Copyright RACER
Christopher Bell was digesting the disappointment of a second consecutive year of being eliminated from NASCAR Cup Series championship contention at Martinsville Speedway when he offered an astute observation about those who are title contenders. “The four who are going there are legitimate contenders,” Bell told NBC Sports, “and whoever the champion is will be well-deserved.” It was a sentiment Bell repeated in a follow-up question about the playoff format during his television interview. He also offered it in other interviews during his post-race media obligations. Bell might have been the first to make the statement, but many others should either echo or agree with it. Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and William Byron won their way into the title race while Kyle Larson took the final spot on points from Bell. Joe Gibbs Racing versus Hendrick Motorsports. A pair of veterans (Hamlin and Larson), and a pair of the sport’s brightest stars (Briscoe and Byron). NASCAR is set to have one of its most competitive – and perhaps entertaining – Cup Series championship battles on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway. “It’s going to be an epic battle,” Jeff Gordon said. “You got four cars, two organizations, that are going to give it everything. It’s going to be fascinating week of preparation, seeing how it unfolds at the racetrack in Phoenix. A lot of this is just the things you’ve been building on during the year to try to make sure, if you’re in this position, you capitalize it by improving your cars at this track. “I feel like this is anybody’s race.” Team Penske's failure to put a driver in the Championship 4 instantly created a new narrative about how unpredictable and wide open the 2025 title race can be. Penske, of course, has been the odds-on favorite the last three years because of their strength, not only on short, flat tracks, but particularly at Phoenix Raceway. It’s why many questions and conversations the last few weeks centered around keeping the Penske duo of Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano from advancing. But as Bell said, the four drivers who will fight to be NASCAR’s newest Cup Series champion have had seasons worthy of this opportunity. An argument could be made for each one as to why they will win the championship. The numbers speak for themselves. Hamlin leads the series in race wins (six). Briscoe is the series leader in poles (seven) and in top-five finishes (15), and has the second-best average finish (12.5). Byron (main image) was the regular-season champion and is the series leader in laps led (1,278). Larson has the second-most top-10 finishes in the series (21). Byron and Larson are tied for the series lead in stage wins (10). The four title contenders have combined for 15 wins in 35 races. And for the critics who believe a Cup Series champion is worthy by what they did in the regular season (i.e., the Joey Logano argument), Byron was the regular season champion, Larson was third in the point standings, Hamlin was sixth, and Briscoe was eighth. Beyond the numbers, all four would be a compelling story should they become the champions. Hamlin would be the best story. In a year where he is suing NASCAR as the co-owner of 23XI Racing, became a father for the third time, is seeing his own father battle health issues, and has a new crew chief, to finally add the last thing missing from his resume would be tremendous. Doing so would shed Hamlin of the 'best driver to have never won a championship' tag. Briscoe is meeting the moment in his second opportunity at the Cup Series level with Gibbs. It’s been an incredible year of progression for Briscoe and his team coming together to compete for the title, and their postseason run will stand out for years to come. Byron was the regular-season champion. The consistency of Byron and his team has been next-level this season. The hope is the third time in the Championship 4 is the charm for a driver who still has many years ahead of him. And then there is Larson, who is looking to become just the third driver who is still competing full-time in the series to have more than one championship. Larson is considered one of the best all-around race car drivers, and another title would add to his legacy. Even deeper, the accomplishment would mean a lot for Larson’s team, which has gone through many public and private battles this season. “Denny was good there earlier this year,” Larson previews. “[Briscoe] has gotten way better as they’ve become comfortable with each other, and all that. I’m sure he’ll be really strong, and he’s tough. He’s just a gamer. He can figure out how to get to the front at any point. “And William, I think with a performance like that tonight, he’s going to carry a lot of confidence. We have confidence ourselves. I felt like we were decent there earlier this year, and I think our short track package has gotten way better. I felt like at Gateway we were really strong, and then Loudon we were probably a little bit better than the Gibbs cars, and maybe even my teammates for a lot of the race. We’ll see. I’m just glad we have an opportunity to go out there and race for a championship.” The phrase “heavyweight fight” was thrown out before the elimination race last weekend at Martinsville. It’s as applicable as ever as the Cup Series champion is set to be crowned.
