Cup

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The final race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season was held at Phoenix Raceway for the fifth straight year last Sunday. Ryan Blaney was looking to retain the championship, but had to deal with his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, William Byron, and Championship 4 debutant Tyler Reddick. The finale was also noteworthy for being pole sitter and 2017 Cup Series champion Martin Truex, Jr.’s swan song as a full-time competitor, and the final race for Stewart-Haas Racing before they closed doors after the 312-lapRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ford Performance drivers have certainly hit its stride when it comes to NASCAR’s Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway with Joey Logano and Ty Majeski winning titles in the sport’s national touring divisions. Entering last week’s finale, Ford had a hot streak of four straight championships dating back to Logano’s second Cup title in 2022 that was extended to five when Majeski won the Craftsman Truck Series title. However, a shot at six consecutive touring titles came up short in the Xfinity Series when Cole Custer lostRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. — A full-time career that began in 2006 has come to a close for Martin Truex, Jr. after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The 2017 Cup champion began the weekend by scoring his 25th career pole and led the opening nine laps. However, he only got to lead one green flag lap in that window as a crash involving Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs slowed down the race. Once the race resumed, an old foe from the 2018 title battleRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor  AVONDALE, Ariz. — The crapshoot that has become those four and five-wide restarts at Phoenix Raceway can make the difference between winning a championship and suffering through an offseason of what-if, especially when the margin of defeat is three-tenths of a second.  That’s what separated Ryan Blaney from his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano when the checkered flag flew on the NASCAR Cup Series season Sunday. Logano celebrated his third Cup Series championship and Blaney, the defending champion, exited his car exhausted after a franticRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – The NASCAR Cup Series field learned an important lesson on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway: Never give Joey Logano a second chance. He’ll make you pay. And make them pay, he did. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was down and out after the conclusion of the Round of 12 in the Playoffs a month ago, but a fellow competitor’s disqualification gave him new life and he made it count. Logano went out and won in the opening race of theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. — 35 races down, one to go. Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track at Phoenix Raceway for the 2024 season finale, bringing this season to a close and crowning a champion. Heading into this year’s championship race, it will be a battle between two former champions in the Team Penske duo of Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, along with William Byron and Tyler Reddick each seeking their first Bill France Cup. By the Numbers What: NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Race No.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano is in take no prisoners mode as he gears up to battle for a third title on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford posted the best time of the Championship 4 drivers in qualifying, just missing out on the pole, but securing a front row start with a lap of 26.728 seconds, 134.690 mph. “I feel like our car is strong. I think we did a good job inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – The storybook ending is starting to be written. Martin Truex, Jr. will lead the field to green on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway after scoring the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series championship race, as he looks to ride off into the sunset in the best fashion in his final start as a full-time Cup Series driver. With his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota dressed in a paint scheme resembling the same one he drove in his first career start in 2004, TruexRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor AVONDALE, Ariz. – 23XI Racing enters the NASCAR Cup Series season finale with a shot at the championship with Tyler Reddick and the No. 45 Toyota, but beyond this weekend in Phoenix, the future of the organization is very much in flux. With 23XI and NASCAR currently embroiled in an anti-trust lawsuit stemming from the contentious charter negotiations between the two parties, Hamlin has had to juggle both the on-track of fighting for a championship with Reddick – a first for both driver and team –Read More