RICK WARE RACING
NASCAR Season Finale
Date: Nov. 10, 2024
Event: NASCAR Cup Series Season Finale (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Phoenix Raceway (1-mile oval)
Format: 312 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps / 125 laps / 127 laps)
Champion: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
RWR Race Finish:
● Corey LaJoie (Started 20th, Finished 32nd/ Running, completed 309 of 312 laps)
● Kaz Grala (Started 31st, Finished 34th/Running, completed 308 of 312 laps)
RWR Points:
● Corey LaJoie (33rd with 489 points)
● Kaz Grala (35th with 206 points)
RWR Notes:
● This was LaJoie’s 15th NASCAR Cup Series start at Phoenix. His best finish remains 18th, earned in November 2022.
● This was Grala’s second NASCAR Cup Series start at Phoenix. His best finish remains 30th, earned on March 10.
Race Notes:
● Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series Season Finale to score his 36th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the year and his fourth at Phoenix. His margin over second-place Ryan Blaney was .33 of a second.
● Logano earned the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix by virtue of his win. It was Logano’s third NASCAR Cup Series championship (2018, 2022 and 2024), making him the 10th different driver to win three or more championships all-time, and the only active fulltime driver to accomplish the feat.
● This was Ford’s 740th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory, its 12th of the season and second straight. Blaney won last Sunday at Martinsville for the Blue Oval.
● This was Ford’s series-leading 20th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Phoenix. The manufacturer won the first two races at Phoenix with NASCAR Hall of Famers Alan Kulwicki on Nov. 6, 1988, and Bill Elliott on Nov. 5, 1989. It has now won three of the last six races at Phoenix with Briscoe (March 2022) and Logano (November 2022 and 2024).
● Ford’s NASCAR Cup Series championship streak extended to three in a row with Logano’s victory in the season finale at Phoenix.
● Ford has won the Cup Series championship 12 times by nine different drivers. In addition, Ford has won at least two NASCAR championships in each of the last three seasons, including a sweep of all three last year.
● Logano is the first Ford driver to win at least three NASCAR Cup Series championships and the 10th driver in NASCAR history to do so, joining fellow three-time winners Tony Stewart, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson and Lee Petty; four-time champion Jeff Gordon; and seven-time titleholders Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 33 laps.
● Only 19 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Next Up:
The 2025 season begins with the non-points Busch Light Clash on Feb. 2 at historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, before kicking off its 36-race slate of points-paying events with the 67th Daytona 500 on Feb. 16 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Both races will be broadcast live on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
