We have finally arrived back in Phoenix, which means it’s Championship weekend. It’s been a long, interesting season with tons of headlines, but now it’s time to put our money where our mouths are and pick a champion. Here is everything you need to know heading into Sunday’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix.
2024 NASCAR Championship When & Where
This is probably going to be the shortest paragraph of this whole piece but it can’t be everything you need to know if I don’t include this information. Especially considering the way broadcasts usually move around. The Championship Race will be broadcast live on your local NBC channel on Sunday, November 10th, 2024. The green flag is scheduled to fly around 3:00 PM EST as of right now.
Championship Race History
The NASCAR playoffs were brought into existence back in 2004. However, it was called “The Chase for the Nextel/Sprint Cup. The format you know today being a ten-race shootout of sorts amongst 16 final drivers wasn’t around until ironically enough ten years ago (2014). I’ll end this brief history spot with this fact. In the last ten seasons, only one time has the winner of the finale race not won the championship. That came last year with Ross Chastain. Is it possible it could happen once again? Well, we saw it happen last year so I think you have your answer. Now, let’s talk about the guys who will be competing for the 2024 NASCAR Championship.
Team Penske
Joey Logano didn’t even lock himself into the playoffs until Nashville. Then went on to only grab one more top-ten finish before the first race of the playoffs. Now he won at Atlanta, to lock into the round of 12 but after a post-race penalty was handed to the #48 team and driver following The Roval. Joey was granted another chance and didn’t take it lightly winning the next week in Las Vegas. I feel like this is normal for him though in the playoffs. He comes out of nowhere and snags a championship. I’m not sure Joey is my favorite for this weekend but after how this year’s playoffs have gone I wouldn’t count him out.
As for Ryan Blaney, well it also took him some time to lock himself into the 2024 Playoff field. He didn’t grab his first win until the Iowa race which was only two weeks before his teammate. Ryan then won again three weeks later at Pocono. The playoffs started and it was like the bell ringing for a must-round boxing match with the champ and his team. It wasn’t pretty and he had to win. Which he did, last week just like last year to secure his spot in the championship four. Ryan is a strong, consideration for me and honestly had Kaleb not chosen him in our weekly picks piece I would’ve. It’s hard to beat momentum in this sport and Ryan has all of it right now in my opinion.
The Other Two Guys
William Byron was the very first driver out of any to lock into the playoffs with his Daytona 500 win. It was a hot start to the season going up to Martinsville where he won in front of all of the Hendrick Motorsports celebratory guests for their historic 40th year in the sport. After that though you didn’t hear much about William. He only grabbed eight top-ten finishes following that win. It’s been an up-and-down year performance-wise. While he has been pretty consistent in the playoffs finishing in the top ten for the last six races. I don’t know if he’s got what it takes this year to win the championship. Actually, I will go ahead and prepare to eat my crow if it turns out different. William Byron is not going to be the 2024 Champion this year.
Tyler Reddick, the regular season champion. After a surprising “right place right time” type of win in the Spring at Talladega. Tyler didn’t get back to victory lane again until Michigan. Now once the playoff started though, Tyler has been in one heck of a heavyweight fight from week to week. He had four consecutive weeks of finishes either in 20th or worse. However, those points he got for winning the regular season title, came back to help him get through that stretch. Only for him to still be in a must-win situation heading into Homestead like a few other playoff contenders. Only for Tyler to rip the fence in turns 3 & 4 at Homestead on the final lap, to take the lead and lock himself into the final four as well. It’s been a long season for Tyler, but again he’s another guy who I’m not confident in a ton.
On To Next Year
All four of these drivers did what they had to do, maybe minus Logano to make it here. However, I don’t know who really is the standout favorite to win this championship at this point on Friday even as I type this piece up. If one thing is for sure though, it’s that nothing is for sure. This group of drivers proves that to be true.
You’re probably wanting to know though who should you pick to win the championship right? Or maybe just curiosity has gotten the best of you. It’s simple, and I can confirm that my racing team co-worker Kaleb agrees. Ryan Blaney in our opinion is the choice. While he’s not been significantly better statistically than the other three. He’s the defending champion, and he’s riding the momentum once again of winning a must-win race to even contend for the 2024 NASCAR Championship trophy. So, with that being said until next season race fans!
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