NASCAR Championship 4 preview: cases for all four drivers

After 35 races, the NASCAR season comes down to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. Any wrong move, poor decision, a caution falling at the wrong time or part breaking could be the difference between history and heartbreak. Confetti and fireworks will fly, champagne will pop, and of course, lots and lots of rubber will be burnt. The only question is by which one of the four?

Will it be one of the two Team Penske drivers, defending champion Ryan Blaney or two-time champion Joey Logano? Perhaps the youngest of the Championship 4 in William Byron, making his second championship appearance, can win it all. What about regular season title holder Tyler Reddick, who’s vying for his and his team 23XI’s first championship just four seasons after the team was founded? With 312 laps around the one-mile doglegged oval, each driver has a case to prove why he’s better than the rest.

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Joey Logano

Another even year, another Championship 4 appearance by Joey Logano. Since the current playoff format was instituted in 2014, Logano has made it to the Championship 4 in every year, winning the title twice. By winning at Las Vegas three weeks ago, Logano secured his spot in the Championship 4 and has had weeks to fine tune his car in search of his fourth win of the season. Logano is also looking to etch his name into the NASCAR history books by doing something only nine other drivers have done before: win at least three championships.

“When it comes to individually, I don’t think about it too much,” the two-time champ said. “The individual piece, to say you’ve got three of them, I mean that’s great, but I think because I’m still doing it, I don’t look at it that much. But I’d like to see the people that I care about on the race team celebrate.”

The rest of the competition likely doesn’t mean much to him either. The Penske driver leads all Championship 4 drivers in wins (three) and laps led (908) at Phoenix. Logano will be starting the race in second place, and is confident as ever in his abilities.

“Our car is strong,” he said. “We got them where we want them and we gotta keep them there. Now we just gotta put our foot on their throats.”

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Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney, the reigning Cup Series champion, was the fastest across single lap, five, 10 and 15 lap runs in practice, then went out and placed 17th in qualifying.

Last year, Blaney was fastest in practice and won the championship. In March, Christopher Bell was fastest in practice and won the race. Given that Phoenix is also statistically Blaney’s best track, the stars seem to be aligning for Blaney to be the first back-to-back Cup Series champion since Jimmie Johnson won five in a row from 2006-10. Coming off a win in Martinsville last week and a second-place finish the week before, Blaney feels he’s carrying momentum into the championship.

“I think just the lows of me losing the race at Miami, us rebounding at Martinsville, a must-win, doing it coming from where we did in the pack to get the lead there at the end and carrying it into this week, and then having the chance to do what we can do this week in going back-to-back, I think we’re riding high for sure,” Blaney said. “But we’re fully focused on what it takes.”

He may be starting in 17th, but with a strong practice, qualifying and performance history (he’s never finished worse than fifth in five Phoenix races with the Next Gen car), Blaney very well might be the hottest driver in the field. If he can win, it will mark the third straight championship for Team Penske.

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William Byron

In baseball when a player is in a hitless slump, there’s a solid chance you’ll hear the commentating crew say he’s due to get a hit. In William Byron’s case, he’s due to get a win. The 26-year-old from Charlotte won three of the first eight races this year, including the Daytona 500, before going winless since April. This isn’t to say Byron hasn’t finished well this season. He has scored the most points in the playoffs this year and has an average finish of 13.2, the third highest of qualified drivers this season.

“For me personally, I’ve blocked out a ton of the noise,” Byron said going into the weekend. “I’m just trying to focus on getting the 24 car as fast as I can. I think past experiences have probably helped fuel that. I’ve been through enough BS in my Cup career that I know what to focus on and what to block out.”

This is Byron’s second championship appearance in as many years, and if he can deliver a championship starting from eighth, it will be Hendrick Motorsports’ first since Kyle Larson’s 10-win 2021 season. Byron also represents the lone Chevrolet driver in the Championship 4. As for any advice Larson his given his teammate?

“I’m not the type of guy who gives out any sophisticated wisdom,” Larson said. “He’s an adult, he’s a professional and he does an extremely good job of driving a race car, and this is a great track for him, so he’s going to be just fine.”

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Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick may look unassuming at 5-feet-6 with a skinny frame, but make no mistake, he’s one of NASCAR’s top stars. While he can be confounded by inconsistency, the highs more than make up for any lows. Two weeks ago Reddick made a mad dash from third to first on the final lap, including a miraculous pass in turn four past Ryan Blaney for the win at Homestead-Miami, cementing his spot in the Championship 4.

Reddick is also looking to give team co-owner/basketball great Michael Jordan his first title as a NASCAR team owner.

“His presence itself is very inspiring, one of the most competitive people you’ll ever meet in everything he does,” Reddick’s crew chief Billy Scott said of Jordan. “He’s an avid fan and learning everything he can about the sport. He’s very intuitive to what’s going on, everything from strategy stuff to setups, to motivating people. When he’s been there for wins, it’s very rewarding, very cool to see the genuine joy he gets from us.”

However, Reddick has typically been slower in the fall race at Phoenix than in the spring. If Reddick is to deliver in his first championship appearance, he’ll have to exorcise his autumn anguish at Phoenix.

“For him, I think it’s (about) taking a breath… not getting too wound up over one bad practice session or qualifying session,” 23XI Racing co-owner and Toyota teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing Denny Hamlin said.

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A retiring champion

Another driver who should not be ignored is the No. 19 of Martin Truex Jr. The veteran driver is retiring from full-time racing at the conclusion of Sunday’s championship race. Truex has been the gold standard of class and professionalism throughout his time in the sport, which was highlighted by his 2017 championship.

“He’s a pretty humble guy, doesn’t say much, doesn’t expect much, he just comes in and races,” said Tom DiBlasi, the Truex’s car’s tire & interior specialist. “I think a lot of guys respect that about him. He’s always been a pretty clean driver, never gets into anybody. The whole garage respects the hell out of him. I know I sure do.”

Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin said he hopes his career can be looked upon similarly to Truex’s.

“I’d just say he’s an awesome person, one of the best teammates you can ever have,” Hamlin said. “I like that he’s going out in his way and his time, under his terms. I really admire his independence and certainly admire his professionalism as a teammate.”

His fans share a similar sentiment, and hope Truex can end his career with a storybook ending.

“I just like his personality like he said, he’s a clean driver,” Mike Fisher, a fan of Truex’s said. Fisher has met his favorite driver a few times and says watching NASCAR won’t be the same without him. “I’ve watched him for so many years, it’s gonna be tough to see it end. It’s a bummer because now I have to find somebody else, and there’s nobody, in my mind, that can replace him.”

Truex will start from the pole position in his final career race.

Top photo via Imagn Images: Ryan Blaney celebrates his 2023 championship.

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