Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Joey Logano: Logano finished seventh in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville and joins Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain in the championship round.
“We’re headed to Phoenix,” Logano said, “to race for all the marbles. And to win all the marbles, you’ve got to have the biggest pair of them.”
2. Ross Chastain: Chastain blasted his way into the championship round, pinning his No. 1 Chevy to the outside all and rocketing his way past Denny Hamlin for the fourth and final playoff spot.
“It was totally worth it,” Chastain said. “One side of my car may be damaged beyond repair, but at least I’m on the ‘right side’ of the playoff field.”
3. Christopher Bell: Bell came through under pressure to win at Martinsville and advance to the championship round.
“I’ve pulled out two must-win victories in the Playoffs,” Bell said. “Can I do it one more time at Phoenix? Maybe, but I’ll need all my fans to do the pulling, and then, hopefully, I can pull through.”
4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stages 1 and 2 at Martinsville, but came up short and missed the championship round by one spot.
“Ross Chastain did it to me again,” Hamlin said. “Not by wrecking my car, but by wrecking his.”
5. Chase Elliott: Elliott took 11th at Martinsville, which was enough to get him into the championship round at Phoenix.
“It was too close for my liking,” Elliott said, “but I secured the last playoff spot. I was never really too worried that I wouldn’t qualify, but with it being the day before Halloween, I was a little scared.”
6. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished third at Martinsville, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the championship round.
“I didn’t win a single race this season,” Blaney said. “So, I don’t even belong in the championship round in the ‘first place.'”
7. William Byron: Byron started 25th and made his way up to an eighth-place finish, but missed the championship round.
“It looks like Ross Chastain got the last laugh in his season of confrontations with Denny Hamlin,” Byron said. “But if you think there was friction before Martinsville, then you haven’t seen what was going on between the wall and Chastain’s car.”
8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 16th at Martinsville.
“My No. 4 car had the words ‘Boosch’ on it,” Harvick said. “Ross Chastain was going so fast on that last lap, his car should have ‘Whoosh‘ on it.”
9. Kyle Larson: Larson started on the pole at Martinsville and finished second, one week after a dominant win at Homestead.
“I saved my best for last,” Larson said, “which was much later than I needed it.”
10. Daniel Suarez: Suarez finished 12th in the Xfinity 500.
“Congratulations to my Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain,” Suarez said. “His wall-riding strategy was a brilliant strategy, but will NASCAR rule in the future that such a move is illegal? Ross may have opened up a can of worms, while his team may have opened a can of paint.”
