GFT Facts and Stats Friday: NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway
8 November 2024
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News
AVONDALE, AZ — The Championship race for the NASCAR Cup series is finally here and the four drivers that made it through the Playoffs to race for the Cup are:
· Joey Logano, №22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse
· Tyler Reddick, №45 23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE
· Ryan Blaney, №12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse
· William Byron, №24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
PHOENIX-SPECIFIC STATISTICS
CHAMPIONSHIP 4 DRIVER RATINGS for Phoenix Raceway
- Playoff drivers are seeded by best finishes from the Playoffs Round of 8; Loop Data from 2005–2024.
1 — Ryan Blaney (№12 Team Penske Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 89.3, seventh-best
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s, one pole
· Led 555 laps
· Average Finish of 15.6
Phoenix Raceway Outlook:
· Eight top fives, 12 top 10s, three poles
· Average Finish of 10.941, third-best
· Average Running Position of 9.477, second-best
· Driver Rating of 99.2, fourth-best
· 4,468 Laps in the Top 15 (83.9%), series-most
2 — Joey Logano (№22 Team Penske Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 84.2, ninth-best
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, six top fives, 12 top 10s, three poles
· Led 307 laps
· Average Finish of 17.6
Phoenix Raceway Outlook:
· Three wins, eight top fives, 16 top 10s, two poles
· Average Finish of 13.484, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 11.817, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.4, eighth-best
· 6,770 Laps in the Top 15 (69.9%), eighth-most
3 — Tyler Reddick (№45 23XI Racing Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 90.0, sixth-best
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, 12 top fives, 20 top 10s, three poles
· Led 597 laps
· Average Finish of 13.4
Phoenix Raceway Outlook:
· Two top fives, three top 10s
· Average Finish of 17.889, 17th-best
· Average Running Position of 13.126, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 82.3, 13th-best
· 1,754 Laps in the Top 15 (62.3%), 11th-most
4 — William Byron (№24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 91.8, fifth-best
2024 Rundown
· Three wins, 12 top fives, 20 top 10s, one pole
· Led 338 laps
· Average Finish of 13.2
Phoenix Raceway Outlook:
· One win, two top fives, seven top 10s, one pole
· Average Finish of 11.769, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 10.015, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.6, seventh-best
· 3,222 Laps in the Top 15 (79.3%), third-most
Since hosting the series’ Championship Race (2020–2023), the winner of the race has also won the NASCAR Cup Series title in three of the last four seasons — Chase Elliott won at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 8, 2020, Kyle Larson won at Phoenix on Nov. 7, 2021, and Joey Logano won at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 2022. Last season, Ryan Blaney finished runner-up at Phoenix to win his first title.
· Among the Championship 4 drivers this season — Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron — Logano is the only driver to win a Playoff race at Phoenix and has done so twice — in 2016 and 2022.
Phoenix Raceway Stats & Tidbits:
NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race
Season Race #: 36 of 36 (November 10, 2024)
Playoff Race #: 10 of 10
Track Size/Type: 1 Mile Asphalt Oval
The Purse: $11,700,064
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Phoenix Raceway
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 9 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 11 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
Race Length: 312 laps / 500 Kilometers / 312 Miles
— Stage 1 Length: 60 laps
— Stage 2 Length: 125 laps
— Final Stage Length: 127 laps
QUALIFYING / RACE RECORDS
Track Qualifying Record:
Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 143.158 mph, 25.147 secs., November 13, 2015
Track Race Record:
Tony Stewart, Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac, 118.132 mph, (02:38:28), November 7, 1999
2023 Championship Race Pole Winner:
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 132.597 mph, 27.150 secs., November 4, 2023
2023 Championship Race Winner:
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, 108.827 mph, (02:52:01), November 5, 2023
GFT NASCAR Cup Series Box Scores
Driver Box Score:
Kyle Larson = 6 wins (But did not make it into the Championship 4)
Manufacturers Box Score:
Chevrolet = 15
Ford = 11
Toyota = 9
Team Box Score:
Hendrick Motorsports = 11 wins
Martin Truex Jr. provided the case study on how AI and prediction models have a hard time factoring in a driver’s likelihood to speed on pit road and receive a penalty. Truex Jr. had the fastest car, started from pole position, but finished 24th after multiple penalties. 189 points hurt our AI Prediction Models season average, but we enter the final race of the season still outperforming 90% of all players in the #TMDNASCAR League of NASCAR Fantasy LIVE.
Initial GFT AI Prediction Model Output for the Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway:
**NOTE** Be sure to follow us on X (aka Twitter) to see the updated GFT NASCAR Fantasy Live picks AFTER our AI models ingest the Practice and Qualifying data. For a Sunday race, this usually happens overnight Saturday and is published Sunday morning at least 2 hours before the green flag.
