2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race explained

Type:	CUST
Description:	Race 36 of 36 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series
Race Name:	NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]
Year:	2024
Location:	Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
Course Mi:	1
Course Km:	1.6
Distance Laps:	312
Distance Mi:	312
Distance Km:	499.2
Weather:	Sunny with a temperature around ; wind out of the northwest at around .
Avg:	106.203mph
Pole Driver:	Martin Truex Jr.
Pole Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Pole Time:	26.618
Most Driver:	Christopher Bell
Most Team:	Joe Gibbs Racing
Most Laps:	143
Car:	22
First Driver:	Joey Logano
First Team:	Team Penske
Network:	NBC
Ratings:	1.60 (2.895 million)
Radio:	MRN
Booth Ann:	Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Todd Gordon
Turn Ann:	Mike Bagley (1 & 2) and Tim Catalfamo (3 & 4)

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on November 10, 2024, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the one mile (1.6 km) oval, it is the 36th and final race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Joey Logano won the race, clinching his third career Championship. Ryan Blaney finished 2nd, and William Byron finished 3rd. Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five, and Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, and Daniel Suárez rounded out the top ten.

The race was notably interrupted when the pace car crashed^[10] while trying to get off the track for a restart on lap 69 to begin the second stage. The driver of the car swerved to make the turn onto pit road at the last second, and the abrupt turn spun the car to the left into a brief slide towards the protective sand barrels at the end of pit road. The impact moved several barrels and scattered sand across the apron. The red flag was brought out for several minutes while the barrels were fixed and the track was cleaned, and the race resumed as normal soon after.

This was the final race for Stewart–Haas Racing, as the team reformed into Haas Factory Team from the 2025 season onwards. ^[11] This was also the final race for 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. as a full-time driver, as he announced his retirement from full-time racing on June 14, 2024.^[12]

Report

Background

Phoenix Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5miles road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51miles interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.

Championship drivers

• Joey Logano was the first of four drivers to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, winning the first race of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas.^[13]
• Tyler Reddick clinched the second spot in the Championship 4, winning the second race of the Round of 8 at Homestead.^[14]
• Ryan Blaney clinched the third spot in the Championship 4, winning the final race of the Round of 8 at Martinsville.^[15]
• William Byron clinched the final spot in the Championship 4, though only after original championship driver Christopher Bell was penalized in the preceding Xfinity 500 after making an illegal maneuver. As such, Byron inherited his place based on points.^[16]

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
• (CC) denotes championship contender.

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1			Chevrolet
2
3			Chevrolet
4	Josh Berry (R)		Ford
5			Chevrolet
6			Ford
7			Chevrolet
8			Chevrolet
9			Chevrolet
10			Ford
11			Toyota
12	Ryan Blaney (CC)		Ford
14			Ford
15	Kaz Grala (R)		Ford
16			Chevrolet
17			Ford
19			Toyota
20			Toyota
21			Ford
22	Joey Logano (CC)		Ford
23			Toyota
24	William Byron (CC)		Chevrolet
31			Chevrolet
34			Ford
38			Ford
41			Ford
42			Toyota
43			Toyota
44	J. J. Yeley (i)		Chevrolet
45	Tyler Reddick (CC)		Toyota
47			Chevrolet
48			Chevrolet
50	Jeb Burton (i)		Chevrolet
51			Ford
54			Toyota
66	Chad Finchum (i)		Ford
71	Zane Smith (R)		Chevrolet
77	Carson Hocevar (R)		Chevrolet
84			Toyota
99			Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 27.174 seconds and a speed of 132.48mph.^[17]

Practice results

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1	12	Ryan Blaney (CC)	Team Penske	Toyota	27.174	132.480
2	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	27.205	132.324
3	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	27.233	132.193
Official practice results

Qualifying

Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.618 and a speed of 134.741mph.^[18]

Qualifying results

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	19			Toyota	26.578	26.618
2	22	Joey Logano (CC)		Ford	26.509	26.728
3	1			Chevrolet	26.720	26.812
4	5			Chevrolet	26.707	26.804
5	9			Chevrolet	26.641	26.820
6	54			Toyota	26.709	26.811
7	20			Toyota	26.729	26.992
8	24	William Byron (CC)		Chevrolet	26.494	26.822
9	21			Ford	26.737	27.234
10	45	Tyler Reddick (CC)		Toyota	26.737	26.842
11	2			Ford	26.748	—
12	14			Ford	26.739	—
13	7			Chevrolet	26.755	—
14	11			Toyota	26.745	—
15	77	Carson Hocevar (R)		Chevrolet	26.788	—
16	48			Chevrolet	26.790	—
17	12	Ryan Blaney (CC)		Ford	26.813	—
18	42			Toyota	26.850	—
19	43			Toyota	26.899	—
20	51			Ford	26.852	—
21	10			Ford	26.928	—
22	31			Chevrolet	26.884	—
23	84			Toyota	26.960	—
24	17			Ford	26.918	—
25	8			Chevrolet	26.968	—
26	16			Chevrolet	26.945	—
27	6			Ford	27.029	—
28	71	Zane Smith (R)		Chevrolet	26.960	—
29	23			Toyota	27.131	—
30	47			Chevrolet	27.035	—
31	15			Ford	27.152	—
32	38			Ford	27.221	—
33	41			Ford	27.164	—
34	99			Chevrolet	27.313	—
35	34			Ford	27.255	—
36	3			Chevrolet	27.568	—
37	44	J. J. Yeley (i)		Chevrolet	27.772	—
38	66	Chad Finchum (i)		Ford	28.148	—
39	4	Josh Berry (R)		Ford	0.000	—
40	50	Jeb Burton (i)		Chevrolet	0.000	—
Official qualifying results

Race

• Note: Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, and William Byron were not eligible for stage points because of their participation in the Championship 4.

Race results

Stage results

Stage OneLaps: 60

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	22	Joey Logano (CC)	Team Penske	Ford	0
2	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	9
3	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	8
4	24	William Byron (CC)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	0
5	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	6
6	12	Ryan Blaney (CC)	Team Penske	Ford	0
7	45	Tyler Reddick (CC)	23XI Racing	Toyota	0
8	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	3
9	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	2
10	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 125

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	12	Ryan Blaney (CC)	Team Penske	Ford	0
2	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	9
3	22	Joey Logano (CC)	Team Penske	Ford	0
4	24	William Byron (CC)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	0
5	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	6
6	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	5
7	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	4
8	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	3
9	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	2
10	45	Tyler Reddick (CC)	23XI Racing	Toyota	0
Official stage two results

Final Stage results

Stage ThreeLaps: 127

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	2	22	Joey Logano (CC)	Team Penske	Ford	312	40
2	17	12	Ryan Blaney (CC)	Team Penske	Ford	312	35
3	8	24	William Byron (CC)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	34
4	4	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	39
5	7	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	312	49
6	10	45	Tyler Reddick (CC)	23XI Racing	Toyota	312	31
7	29	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	312	30
8	5	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	38
9	24	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	312	33
10	34	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	312	27
11	14	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	312	35
12	21	10	Noah Gragson	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	312	25
13	11	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	312	25
14	16	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	23
15	27	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	312	22
16	9	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	312	21
17	1	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	312	31
18	15	77	Carson Hocevar (R)	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	312	19
19	3	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	312	18
20	32	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	311	17
21	25	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	311	16
22	19	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	311	15
23	22	31	Daniel Hemric	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	311	14
24	39	4	Josh Berry (R)	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	311	13
25	26	16	Derek Kraus	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	311	12
26	23	84	Jimmie Johnson	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	310	11
27	36	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	310	10
28	13	7	Justin Haley	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	310	9
29	12	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	310	8
30	18	42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Toyota	310	7
31	35	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	309	6
32	20	51	Corey LaJoie	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	309	5
33	30	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	309	4
34	31	15	Kaz Grala (R)	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	308	3
35	37	44	J. J. Yeley (i)	NY Racing Team	Chevrolet	306	0
36	38	66	Chad Finchum (i)	Power Source	Ford	302	0
37	33	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	302	1
38	40	50	Jeb Burton (i)	Team AmeriVet	Chevrolet	294	0
39	28	71	Zane Smith (R)	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	247	1
40	6	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	1	1
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 16 among 8 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 4 for 33
• Red flags: 1 for 5 minutes, and 47 seconds
• Time of race: 2 hours, 56 minutes, and 16 seconds
• Average speed: 106.203mph

Media

Television

NBC covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, two–time Phoenix winner Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman, and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the Motor Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Todd Gordon called the action from the broadcast booth when the field races down the front straightaway. This race was the final event for Jeff Striegle, who was retiring after a 28 year career with the network. Mike Bagley called the action from turns 1 & 2 and Tim Catalfamo called the action from turns 3 & 4. Pit Lane for MRN Radio was covered by MRN Lead Pit Reporter Steve Post, Dillon Welch, Jacklyn Drake and Chris Wilner.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
1	1	Joey Logano	5,040
1	2	Ryan Blaney	5,035 (–5)
1	3	William Byron	5,034 (–6)
1	4	Tyler Reddick	5,031 (–9)
	5	Christopher Bell	2,412 (–2,628)
	6	Kyle Larson	2,378 (–2,662)
	7	Chase Elliott	2,342 (–2,698)
1	8	Denny Hamlin	2,328 (–2,712)
1	9	Alex Bowman	2,318 (–2,722)
	10	Martin Truex Jr.	2,257 (–2,783)
	11	Austin Cindric	2,247 (–2,793)
	12	Daniel Suárez	2,226 (–2,814)
	13	Brad Keselowski	2,208 (–2,832)
	14	Chase Briscoe	2,184 (–2,856)
	15	Ty Gibbs	2,169 (–2,871)
	16	Harrison Burton	2,122 (–2,918)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Chevrolet	1,309
	2	Ford	1,275 (–34)
	3	Toyota	1,259 (–50)

• Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2024 schedule . Jayski.com. . January 17, 2024.
2. Web site: Phoenix Raceway . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Media Group, LLC. . August 7, 2022 . April 30, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170430210206/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/phoenix-raceway.html . dead .
3. News: NASCAR Cup Series 2024 schedule announcement: New additions, race dates, plus the complete calendar. Taranto, Steven . October 3, 2023 . June 24, 2024 . CBS Broadcasting Inc.
4. News: NASCAR reveals 2024 Cup schedule as Atlanta, Watkins Glen move to playoffs . October 4, 2023 . June 24, 2024 . National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC.
5. Web site: Entry List. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. November 4, 2024. November 4, 2024.
6. Web site: Practice Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. November 8, 2024. November 8, 2024.
7. Web site: Qualifying Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. November 9, 2024. November 9, 2024.
8. Web site: NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR. November 10, 2024. November 10, 2024.
9. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. November 10, 2024. November 10, 2024.
10. Web site: 2024-11-10 . NASCAR championship race halted as pace car crashes . 2024-11-11 . www.motorsport.com . en.
11. News: Stewart-Haas Racing to close NASCAR teams at end of 2024 season, says time to 'pass the torch' . Fryer . Jenna . . May 28, 2024 . November 8, 2024.
12. Web site: Spencer . Reid . June 14, 2024 . Martin Truex Jr. set to retire from full-time competition after 2024 season . November 8, 2024 . NASCAR.
13. Web site: Joey Logano lands Championship 4 berth, denies Bell with victory at Vegas . Holly . Cain . . October 20, 2024 . October 21, 2024.
14. Web site: Tyler Reddick rides high line to Homestead victory, clinches Championship 4 berth . Holly . Cain . . October 27, 2024 . October 28, 2024.
15. Web site: Ryan Blaney surges to Champ 4 with repeat walk-off Martinsville win . Holly . Cain . . November 3, 2024 . November 3, 2024.
16. Web site: Champ 4 is set; William Byron clinches on points after official review. NASCAR.com. NASCAR. November 3, 2024. November 3, 2024.
17. Web site: DeGroot. Nick. Title contender Ryan Blaney dominates NASCAR Cup practice at Phoenix. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. November 8, 2024. Avondale, Arizona. November 8, 2024.
18. Web site: DeGroot. Nick. Truex earns pole in last Cup race as full-time driver, Logano tops title rivals. Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. November 9, 2024. Avondale, Arizona. November 9, 2024.