Ryan Blaney only had to beat Kyle Larson and William Byron to win his first NASCAR championship.
Ross Chastain stole some of Blaney’s thunder from NASCAR’s championship weekend.
He’s not making any apologies.
The 30-year-old won for Trackhouse Racing at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, becoming the first driver to win the season finale while not racing for the championship since Denny Hamlin in 2013, one year before this current elimination format began.
Chastain didn’t give an inch throughout the race, frustrating Blaney, who won his first career NASCAR championship but couldn’t get past the No. 1 Chevrolet to win the race. There was little doubt Chastain had a fast car — he led a race-high 157 laps, including the final 31 — and pulled away as Blaney and Kyle Larson fought for the championship.
The title was the fourth in the Cup Series for Penske.
Team Penske has won three Cup titles in the past six seasons, and Blaney has driven for Penske since 2013, when he was 19 years old.
Blaney is the son of former Cup driver Dave Blaney, who made 473 Cup starts over 17 seasons. Dave Blaney was a World of Outlaws champion, his brother, Dale, was a sprint car champion, and their father, Lou, was credited with multiple Midwest titles.
Larson and Byron finished third and fourth for Hendrick Motorsports, while Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing didn’t finish and was scored 36th. They were the only four drivers eligible for the title Sunday.
Kevin Harvick finished seventh in the final race of his Cup career.
Even after his clash with Chastain, there was still a final round of pit stops to come when a Kyle Busch spin brought out the final caution of the race with 37 laps remaining. Blaney was second when he headed to pit road but it was Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick team that had the fastest pit stop.
Larson was the first of the title contenders off pit road, while Blaney lost four spots and was sixth on the last restart. Blaney made up some quick ground and eventually caught Larson, but had to race door-to-door for several laps against the 2021 champion before finally clearing him with 20 laps remaining.
