{"id":93371,"date":"2023-11-06T13:33:34","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T21:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=93371"},"modified":"2023-11-06T13:33:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T21:33:34","slug":"chastain-wins-final-nascar-cup-race-blaney-takes-series-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/chastain-wins-final-nascar-cup-race-blaney-takes-series-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Chastain Wins Final NASCAR Cup Race, Blaney Takes Series Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 05: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Dutch Boy Ford, celebrates after winning the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, finishing first of the Championship 4 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway on November 05, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ross Chastain may have won the NASCAR Cup Series finale for 2023 at the Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, but the man of the hour was Team Penske\u2019s Ryan Blaney who captured his first career Series Championship.<\/p>\n

Blaney, who was in a four-way battle for the title with Hendrick teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron as well as Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Christopher Bell, became the first driver in the 10-year history of the elimination playoff format to win the title without taking checkers in the season finale.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t care.\u00a0 He was holding the ultimate trophy at the end of the race on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just did an amazing job all year to overcome adversity and never give up,\u201d Blaney said.\u00a0 \u201cWe had somewhat of an up-and-down year but you\u2019re going to have those moments.\u00a0 This summer, we just worked hard to get back to where we needed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s hard work paid off.\u00a0 Blaney had one of the fastest cars on Sunday and really proved just how good his team was, especially in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m super proud of the effort by everybody at Team Penske who put tons of hours into this,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cNobody ever got down.\u00a0 They just put their heads down, got to work and it showed up especially in the playoffs, most importantly the last five weeks.\u00a0 It\u2019s just so cool to see their effort pay off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finishing second in the championship race was Kyle Larson who made it off pit road first among the title contenders on the final pitstop but was unable to hold off the Penske #12.<\/p>\n

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 05: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 05, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cRyan\u2019s car was really fast, honestly for the last few months, and especially here today,\u201d Larson said.\u00a0 \u201cOur pit crew kept us in the game all race long today.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t the greatest on the track but I was just hoping for pit stops.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hendrick 5 team kept the 2021 Series champion in the hunt for his second title all day Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the way our team executed and the pit crew could pull off a fast pit stop, that was going to be our only shot to win,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThey did everything in their power to give us a shot at winning.\u00a0 I just wasn\u2019t as good as Blaney or Ross (Chastain).\u00a0 It would have been difficult to win, but my team gave me the best shot to make it happen.\u00a0 They did a great job all season and I\u2019m really proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finishing third in points was pole sitter William Byron who led 95 laps but just didn\u2019t have the car to compete with the top runners late in the going.\u00a0 He wound up fourth in the running order at the finish.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the track rubbered in, we got really tight,\u201d Byron said.\u00a0 \u201cEspecially when we lost the lead on track, we just had a big balance shift and got tight.\u00a0 Then, we just couldn\u2019t gain a lot of speed and that was all we had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with coming up short, Byron was happy with how his 2023 racing campaign went.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just proud of my team,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cThis was just a great season.\u00a0 It stinks to come up short but I\u2019d like to think we\u2019ll be back in this position and we\u2019ll have more shots at a title.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fourth of the championship four, Christopher Bell, did not get to see the end of the race as a brake failure on lap 108 sent his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota into the turn three wall and out of the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just ran out of brakes,\u201d Bell said after the accident.\u00a0 \u201cI knew something was going on as the pedal kept getting longer and longer.\u00a0 I\u2019m proud of the effort from my team to make it to the final 4, but we left a lot on the table through the regular season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he made it to the championship race, Bell believes there was more his team could have done this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still don\u2019t believe we performed up to our potential in 2023,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m excited for the future and trying to build on this and become better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 05: Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway on November 05, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The race within the race was huge, but you\u2019d never know it looking at how Ross Chastain was racing the championship 4.\u00a0 Chastain, who was knocked out in the round of 12, easily had one of top 3 cars to beat on Sunday, and proved it by leading a race-high 157 laps en route to his fourth career Cup Series win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last caution of the race, we were really tight,\u201d Chastain said.\u00a0 \u201cThat saved us.\u00a0 Phil Surgen (Chastain\u2019s Crew Chief) and this team at Trackhouse came up with a way to make this car turn. Then, we were able to drive off into the sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n

As stated, this was the first time in the history of this playoff format that someone other than the Series Champ won the final race of the season.\u00a0 Chastain took great pride in that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did something else that\u2019s never been done before,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cFor everybody on this team, the vision for Trackhouse was goals like this.\u00a0 They were lofty. It started with our first two sponsors that came on board, who believed in me, and then more came on and next year with Busch Light.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t think of anything I\u2019d want to do more than to be like Kevin Harvick.\u00a0 Racing with him early on in the race was a bucket list type thing for the kid that use to race as Kevin on the Game Cube.\u00a0 I am beside myself that I could race with him in his final event.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kevin Harvick has raced for two teams in NASCAR’s Cup Series – Richard Childress Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing – Anne Proffit photo at Auto Club Speedway in February<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Harvick, Sunday\u2019s race put a cap on a Cup Series career that spanned more than two decades and produced 60 victories, including the 2007 Daytona 500.<\/p>\n

Harvick went out on top in his final start.\u00a0 While it wasn\u2019t a win, he did capture his 21st<\/sup>\u00a0consecutive top 10 finish at Phoenix.\u00a0 To put that into perspective, the last time the 2014 Cup Champion didn\u2019t finish in the top ten in the desert, not one of the championship four drivers had made their first start.<\/p>\n

For Harvick, since he announced that 2023 would be his last behind the wheel, there has been highs and lows, but \u201cHappy\u201d handled it all with the grace you\u2019d come to expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an emotional roller coaster for sure,\u201d Harvick said.\u00a0 \u201cAs you look at this last week, this really means a lot to me.\u00a0 I love driving the race car.\u00a0 I love being around the people more.\u00a0 I love our sport.\u00a0 It\u2019s given our family so much through the years to be thankful for and proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he entered the Cup Series during a horrible time in our sport, he\u2019s leaving on his terms and he\u2019s grateful for it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI opened this chapter unexpectedly in 2001,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI closed it in 2023 how we wanted to and that was to be competitive.\u00a0 The thing that means the most is having the respect of the drivers, the teams and everyone I\u2019ve ever worked for or with.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing Harvick wants his career to be remembered by, it\u2019s just the type of driver he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s that we gave it all we had,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cEvery lap, every week and that in one way or the other, I had my hand in every aspect of the racecar.\u00a0 From the way it looks to the Sponsor and team meetings to how it ran.\u00a0 There just wasn\u2019t any piece that I didn\u2019t feel like we were apart of.\u00a0 The hard work is something I think people recognize and it\u2019s been a lot of fun to get to know so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – NASCAR Cup Series Championship<\/strong>
\nPhoenix Raceway
\nAvondale, Arizona
\nSunday, November 5, 2023<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. (8) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  2. (15) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  3. (4) Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  4. (1) William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  5. (9) Chris Buescher, Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  6. (2) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 312.<\/li>\n
  7. (3) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  8. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 312.<\/li>\n
  9. (19) Michael McDowell, Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  10. (5) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 312.<\/li>\n
  11. (16) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  12. (21) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  13. (28) Aric Almirola, Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  14. (12) Ryan Preece, Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  15. (31) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  16. (20) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  17. (23) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  18. (17) Joey Logano, Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  19. (22) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  20. (7) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  21. (11) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 312.<\/li>\n
  22. (10) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 312.<\/li>\n
  23. (24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 312.<\/li>\n
  24. (26) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 312.<\/li>\n
  25. (18) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 311.<\/li>\n
  26. (25) Harrison Burton, Ford, 311.<\/li>\n
  27. (34) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 311.<\/li>\n
  28. (33) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 310.<\/li>\n
  29. (35) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 310.<\/li>\n
  30. (14) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 309.<\/li>\n
  31. (29) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 308.<\/li>\n
  32. (32) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 308.<\/li>\n
  33. (36) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 306.<\/li>\n
  34. (30) Ryan Newman(i), Ford, 305.<\/li>\n
  35. (27) Austin Cindric, Ford, 301.<\/li>\n
  36. (13) Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, Accident, 108.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 108.827 mph.
    \nTime of Race: 2 Hrs, 52 Mins, 1 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.230 Seconds.
    \nCaution Flags: 4 for 27 laps.
    \nLead Changes: 18 among 8 drivers.<\/p>\n

    Lap Leaders: W. Byron (P) 1-92;K. Harvick 93-111;W. Byron (P) 112;K. Harvick 113-116;R. Chastain 117-170;C. Buescher 171-188;W. Byron (P) 189;R. Chastain 190-240;M. Truex Jr. 241;D. Hamlin 242-251;C. Briscoe 252-253;R. Chastain 254-257;R. Blaney (P) 258;R. Chastain 259-260;R. Blaney (P) 261;R. Chastain 262-276;W. Byron (P) 277;D. Hamlin 278-281;R. Chastain 282-312.<\/p>\n

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ross Chastain 6 times for 157 laps; William Byron (P) 4 times for 95 laps; Kevin Harvick 2 times for 23 laps; Chris Buescher 1 time for 18 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 14 laps; Ryan Blaney (P) 2 times for 2 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 2 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

    Stage #1 Top Ten: 24,4,1,23,5,17,19,43,20,12
    \nStage #2 Top Ten: 17,1,4,24,19,12,5,23,6,43<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    It was a wild finish for the NASCAR Cup Series with separate race and series winners in Phoenix.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":93373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3424,3470,5029],"tags":[9249,1528,683,127,6209,3046],"class_list":["post-93371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","category-news","category-racing","tag-2023-nascar-cup-series","tag-kevin-harvick","tag-kyle-larson","tag-nascar","tag-ross-chastain","tag-ryan-blaney"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/GettyImages-1777083348-min-scaled.webp","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-ohZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93376,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93371\/revisions\/93376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}