The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series meets its conclusion this weekend as this year’s champion will be crowned at Phoenix Raceway.
A tense race at the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville saw Ryan Blaney secure his spot in the Championship Race with his third win of the season and first in the NASCAR Playoffs.
The No. 12 Team Penske driver joined his teammate Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick in automatically securing their place in the final four during the Round of 8, with Logano winning at Las Vegas and Reddick taking victory at Homestead-Miami.
The fourth spot for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series title decider was taken by William Byron, as he beat Christopher Bell by four points after the No. 20 driver was penalised for wall riding. Despite qualifying for the Championship Four, Byron shared his hate for the playoffs due to the situation of other drivers behind him being eliminated.
Kevin Harvick names Ryan Blaney as his pick to win the 2024 Cup Series
The race at Phoenix shapes up to be an exciting and tense affair, with so much on the line for all four drivers in contention for the title.
Byron and Reddick are searching for their first title, while Logano is looking for his third, having won in 2018 and 2022.
Blaney is the defending champion having beaten out Kyle Larson and Bell for the title by finishing second at Phoenix, while his rivals finished third and fourth respectively.
And with a victory under his belt from Martinsville, speaking on his Happy Hour Podcast, Kevin Harvick named the No. 12 driver as his pick to win the Cup Series for a second year in a row.
Previewing the Championship Race and when asked about who he thinks will win the title, Harvick replied: “Well, I gave you my breakdown, and unfortunately, I’m going to have to jump on the train. I’ve got to jump on the Ryan Blaney train.
“So, I’m going with Blaney. I just think he has the momentum, just did it, defending champ.
“He’s got all the momentum. He’s got everything on his side.”
Can Ryan Blaney win a second consecutive Cup Series title?
Coming into Phoenix following recent races and previous events last season, Blaney will be the favourite to take the title, as the Team Penske driver comes off the back of winning Martinsville and having performed at this course last year to win the 2023 Cup Series.
His second place finish at Homestead-Miami cements his good run of form and he will be looking to continue this run this weekend.
READ MORE: Christopher Bell reveals what his ‘options’ were before losing NASCAR playoffs spot in Martinsville
While teammate Logano has been here twice before and won, he has endured an inconsistent season with just eight top 10 finishes in the regular season. Denny Hamlin has warned of a ‘wrath’ on social media if Logano wins due to the playoffs’ ‘win and you’re in’ format.
Reddick has never been in a Championship Race before and has had mixed success at Phoenix in the past. While the 23X1 Racing driver has finished in the top 10 in the last three races there in the regular reason, at the final race of the year, he has not finished higher than 19th.
Byron is on a great streak of six consecutive finishes in the top 10, four of which being in the top five. With so much at steak for the four drivers, Phoenix is set to produce another dramatic climax to a Cup Series season.