Tag: Ryan Blaney

Blaney letting the moments soak in at NASCAR Champion’s Week

Ryan Blaney is enjoying the other side of the emotional spectrum of Nashville Champion’s Week. The ending of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season did not sit well with the driver of the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske. Although he was perhaps the fastest …

Ryan Blaney is enjoying the other side of the emotional spectrum of Nashville Champion’s Week.

The ending of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season did not sit well with the driver of the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske. Although he was perhaps the fastest car in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, Blaney finished second, playing wingman to Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, who was chasing the championship. Blaney might have still been lamenting what could have been as he watched Logano be the toast of the town in Nashville during the annual season-ending awards banquet.

Thursday night, the celebratory week ended with Blaney being in the spotlight as the newly crowned champion. As the cliché goes, what a difference a year makes.

“It makes up for it, I guess,” Blaney said with a chuckle.

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Blaney again finished second at Phoenix Raceway earlier this month but was much more content to do so in clinching his first championship. Behind race winner Ross Chastain, it was Blaney leading fellow title contenders Kyle Larson and William Byron across the finish line.

“It ate at me pretty good last year of where we ended the year, and it was no one’s fault besides mine,” Blaney said. “That stung, and it ate at us a lot, me especially, and you try just to get better and be in this position the following year. I think what we learned in ’22, kind of that hunger, and how ’22 ended for us really fueled us for this year. Jonathan [Hassler, crew chief] and I worked really hard on it, so it’s nice when those things come full circle.

“It’s nice that we accomplished it the following year after we thought we had a pretty good shot at it the previous year. You give one away, and then it’s nice and rewarding when you work your way back and accomplish it. I was proud of the whole effort by everybody. It’s not just me. It’s everybody.”

This time it’s Blaney’s turn to lead the Team Penske parade at Champion’s Week. John Harrelson/Motorsport Images

Blaney became a Cup Series champion in his eighth full season at 29 years old. And he made it back-to-back championships for Penske and a third Ford championship in the last six seasons.

In Nashville, Blaney has done all the obligatory activities, from interviews to hitting photo stops, interacting with fans, and a car parade down Broadway. Blaney took to the highly popular and energetic street behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang. It culminates with Blaney taking the stage to deliver his champion’s speech Thursday night.

“The week immediately after was pretty fast-paced,” Blaney said of his title reign so far. “The week of Thanksgiving was kind of nice being home and not doing much. I think it kind of sank in and then you’re with your family for Thanksgiving, so it’s kind of nice to relive it, and then you come here and it’s brought back up again. You get to see all of your guys in one setting. The parade yesterday was fun. All of my guys had a blast on Broadway. You get reminded of it, so it’s been fun.

“I’ve been trying to take it all in and trying to slow everything down. That’s what I keep telling people. Even at Phoenix, I was like, ‘We need to slow this stuff down and try to enjoy it and remember it and embrace it.’ We’ll keep trying to do that, but it’s been a blast, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the offseason and what’s to come.”

In the immediate future, Blaney’s plans include a return to Phoenix Raceway next week to participate in a two-day test (Dec. 5 and 6) for NASCAR on the short-track package.

Ryan Blaney’s 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season in review

Ryan Blaney finally broke through for a successful year in the NASCAR Cup Series. Here, you can check out Blaney’s 2023 season in review!

[autotag]Ryan Blaney[/autotag] couldn’t have imagined a better conclusion to the 2023 NASCAR season. Blaney ended the year with three wins, eight top-5 finishes, and 18 top-10 finishes. However, the driver of the No. 12 car claimed the most important honor of the season. Blaney won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway.

It was an incredible playoff run for Blaney as he won at Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway. While he finished in second place at Phoenix, it was enough to win the championship. Blaney ended the campaign with three straight top-2 finishes, 562 laps led (seventh-best), and a 14.1 average finishing position (seventh-best). But, it didn’t come without major ups and downs.

Blaney won the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 and proceeded to enter a low period of racing. The Team Penske driver went 16 races without another top-5 finish, which was the difference between the Coca-Cola 600 in May and Talladega in October. Yet, Blaney and the No. 12 team peaked at the right time and earned Team Penske its second straight Cup Series title.

There will be plenty of debates on whether Blaney was a worthy champion in 2023. Other competitors certainly had better statistics but the 29-year-old driver was the most dominant when it mattered the most. Blaney’s career year was certainly worthy of a championship and if he can figure out a way to replicate this late-season success, another one will be on the way.

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Ryan Blaney’s title shows the promise of NASCAR’s playoff format

Ryan Blaney’s first career Cup Series championship shows the promise of NASCAR’s current playoff format. Check out why it is a good system!

If the 2023 NASCAR season featured a full-season format, [autotag]Ryan Blaney[/autotag] would have undoubtedly been out of the championship picture by the final race. Instead, Blaney finished in second place at Phoenix Raceway and claimed his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship. It was an incredible run as the Team Penske driver had three straight top-2 finishes.

Blaney’s first Cup Series title shows the promise of NASCAR’s playoff format, which was introduced in 2014. Some people may not like the comparison of NASCAR to stick-and-ball sports; however, this was very reminiscent of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ run to the World Series in 2023. Two underdog stories that showed little reason to suggest a championship berth during the season.

This is why the playoff format is good. To win a NASCAR championship, a driver needs to show up when the races matter the most. Sure, the previous formats of cruising over the course of 10 to 30 races might be the norm for core NASCAR fans but this format rewards success too. Why should a driver deserve a championship if they can’t show up when it matters?

Blaney survived through pressure-filled situations en route to his championship. It may not be a popular opinion but that might be more impressive than a 36-race points system. Gone are the days of a full-season format as NASCAR has evolved into a modern-era American sport. Despite whatever people say, this is a good thing.

Every other sport has a playoff system that rewards teams for showing up. NASCAR shouldn’t be any different as it provides both entertainment and worthy champions. NASCAR president Steve Phelps said it the best at the annual “State of the Sport” address at Phoenix Raceway in November 2023.

“It’s an incredible, incredible playoff system that rewards the best drivers in our sport,” Phelps said.

Many may not agree as the one-race shootout is not their cup of tea. However, Blaney is a major example of why NASCAR’s playoff system is a positive for the sport. The driver of the No. 12 car was better than anyone to close out the season. NASCAR’s playoff system is not perfect but Blaney’s title shows why the foundation provides great promise to everyone involved.

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Q&A: Ryan Blaney on his first NASCAR title and IndyCar teammate Josef Newgarden getting a tattoo of his face

For The Win chatted with 2023 NASCAR champ Ryan Blaney about his title victory, the celebrations and a tattoo deal among friends.

Ryan Blaney didn’t need to win NASCAR’s season finale on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway to win his first Cup Series championship. And he didn’t. He just needed to finish before his other three title contenders, which he did, becoming a first-time NASCAR champ and delivering back-to-back titles to Team Penske.

From a family of racers, the 29 year old drove his No. 12 Team Penske Ford to a second-place finish at the one-mile desert track, coming up short behind race winner Ross Chastain.

But Blaney went home with the championship trophy and his first title in his eight full-time Cup seasons. He finished the season with three wins, including two checkered flags in the playoffs that helped propel him to the Championship 4 contenders.

For The Win spoke with Blaney on Wednesday about his emotional championship moment, the celebrations and the possibility of Josef Newgarden, his Team Penske teammate on the IndyCar side, getting a tattoo of the champ’s face.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Ryan Blaney takes parting shot at Kyle Petty following Cup Series championship

Ryan Blaney takes a parting shot at Kyle Petty following his NASCAR Cup Series championship. Find out what Blaney had to say about Petty!

In March 2023, former NASCAR driver [autotag]Kyle Petty[/autotag] talked about [autotag]Ryan Blaney[/autotag] not living up to his potential. Petty said everyone talks about what Blaney can do but that he never does anything. Well, the Team Penske driver put that narrative to bed at Phoenix Raceway when he finished in second place to clinch his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Blaney allowed Team Penske to secure back-to-back Cup Series titles. The driver of the No. 12 car jumped on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and talked about what it meant to win a championship while taking a final parting shot at Petty for his comments earlier in the year.

“I grew up admiring the Jimmie’s, Tony’s, and Jeff Gordon’s of the sport,” Blaney said. “All those guys are champions. As a kid, you just want to be like those guys. It was super cool to finally see it come full circle.” It takes a lot to be good in this sport. I know Kyle Petty says that I never do anything. But, hopefully, we proved him wrong tonight. I’ve been bottling that up for a while.”

That final line was concluded with laughter by Blaney but he did what any driver strives to do for those who doubt them. In this instance, the 29-year-old driver used Petty’s comments as fuel. At the end of the day, it was Blaney who got the final laugh as he finally broke through. Now, he can call himself a Cup Series champion and no one can doubt him.

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Blaney takes his place among Penske’s elite

Ryan Blaney is no longer the other Team Penske driver. In his eighth full season as a NASCAR Cup series driver, Blaney is now a champion. It wasn’t so much about how much time had already come and gone in Blaney’s career, but the organization he …

Ryan Blaney is no longer the other Team Penske driver.

In his eighth full season as a NASCAR Cup series driver, Blaney is now a champion. It wasn’t so much about how much time had already come and gone in Blaney’s career, but the organization he drives for and the teammates he’s stacked up against.

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Blaney was always the third guy in the Penske lineup behind Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Keselowski was a champion, Logano has two championships. Both drivers are consistent winners in the Cup series, averaging two or three wins a season, with multiple appearances in the Championship 4.

It hasn’t been the same for Blaney. Although the weight may  have shifted to Austin Cindric, who replaced Brad Keselowski last season, it wasn’t until 2021 that Blaney won multiple races in a season, and it wasn’t until this year that he finally advanced out of the Round of 8 (in his fifth attempt) in the postseason.

“I think when you go back and he came on board, he came up running in Xfinity for some races, won championships and he was the third driver,” Roger Penske said. “When you look at Brad and you look at Joey, they were very complimentary to him and supported him, and I think the fact Brad came up here on the podium…

“They’re all champions. We try to run our business very flat. You might be No. 3 coming through the door, but on race day or in the business, we’re all the same. I think that’s where he is today. Joey has taken over when Brad moved on as the senior guy. I think you’ve seen that. We’re working with Harrison [Burton] and working with Cindric. I think this is all part of it.

“But I don’t want to have a one-two-three-four (pecking order), quite honestly. I want to have all ones, and I think he’s one of those.”

There is a meme often used on social media that mirrors Blaney’s Cup Series career until the 2023 postseason. It uses an illustration from the webcomic White Ninja, which is holding a long stick to poke at whatever has been photoshopped into the picture with the phrase, “C’mon, do something.”

Blaney was that meme. For years many have been waiting for him to do something championship-worthy and to the caliber of a Penske driver. Blaney fans have waited for him to bust out and start contending for wins on a weekly basis and then translate that into regular trips to victory lane.

Blaney, for a long time was in the shadow of champion teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. Motorsport Images

There has always been hype around Blaney and his potential, but the numbers haven’t always reflected the noise. In his first five full seasons (three of which were in-house at Team Penske), he won a single race each season. He didn’t finish higher than seventh in the championship standings.

Not only does Blaney no longer have to face questions about trying to advance out of the Round of 8, but he’s already taken care of claiming a championship. Some of Blaney’s peers have made the final round time and time again and come away empty-handed.

“Yeah, (it’s) out of the way,” he said with a smile. “No, it’s nice to make our first final four; obviously that was the main goal this year, something we haven’t done. To achieve that last week, it’s like, all right, great, that’s awesome, check that one off. It’s just a double whammy that we get to come here and win the championship, as well.

“[I’m] super-proud of everybody. It all happened, gosh, was it Chase [Elliott] and Kyle [Larson] doing the same thing – their first Champ 4, they won the championship? I think they did. It’s nice to come here and be one for one. Hopefully, we can continue to build off this and be able to have more shots here at Phoenix where we can contend as well.”

It won’t be remembered as a dream season for Blaney, but it had a dream ending. He and the No. 12 team peaked at the right time after getting into the semifinals of the playoffs. The last two weeks of the season were all about Blaney, and he performed like a champion at Martinsville Speedway with a clutch win – coming from 13th – and driving with passion and determination at Phoenix Raceway.

Blaney executed behind the wheel. He closed the deal. Over the years, there have been races and opportunities that got away. It was easy to criticize him for appearing to be too nice, or to argue that he simply didn’t get the job done when the wheel was in his hands.

None of that can be said now. And as a Cup Series champion, no more can Blaney be overlooked on track or at Team Penske.

“I don’t really think it matters to me very much,” Blaney said of his place. “(Roger) has always done an amazing job of there’s not like a No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 driver, right? But personally, as a driver, when you’re not winning as many races as Brad and Joey when I came into it, you feel like that. The No. 3 driver or No. 2 driver now. That’s just like a personal mindset that drivers get.

“Now I think Joey has two, I have one. So, it’s like, still a half a percent down of him. No, we have a great group over there. Joey has been fantastic to work with and Austin is awesome. Harrison is fantastic, as well.

“I just enjoy driving for amazing people like Team Penske folks and Mr. Penske, Walter [Czarnecki], Bud Denker, Jonathan Gibson, Tim Cindric, Mike Nelson. They’re all amazing to me. It’s just fun to be there. I really couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else. They’ve been fantastic with me for over 10 years and hopefully, I get to spend another at least 10 more over there.”

‘I know he’s mad and I don’t care’ – Chastain on Blaney battle

Ross Chastain was aware of the NASCAR championship fight but didn’t care to concede a race win. Ryan Blaney didn’t care for how Chastain was driving because he was trying to ride and hide for his championship rivals. The difference in philosophies …

Ross Chastain was aware of the NASCAR championship fight but didn’t care to concede a race win. Ryan Blaney didn’t care for how Chastain was driving because he was trying to ride and hide for his championship rivals.

The difference in philosophies led to a few tense moments past the lap 250 mark on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway as the two battled and traded the lead. Chastain drove hard and clean but used the air to his advantage. Blaney expressed his growing frustration with Chastain over his radio, and at one point drove deep into Turns 1 and 2 and ran into the back of the Trackhouse Racing driver.

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“I was not going to crash him,” Chastain said. “I was not going to use my front bumper, side fenders, anything. Dirty air? Different story. Yeah, I’m going to. I’m going to keep the lead because that’s everything.

“Before the second to last run, I thought we had him covered. Coming to the end of Stage 2, the 17 (Chris Buescher) drove by me, made some adjustments, (and) got too loose. We were too tight, too loose, too tight again when Blaney and the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) right there when the last caution came out. I asked Phil [Surgen] and our group to please let me turn better, make the car turn better without giving up any rear grip.

“I know he’s mad and I don’t care. I do not care. I did not care then; I do not care now. I’m here to race him. I’m not going to wreck him. I gave him the bottom most times. One time I was inside of him after he got by me, I crossed back over into (Turn) 3 and I made sure to wrap the bottom. I’m not going to slide up and pinch him at all. It’s in my mind the entire time, for sure.”

Chastain led a race-high 157 laps. He took the lead for the final time with 29 laps to go, two laps after the race restarted for the final time. Blaney finished second in the race and won the championship. Down the stretch, Chastain went unchallenged as Blaney worked his way past fellow title contenders Kyle Larson and William Byron.

But Blaney had already made it clear how he felt about Chastain. Over the radio, Blaney called him a “piece of (expletive)” and “air blocking mother (expletive).” And according to Chastain, there might have been a middle finger used, too.

“There’s no secret that I can snap on the radio,” Blaney said. “That’s been my whole life. That’s been my whole career. It’s just kind of something I do. The fact that Ross said I raced him hard, the dude blocked three lanes in the corner of every lap. I don’t know how I’m racing him hard.

“When you look in the mirror going left, right, left, following wherever I go, I don’t understand how he thinks I’m racing him hard. He’s backing me up to (Larson). I have to go. He’s backing me up to Larson to where I’m going to be in trouble.”

There was no denial from Blaney that he ran into the back of Chastain on purpose.

“(Expletive) right I hit him on purpose,” Blaney said. “He blocked me on purpose 10 times. So, yeah, I hit him on purpose. What do you expect me to do? He’s backing me up to the other championship guy and I got to go.

“We were just racing hard. But do I think he was over-excessive on the blocks? Yes, very much so. Did I hit him? Yes, I did. That’s just part of it.”

Chastain became the first non-championship contender to win the finale in the elimination era (2014 to present). In doing so, Chastain bucked the trend and perception that the championship contenders are given more space and guaranteed positions.

“I’m proud that we won,” Chastain said. “I watched practice back [on] Saturday morning. I heard Dale Earnhardt Jr. say, ‘Ross will be one, get up and race these guys.’ I paused it and I’m like, ‘Would I do that? I don’t know. That seems kind of aggressive.’ I clicked it. I didn’t really have an answer for myself. I asked myself, would I race them? I was like, I’ll race ’em. He’s like, ‘He’s going to race ’em aggressive, he’s going to do it. If there is anybody that will do it, he’ll do it.’ Whatever he said.

“Then I got out there and I was like, I’m doing it, I am racing them. The difference was I’m not going to use my front bumper, front fenders, side. I’m not going to pinch them up into the wall. I didn’t mean to fence Larson at Darlington, but I did it. I was not going to do that. I was not going to drive into the corner.

“When he cleared me down into (Turn) 1, I’m not going to try to make it anything other than cross him over and do it clean, have leverage into (Turn) 3, wrap the bottom. It worked. I was like, holy cow. He passed me, he’s faster, but I got right back by him. I don’t think he led the lap.

“In my mind the whole time, proud of the precision driving we all did. The only contact was him just in a moment of anger throttling up in (Turns) 1 and 2 and drive square up into my back bumper. Other than that, no contact. That’s what I’m here to do.”

Ryan Blaney talks about winning the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series title

Ryan Blaney talks about winning his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in 2023.

[autotag]Ryan Blaney[/autotag] didn’t have a great regular season but none of that mattered when it was time for the NASCAR playoffs. Blaney and the No. 12 team were the best combination throughout the 10-race stretch with two wins and a NASCAR Cup Series championship. The Team Penske driver finished in second place during the final race but that’s all he needed for the title.

Now, Blaney can call himself a champion at the highest level of NASCAR. Following the race, Blaney talked about winning his first Cup Series title as it represented an emotional moment. Team Penske has now won back-to-back titles.

“Just so proud of this team,” Blaney said. “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.”

“Appreciate Menards/Dutch Boy, Ford, Wurth, Advance Auto Parts, BODYARMOR, Dex Imaging, Wabash, everybody that makes this possible. John Menard is here, so cool to get him a championship. Can’t wait to celebrate with my guys.”

Some may question whether Blaney is a deserving champion but he absolutely remains worthy of such an accomplishment. Blaney may not be the best statistical champion ever; however, his performances over the last month of the 2023 season were very impressive. Impressive enough to where it paid off with a Cup Series championship.

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Blaney powers to first Cup Series title, Chastain wins at Phoenix

For the first time in 10 years of the elimination Playoff format, the NASCAR Cup Series champion failed to win the title race-not that it mattered one bit to 2023 champion Ryan Blaney. When he took the checkered flag in second place in the NASCAR …

For the first time in 10 years of the elimination Playoff format, the NASCAR Cup Series champion failed to win the title race—not that it mattered one bit to 2023 champion Ryan Blaney.

When he took the checkered flag in second place in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race, the driver of the No. 12 Ford gave Team Penske its second straight title in NASCAR’s premier series and gave Ford a sweep of Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

Oh, and as Blaney was pulling away from Kyle Larson and William Byron over a 31-lap green-flag run to the finish to claim his first Cup championship on Sunday, Ross Chastain secured his second victory of the season.

In a fierce battle for the title against 2021 champion Kyle Larson, Blaney edged ahead of the Hendrick Motorsports driver on lap 292 and secured second place behind Chastain, who grabbed the top spot from Denny Hamlin after a restart on lap 282.

 

Chastain crossed the finish line 1.230s ahead of Blaney, whose elation wasn’t dulled one iota by the runner-up result—given the bigger prize he won by finishing second.

“Unbelievable year, unbelievable Playoffs for us,” said Blaney, who won last week at Martinsville to advance to the Championship 4 with Larson, Byron and Christopher Bell. “To win back-to-back Cup titles for (team owner Roger) 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.

“You never want to count yourself out. I mean, I think in the summer we were struggling a little bit, but we never gave up. We just went to work. I’ve said that all week, like, this group goes to work, and they figure out problems. That’s why they’re such an amazing group to be with, with the Team Penske folks, ’cause they just put their head down and do the work, accept the challenge.”

Bell fell out of the race on lap 108, but Blaney, Larson and Byron came home second, third and fourth. Blaney’s margin over Larson at the finish was 2.243s. Though Larson beat Blaney off pit road during the final caution for Kyle Busch’s spin in Turn 3 on lap 275, Larson couldn’t hold off Blaney’s superior car.

“Yeah, his car was really fast,” Larson acknowledged. “Really the last few months. Yeah, especially here today. Our pit crew and pit road really kept us in the game. We weren’t the greatest on the track, but I was just hoping for pit stops ’cause I knew the way our team executed… the way our pit crew can execute a fast pit stop, I knew that was going to be our only shot really to win.

“They did everything in their power to give us the winning job done there. Huge thank you to them. I needed to come out the leader on that restart. Ross got a really good start from the second row. Was hoping I could get clear of Denny and get the lead, have Ross kind of protect for me behind me.

“I’m not sure if it would have made a difference.”

Byron took off from the pole position and won the first 60-lap stage wire-to-wire but not without a challenge from third-place starter Kevin Harvick and a charge from Chastain, who was eighth on the grid to start the race.

Over the final three laps of the stage, Byron used the high line through the corners to hold off Harvick, who finished second. Chastain was third after 60 laps, 0.584s behind the stage winner at the green/checkered flag.

First off pit road from stall one, Byron opened a lead of more than a second after the break. Larson, Blaney and Bell all improved their positions on pit road and soon were running fourth, fifth and sixth with Byron in the lead and Harvick and Chastain in front of them.

On lap 86, Bell made a deft pass of Blaney for fifth. Lap 93 brought a dramatic change at the front of the field, as Harvick surged to the outside of Byron in Turns 1 and 2 and cleared him down the backstretch. Byron dropped another spot to Chastain and traded third with Blaney, who secured the position on lap 107.

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“Once the track rubbered in, we got really tight,” Byron said. “Especially when we lost the lead on track, we just had a big balance shift and got tight back in second through fifth, just couldn’t gain a lot of speed through [Turns] 1 and 2, just kind of having to really over-slow the car, get it to the bottom.

“That’s all we had there.”

On lap 108, Bell’s race fell apart. Complaining of brake issues, he crashed hard into the outside wall in Turn 3 when his right front rotor exploded and was eliminated from the race in 36th place, leaving Blaney, Byron and Larson to battle for the championship.

“Well, I mean that was my first time I’ve ever exploded a rotor in my career,” Bell said after a mandatory trip to the infield care center. “So, yeah, I was surprised, but early on in the race I had a little bit of brake fade, and the second run it just kept getting worse and worse. I don’t know. Just obviously a disappointing way to end.

“It stings to not have a shot at the end of it, obviously. We were all four really close, and we all four showed strengths at different times.”

Bell’s accident caused the second caution and provided a welcome opportunity for pit stops and adjustments. After the subsequent restart on lap 117, Chastain passed Harvick for the lead and stayed out front for 54 consecutive laps until Buescher passed him for the top spot on lap 171.

Buescher pulled away to win the second stage, which ended on lap 185. Byron finished fourth and held the edge in the championship battle over Blaney in sixth and Larson in seventh.

As the laps counted down, however, the race came to Blaney.

Chastain led a race-high 157 laps to 95 for Byron. Harvick finished seventh after leading 23 laps in his final season as a full-time driver NASCAR Cup Series driver.

“We built a team here at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Harvick said. “We built so many things from the bottom up. I think the hard work is something that people recognize. As you guys have seen through the week, I’m a pretty emotional person. I’ve just done a really good job of hiding that.”

For his part, Chastain enjoyed competing against Harvick in his final race almost as much as he enjoyed winning.

“Racing him early in the race was bucket list, little kid in me,” said Chastain who won for the first time at Phoenix and the fourth time in his career. “Racing that 2005 (NASCAR) game, I drove as the No. 29 GM Goodwrench car (Harvick’s first Cup car with Richard Childress Racing). Now I’m driving a Chevy for GM to Victory Lane, a Camaro.

“I am beside myself that we were able to do that. That last caution we were really tight. It saved us. (Crew chief) Phil Surgen and this group at Trackhouse, all of our GM support staff, sim staff, everybody came up with a way to make this thing turn, and we drove off into the sunset.”

RESULTS

Ryan Blaney wins the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix

Ryan Blaney has won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway! This is Blaney’s first career Cup Series title.

The 2023 NASCAR season has come to a conclusion and there is a new Cup Series champion. Team Penske driver [autotag]Ryan Blaney[/autotag] passed Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson with 20 laps to go and pulled away for the remainder of the event. Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain won the race as a non-Championship 4 driver wins the final race for the first time.

Team Penske has now won two straight Cup Series titles with Joey Logano winning it during the 2022 NASCAR season. The driver of the No. 12 car now joins a prestigious list of Team Penske champions after peaking at the right time of the year. Blaney finished the season with three victories but didn’t need to win at Phoenix Raceway to clinch a title.

As for the other Championship 4 competitors, Larson finished in 3rd place, William Byron ended in 4th place, and Christopher Bell crashed out with a blown brake rotor for a 36th-place finish. Ford has swept the 2022 NASCAR season with Ben Rhodes winning the Truck Series championship while Cole Custer clinched the Xfinity Series title during the weekend.

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