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Welcome to the Championship 4, Joey Logano.
The veteran driver clinched his spot Sunday, winning the South Point 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway after holding off Ross Chastain.
Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.
Chase Elliott, who came into the day atop the playoff standings, finished 21st. Here's where the rest of the playoff contenders not previously mentioned finished on Sunday:
Chastain, Elliott and Hamlin are currently in position to qualify for the Championship 4, though much could change over the next two races.
Bell's day ended in tough fashion, as he was collateral damage in a mid-race spat between Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace—who won the first stage—that led to a crash, ended the day for all three drivers and led to a bit of a shoving match off the track:
Bell told reporters he and his team "got the short end of the stick" in the altercation between Larson and Wallace.
"It's disappointing because our performance is capable of racing for the championship, and it doesn't appear that we're going to get to," he added, as he now sits in eighth place in the playoff standings.
Blaney, meanwhile, was in second place Sunday and had already won the second stage when he lost control of his vehicle and hit the wall.
There was no such gaffe for Logano, however, who methodically tracked down Chastain over the final 10 laps and outmaneuvered him for the win. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Logano would find himself in contention—it's just what he does.
The second of three Round of 8 races will take place next Sunday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, with the Dixie Vodka 400 set to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Kevin Harvick is on the board.
The veteran NASCAR Cup driver earned his first win of the 2022 season, having his checkered-flag moment at the Michigan International Speedway's FireKeepers Casino 400.
Bubba Wallace finished as the runner-up, with Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top five.
Harvick had gone 65 straight races without a win. And did he need it, as he entered Sunday 17th in the playoff standings but moved into the 16-car postseason bracket with three races remaining.
"Good timing, for sure," Harvick said of getting a clutch win Sunday in his post-race interview on USA. "You know, we've had several good runs the last few weeks ... where the car ran good, and we just didn't have everything work out."
"Everybody who doubted us doesn't know us," he continued. "They obviously know that we thrive in these types of situations. A lot of things went our way today, which we haven't had all year long."
That leaves the race for the final playoff spot between Blaney and Martin Truex Jr., barring a new top-30 winner down the stretch. Blaney, who came into the day with 696 points and finished fifth, will remain ahead of Truex, who came into the day with 671 points and finished sixth. Neither has a victory that would automatically qualify for the playoffs.
As always, a number of crashes impacted the race, as JJ Yeley, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric and Aric Almirola found themselves at the center of a nine-car wreck in Lap 25.
And Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell had a dustup with 41 laps remaining, but both were able to continue.
The Cup Series now moves to Richmond, Virginia, for the Federated Auto Parts 400 next Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA.
In a stunning turn of events, Chase Elliott has been declared the winner of Sunday's M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 after Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified following failed post-race inspections.
It marks Elliott's fourth win of the season, including third in his past five races. With the latest result, he has not finished below second in any of the past five races.
After the disqualifications, Tyler Reddick was elevated into second place, while Daniel Suarez was moved up to third.
NASCAR managing director Brad Moran explained the reasoning for disqualifying Hamlin and Busch, saying it came down to the same equipment violation for both cars.
Here's a look at the top 10 finishers from the race plus a recap of the action.
M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 Results
1. Chase Elliott
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Daniel Suarez
4. Christopher Bell
5. Kyle Larson
6. Michael McDowell
7. Martin Truex Jr.
8. Bubba Wallace
9. Erik Jones
10. Austin Dillion
Full leaderboard available at NASCAR.com
The race track at Pocono was not kind to the drivers. The caution flag came out early and often as multiple cars had trouble handling the sleek track and tight turns.
Austin Cindric, Aric Almirola and Hamlin each had some early adversity.
After Kyle Larson won Stage 1 under caution, Busch asserted his Pocono dominance and took the win in Stage 2.
The final stage opened with Busch trying to hold off a hard-charging Ross Chastain for the front of the pack. Ryan Blaney's hopes for clinching a playoff spot this week came to an end when he blew a back left tire.
But Busch relinquished the lead when he chose to pit with 37 laps to go. Chastain stayed out and managed to leapfrog him by pitting a lap later.
Hamlin then passed Busch for second place, but he was heard on his radio indicating he did not get enough fuel during his pitstop. However, he was able to get some time back when a caution was brought out with 23 laps to go after Blaney spun out on Turn 3 and took a huge hit into the wall.
The green flag was waved with 18 laps to go, and Hamlin and Chastain immediately went at each other for the lead. Hamlin took the inside position and refused to give Chastain any room, which led to the No. 1 car running into the wall on the first turn and brought out another caution.
After the restart, Hamlin emerged as the leader with Busch on his tail. Elliott and Tyler Reddick battled for third place. The cautions allowed Hamlin to put his fuel concerns out of his mind and focus on the finish.
Hamlin managed to pull away and hold off Busch for the unofficial victory. But in the end, it was Elliott who walked away with the win.
Hamlin officially finished 35th, with Busch following one spot behind at 36th.
The 2022 season has been one of the best runs of Elliott's career. With the playoffs on the horizon, the 2020 Cup Series champion looks to be the favorite to earn his second title.
There are still two playoff spots remaining as the drivers shift their attention to next Sunday's Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Denny Hamlin earned his second victory of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, claiming the Coca-Cola 600 in double overtime at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday.
It was a case of slow and steady winning the race, as Hamlin overcame some early setbacks and found himself in the right place at the right time. He held off a tough challenge from Kyle Busch.
Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe were engaged in a tight battle as the race neared its conclusion. With four laps to go, Briscoe briefly got on the inside and inched ahead of Larson. But the No. 5 car quickly catapulted himself back into the lead on the outside.
Briscoe got a bit too aggressive and spun out to watch his hopes for victory slip away.
The fight still wasn't over for Larson, though, as he needed to fend off the competition in overtime. He appeared to be free and clear to the finish line until Austin Dillon surged on the inside.
Larson got boxed in while the front row was running four-wide, and something had to give.
Hamlin got through the wreck unscathed and began the second overtime period as the leader. He opted to start from the inside, with Ross Chastain running alongside him on the outside.
Chastain quickly gave way to Busch, who did everything he could to dislodge the No. 11 car from the top spot but couldn't complete the task.
Coca-Cola 600 Results
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Chase Briscoe
5. Christopher Bell
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
8. Michael McDowell
9. Kyle Larson
10. Alex Bowman
Full leaderboard available at NASCAR's official site
Stage Winners
There was a scary moment in the final stage when Chris Buescher made contact with Daniel Suarez. As No. 17 was sliding in the infield, the right front wheel got lodged underneath the undercarriage and caused the car to flip and roll multiple times.
Track workers spent a lengthy amount of time tending to Buescher and getting his car turned over so he could exit. He climbed out under his own power and was released from the infield care center.
That was one of many notable wrecks that altered the course of events Sunday.
Busch got off to a strong start and was running a close second behind Suarez on the 46th lap when he got loose on the outside. The No. 18 car avoided any major damage but fell down the leaderboard.
Busch was at least able to quickly get back on the lead lap following a wreck by Corey LaJoie. He had fallen to 35th prior to receiving the free pass.
Bubba Wallace had a similar reversal of fortune when he was running fourth in the second stage. He spun out while rounding Turn 4, and the front right tire of the No. 23 car blew out as the vehicle was skidding to a stop.
Wallace was less than 50 feet away from his pit stall when he came to a halt, though. That allowed his crew to replace his tire and get him back on the track in relatively short order.
Sticking with the theme, Austin Cindric was ninth with 54 laps to go in Stage 2 when his left rear tire blew, sending him into the outside wall.
Unlike Busch and Wallace, he was unable to continue.
While there had already been nine cautions to that point, the race had yet to see as the second stage drew to a close any significant disruptions that impacted multiple cars. The "Big One" finally arrived on Lap 192.
Ryan Blaney lost control and set off a massive chain reaction. When the dust settled, 12 drivers took some level of damage.
Blaney, Chase Elliott and William Byron didn't return, ending strong runs from the latter two. Elliot had claimed the first stage and was poised to be a threat down the stretch.
Instead, the 2020 series champion will look to rebound when he's back on the track on June 5.
The World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, will stage the next race in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Enjoy Illinois 300. This is the very first event at the track.
The NASCAR Cup Series opens its 2022 season in its traditional spot at the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
The season-opening race produced an unexpected winner in Michael McDowell during a weather-affected and crash-filled event last February.
Reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who sits on Sunday's pole, is one of the top names in the field who will try to keep another surprise champion out of Victory Lane.
Larson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates produced some of the strongest runs in qualifying and Thursday's Duel races, but they need to back it up over 500 miles on Sunday.
Hendrick Motorsports has not won the "Great American Race" since Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it to Victory Lane in 2014.
Since then, Denny Hamlin has been the dominant driver at Daytona. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won three Daytona 500s in 2016, 2019 and 2020.
Hamlin, Larson and the other drivers in the field will be forced to deal with the chaotic nature of racing at Daytona while adjusting to the new NextGen Car, which makes its debut in a Cup Series points race on Sunday.
Daytona 500 Info
Date: Sunday, February 20
Start Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and Fox Sports app
Preview
Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin must headline the list of names to watch throughout the 500-mile jaunt around Daytona International Speedway.
Larson dominated the Cup Series circuit during the 2021 season, and he started off the 2022 campaign with a pole victory from Wednesday's qualifying session.
The No. 5 car driver has never won the Daytona 500, and he is trying to end a seven-race drought for Hendrick Motorsports.
Larson should reside near the front of the race for the early stages since he will have teammate Alex Bowman next to him from the start. The top two qualifiers should join up in the same line to draft right away.
Chase Elliott and William Byron could join the front row pair to give the Hendrick cars a strong hold on parts of the race.
The goal at Daytona is to link up with teammates, or drivers from the same manufacturer, to draft until the final stage of the race, which is typically a free-for-all.
As long as the Hendrick cars avoid any of the major wrecks, they should all be in the mix for the victory. That is a big if given Daytona's history for producing unpredictable multi-car wrecks because of the style of racing at the track.
Hamlin begins the race in 30th place, but he should make his way up the field in a prompt manner. All three of his teammates start in the Top 15, so once he joins them, the Toyota drafting lines should be tough to stop.
Hamlin's three Daytona 500 victories give him an edge over drivers in how to approach the race in terms of strategy and race positioning. He does not need to be in the lead from the start, but he will be lurking around the top positions.
Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski headline the group of Ford racers to watch. The former Team Penske teammates were in front of the first Duel qualifying race on Thursday.
Blaney topped Wednesday's second practice session, and he was in front of Keselowski for most of Duel 1 before his former teammate took the win.
Look for Keselowski, Blaney and Harrison Burton to form some sort of alliance early in the race to keep the Fords in the mix.
Joey Logano, who won in 2015, is worth watching later in the race. He is starting at the back of the field after a crash at the end of Duel 2 took out his primary car.
There is always a chance that an unexpected winner, like McDowell, appears, but there are many strong drivers in the field who will try to make sure that does not happen.
Hendrick Motorsports dominated the Daytona 500 qualifying session on Wednesday night.
Kyle Larson took the pole position for Sunday's race, and Alex Bowman ended up on the front row alongside the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Larson and Bowman have nothing to race for in Thursday's Duels, which takes out half of the Hendrick cars for victory contention in the two qualifying races.
Most of the recent Duel winners have come from NASCAR's big teams. Team Penske has a Duel win in three of the last four seasons, and Stewart-Haas Racing picked up wins in 2019 and 2021.
Ryan Blaney is the top non-Hendrick driver scheduled to take part in Duel 1 on Thursday. Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch will attempt to get results for their new teams.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch headline the Duel 2 lineup. Hamlin is a three-time Daytona 500 champion.
Updated Daytona 500 Odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Denny Hamlin (+850; bet $100 to win $850)
Chase Elliott (+1000)
Kyle Larson (+1100)
Joey Logano (+1200)
Ryan Blaney (+1200)
William Byron (+1500)
Kyle Busch (+1500)
Brad Keselowski (+1600)
Kurt Busch (+1700)
Kevin Harvick (+1800)
Alex Bowman (+1800)
Austin Dillon (+1800)
Duels Predictions
Ryan Blaney Captures Duel 1
Ryan Blaney has the potential to grab a second-row starting spot on the Daytona 500 grid through a win in Duel 1.
Blaney put down the fastest time in the second practice session on Tuesday, and he is just a few years removed from winning a Duel race in 2018.
Blaney has one teammate to work with in Austin Cindric. The two Team Penske drivers should work together to reach the front.
The No. 12 car driver faces a major threat from the three Hendrick cars in Duel 1, but one of those drivers is not racing for anything. Larson likely will not be as competitive as he preserves his car for Sunday's race.
The two Penske drivers could control the race alongside Chase Elliott and William Byron since a bunch of drivers from smaller teams are entered into Duel 1.
Team Penske proved it has the horsepower on Tuesday, and its best opportunity to extend its Duel-winning run to four times in five years comes via Blaney in a weaker Duel 1 field.
Joe Gibbs Racing Cars Control Duel 2
One of the best things to have at Daytona International Speedway is a teammate or two to draft with throughout the race.
Joe Gibbs Racing has its full complement of cars in Duel 2. Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell all start between the second and fifth rows.
The four drivers can team up to remain near, or at, the front of the competition for the duration of the race.
Even though Hamlin is a three-time Daytona 500 champion, the Joe Gibbs cars have not won a Duel since 2017, when Hamlin captured the second qualifying race.
The quartet of drivers should try to stick together in an attempt to win Duel 2 and to be lined up behind each other for the Daytona 500.
The second Duel race will determine the even-numbered starting positions, which means all of the Gibbs cars will start on the same lane on Sunday.
Hamlin, Busch, Truex and Bell could use Thursday's race as practice for how they can control the main event on Sunday, and that should result in all of them running at the front.
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The NASCAR Cup Series season has come to an end, with Kyle Larson being named the champion at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona on Sunday afternoon.
Larson, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. entered the race with a chance to be crowned 2021 champion. Larson's best finish at Phoenix before Sunday's race was second, while Truex, Elliott and Hamlin each had Cup Series wins at the track.
Cup Series Championship Results
1. Kyle Larson
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Chase Elliott
6. Aric Almirola
7. Kyle Busch
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Christopher Bell
10. Brad Keselowski
Larson was dominant throughout the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series, with Sunday's win marking his 10th Cup Series win this season. He is the first Asian American to win the Cup Series title.
Larson's championship comes one year after he used a racial slur while participating in a virtual iRacing event amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He was dropped by Chip Ganassi Racing and suspended from NASCAR before being reinstated in October 2020.
The 29-year-old, who now races for Hendrick Motorsports, led over 2,500 laps in 2021, while no other driver led more than 1,600.
Highlights and Reaction
Truex won the first stage at Phoenix, with Kevin Harvick, Elliott, Hamlin and Larson finishing in the top five. However, the first 75 laps didn't lack drama as Bubba Wallace was knocked out of the race early after crashing into the wall on a hit from Corey LaJoie.
The caution flag came back out again just four laps after Wallace was ruled out of the race as LaJoie and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bumped into each other.
Things remained relatively calm until caution flags came out again for a crash involving Quin Houff, who hit the wall in front of Hamlin, on Lap 54 of Stage 2.
All the leaders took the caution to the pit. Shortly after the race restarted, drivers were placed under caution again as Stenhouse lost his front-left tire and hit the wall, which ended his afternoon.
Ten minutes after Stenhouse crashed, Chase Briscoe got a flat tire and hit the wall hard, ending his rookie season early.
The crashes benefitted Larson as he claimed Stage 2, with Elliott, Hamlin, Truex and Blaney rounding out the top five.
Larson led as the final stage got underway. However, Elliott made things interesting, passing him with just 76 laps to go in the race.
Shortly after Elliott took the lead, the caution flag came out again as Anthony Alfredo blew his right tire and hit the wall.
Truex and Hamlin led the pack coming out of the pit after Alfredo's crash as Larson put himself in a rough spot, more than four seconds behind Truex for first.
Luckily for Larson, a caution came out again late in the race and the Championship 4 drivers decided to pit, a pivotal moment for the No. 5 Chevrolet driver. The California native gained a whopping three spots on pit road to take the lead with 24 laps to go, and he never gave it up.
This championship is Larson's first at the national series level. However, he has a 2012 title from the K&N Pro Series East. He also has 12 wins in 108 career Xfinity Series starts.
Elliott, who finished fifth, missed out on being the first repeat champion since Jimmie Johnson.
It's all come down to this.
Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. will hit the track at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday with one thing on their mind: winning the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Hamlin, Elliott and Truex Jr. each advanced to the Championship 4 after their performances at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 31.
Alex Bowman won the Xfinity 500, but all eyes were on Elliott, who had clinched his spot in the final four before Bowman took the checkered flag. Hamlin and Truex also made their marks in Virginia, as they eliminated Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch in securing their chance to compete for the title.
Larson already has four wins this postseason, but Elliott has a chance to do what only 10 drivers have done: win back-to-back titles.
Series Finale 500 Information
Date: Sunday, November 7
Start Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Live Stream: NBCSports.com or NBC Sports app
Odds
Kyle Larson: +190 (bet $100 to win $190)
Chase Elliott: +350
Denny Hamlin: +400
Martin Truex Jr.: +450
William Byron: +1400
Kyle Busch: +1600
Brad Keselowski: +2000
Ryan Blaney: +2200
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Starting Lineup
Preview
As the Championship 4 heads into Phoenix, only two of them (Elliott and Truex) have NASCAR Cup Series championships on their resume.
Sunday isn't about winning the race outright; it's about being the highest finisher among the Championship 4.
Hamlin, who has 46 victories in his career but no Cup title, will be trying to cap off his 15th playoff appearance and fourth final race with enough points to finally take home the championship that has eluded him.
"It's so hard to predict," Hamlin told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass. "This championship is made in one race. It's so different than it used to be.
"Our goal going into the year is to make the final four because it's really, really hard to predict what can happen in one particular race. ... I like our chances on a Phoenix-type track. That's for sure."
Larson came in second behind Keselowski at the final NASCAR Cup Series practice at Phoenix Raceway, leading all Championship 4 drivers with a lap of 135.293 mph. It's a great sign for the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who has had a racing season for the ages.
"It's hard for me to think if people will really remember if you don't win the championship," Larson told Jenna Fryer of Yahoo Sports. "You can read into that adding pressure that I want to win the championship even more to cap off what's been a great season. So that's my goal. And I hope we can finish it off and be mentioned as one of the top-five greatest seasons ever."
Truex won the Instacart 500 in Phoenix in March, but he's not favored to win the race this time around. But the 2017 Cup champion is still a big threat to win the Cup again.
"It's a big opportunity," Truex told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass. "To race for a championship is what we work all year for. ... Whoever has the best car, the best setup, the best day and puts it all together. "It's four great teams, four great drivers."
Elliott, 25, will be looking to become the youngest driver to win multiple championships and win the 14th NASCAR Cup Series championship for Hendrick Motorsports.
He would also be the first driver to win back-to-back titles since Jeff Gordon, who did it in 1997 and 1998. Speaking to Reid Spencer of Yahoo Sports ahead of the Season Finale 500, Elliott said:
"I think, having gone through the motions last year, we learned a lot about ourselves and about what's important. How to perform in a big moment is a nice thing you can carry with you forward. On the same token, we didn't have any of that experience last year, and it worked out OK.
"I feel like, for us, we just dive into what matters, and the guy who goes the fastest and runs the best race and executes a good day on Sunday will be rewarded, and that's where our focus is."
No matter who wins, this will be a race that fans will savor until next season.
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