Fans from around the country flocked to Avondale, Arizona and Phoenix Raceway from Nov. 8-10 for NASCAR Championship Weekend.
The weekend was headlined by the NASCAR Cup Series Championship where Joey Logano of Team Penske came out victorious with his third Cup Series trophy. Logano joined the ranks of Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Tony Stewart as the only other drivers to secure three career championship titles.
Logano’s victory marked the third championship in a row for Team Penske, all in the Next Gen era since the introduction of the Generation-7 car in 2022.
Only four racers have won more titles. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson have all won seven championships, and Jeff Gordon owns four.
Logano entered as one of the final Championship 4 drivers along with regular season champion Tyler Reddick, reigning 2023 Cup Series Champion Ryan Blaney and William Byron. Byron was the final driver to advance to the final four by way of points, winning three of the first eight races of the season, including the Daytona 500.
Blaney placed a close second in the race behind his teammate, while Byron came in third. Meanwhile, Reddick fell behind, finishing last of the final four drivers and sixth in the race.
Prior to the grand finale on Sunday, Nov. 10, the Xfinity Championship took the asphalt for an evening exhibition on Saturday between its own Championship 4 drivers.
The field consisted of AJ Almendinger from Kaulig Racing, Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing, 14-year full-time Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier and the 2023 Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer.
It was Allgaier in his Chevrolet Camaro who came out on top, finishing first of the Championship 4 drivers and second in the race. Allgaier had shown previous success at the one-mile dog legged oval track with two wins, 10 top-five finishes and 18 top-10 finishes over 28 career starts at Phoenix Raceway.
Custer, Almendinger and Hill could not crack the top-five as the race saw double overtime. The trio finished eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst was the race winner, passing Allgaier on turn three of the track after making contact with Jesse Love’s No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro during the first lap of the second overtime restart.
Herbst crossed the finish line with smoke emanating from his back-left tire and memorialized the moment alongside Allgaier with twin burnouts on Phoenix Raceway’s front stretch.
Herbst’s victory marked his second race win of the season, while Allgaier overcame many obstacles over the weekend to win the first championship of his career.
Allgaier’s primary car was destroyed four laps into a practice session on Friday after running over oil on the track from another vehicle, forcing him to start last in the 38-car field. Despite the wreck, Allgaier was able to move into the top 10 by the 26th lap of the 312 lap race.
The first two champions of the weekend were crowned Friday, Nov. 8, as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series West christened the raceway on a day full of practice laps and races.
At only 18 years old, Sean Hingorani was the ARCA Menards Series West champion by way of point total, beating out Tyler Reif by 19 points and finishing third in the 100 lap race. Connor Zilisch, a driver for Trackhouse Racing, won the race outright. Zilisch also placed fourth in the Xfinity Series race behind Herbst, Allgaier and Aric Almirola.
The Craftsman Truck Series closed off an eventful first day at Phoenix Raceway, where its Championship 4 drivers of Grant Enfinger, Corey Heim, Christian Eckes and Ty Majeski went toe to toe in the 150 lap truck race.
Majeski easily pulled away with the Truck Series Championship. He returned to Phoenix for the first time since 2022, when he finished 20th. Majeski entered the race having notched his only two victories at similar tracks in Indianapolis Raceway and Richmond Motor Speedway, as well as nine top-five finishes, 13 top-10s and five pole awards on the season.
The win gave ThorSport Racing their second truck series title in a row and third championship in three years.
Heim placed second after recovering from a restart violation and Eckes came in third. Enfinger placed not far behind in fifth.
NASCAR’s 2024 season concluded with the jam packed events at Phoenix Raceway. The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season will begin February 2, 2025 with The Clash at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
