The NASCAR Championship 4 is set following Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway, which saw one driver celebrating in victory lane and another celebrating on pit road with his team.
Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag at Martinsville in the penultimate race of the season to clinch the third berth in the 2023 championship race. William Byron, who led Cup Series with six wins this season, claimed the fourth and final spot on points after being the highest-ranked driver without a win in the third round.
They will join Kyle Larson, who won the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Christopher Bell, who won last weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as the four drivers who will race for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher were eliminated from championship contention.
Blaney's victory at Martinsville was his third of the season. He held off Aric Almirola in the closing laps on NASCAR’s oldest and smallest track to claim one of the series’ most unique prizes – a grandfather clock.
“I felt like we put together a really strong playoffs, especially the Round of eight,” said Blaney, who didn’t finish lower than sixth in the three-race round. “Can’t wait to get to Phoenix next week.”
Hamlin finished third on Sunday, but after a mechanical failure last weekend at Homestead, his points deficit was too big to overcome. Buescher finished eighth, Truex 12th, and Byron 13th – high enough to maintain an 8-point advantage over Hamlin and claim the final berth in the championshp race.
“The mechanical failure last week with the power steering, that sealed our fate,” Hamlin said. Hate we’re not in it. It’s racing, right? This is the playoffs. You got a three-race season.
Byron said his helmet fan stopped working during the race and he dropped to the ground outside his car following the race.
“It’s our worst race of the year,” Byron said. “With 50 (laps) to go, I felt really, really bad and I just had to drive the hell out of it. The guys stuck with me and just kept motivating me through, little bits and pieces, and just keeping my mind straight.”
Larson and Byron gave Hendrick Motorsports a pair of Chevrolets in the final four, Bell is in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and Blaney drives a Ford for Team Penske. Blaney can give Team Penske back-to-back titles following Joey Logano’s win for Penske last year.
Larson is the only driver in the field with a Cup title and returns to the final four for the second time in three years. Bell is back in the championship for the second consecutive year; Blaney and Byron have never raced for the Cup title.
Chevrolet clinched its 42nd manufacturer championship when Sunday’s race began at Martinsville.
It marked the third consecutive year the title went to the bowtie brigade in NASCAR’s top Cup Series. Chevy already clinched both the Truck Series and Xfinity Series championships this season for its fifth national series sweep – first since 2012 that Chevy claimed all three national titles.
Chevrolet won its first manufacturer Cup championship in 1958 and later recording a streak of 13 consecutive titles between 2003 through 2015. Chevrolet has 850 Cup victories and 33 driver championships in NASCAR’s premier series, making it the winningest automaker in NASCAR’s 75-year history.
“This title is the result of great teamwork by the Chevrolet drivers, crew chiefs and teams working tirelessly throughout the season,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports.
The season-ending championship race at Phoenix Raceway, where Larson, Bell, Blaney and Byron will race for the Cup title. The highest finishing driver among the final four claims the championship. Joey Logano won his second title a year ago by winning Phoenix, but has already been eliminated from the playoffs. Byron won in the spring.
Contributing: The Associated Press
