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AVONDALE, Ariz. – It is rarely straightforward to lose a Cup championship. Disappointment is inevitable however the three eradicated title contenders left Phoenix at peace after giving all the things they’d.
Ross Chastain, a non-playoff driver, won the season finale at Phoenix. Ryan Blaney completed second and celebrated his first Cup championship. Title contenders Christopher Bell, William Byron and Kyle Larson all fell in need of profitable the title.
None of those drivers made essential errors that took them out of rivalry over the course of 312 laps. Bell completed thirty sixth however solely after a brake rotor exploded and despatched him into the skin wall. Larson and Byron completed third and fourth.
“I’m at peace knowing that’s all I had today,” Larson stated. “I know it didn’t look like it that last run but that was all I have. The team did a really good job of putting us in that spot.
“…Even though I didn’t feel like I had the best car, I had an opportunity, so it’s a bummer when you don’t win. At the same point, I’m probably — coming up this close — I’m probably more eager for the following season already.”
Larson began fourth. He didn’t lead any laps however spent the afternoon within the highest 10. Part of this was his automotive’s pace. Part of it was a pit crew that gained him spots on pit highway.
“The only reason we were in the hunt, was pit road, pit crew obviously,” Larson stated. “The way we executed our pit road lights, the engineers and everybody who maps that out and everything, I felt like, yeah, I just wanted to keep coming down pit road.”
Byron had the dominant automotive early. He led 95 laps and have become the second driver this season to surpass 1,000 laps led in 2023. Larson was the primary.
The state of affairs fully modified for Byron in the midst of stage 2.
The observe modified as extra rubber was laid down. This took Byron out of rivalry for the win, to the purpose that he fell greater than two seconds behind Blaney and Larson after the ultimate restart. He grew to become the primary driver to lose the championship at Phoenix after profitable the primary pit stall.
Byron: ‘Stinks to come back up brief’
William Byron’s No. 24 received too tight as soon as the observe rubbered in and had a giant stability shift particularly after dropping the lead, however he’d wish to assume he’ll be again able to battle for a Cup title subsequent season.
“I mean, it’s a bit of a letdown based on how we started the race,” Byron stated. “As soon as we got into stage 2, trying to figure out how do we manage what we have, maybe make it a little bit better if we can. But we just need more on the short tracks. We just struggled as a team on the short tracks.
“We had a great season, a lot to be proud of, a lot of really solid races, communicating well as a team. I feel like all that stuff can just go up a notch hopefully, just have a bit more speed at certain tracks that we know are important. Definitely down the stretch here it was tough. We didn’t have really what we needed, but that’s okay.”
Bell, who made his second consecutive look within the Championship 4, by no means had a chance to contend for the championship. He began thirteenth and reached ninth by the top of stage 1 however in the end ended the day final.
Larson: ‘Pit crew stored us within the sport’
Kyle Larson speaks to the respect stage that he and Ryan Blaney confirmed one another throughout the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race after ending runner-up within the title combat.
Bell didn’t win the championship for the second time in two seasons. He expressed disappointment concerning the end result and being unable to take care of Blaney, Larson and Byron. The disappointment didn’t overshadow his pleasure about future alternatives.
“I’m very proud of the effort put forth by our team to get to the Championship 4, but I do feel like we left a lot on the table at various races throughout the year,” Bell stated. “I’m excited about the future. We haven’t reached our potential yet.”
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