For four drivers – Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron – an entire season’s worth of work will come down to this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway this Sunday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
Outperforming the rest of the Playoff field through the previous nine weeks of the postseason, has landed these four elite competitors into the series’ Championship 4 Round vying for the title this weekend.
The chart below is a look at this season’s Championship 4 Round drivers and how they have performed this year to this point.
| 2024 | Starts | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | Poles | Laps Led | Laps Completed | % Led | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Driver Rating |
| Ryan Blaney | 35 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 555 | 8,598 | 6.45% | 13.1 | 15.6 | 89.3 |
| Joey Logano | 35 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 307 | 9,123 | 3.37% | 12.3 | 17.6 | 84.2 |
| Tyler Reddick | 35 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 3 | 597 | 9,170 | 6.51% | 10.2 | 13.4 | 90.0 |
| William Byron | 35 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 338 | 9,225 | 3.66% | 9.6 | 13.2 | 91.8 |
| Totals & Averages | 12 | 41 | 69 | 8 | 1,797 | 36,116 | 5.0% | 11.3 | 15.0 | 88.8 | |
| Winning Percentage | 34.29% | ||||||||||
This season, the Team Penske teammates Joey Logano (2018, 2022) and Ryan Blaney (2023) are looking to add another championship to their resumes and bring Team Penske its third consecutive Cup title, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Hendrick Motorsports won five straight with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson from 2006-2010.
If Logano were to win the championship this weekend, he would become just the 10th different driver to win three or more titles in the series, and the only full-time active driver to accomplish the feat.
If Blaney wins the championship this weekend, he will become the 18th different driver to win multiple championships in the Cup Series, and will join Logano (2018, 2022) and Kyle Busch (2015, 2019) as the third full-time active driver with multiple championships.
Looking to add their names to the prestigious NASCAR Cup Series Champions list are 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsport’s William Byron. If either Reddick or Byron were to win the title this weekend, they would become the 37th different driver to earn a championship in the series and just the eighth active full-time driver to accomplish the feat.
This season’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 contenders
This weekend the fans are in for a treat.
The drama in this year’s Playoffs is so thick you could cut it with a knife, and four of the sport’s top drivers and teams are scheduled to battle it out one last time on a 1-mile oval in the Arizona desert, with the highest finishing contender of the Championship 4 taking home the hardware.
Here is a quick way to get to know this season’s Championship 4 Round contenders (in order of seeding).
Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Team Penske Ford)
· Organization: Team Penske
· Team: No. 12 Ford
· Crew Chief: Jonathan Hassler
2024 Season Rundown:
· Three wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s, one pole
· Led 555 laps
· Average Finish of 15.6
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 89.3, seventh-best
Phoenix Raceway Outlook:
· Eight top fives, 12 top 10s, three poles
· Average Finish of 10.941, third-best
· Average Running Position of 9.477, second-best
· Driver Rating of 99.2, fourth-best
· 4,468 Laps in the Top 15 (83.9%), series-most
Championship Outlook:
· Team Penske has four NASCAR Cup Series driver and owner championships (2023, ’22, ’18, ’12). Team Penske is looking to win their third consecutive title this weekend and the fifth overall for the organization. If Team Penske wins the NASCAR Cup Series championship this weekend, they will tie Joe Gibbs Racing for fifth on the all-time owner champions wins list with five titles each.
· Ryan Blaney won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship with the No. 12 Team Penske Ford team and will attempt to defend his title this weekend. If Blaney wins the championship this weekend, he will become the first driver since NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson (2006-2010) to win consecutive titles and the 18th driver all-time with multiple titles.
· Jonathan Hassler won his first championship last season with driver Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske Ford team. If Hassler wins the championship this weekend, he will become the first crew chief since NASCAR Hall of Famer Chad Knaus (2006-2010) to win consecutive titles and the 17th crew chief all-time with multiple championships.
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)
· Organization: Team Penske
· Team: No. 22 Ford
· Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, six top fives, 12 top 10s, three poles
· Led 307 laps
· Average Finish of 17.6
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 84.2, ninth-best
Phoenix Raceway Outlook:
· Three wins, eight top fives, 16 top 10s, two poles
· Average Finish of 13.484, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 11.817, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.4, eighth-best
· 6,770 Laps in the Top 15 (69.9%), eighth-most
Championship Outlook:
· Team Penske has four NASCAR Cup Series driver and owner championships (2023, ’22, ’18, ’12). Team Penske is looking to win their third consecutive title this weekend and the fifth overall for the organization. If Team Penske wins the NASCAR Cup Series championship this weekend, they will tie Joe Gibbs Racing for fifth on the all-time owner champions wins list with five titles each.
· Joey Logano has won two NASCAR Cup Series championships in his career (2018, 2022) with the No. 22 Team Penske Ford team. If Logano wins the championship this weekend, he will become the 10th driver all-time with three or more titles and the only active full-time driver to accomplish the feat.
· Paul Wolfe, a two-time series champion, won his first championship in 2012 with driver Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford team and then earned his second title in 2022 with driver Joey Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford team (his current team). If Wolfe wins the championship this weekend, he will become the seventh different crew chief all-time to win three or more championships.
Tyler Reddick (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota)
· Organization: 23XI Racing
· Team: No. 45 Toyota
· Crew Chief: Billy Scott
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, 12 top fives, 20 top 10s, three poles
· Led 597 laps
· Average Finish of 13.4
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 90.0, sixth-best
Phoenix Raceway Outlook:
· Two top fives, three top 10s
· Average Finish of 17.889, 17th-best
· Average Running Position of 13.126, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 82.3, 13th-best
· 1,754 Laps in the Top 15 (62.3%), 11th-most
Championship Outlook:
· 23XI Racing is looking to win their first NASCAR Cup Series championship this weekend. If 23XI Racing wins the NASCAR Cup Series championship this weekend, they will become the 31st different organization to win a championship in the series all-time.
· Tyler Reddick, in his first Championship 4 Round appearance, is looking to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. If Reddick wins the championship this weekend, he will become the 37th different driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series championship, and just the fourth driver to win the Regular Season Championship and the overall season title in the same year joining Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Kyle Busch (2019) and Kyle Larson (2021).
· Billy Scott, in his first Championship 4 Round appearance, is looking to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. If Scott wins the championship this weekend, he will become the 44th different crew chief to win a NASCAR Cup Series championship.
William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· Organization: Hendrick Motorsports
· Team: No. 24 Chevrolet
· Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, 12 top fives, 20 top 10s, one pole
· Led 338 laps
· Average Finish of 13.2
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 91.8, fifth-best
Phoenix Raceway Outlook:
· One win, two top fives, seven top 10s, one pole
· Average Finish of 11.769, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 10.015, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.6, seventh-best
· 3,222 Laps in the Top 15 (79.3%), third-most
Championship Outlook:
· Hendrick Motorsports has 14 NASCAR Cup Series driver and owner championships (2021, ’20, ’16, ’13, ’10, ’09, ’08, ’07, ’06, ’01, ’98, ’97, ’96, ’95) – the series-most all-time. Hendrick Motorsports, in their 40th year, is looking to win their 15th NASCAR Cup Series title this weekend.
· William Byron, in his second Championship 4 Round appearance (2023, ’24), is looking to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. If Byron wins the championship this weekend, he will become the 37th different driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series championship.
· Rudy Fugle, in his second Championship 4 Round appearance (2023, ’24), is looking to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. If Fugle wins the championship this weekend, he will become the 44th different crew chief to win a NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Phoenix Championship Weekend awaits the NASCAR Cup Series
It was announced in March of 2019 that the NASCAR Cup Series would be moving its Playoffs’ Championship Race from Homestead-Miami Speedway, where it had resided since the inception of the Playoffs in 2004, to Phoenix Raceway for the first time in 2020. Prior to the 2020 season, Homestead-Miami Speedway hosted the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ season finale for 16 seasons (from 2004-2019). Phoenix Raceway is just the second track to host the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race in the Playoffs.
Since the inception of the Playoffs in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2004, Phoenix Raceway has occupied three different positions on the postseason schedule. In 2004, Phoenix Raceway hosted the eighth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – the event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. Then from 2005 – 2019 (15 seasons), Phoenix Raceway has hosted the penultimate race (ninth) in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The 2024 season marks the fifth year the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race will be held at Phoenix Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona (2020-2024).
Since Phoenix has played host to the Championship Race in the NASCAR Cup Series, starting in 2020, there have been four different champions – Chase Elliott (2020), Kyle Larson (2021), Joey Logano (2022) and Ryan Blaney (2023).
Make sure to catch all the Phoenix Raceway on-track action this weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series practice is scheduled for this Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Playoff Crunch Time: Who steps up at Phoenix?
Phoenix Raceway has occupied some pivotal positions on the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff schedules, and the drivers that have stepped-up and won when it mattered most (Playoff time) in the Valley of the Sun have enjoyed the spoils that come with it.
A total of 12 different drivers have won the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff races at Phoenix Raceway. Veteran Kevin Harvick leads the NASCAR Cup Series in Playoff race wins at Phoenix Raceway with four victories (2006, 2012, 2013 and 2014). Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers this weekend with three wins (2007-2009).
Since hosting the series’ Championship Race (2020-2023), the winner of the race has also won the NASCAR Cup Series title in three of the last four seasons – Chase Elliott won at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 8, 2020, Kyle Larson won at Phoenix on Nov. 7, 2021, and Joey Logano won at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 2022. Last season, Ryan Blaney finished runner-up at Phoenix to win his first title.
Among the Championship Four drivers this season – Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron – Logano is the only driver to win a Playoff race at Phoenix previously and has done so twice – in 2016 and 2022.
NASCAR Media | Graphic: NASCAR
