Ross Chastain Wins Race, Ryan Blaney Takes Title at Phoenix

Photo Credit to Christian Petersen/Getty Images

NASCAR

Ross Chastain Back in Victory Lane, Ryan Blaney Brings Penske Back-to-Back Cup Titles

AVONDALE, Ariz. – For the first time in their storied history, Team Penske earns two-straight NASCAR Cup Series championships. After finishing second last year at Phoenix, runner-up was good enough this time for Ryan Blaney to take the Bill France Cup. The 29-year-old High Point, North Carolina native is the latest Cup Series champion, getting the upper hand on Kyle Larson late. The youngest Cup Series Championship 4 goes to the Ford Mustang.

From the pole, William Byron led every lap of Stage 1. Stage 2 would see a few different leaders, including the retiring Kevin Harvick, Ross Chastain, and ultimate Stage winner Chris Buescher.

Stage 2 did see the first major championship implication midway through its run though. While running among his competitors, Christopher Bell lost his brakes and pounded the wall in turn three. This sent the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to an early DNF and eliminated the first title contender of the afternoon.

Ross Chastain was a thorn in the Championship 4’s side all race long, with the 1 starting Stage 3 on point and never looking back. For the first time in 10 years, a non-title contender went to victory lane in the season finale, with Ross Chastain never relenting. The 1 led a race-high 157 laps, eventually taking the checkers by more than a second.

As far as the title combatants were concerned, Ryan Blaney was the class of the field in the final Stage. Even with Kyle Larson having top position on the last restart, Blaney eventually got by the 5. The 12 eventually drove off from the 5, and into the NASCAR record books as the 37th Cup Series Champion. Blaney brings ‘The Captain’ Roger Penske his fourth Cup title and second in two years.

“Just time to go to work,” Blaney said about the restart with 31 laps left. “I mean, did a good job of getting to where we needed to be. Those guys had two good pit stops. Just need to go to work. Hoping our car was good enough, which it was.

“Just so proud of this team. 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.”

Behind Chastain and Blaney at the checkered flag, the top-five was rounded out by Larson, Byron, and Chris Buescher.

In his final NASCAR start, Kevin Harvick led laps and finished seventh. Hear his emotional post-race comments below. Also retiring from Stewart-Haas Racing is Aric Almirola, who finished 13th.

Introducing a new body style for the Ford Mustang in 2024, it will be very intriguing to see if Team Penske can remain at such a top tier. The countdown is already on for Daytona Speedweeks and the 2024 racing season. Be sure to stay tuned over the coming weeks for continued 2023 NASCAR analysis and the latest news for stock car racing.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Christian Petersen/Getty Images