NASCAR at Phoenix 2022: Odds, Preview and Top Storylines

Four NASCAR Cup Series drivers will battle it out for a championship on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Only one will emerge from the desert with a title.

Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano are the four drivers who have advanced past the Round of 8 in this year's playoffs and into the Championship 4. Whoever has the best finish among the quartet in Sunday's race will be crowned the 2022 Cup Series champion.

Logano and Bell each won a race in the Round of 8 (which consisted of three events) to reach this point. Logano took first at Las Vegas on Oct. 16, while Bell punched his ticket with a victory at Martinsville last Sunday. Elliott and Chastain had the most points of the other six drivers who were still in the playoff field at the end of the Martinsville race, giving them spots in the Championship 4 as well.

Here's everything else you need to know heading into Sunday's championship race in Phoenix.

Chase Elliott: +250 (bet $100 to win $250)

Ross Chastain: +350

Christopher Bell: +350

Joey Logano: +400

Kyle Larson: +1200

Ryan Blaney: +1200

Denny Hamlin: +1800

Kevin Harvick: +2000

William Byron: +3000

Martin Truex Jr.: +4000

Kyle Busch: +4000

Chase Briscoe: +4000

Tyler Reddick: +5000

Bubba Wallace: +5000

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Neither Christopher Bell nor Ross Chastain has previously been the Cup Series champion. And it took heroic efforts at Martinsville to even make it to this year's championship race, as it came down to the wire for both.

Bell wasn't going to make it past the Round of 8 without a win at Martinsville, as a victory would secure an automatic bid. Otherwise, he didn't have enough points to advance.

But Bell passed Chase Briscoe with five laps to go in last Sunday's race, and then he drove his No. 20 Toyota to victory. Now, Bell is part of the Championship 4 for the first time in his Cup Series career.

Chastain had also never previously reached the Championship 4. And when the white flag dropped at Martinsville, it seemed like he would fall short this year, too, as he was slated to end up behind Denny Hamlin in the points standings at that time.

However, Chastain pulled off one of the wildest moves in NASCAR history to force his way into the Championship 4. The 29-year-old took his No. 1 Chevrolet and drove it up into the wall video-game style in the final turns. It somehow worked, as Chastain moved up from 10th to fifth, which resulted in him being six points ahead of Hamlin after the checkered flag dropped.

There's been a lot of attention surrounding Chastain this week because of that unprecedented moment. Now, he's focusing on Sunday's race, which will be the most important of his career thus far.

“There are nerves and there’s anxiety and there is fear of failure," Chastain said, per Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press. "How cool is it that I’m getting to experience this? In the moment, it’s not pleasant, the nerves. I wish they would go away.”

Chastain has two wins this season, but he hasn't been to Victory Lane since April. Meanwhile, Bell has been one of the Cup Series' hottest drivers of late, as he's already notched a pair of playoff wins. In fact, the 27-year-old won the final race of the Round of 12 (Charlotte Roval) and the final event in the Round of 8 (Martinsville).

Four of the past five Cup Series champions have been first-time winners—Martin Truex Jr. (2017), Joey Logano (2018), Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021). Bell and Chastain will each be looking to keep that trend going with a title victory on Sunday.

While Bell and Chastain have never even been in the Championship 4, Elliott and Logano both know what the pressure will be like on Sunday. After all, they've each been a Cup Series champion in the recent past.

Logano's title victory didn't come at Phoenix, though. He won the championship in 2018, when the final race on the Cup Series schedule was at Homestead-Miami Speedway. That year, Logano beat Truex, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch to capture his first title.

This is the fifth time that Logano has made it to the Championship 4. The 32-year-old will now be looking to drive his No. 22 Ford to Victory Lane at Phoenix for the third time, and for the first time since March 2020.

On Sunday, Elliott will be looking to do the exact same thing he did in the final race of the 2020 season. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet raced to victory in that event in Phoenix to capture his first Cup Series championship, beating out Logano, Hamlin and Brad Keselowski.

That was Elliott's lone career win at Phoenix. But if the 26-year-old can get back to Victory Lane there on Sunday, he'll be the Cup Series champion for the second time in three years.

“When I sit back and I look at this weekend, the way this format is, the way the final four works, if you’re in, you have a shot,” Elliott said, per Kirby Arnold of Sports Illustrated. “We haven’t written the ending yet, right? The narrative is there for you to make it whatever you want.”

Bell, Chastain, Elliott and Logano all have a chance. But the latter two may be better equipped to handle the pressure that comes with being in the Championship 4 for the most important race of the Cup Series season.

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