NASCAR Cup Series
William Byron Will Chase First NASCAR Cup Series Title From the Pole at Phoenix
Nov 4, 2023
The NASCAR Cup Series championship came down to a fierce battle with Ryan Blaney earning his first title, but it was Ross Chastain that scored the victory in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Despite not being in the championship hunt, Chastain put the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet out front six times for a race-high 157 laps. The victory was Chastain's second of the 2023 season.
Blaney brought the No. 12 Team Penske Ford home in the second position after a fierce fight with Kyle Larson's No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and William Byron's No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who finished third and fourth, respectively. Chris Buescher brought the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford rounded out the top five.
Christopher Bell suffered a brake rotor failure early in the race and finished 36th, the only car out of the race.
Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix
| Fin | Str | Vehicle | Driver | Team | Laps | Stage 1 Pos | Stage 2 Pos | Pts | Status | Times | Laps Led | Playoff Pts | Stage 1 Pts | Stage 2 Pts | Owner Pts | Owner Stage 1 Pts | Owner Stage 2 Pts |
| 1 | 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 312 | 3 | 2 | 57 | Running | 6 | 157 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 57 | 8 | 9 |
| 2 | 15 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Dutch Boy Ford | 312 | 10 | 6 | 35 | Running | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 312 | 5 | 7 | 34 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 1 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Axalta Chevrolet | 312 | 1 | 4 | 33 | Running | 4 | 95 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 9 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 312 | 6 | 1 | 47 | Running | 1 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 47 | 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 312 | 7 | 5 | 41 | Running | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 41 | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Harvick Ford | 312 | 2 | 3 | 47 | Running | 2 | 23 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 47 | 9 | 8 |
| 8 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Toyota | 312 | 0 | 0 | 29 | Running | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 19 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's/Delo Ford | 312 | 0 | 0 | 28 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota | 312 | 4 | 8 | 37 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 37 | 7 | 3 |
| 11 | 16 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | 0 | 26 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Get Bioethanol Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | 0 | 25 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 28 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 312 | 0 | 0 | 24 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 12 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 312 | 0 | 0 | 23 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 31 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Edge Ford | 312 | 0 | 9 | 24 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | 20 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | 0 | 21 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 23 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | 0 | 20 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 17 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 312 | 0 | 0 | 19 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 22 | 42 | Carson Hocevar(i) | Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 7 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Allways Rewards Chevrolet | 312 | 8 | 10 | 21 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 3 | 1 |
| 21 | 11 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 312 | 0 | 0 | 16 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | 10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Toyota Toyota | 312 | 0 | 0 | 15 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | 24 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Fry's/Cheez-It Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | 0 | 14 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | 26 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 312 | 0 | 0 | 13 | Running | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | 18 | 8 | Kyle Busch | 3CHI Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | 25 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 311 | 0 | 0 | 11 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | 34 | 15 | JJ Yeley(i) | Total Point/Patriot Mobile Ford | 311 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | 33 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 310 | 0 | 0 | 9 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | 35 | 31 | Justin Haley | Campers Inn RV Chevrolet | 310 | 0 | 0 | 8 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | 14 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Boot Barn Ford | 309 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | 29 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | NEGU Chevrolet | 308 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | 32 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 308 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | 36 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | Pala Casino Chevrolet | 306 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | 30 | 51 | Ryan Newman(i) | Serial 1 E-Bikes Ford | 305 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | 27 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Discount Tire Ford | 301 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Running | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | 13 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Rheem/DEWALT Toyota | 108 | 9 | 0 | 1 | Accident | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Photo courtesy Sean Gardner/Getty Images
