Ryan Blaney Wins the 2023 NASCAR Cup Championship at Phoenix
Darryl Webb - AP
AVONDALE, AZ– RIS – Ryan Blaney is the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion by finishing higher in the race standings by the other three qualifiers. Blaney finished second to race winner Ross Chastain, but ahead of Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Christopher Bell. It was Blaney’s first Cup championship. It’s the second consecutive season Team Penske took home NASCAR’s top prize, with Blaney following Joey Logano’s 2022 title conquest. It also gives Ford a sweep of championships following titles by Cole Custer and Ben Rhodes earlier this weekend.
“Just so proud of this team,” Blaney said. “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.”
It took Blaney eight full seasons, but he joins Brad Keselowski and Logano as the three drivers to win Cup titles for Roger Penske.
In four previous trips to the Round of 8, Blaney came up empty-handed. This year, the No. 12 team stepped up at the right time, scoring a pair of playoff victories at Talladega and Martinsville en route to the championship. Unlike previous seasons when Blaney made mistakes in the Round of 8, he rose to the occasion in 2023. Across the three races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway in the Round of 8, the No. 12 team posted an average finish of 3.0. He had an incredible run at Homestead by leading 53 laps and finishing second, then stamped his name into the Championship 4 in a dominant second-half performance at Martinsville, tallying his third victory of the season.
“You never want to count yourself out,” Blaney said. “I mean, I think in the summer we were struggling a little bit. But we never gave up. We just went to work. I’ve said that all week, like, this group goes to work and they figure out problems. That’s why they’re such an amazing group to be with, with the Team Penske folks, because they just put their head down and do the work, accept the challenge.
“That’s what we did. It’s not happenstance we started running good through the playoffs. It was a lot of hard work by a lot of amazing men and women at the shop. I can’t thank them enough for that.”
The majority of the race excluded Bell, who was eliminated midway through after crashing hard into the wall. Things came down to the wire between Larson and Blaney, who came up big when it mattered most to claim the win in the end.
Blaney started the race in the 15th starting position and slowly headed to the top of the leaderboard. Blaney worked his way through the field despite some handling problems at times. On his last pit stop, the car came alive, and he went on to claim the big trophy.
It was Kevin Harvick’s last Cup race on Sunday. He ked at times and showed speed, but in the end, he finished 7th to cap off a tremendous career.
William Byron showed speed in qualifying on the pole but could not catch Blaney in the final stage. Christopher Bell had damage to his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Larson’s 4th place qualifying speed, and Byron’s pole simply didn’t have Blaney’s speed. Bell’s damage during the race left him a non-contender.
Unofficial Results: NASCAR Cup Series Championship, November 5, 2023 - Phoenix Raceway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Status, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts
1) 8, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 312, 3, 2, 57, Running, 6, 157, 5
2) 15, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford, 312, 10, 6, 35, Running, 2, 2,
3) 4, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 312, 5, 7, 34, Running, , ,
4) 1, William Byron (P), No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 312, 1, 4, 33, Running, 4, 95, 1
5) 9, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 312, 6, 1, 47, Running, 1, 18, 1
6) 2, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 312, 7, 5, 41, Running, 1, 1,
7) 3, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Harvick Ford, 312, 2, 3, 47, Running, 2, 23,
8) 6, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Toyota, 312, , , 29, Running, 2, 14,
9) 19, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's/Delo Ford, 312, , , 28, Running, , ,
10) 5, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota, 312, 4, 8, 37, Running, , ,
11) 16, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet, 312, , , 26, Running, , ,
12) 21, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet, 312, , , 25, Running, , ,
13) 28, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 312, , , 24, Running, , ,
14) 12, Ryan Preece, No. 41 United Rentals Ford, 312, , , 23, Running, , ,
15) 31, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford, 312, , 9, 24, Running, , ,
16) 20, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 312, , , 21, Running, , ,
17) 23, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 312, , , 20, Running, , ,
18) 17, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 312, , , 19, Running, , ,
19) 22, Carson Hocevar(i), No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet, 312, , , 0, Running, , ,
20) 7, Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Allways Rewards Chevrolet, 312, 8, 10, 21, Running, , ,
21) 11, Ty Gibbs #, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 312, , , 16, Running, , ,
22) 10, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota Toyota, 312, , , 15, Running, , ,
23) 24, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Fry's/Cheez-It Chevrolet, 312, , , 14, Running, , ,
24) 26, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 312, , , 13, Running, 1, 2,
25) 18, Kyle Busch, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 311, , , 12, Running, , ,
26) 25, Harrison Burton, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 311, , , 11, Running, , ,
27) 34, JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 Total Point/Patriot Mobile Ford, 311, , , 0, Running, , ,
28) 33, Ty Dillon, No. 77 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 310, , , 9, Running, , ,
29) 35, Justin Haley, No. 31 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet, 310, , , 8, Running, , ,
30) 14, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Boot Barn Ford, 309, , , 7, Running, , ,
31) 29, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 NEGU Chevrolet, 308, , , 6, Running, , ,
32) 32, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 308, , , 5, Running, , ,
33) 36, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Pala Casino Chevrolet, 306, , , 0, Running, , ,
34) 30, Ryan Newman(i), No. 51 Serial 1 E-Bikes Ford, 305, , , 0, Running, , ,
35) 27, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 301, , , 2, Running, , ,
36) 13, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 Rheem/DEWALT Toyota, 108, 9, , 1, Accident, , ,
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Race Length: 312 Laps - 312. Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 52 Mins, 1 Secs.
Average Speed: 108.827 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.230 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 24, 4, 1, 23, 5, 17, 19, 43, 20, 12
Stage 2 Top 10: 17, 1, 4, 24, 19, 12, 5, 23, 6, 43
Comments: Ross Chastain has won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway, his fourth career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 6 (Driver Change). Team Penske's Ryan Blaney has won the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Cautions: 4 for 27 laps;
Laps: 62-68 (Stage 1 Conclusion [15]);
110-116 (No. 20 Incident Turn 3 [2]);
187-193 (Stage 2 Conclusion [47]);
276-281 (No. 8 Spin Turn 4 [9]).
Lead Changes: 18 among 8 drivers;
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.
Unofficial NASCAR Cup Series Championship Points - Phoenix Raceway
Rank) Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1) Ryan Blaney (P) 12 36 0 5035 0 0 3 6 14
2) Kyle Larson (P) 5 36 1 5034 -1 1 4 8 24
3) William Byron (P) 24 36 1 5033 -2 1 6 9 41
4) Christopher Bell (P) 20 36 -2 5001 -34 32 2 4 16
5) Denny Hamlin 11 36 0 2383 -2652 2618 3 8 32
6) Tyler Reddick 45 36 0 2344 -2691 39 2 6 16
7) Chris Buescher 17 36 1 2310 -2725 34 3 2 21
8) Brad Keselowski 6 36 -1 2302 -2733 8 0 6 11
9) Ross Chastain 1 36 0 2299 -2736 3 2 5 11
10) Bubba Wallace 23 36 0 2279 -2756 20 0 0 0
11) Martin Truex Jr 19 36 1 2269 -2766 10 3 6 36
12) Joey Logano 22 36 -1 2258 -2777 11 1 3 8
13) Kevin Harvick 4 36 1 2241 -2794 17 0 1 4
14) Kyle Busch 8 36 -1 2232 -2803 9 3 2 19
15) Michael McDowell 34 36 0 2185 -2850 47 1 2 7
16) Ricky Stenhouse Jr 47 36 0 2168 -2867 17 1 0 5
17) Chase Elliott 9 29 0 820 -4215 1348 0 2 1
18) Ty Gibbs # 54 36 0 771 -4264 49 0 0 0
19) Daniel Suarez 99 36 0 756 -4279 15 0 0 0
20) Alex Bowman 48 33 1 701 -4334 55 0 0 0
21) AJ Allmendinger 16 36 -1 692 -4343 9 1 0 5
22) Aric Almirola 10 36 0 675 -4360 17 0 1 0
23) Ryan Preece 41 36 1 637 -4398 38 0 1 0
24) Austin Cindric 2 36 -1 626 -4409 11 0 1 0
25) Corey LaJoie 7 36 0 603 -4432 23 0 0 0
26) Justin Haley 31 36 0 593 -4442 10 0 0 0
27) Erik Jones 43 36 0 578 -4457 15 0 0 0
28) Todd Gilliland 38 36 0 554 -4481 24 0 0 0
29) Austin Dillon 3 36 1 545 -4490 9 0 0 0
30) Chase Briscoe 14 36 -1 534 -4501 11 0 0 0
31) Harrison Burton 21 36 0 452 -4583 82 0 0 0
32) Ty Dillon 77 36 0 364 -4671 88 0 0 0
33) Noah Gragson 21 0 199 -4836 165 0 0 0
34) Cody Ware 7 0 65 -4970 134 0 0 0
35) Jenson Button 3 0 45 -4990 20 0 0 0
36) Mike Rockenfeller 3 0 39 -4996 6 0 0 0
37) Travis Pastrana 1 0 26 -5009 13 0 0 0
38) Brodie Kostecki 1 0 15 -5020 11 0 0 0
39) Jimmie Johnson 3 0 12 -5023 3 0 0 0
40) Kimi Raikkonen 1 0 8 -5027 4 0 0 0
41) Jonathan Davenport 1 0 1 -5034 7 0 0 0
42) Shane Van Gisbergen(i) 2 0 0 -5035 1 1 0 0
43) Josh Berry(i) 10 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
44) JJ Yeley(i) 15 26 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
45) Riley Herbst(i) 4 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
46) Zane Smith(i) 8 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
47) Chandler Smith(i) 3 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
48) Carson Hocevar(i) 42 9 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
49) Austin Hill(i) 5 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
50) BJ McLeod(i) 78 23 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
51) Josh Bilicki(i) 10 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
52) Cole Custer(i) 6 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
53) Jordan Taylor(i) 1 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
54) Andy Lally(i) 5 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
55) Ryan Newman(i) 51 8 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
56) Grant Enfinger(i) 1 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
57) Brennan Poole(i) 7 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
58) Conor Daly(i) 2 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
59) Gray Gaulding(i) 1 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
60) Sheldon Creed(i) 1 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
61) John Hunter Nemechek(i) 1 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
62) Anthony Alfredo(i) 2 0 0 -5035 0 0 0 0
63) Kamui Kobayashi(i) 1 0 0 -5035
Ron Fleshman and John Davison
Ron Fleshman and John Davison are Editors at ris-news.com