NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season concluded with Ryan Blaney becoming the 36th different NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Blaney wheeled his No. 12 Team Penske Ford to a runner-up result in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, topping Championship 4 rivals William Byron, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.
• Blaney’s first Cup Series title gave Team Penske owner Roger Penske his second consecutive championship in the Cup Series. Joey Logano won the championship last year.
It was Penske’s third title in NASCAR’s premier division and the team’s 44th across all forms of motorsports.
• In Kevin Harvick’s 826th and final race, the driver of the No. 4 Ford placed seventh.
It was Harvick’s 21st consecutive top-10 finish at Phoenix Raceway, a streak that dates back to March of 2013.
While it was a bittersweet ending to his 23-year career, the 47-year-old is at peace with this chapter closing.
“It’s been an emotional roller coaster, for sure,” Harvick said after the race. “I think as you look at this last week, this really means a lot to me just because I love driving the race car, I love being around the people more. I love our sport. It’s given our family so much through the years to be thankful for and proud of.
“I can’t wait to be able to walk in that tunnel with my head up and look around, just look at all the really cool things that are NASCAR racing in every venue that we go to with great fans and people all over the place,” Harvick continued. “I think for me, you walk into that tunnel laser focused on how you make your car go faster and communicate with your team the best you can. Sometimes you don’t see everything around you.
“I opened this chapter unexpectedly in 2001, and closed it in 2023 how we wanted to. That was to be competitive. The thing that means the most is having the respect of the drivers and competitors and the crew chiefs, my team, organization, all the past people that I worked for or worked with.
After exiting his chariot on pit lane, Harvick enjoyed a cold beer with his crew following their final race together.
• William Byron’s first Championship 4 appearance started from the pole, but after a hard-fought battle with Blaney and Larson throughout the afternoon, Byron finished fourth.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver led the way in Stage One, then ran fourth in Stage Two as the highest running title contender. Byron led 95 laps on the day, the most of any title contender.
• Byron’s teammate Larson finished third in the race, giving the HMS driver his second top-two title result in the last three seasons.
• The only Championship 4 driver not taking the checkered flag at the one-mile oval was Bell, who had a brake rotor explode on lap 108.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver made the final round last season as well, with both runs coming up empty.
• As a champion was crowned, Ross Chastain spoiled party with his second win of the season in a dominant effort, leading 152 of the 312 laps aboard the Trackhouse Racing No. 1 Chevrolet.
Despite a trying year where Chastain was eliminated from the Round of 8, his season-ending win may help his team carry momentum into next season when he will have added sponsorship from Busch Beer, which comes over from Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing entry.
He’ll have added sponsorship from Busch Beer, who comes over from Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing entry.
• Chris Buescher ended his career year strong for RFK Racing with a fifth-place effort in a race that saw him lead 18 laps.
After winning three races in the span of five weeks before the Cup Series Playoffs began, Buescher made his presence felt before getting eliminated in the Round of 8.
“I’m super proud of everybody on this team. What a fantastic year,” Buescher said. “I would have loved to been in that Championship 4 because I think we would have had a real shot at this thing today. It’s a huge accomplishment for this season and I can’t wait until next year.”
• Aric Almirola turned his final laps as a full-time Cup Series driver on Sunday, finishing 13th aboard the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.
Almirola’s future is still up in the air with nothing set in stone for next year after he announced he was stepping away from full-time competition last weekend.
“I’m going to really miss that part right there. Going to battle with my guys. Just competing – competing at the top level with this 10 team,” Almirola said. “That’s the coolest thing about my job. I get to do what I love to do with people I love. It’s enjoyable to do this with the people that you love.
“I will certainly miss competing at the top level and competing with them and stepping into that race car and feeling like a gladiator going to battle in front of a packed out race track. I’m so grateful and so thankful. God has blessed me in ways I never imagined possible.”