NASCAR Championship Race Review

After a 26-race regular season and a 10-race, three-round playoff, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion was crowned at the season finale at Phoenix Raceway last Sunday.

Ryan Blaney, driving the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske, notched his first career Cup Series title by finishing ahead of the other three Championship 4 competitors.

With Blaney’s championship this year and Joey Logano’s title last year, Team Penske and Ford have now won both Cup championships since NASCAR introduced the Gen7 car at the start of 2022.

Blaney became the first driver in the Playoff Era (2014-present) to win the championship without winning the final race. He finished runner-up in Phoenix to Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing, who grabbed his second win of 2023. Chastain was eliminated in the Round of 12 this season.

Blaney finished the season with eight top-5s and three wins. Those victories were at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, along with two wins in the playoffs at Talladega and Martinsville.

Hendrick Motorsports’s Kyle Larson would finish second in the standings and third in the final race after a hard-fought battle with Blaney in the late stages of the running.

The Elk Grove, Calif. native made his second Championship 4 appearance in 2023 and finished the season with four wins to his name.

William Byron wrapped up his 2023 campaign with a fourth-place finish at Phoenix, giving him third in the final standings. The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro scored the most wins of any driver this season with six.

The final Championship 4 contender, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, had his championship hopes end early with a crash on lap 110.

While the championship battle was the main talking point, another one was the farewell to Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, who announced his retirement this season after 23 full-time years in the Cup Series.

Harvick finished seventh in his final full-time start at the track where has a record nine career wins. He will be replaced by Josh Berry in 2024.

In addition to Berry, there are many driver and team moves for next season as well as a few seats still unconfirmed.

Sticking with the subject of Stewart-Haas, Aric Almirola announced his retirement from Cup competition after this season, leaving his No. 10 car without a driver under contract at this point.

Justin Haley is making the switch from Chevrolet to Ford, joining Rick Ware Racing next year. 2021 Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric will take over his No. 31 machine for Kaulig Racing. Kaulig’s second full-time car, the No. 16, is vacant for 2024 at the moment.

Spire Motorsports announced a new driver lineup with Truck Series drivers Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith joining Corey Lajoie on the team. Hocevar replaces Ty Dillon while Smith is in a new third full-time car that was bought from Live Fast Motorsports.

The only other full-time change for the time being is John Hunter Nemechek moving back up to the Cup Series driving the No. 42 for Legacy Motor Club. LMC is also switching manufacturers from Chevy to Toyota for the upcoming season.

This NASCAR season brought us plenty of fun moments and drama. 2024 should bring us the same, but for now, the offseason will begin to unfold over the next few months.

NASCAR Cup Series action resumes next year with the exhibition Clash at the Coliseum on Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. EST.

Jack Rachinsky is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jjr6682@psu.edu