The NASCAR Cup Series Championship came down to four drivers -- Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell – and only one left Phoenix Raceway as the champion.
Blaney was able to pass Larson and hold him off in the final 30 laps to win the NASCAR Championship. He finished second in the race as Ross Chastain took home the race victory.
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The No. 12 Ford needed to find a way to get around Larson and did just that.
Larson took the championship lead out of the pits with about 30 laps to go following a Kyle Busch spin out. Larson challenged Chastain for the race lead on the restart but the No. 1 car took a commanding lead as the event came down to the wire.
The No. 5 then had to defend Blaney. But it was Blaney who was able to get around Larson with 20 laps left in the race. Blaney then started to maintain his composure with 10 laps left in the race. Byron, at this point, was about 4.5 seconds behind Chastain and about 2 seconds behind Blaney and Larson.
It’s the second straight title for Team Penske. The group won the championship last year when Joey Logano won the Cup Series title.
It’s Blaney’s first championship of his career. He won three races this season and finished in second to Chastain. He won last week’s race at Martinsville last weekend to solidify a spot in the Championship Four.
Bell’s day ended early.
On Lap 109, Bell’s rotor busted and he crashed into the wall. He was unable to get back out onto the track and was eliminated from championship contention.
"That was the first time I've ever exploded a rotor in my career," Bell told NBC Sports afterward, adding that his problems kept getting worse and worse as the day went on.
Now, the countdown is on for The Clash and the Daytona 500.
