Friday 5: NASCAR Cup title contenders ready for championship weekend in Phoenix

Last year Byron rode with Larson in the title race. This year Byron is noticing differences as he is the only team car left.

“We worked super closely this week on the draft with all the other teammates we have at (Hendrick),” Byron said. “I just feel like having the car in my hands, we don’t have the dilemma that Penske has of trying to prepare two cars. It’s all focused on the 24, so I feel like there were a lot of people on deck in the store this week, which is really cool to see.

“Then we will run a simulation in the store up to the green flag. I think that’s the difference, it’s just the fact that we don’t really have any focus other than this race.”

Byron says his early-season victory in the Daytona 500 could help him in Sunday’s race.

“I feel like our team just experienced a lot of big moments, like none bigger than the 500 this year, and was on the front row with a chance to win the race,” he said. “I feel like those moments really prepare you for moments like this weekend and moments like Martinsville, just putting yourself in those pressure situations.

“There was no more pressure than there was at the 40th anniversary race in Martinsville in the spring. Just feel like those moments definitely prepare us.

2. Beau time

Five years ago, Tyler Reddick’s second Xfinity championship came with a bonus.

He was allowed to give his unborn son a name. Alexa, now Reddick’s wife, was pregnant with their son. She liked the name Ryker. Reddick loved Beau. She bet him that if he won the Xfinity Championship, he could name their son.

Beau Reddick is 4 years old and starting to understand all the excitement surrounding his father’s first trip to the Cup Championship 4.

“My kid is so excited,” Reddick said. “I look ahead. There is a lot of racing this weekend and there is still a lot to be done. But my kid has been so excited the last two weeks that he got to come out here and race for a championship here.

“He was jumping up and down and yelling excitedly when I said, ‘Hey, it’s time to go to the airport.’ He’s ready to go. Absolute.”

A championship would not only be Reddick’s first in Cup, but also the first for 23XI Racing. Is that pressure or incentive?

“I think it could be both, honestly,” Reddick said. “Yes, as a competitor these are the moments you live for, to be in this situation, in this position to be able to fight for a championship. But certainly when I think of Michael (Jordan), Denny (Hamlin), the rest of the owners, when I think of everyone at Airspeed, those who travel the road, dedicate their lives to this cause, it’s definitely good pressure, but you say ‘incentive’, yes, there are a lot of those trying to get the job done too.”

Reddick’s championship run comes as 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a lawsuit against NASCAR and received a preliminary injunction on Monday. That doesn’t matter to Reddick at this point.

“I didn’t really have to try to block it,” he said. “It pretty much came naturally with what’s in front of us. They have a team of people who take care of that. I make sure what I can do as a driver.”

3. The focus is on 3 and not 2 for Ryan Blaney

Yes, Ryan Blaney could become the first driver to win back-to-back Cup titles since Jimmie Johnson’s record streak of five in a row from 2006 to 2010, but Blaney is focused on a different number.

He notes that a win by him – or teammate Joey Logano – would give car owner Roger Penske his third straight Cup title.

“I always thought to myself internally… ‘How do you make Roger proud?’” Blaney said. “That has been my only goal in my racing life for the past twelve years: how can I make Roger proud because he really gave me my life.

“Really at the end of the day it’s about winning races and winning championships and bringing him things he hasn’t done before. It’s a very small list of things he hasn’t done yet in motorsport. We have the opportunity to do it for him.”

Blaney has been driving for Penske since 2012.

“He and Brad (Keselowski) played a big role in wanting me to come there,” Blaney said. “I owe them a lot.

“But yes, Roger stayed with me through thick and thin. He could have fired me whenever he wanted, especially in the beginning when I probably wasn’t performing as I should. It just means a lot that when someone sticks with you like that, they just want you to grow and learn.

Blaney won last year’s title in his first appearance in Championship 4. So what will change this time after going through that experience?

“I feel like the only thing I would change right now from last year is the way I handled the first two-thirds of the race,” Blaney said. ‘I was in such a hurry to get to the front, like ‘now, now, now, I have to get the lead.’ We didn’t get off to a great start. I think I started 15th or something like that.

“I was quite excited. “I have to come forward now.” Even in some situations with (Ross Chastain), when I look back, it’s easy to say, I wish I would have handled that a little differently.

“That’s the only thing I think I would have changed, just be a little more patient to get there. You have more than 300 laps to get there, so if things don’t go great at first, there’s still time.”

4. Will history repeat itself for Joey Logano?

Joey Logano can become only the tenth driver in series history with three or more Cup titles if he wins the crown on Sunday.

Logano won the championship both times. He won the opening race on the eighth round, giving his team two extra weeks to prepare for the season finale, while others raced to secure a spot in the fourth championship.

Could it happen again for Logano?

“It just gives you more time, right?” Logano said. “Give this team time, we’re getting pretty dangerous pretty quickly. I think that’s our advantage coming into this weekend, is that we’ve had two weeks while everyone else was sticking their tongues out to make it. We have gone through things methodically, recharged our batteries and are ready to go.”

Logano also sees crew chief Paul Wolfe as another advantage for the No. 22 team.

“I feel much more prepared than before, which is a great feeling,” Logano said. “I also felt really prepared in ’22 (when he won his second title). I think Paul really helped me with that. … I think one part of it is that Paul’s leadership has grown. He’s just a detail guy.”

5. Figures to know

2 — Phoenix Cup wins for Joey Logano

3 — Wins for each of the Cup Championship 4 drivers this season: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick.

6 — Consecutive top-10 finishes for William Byron in the playoffs.

8 — Consecutive top-10 finishes for Ryan Blaney in Phoenix.

13 — There have been extra-time cup matches this season, a record.

19.9 — Tyler Reddick’s average finish in the playoffs, the lowest of any driver to make the Championship 4.

51 — Winless streak in race for Martin Truex Jr.

56 — Winless streak in race for Kyle Busch