Phoenix International Raceway continues to deliver quality racing for sure. And like it or not, the Cup playoffs usually produce a quality winner.
This year, one could argue that NASCAR and its playoff system did Phoenix wrong.
Chuck Checks In
What is going on with NASCAR?
First of all, let’s get the Martinsville results out of the way. Ryan Blaney drove his rear off and won the race to complete his effort to try for his second title. That makes it Blaney, Joey Logano (for title number three), Tyler Reddick and William Byron as the Championship Four. That is quite the foursome, but it also begs the question, is this the right foursome to compete for the title?
Talladega Win for Stenhouse Mixes Up the Playoff Battle
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. found victory lane once again and threw the playoff battle into a tizzy. Combined with the huge wreck late in Stage 3, the Charlotte Roval will play an outsized role in determining the next round of the playoff picture.
Christopher Bell is safe but with Ross Chastain and Stenhouse each stealing a win in this Round of 12, the stakes for everyone else couldn’t be higher heading to The Roval. (more…)
Joey Logano Wins The Opening Atlanta Playoff Race
Kyle Larson entered the Atlanta race leading all drivers in wins and playoff points. He qualified P6. All he had to do was run a good race and stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, trouble found him when on lap 55, his car lost rear grip and sent him crashing hard into the wall with a smack by Chase Briscoe as his car meandered back down the banking, hidden by smoke.
That’s why playoff and stage points matter. Instead of falling below the cut line, he is in P10 and relatively safe heading to Watkins Glen. He has won 2 of the last 3 races there but was a dismal P25 last year when teammate William Byron dominated and took home the trophy.
Did NASCAR Get It Right With Austin Dillon at Richmond?
After a few days of waiting, NASCAR finally made an announcement as to what they are doing about Austin Dillon’s mad dash to the checkered flag at Richmond.
Essentially, Dillon can keep the win and the trophy, but NASCAR decided he went too far in his desire to get into the playoffs. His win will not count as an automatic berth into the playoffs and he and RCR lose 25 points.
Alex Bowman Wins In Rainy Chicago Street Race
Alex Bowman won the rain shortened Grant Park 165 street race to take his official spot in the Cup playoffs. Bowman broke an 80-race drought that included him sidelined for a spell and wondering when he would ever see Victory Lane again.
Kyle Larson Cruises to Victory at Sonoma
Avoiding errors that marred the race for several of the contenders, Kyle Larson ended up with fresher tires that his competitors and used them to surge to the front at Sonoma.
Memorial Weekend Racing Overshadowed by Stewart Haas Racing Closing Announcement
After a weekend of rainy on again, off again weather that affected both the Indy 600 and the Coca Cola 600 as well as Kyle Larson attempting the entire 1100 miles, the weekend of racing was shattered by the announcement that Stewart-Haas racing was shutting its doors at the end of the 2024 season.
WHOA you say. I did too.
Fireworks Erupt at the NASCAR All-Star Race
Kyle Larson set a speed record as a rookie at Indy and put himself onto the front two rows on the starting grid before flying back to finish 4th in the All-Star race.
Denny Delivers At Dover
The fact that Denny Hamlin has three wins on the season and yet is ranked in 4th place in driver points goes to show you just how poorly he has been performing when he isn’t winning.
Tyler Reddick Sneaks Through Chaos For Talladega Win
Talladega is always a crap shoot, even when the racing is relatively tame for most of the race. Then, for some reason, drivers who were managing the race so well lose their minds with just a few laps to go.
Chase Elliott Breaks Texas Winless Streak
Well that certainly wasn’t the finish I think we all thought we were going to get.
Kyle Larson was dominant the early going after starting on the pole and leading the first 77 laps. It sure looked like a race he was going to win going away.
Hendrick Motorsports Sweeps At Martinsville As Byron Leads The Charge
Greeting race fans, I am back in the saddle after a much-needed break.
While I was away, Denny Hamlin and William Byron both won twice putting them into the lead as far as wins even though Kyle Larson is leading the points with a win and four top five finishes. While he also had one DNF, he has four stage wins and has led a whopping 454 laps this season. Byron may have three wins, but he has done that leading only 149 laps.
Christopher Bell Gets First NASCAR Cup Win of 2024 in Phoenix
It’s always sunny in Phoenix, or at least it was for Toyota. Toyota drivers led nearly every lap of the Shriners Children’s 500 with Christopher Bell leading 50 of those laps on his way to Victory Lane.
Kyle Larson Whoops Some Butts at Las Vegas
Let’s just set aside all those terrible Las Vegas clichés and we’ll call this just what it was – an old fashioned can of whoop a$$. (more…)
William Byron Survives Wild Daytona 500 Finish
Welcome back to NASCAR 2024!
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Ryan Blaney Holds Off His Competitors And Wins NASCAR Cup Championship
Ryan Blaney didn’t need to win the race at Phoenix, he just needed to finish ahead of his three competitors to win the title. And that’s exactly what he did, holding off Kyle Larson (P3), William Byron (P4) and Christopher Bell (P36).
Ryan Blaney Masters Martinsville
And then there were four.
Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and William Byron.
No Denny Hamlin or Martin Truex, Jr. No Kevin Harvick, who is heading to the broadcast booth in 2024. No Chase Elliott, Joey Logano or Kyle Busch.
Christopher Bell Outruns Ryan Blaney for Homestead Win
During the course of the race, Christopher Bell thought his chances of racing for a NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix were slim or none. After just squeaking into points at the end of Stage 1 he was nowhere to be found by the end of Stage 2. Homestead was eating up tires and while there were multiple racing grooves, around the top was the best, plus you needed drive off of the corners to compete. Bell’s car was having none of that and Bell was in a sour mood.
Kyle Larson Cashes In At Las Vegas Cup Race
Last week I noted that if you led 100 or more laps at Las Vegas, you had a pretty good shot at winning the race. Well Kyle Larson did just that, and more. He won both stages and led the most laps with 133 and the final 45. But it almost did not come to pass.