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It has all come down to this! Today, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season officially came to a close in the Valley of the Sun and a new series champion was crowned. This year’s Championship 4 featured defending series champion Ryan Blaney as well as 2-time champion Joey Logano. Logano has made his mark as being the driver with the most Championship 4 appearances at six. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick and William Byron were both chasing their first titles. Reddick won the regular season championship and had a clear claim to the throne. William Byron, on the other hand, made it to the Championship 4 under dubious circumstances. Which one of these four were able to capitalize and hoist the Bill France Cup at the end of the day? Let’s break it down.
The Penske Fords were head and shoulders above their competition in this year’s Championship 4. The race and the championship came down to the wire with Joey Logano leading and Ryan Blaney hot on his trail. In the end, Blaney wasn’t able to overtake his teammate. Joey Logano won his third career NASCAR Cup Series Championship, the most among all active drivers. But it was anything but an easy drive. Earlier in the race, they had a very slow pit stop. Then the team’s jackman fell ill and was replaced by a crewman from the number 2 team. Once he got the lead, though, he never really looked back. He went on to lead over 100 laps on his way to his 3rd Cup Series title.
Congratulations to Joey Logano and Team Penske, who won their third championship in a row today in Phoenix.
It has been far from a perfect year for Logano. Despite winning 3 races on the year, the 22 team ran middle of the pack more often than not. But, ultimately, he was able to win when it mattered most. Again, we here at the Daily Downforce offer our congratulations to him and the entire Team Penske empire. They certainly seem to have a dynasty shaping up over there.
Ryan Blaney drove his tail off in the closing laps of this race. For much of the day, he was in the position to defend his championship and he probably had the best car of the four. But he got put behind late and it took him a while to work his way around the likes of Kyle Larson and William Byron. Once he was in second, he ran Joey Logano down in a hurry. But ultimately, he ran out of time.
Blaney will be back with Team Penske next year and will be looking for his second Cup title.
William Byron was the third best car of the Championship 4 all race. He consistently ran around the Penske cars of Logano and Blaney but never really did have the upper hand on them. Knowing that they didn’t have the best car, the 24 of Byron ran a bit longer before the final pit stop of the race. He stayed out on the track for 12 additional laps, pitting later into the run than his competitors. But, as it turned out, this was not the winning strategy. Despite inheriting the lead on the final restart, he just didn’t have the speed to keep up with the Penske Fords.
It has been a good year for Byron. He won the season-opening Daytona 500 and put together a solid year overall. But he will have to wait yet another year to finally hoist the Bill France Cup.
Coming into today’s race, Tyler Reddick was looking to make a statement. Unfortunately for him, that statement was never heard. The regular season champion was the 4th best driver of the Championship 4 throughout the race. He had a solid enough car, certainly a top-10 car, but he never showed that race-winning speed that he had earlier in the year. He ran in the bottom half of the top-10 for most of the race. He was able to gain track position after pit stops following the second stage. However, he wasn’t able to keep up with the pace of Blaney, Logano, and Byron as they inched farther and farther away from him.
In the final stage, Reddick ran top-10 but never really was much of a threat for the title.
Tyler Reddick leaves today’s race with more questions than answers. With the charter drama and 23XI’s ongoing legal battle with NASCAR, it’s not clear whether or not 23XI will even return to the series next season. Despite having a multi-year deal with the team, Reddick’s contract is tied to 23XI’s charter. If the team no longer has said charter, he may be a free agent heading into 2025.
Another season is in the books, NASCAR fans. What did you think of this race? What do you think about Joey Logano winning his third Cup Series Title? This win puts him in the elite company of greats like Tony Stewart and David Pearson. Is he worthy of being spoke of in the same breath as those legends? Let us know what you think! Tomorrow, the offseason begins. But we’ll be back in Daytona in February before we even know it!
