Can Ryan Blaney go back-to-back in consecutive seasons?
A year ago, Blaney won the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series title race. There he finished ahead of the other three drivers he was racing for the championship and scored his first career Cup Series championship.
Last Sunday, perhaps lost amid all the controversy behind him, Blaney won again in Martinsville. And just like last season, he had to get that win to make it into the title race. Without it, he would be racing for little more than pride and a race win on Sunday.
Blaney’s recent performance makes him the favorite heading into Sunday’s final Cup Series race of the season. Not only is he the favorite to win the Cup Series title, he’s also the favorite to win the race, something he didn’t do a season ago.
Here’s a look at how the four title finalists fared ahead of the Phoenix race, along with a quick look below at the Xfinity Series and Truck Series contenders.
Ryan Blaney (+175 to win Cup Series title)
Blaney became the first driver to win the Cup Series title without winning the title race since the format was implemented in 2014 when Ross Chastain won the race and Blaney finished second.
Only Denny Hamlin has a better average finish at Phoenix than Blaney among active drivers, and his string of finishes in the fall race at Phoenix since finishing 34th is the envy of the Cup Series. In the five races since then, Blaney has finished third, sixth, fourth, second and second at Phoenix in November.
William Byron (+275)
Byron was also very good in Phoenix, but not nearly as good as Blaney. He led 95 laps and finished fourth a season ago after starting from the pole and winning the spring race. It is Byron’s second consecutive Championship Four appearance; he finished third last season behind Blaney and Kyle Larson.
Joey Logano (+325)
There are two ways to look at Logano’s even-year streak. Perhaps he should have lower odds as he is now in the title race for the sixth time in eleven seasons and has never run for the title in an odd year. Or maybe his chances should be higher because he didn’t win the title in a presidential election year. Logano’s Cup Series titles came in 2018 and 2022, putting him well on his way to a victory in the 2026 midterm election year.
Two years ago, Logano started from pole and led 187 laps en route to victory. In 2020 he started second and finished third.
Tyler Reddick (+325)
Reddick must use the performance of his Phoenix career to win the title. Reddick’s best results are a pair of third-place finishes in 2022 and 2023, but both came in the spring race. He placed 22nd in the 2023 season finale and 23rd in the 2022 season finale. Reddick was the third-best qualifier in the Cup Series this season; he needs a great starting spot.
Xfinity Series
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Austin Hill
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AJ Allmendinger
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Cole Custer
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Justin Allgaier
It’s hard to argue that this isn’t the best possible group of drivers to race for the Xfinity Series title (7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, CW). They combined for nine wins in 32 races and hovered in the top 10. Only Chandler Smith has a legitimate reason to feel he was unfairly denied a title shot.
If we’re picking a favorite, we’ll go with Custer, who is the defending Xfinity Series champion and has the best average finish (7.6) of any active driver in Phoenix.
Truck series
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Grant Enfinger
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Christian Eckes
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Ty Majeski
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Corey Heim
Let’s avoid the nonsense that plagued the Truck Series title race last season, shall we? The 2023 title race was a disaster after Heim Carson Hocevar deliberately crashed in retaliation in the final scheduled laps of the race. The race then lasted almost 30 laps longer than planned due to more crashes.
Heim led among title contenders when he was knocked out by Hocevar last season. We think he’s the favorite on Friday night (8 p.m. ET, FS1), although Enfinger is the sentimental pick. He seemed well on his way to his first Truck Series title before Heim Hocevar crashed.