Championship 4
The Championship 4 refers to the race capping off the playoffs in each of NASCAR’s three national series.
It’s the culmination of a multi-tiered playoff elimination system and pits the four finalists against each other, with the highest finisher earning the season championship.
In the case of the NASCAR Cup Series, 16 drivers qualify for the 10-race playoffs, carrying over whatever bonus points they earned during the 26-race regular season. At the end of the third race, the 12 drivers with the most points transfer into the next phase.
The second and third three-race phases each eliminate four more competitors, leaving just four to contend for the championship in the final race in early November.
After parts of five seasons – and 109 starts – competing on the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Riley Herbst remained winless. Industry insiders debated whether Herbst, who also had appeared in 11 Truck Series events, could visit Victory Lane at stock-car racing’s highest levels. Finally, 30 events into 2023, Herbst silenced some doubters by winning at […]
On the final lap of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at a sold-out Phoenix Raceway, teammates faced off for the title. Joey Logano vs. Ryan Blaney. Logano held off the defending champion by 0.330 seconds for his third career Bill France Cup, continuing his even-year magic. He claimed his previous titles in 2018 […]
After parts of 14 seasons and seven trips to the Championship 4 race, Justin Allgaier completed what appeared to be an improbable comeback to earn his first NASCAR Xfinity Series title. With 75 laps remaining Saturday night at Phoenix Raceway, most industry insiders counted Allgaier out of the Championship 4 competition. “I tried to give […]
In the final race of his full-time career, Martin Truex Jr. will begin to go out in style. The retiring Joe Gibbs Racing driver claimed the pole position during Saturday’s qualifying session for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The 2017 circuit champion recorded a hot lap of 134.741 mph, edging […]
Rookie William Sawalich, in his third appearance, earned the pole position for Saturday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The 17-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing prospect recorded a hot lap of 134.168 mph, edging teammate Sheldon Creed by 0.148 seconds. But that wasn’t the big news. A practice-lap crash by Championship 4 competitor Justin Allgaier […]
Driver Ty Majeski earned a prime starting spot for Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. It will be a crowded championship quest as all final four pilots begin among the top three rows. During Friday’s qualifying session, Majeski, a Championship 4 competitor, turned a hot lap of 138.180 mph, edging […]
Following the Homestead-Miami Round of 8 event Oct. 27, BetOnline Sportsbook tagged driver Ryan Blaney (+2500) with seventh-ranked odds to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship. Entering Sunday’s Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway, Blaney (+225) drew the best odds in his effort to win back-to-back titles. A Cup pilot has not claimed consecutive championships since Jimmie Johnson captured […]
Ryan Blaney wants to experience Deja vu. The NASCAR Cup Series pilot parlayed last year’s win during the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway into his first circuit championship. Can he do it all over again? He’s halfway there. Blaney’s dramatic comeback victory during last Sunday’s Xfinity 500 qualified the Team Penske driver for […]
Christian Eckes, from all appearances, drove the strongest machine through the first two stages of last Friday’s NASCAR Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 Chevrolet captured the first two stages of the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 and appeared in command through 150 laps. Then Taylor Gray drove […]
Fourteen years in the making, Justin Allgaier is on the verge of capturing a NASCAR Xfinity Series title. After placing third in the final standings last season, Allgaier will again face circuit champion Cole Custer in next Saturday’s Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway, along with AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill. Allgaier has been here before. […]
