Frankie Muniz explains why the NASCAR Playoffs have improved the sport as a whole
Actor Frankie Muniz has dedicated the last few years of his life to a career in auto racing and explains why he loves NASCAR’s current playoff contender.
Sports Seriously, USA TODAY
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion will be determined today when drivers take to the track at Phoenix Raceway for the NASCAR Championship Race.
After 26 regular season races and nine playoff races, the championship contenders have dwindled from 16 to the final four: Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Kyle Larson.
Blaney, Bell and Larson each won the final three playoff races to secure their spots, while Byron finished last as the driver with the most points in the third round of the playoffs without a win.
Now these title contenders will take on the desert heat and a field of 32 other drivers on the 1-mile oval on Sunday to compete for the championship trophy.
Follow us for live updates of all the action from championship race day:
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Chris Buescher passed Ross Chastain on lap 171 and retained the lead as the second stage of the NASCAR Championship race ended. Chastain was second and Kevin Harvick was third.
Pole sitter William Byron was the top driver in Championship 4 for most of the race. Byron finished the stage fourth, Ryan Blaney sixth and Kyle Larson seventh. Martin Truex Jr., who is not fighting for the title, finished fifth between Byron and Blaney.
The other championship contender, Christopher Bell, retired from the race on lap 109 after crashing into the wall with brake disc problems.
There is still one stage of 127 laps remaining before the 2023 Cup Series champion is crowned.
Ross Chastain led the second half of the second stage of the NASCAR Cup Series championship race after passing Kevin Harvick on lap 117. Chris Buescher moved up to second, while Harvick fell to third and Martin Truex Jr. fell to fourth.
Of the three remaining championship contenders, William Byron remains the top driver. The Hendrick Motorsports driver settled in fifth, Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney sixth and Hendrick’s Kyle Larson seventh.
The second stage includes a total of 125 laps.
After complaining about his brakes, Christopher Bell hit the outside wall on the 109th of 312 laps when his brake rotor exploded and his right front tire blew, sending the No. 20 Toyota hard into the outside wall.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was in sixth place behind championship colleagues Ryan Blaney and William Byron and just ahead of Kyle Larson. Bell, who was competing for the Cup Series championship for the first time, will not be able to finish the race.
After Bell’s accident, all the cars came out of the pit lane to get tires.
Ryan Blaney is now the top championship contender after overtaking William Byron for third midway through stage two. Byron had led every lap until Kevin Harvick passed the pole winner on lap 93.
Kevin Harvick passed pole winner and Championship 4 driver William Byron on lap 93 after Byron had led every lap since the green flag dropped at Phoenix Raceway. Harvick, who won the first NASCAR Cup Series championship in this current playoff format in 2014, is racing in his final race before retiring from full-time racing.
Ross Chastain also passed Byron, who dropped to third. Ryan Blaney moved up to fourth, Christopher Bell is sixth and Kyle Larson is seventh, Chris Buescher is fifth.
William Byron maintained first place after the first round of pit stops for tires and fuel in the NASCAR Championship Race. By winning the pole, Byron was able to select the best pit stable and that helped him maintain his lead over Kevin Harvick in the off-pit road race. Among the other three championship contenders, Kyle Larson moved up one spot from fifth to fourth, Ryan Blaney moved up one spot from tenth to eighth, and Blaney also overtook fellow contender Christopher Bell, who held steady in ninth place.
William Byron, seeking his first title, led every lap of the opening stage of the NASCAR Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Byron ran the entire 60 laps in the lead and passed Kevin Harvick when the yellow flag dropped for the stage break. Byron’s teammate Kyle Larson dropped from fourth on the grid to fifth, but Christopher Bell improved from 13th on the grid to ninth, while Ryan Blaney also moved from 15th to 10th.
Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five, with Chris Buescher finishing sixth, Martin Truex Jr. seventh and Erik Jones eighth.
Fourth championship driver William Byron led the first 30 laps after starting from pole. Kyle Larson, who started fourth, moved up one spot from fourth to third, Christopher Bell moved up two spots from his starting spot of 13th to 11th, and Ryan Blaney moved up one spot to 14th. Place. The first stage lasts 60 laps.
The green flag has fallen for the NASCAR Cup Series championship race. Fourth championship driver and pole sitter William Byron leads the field as the final race of the season begins in Phoenix. Among the other title contenders, Kyle Larson started fourth, Christopher Bell 13th and Ryan Blaney 15th.
Any of the 36 drivers competing at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday can win the race, but only four – Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Kyle Larson – can win the 2023 Cup Series championship. Simply put, whichever of those four Driver who achieves the best result in the championship race wins the title.
However, since NASCAR introduced this playoff format in 2014, the winner of the final race of the season has always been one of the Championship 4 drivers.
Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway begins at 3:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. local time) in Avondale, Arizona.
NBC will broadcast the race and offer a pre-race show starting at 2:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. ET). Peacock will host a post-race show starting at 7:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. local time).
Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway can be streamed live on Peacock, the NBC Sports website and the NBC Sports app.
It’s hot in Avondale, Arizona. Temperatures will be in the high 90s, there will be plenty of sunshine and there are no signs of rain at the NASCAR parade.
Kevin Harvick won the first championship in this current format, introduced in 2014. Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, who won the championship last year, are the only drivers to have won more than one title in this format.
Here are the last nine champions: Kevin Harvick (2014), Kyle Busch (2015), Jimmie Johnson (2016), Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Joey Logano (2018), Kyle Busch (2019), Chase Elliott (2020) , Kyle Larson (2021), Joey Logano (2022).
CHRISTOPHER BELL
- Car number: 20
- Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
- Age: 28 (29 on December 16)
- Full-time cup seasons: 4
- 2023 wins: 2; Top 5: 10; Top 10: 18
- Career wins: 6; Top 5: 31; Top 10: 61
KYLE LARSON
- Car number: 5
- Team: Hendrick Motorsports
- Age: 31
- Full-time cup seasons:9
- 2023 wins: 4; Top 5: 14; Top 10: 16
- Career wins: 23; Top 5: 103; Top 10: 162
RYAN BLANEY
- Car number: 12
- Team: Team Penske
- Age: 29 (30 on December 31st)
- Full-time cup seasons: 8th
- 2023 wins: 3; Top 5: 7; Top 10: 17
- Career wins: 10; Top 5: 68; Top 10: 130
WILLIAM BYRON
- Car number: 24
- Team: Hendrick Motorsports
- Age: 25 (26 on November 29th)
- Full-time cup seasons:6
- 2023 wins: 6; Top 5: 14; Top 10: 20
- Career wins: 10; Top 5: 40; Top 10: 82
Championship contender William Byron took the pole position in Saturday’s qualifying and will start on the front row alongside Martin Truex Jr., who qualified second. Among the other Championship 4 drivers, Kyle Larson will start fourth, Christopher Bell 13th and Ryan Blaney 15th.
NBC’s NASCAR analysts have made their pick for the 2023 champion as the Cup Series’ final race draws ever closer to the start. Three chose Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, two chose Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney and one chose Kyle Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsprts. Unfortunately, Christopher Bell from Joe Gibbs Racing is not happy. Your selection:
- Dale Earnhardt Jr: Ryan Blaney
- Jeff Burton: William Byron
- Steve Letarte: William Byron
- Dale Jarrett: Ryan Blaney
- Kyle Petty: William Byron
- Brad Daugherty: Kyle Larson
The United States Air Force Band Singing Sergeants performed the national anthem before the championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., the Singing Sergeants are one of six musical ensembles of the United States Air Force Band and the official choir of the United States Air Force. Their appearance was accompanied by a flypast by four F-35s from the 310th Fighter Squadron (“Top Hats”) from Luke Air Force Base in Maricopa County, Arizona.