
After pit stops were completed, Harvick was the leader ahead of Chastain, Byron, Chris Buescher, Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Blaney.
The green flag waved on lap 117. Chastain passed Harvick for the lead on lap 117 and raced out front of the field.
Cindric hit the wall on Lap 135 and made it to pit road for repairs. Chastain continued to lead Harvick and Byron was the highest championship contender in fourth.
With Chastain up front, it settled into Byron in fifth, Blaney sixth and Larson seventh with 20 laps to go in the stage.
Byron moved up to fourth when he passed Truex on lap 179.
Buescher passed Chastain for the lead on lap 171 and was in front when the stage ended. Chastain was second, Harvick third, Byron fourth, Truex fifth followed by Blaney and Larson.
During the end of stage pit stops, Chastain regained the lead off pit road with Byron moving up to second. Truex was third followed by Larson and Blaney as the three remaining Championship 4 drivers were all in contention for the win and the title.