The 2024 Cup Series season concludes today as it visits Phoenix Raceway for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship. Phoenix Raceway is a one mile asphalt oval that opened in 1964, has hosted NASCAR annually since 1988 and has served as the site of the championship race since 2020. Following today’s race, the highest finisher among the Championship 4 drivers will be crowned the 2024 Cup Series Champion.
Pit strategy is simple today. Drivers will want four, fresh Goodyears as often as possible. As we all learned watching Austin Hill last night, two tires do not work, nor do scuffs. Track position will also be a great help today. With a fast car, you can make up ground and make passes around the track, as we saw Justin Allgaier do many times last night. However, not all cars will be rockets or have good handling, so getting track position through strategy or in whatever way drivers see fit will definitely be a game changer for the race’s outcome. Finally, just take care of your equipment. With drivers fanning out five-wide on restarts and battling three or four-wide into the corners, carnage is bound to happen. 312 laps is a long way, so stay patient, don’t push your car past its limit and don’t be the dumbass on the track making stupid moves way too early.
This race was first held in 1988 and has produced an incredible list of winners through the years, including Alan Kulwicki, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Davey Allison, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Bobby Hamilton, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain, just to name a few.
Kevin Harvick has the most wins in this race, finding victory lane four times. Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr have each won this race three times, while Davey Allison, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano each have a pair of wins in this race,
Last year’s edition was won by Ross Chastain, who led a race-high 157 laps on the way to victory. Ryan Blaney finished in second to clinch the championship, with Hendrick Motorsports teammates and fellow Championship 4 drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron finished in 3rd and 4th place, respectively. Chris Buescher rounded out the top 5, while Kevin Harvick finished in 7th in his final career race. The last Championship 4 driver, Christopher Bell, finished in 36th after wrecking out in Stage 2.
Coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship can be seen on NBC, with pre-race beginning at 2 PM EST and green flag coverage beginning at 3 PM EST.
I know it’s easy to fade a back marker, but sometimes, they really do deserve it. Corey LaJoie has had a memorable 2024 in spite of it all, earning one top 5 and three top 10’s on the campaign, but will be forever remembered as being “traded” mid-season from Spire Motorsports to Rick Ware Racing for Justin Haley. Most importantly though, LaJoie fucking blows at Phoenix, plain and simple. In 14 career starts, LaJoie has just one top 25 finish and nine finishes of 30th or worse. LaJoie has had a rough close to the season, finishing 35th or worse in three of his last four starts. LaJoie hasn’t shown impressive pace this weekend, but his 20th place starting spot today is his best ever qualifying effort at Phoenix. With that said, I predict that LaJoie will continues to struggle at Phoenix and finish outside the top 25 this afternoon.
In his sophomore season, Ty Gibbs has continued to improve, earning eight top 5’s and 12 top 10’s, as well as making his playoffs debut. It’s weird calling Gibbs a dark horse considering his illustrious Xfinity Series career, but when compared to his teammates, he is definitely the fourth ranked driver amongst them. Fortunately for Gibbs, he has had some early success at Phoenix in his career. In three Xfinity Series starts at Phoenix, Gibbs has one win, two top 5’s, three top 10’s and 126 laps led. In three Cup Series starts, Gibbs has just one top 5 finish, finishing 3rd here in the spring after leading 57 laps on the day. Gibbs showed solid pace in Practice, laying down the 7th fastest lap of the session, before ultimately qualifying in 6th position for the race. I don’t see Gibbs going out and shocking the world today, considering he has finished 30th or worse in his last four starts coming down the stretch, but a top 12 finish would be a nice way to wrap up the season.
My pre-season pick to win the championship (Fact check me. I dare you.), William Byron has had a stellar 2024 campaign, with three wins (including the Daytona 500), 12 top 5’s and 20 top 10 finishes. We have to address the elephant in the room though after the controversial finish at Martinsville last week. William Byron THE DRIVER did nothing wrong. He went out and drove his ass off to hold his position and did what he had to do to advance to the championship race. He can’t control what Chastain and Dillon did behind him or what pecking orders came down the pike from Hendrick Motorsports management or Chevrolet management. As a driver, Byron did nothing wrong and being angry at him is futile and pointless (sorry tinfoil hat readers). With that said, Byron is definitely a threat to win today at Phoenix, as he has had one win, two top 5’s and seven top 10’s in 13 career Phoenix starts. Byron showed great short run and long run speed in Practice, laying down the 4th fastest overall lap of Practice, and qualifying in 8th position for the race. Byron will give it all he has this afternoon, but I predict he will come up just short in his quest for a championship and lock in his 21st top 10 finish of 2024.
The 2023 Cup Series Champion, Ryan Blaney has put up a valiant effort in his title defense campaign, earning three wins, 11 top 5’s and 17 top 10’s. In a near mirror of last year, Blaney has once again turned it on late to cement his spot in the Championship 4, finishing runner-up two weeks ago at Homestead-Miami and taking home the victory last Sunday at Martinsville for the second consecutive year. With Kevin “Mr. Phoenix” Harvick now retired, Ryan Blaney is the new king of the desert. In his young career, Blaney has eight top 5’s, 12 top 10’s and 431 laps led in 17 Phoenix starts. Blaney has been the man to beat at Phoenix of late, as he has six straight top 5’s and eight straight top 10’s here. Blaney had a strong Practice session, pacing the field on 5, 10 and 15 Lap Averages, but left a bit out on the track in qualifying, as he will roll out from 17th today, his worst ever starting position in a Phoenix race. It feels eerily similar to last year, as Blaney qualified 15th for the championship race before ultimately finishing in the runner-up spot and clinching the championship. I predict that history will once again repeat itself, as Ryan Blaney will work his way forward and find victory lane for his first Phoenix victory and his second career championship. Here’s to your 2024 Cup Series Champion, Ryan Blaney!
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