[autotag]Ryan Blaney[/autotag] did it again. On Sunday afternoon, Blaney powered by Chase Elliott in a must-win situation and won his way into the Championship 4 at Martinsville Speedway. The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion will join teammate Joey Logano, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick at Phoenix; however, why will the driver of the No. 12 car win the championship?
Blaney is arguably the “King of Flat Tracks” when it comes to the NASCAR playoffs and showed incredible speed in last year’s season finale at Phoenix. The Team Penske driver should be the favorite to repeat as the Cup Series champion, but Logano could play a role. The NASCAR organization has been lights out with the NextGen car at Phoenix in the championship event.
Yet, the driver of the No. 12 car is rated as the best Phoenix driver among the four remaining Championship 4 competitors. In the NextGen car era, Blaney has led the most laps (254), earned the best average-finishing position (3.0), and by far the most points (216). In terms of average finishing position, Byron ranks fourth (9.4), Reddick ranks sixth (12.6), and Logano ranks 10th (14.4).
Blaney has also never finished outside of the top 5 spots at Phoenix in the NextGen car era, which spans five races. There will be a lot of talk about who should be the favorite among Team Penske, Byron, and Reddick; however, the answer is clear. Blaney is undoubtedly the favorite and should be very strong once again at Phoenix on Sunday.
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