Joey Logano capped off one of NASCAR’s competitive seasons to date by etching his name as a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion while claiming a dominant victory in the Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 6.
The 2018 Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led five times for a race-high 187 of 312-scheduled laps, including the final 29. After receiving a stellar pit stop from his crew during a late caution period with nearly 40 laps remaining, Logano, who restarted behind Chase Briscoe and teammate Ryan Blaney with 33 laps remaining, managed to reassume the lead with 29 laps remaining. From there, he held off a late charge from Blaney and title rival Ross Chastain to win both the finale and the overall championship in 2022.
Logano’s second Cup Series championship comes in his 14th full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, his 10th while driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske and four years after claiming his first title.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Joey Logano, a Championship 4 finalist, claimed the final pole position of the 2022 season, which marked his fourth of the season and the 26th of his Cup career, after posting a pole-winning lap at 134.389 mph in 26.788 mph. Joining him on the front row was teammate Ryan Blaney, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 134.373 mph in 26.791 seconds. Logano’s title rivals Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain qualified fifth, 17th and 25th, respectively.
Prior to the event, Daniel Hemric was named an interim competitor of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry in place of Ty Gibbs, the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. The news occurred after Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Coy Gibbs, co-owner of JGR and Ty Gibbs’ father, died at age 49 on Saturday evening and hours after Ty won the title, with the driver electing to not participate in the finale.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Logano fended off teammate Blaney and Chase Briscoe through the frontstretch dogleg to retain the lead as he also made his way through the first two turns. As the field fanned out and jostled for early positions for a full lap, Logano proceeded to lead the first lap.
Through the first five scheduled laps, Logano was leading by four-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney followed by Briscoe, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott while Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, rookie Harrison Burton, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Cole Custer was scored in 11th ahead of teammate Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski while Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain and Michael McDowell were mired in the top 20.
Five laps later and at the Lap 10 mark, Logano retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney while Briscoe, Larson and Elliott remained in the top five. While title contenders Logano and Elliott were running in the top five, Bell, the third title contender, was back in 16th while Chastain, the fourth and final title contender who started 27th, was up in 18th while battling Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Hamlin for more.
Another 12 laps later, Blaney, who was running in second place, made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1. Despite the incident, Blaney managed to keep his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang running straight and in second place without drawing a caution but now found himself trailing Logano by more than two seconds.
At the Lap 30 mark, Logano continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Blaney followed by Briscoe, Larson and Elliott while Truex, Byron, Harvick, Reddick and Burton occupied the top 10 on the track. By then, all four championship finalists were running in the top 15 as Bell and Chastain were up in 13th and 14th, respectively.
By Lap 45, Logano’s advantage over teammate Blaney decreased to half a second, with the latter recovering from his early scrub against the outside wall to gain ground and commence his challenge for the lead. With Logano leading both the race and the championship early, his three title rivals that included Elliott, Bell and Chastain were in sixth, 11th and 14th, respectively.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Logano navigated his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang through lapped traffic and fended off teammate Blaney to capture his seventh stage victory of the 2022 season and strike first towards his bid to become a two-time Cup champion. Briscoe settled in third behind the two Team Penske Ford competitors while Larson, Truex, Elliott, Byron, Harvick, Reddick and Cindric were scored in the top 10. By then, title rivals Bell and Chastain were up in 11th and 13th, respectively, while 28 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Under the stage break, the field led by Logano pitted for the first time for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. Following the pit stops, Logano retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Larson, Briscoe, Byron, Truex, Elliott, Blaney, Harvick, Bell and Chastain. By then, all four title contenders were scored in the top 10.
The second stage started on Lap 68 as Logano and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Logano rocketed with a strong start as he retained the lead through the first two turns followed by a side-by-side battle against Larson and Briscoe while the field fanned out and jostled for positions. With Logano out in front, Elliott was being challenged by Bell for sixth place while Truex and Byron were in the top five. Meanwhile, Chastain was in 11th while Blaney was back in eighth.
A few laps later, Bell overtook Elliott to move his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry into sixth place as he became the second-highest title contender on the track. Behind, Chastain navigated his way back into the top 10 in ninth while Truex muscled his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry into third place over Briscoe’s No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang.
By Lap 80, Logano was leading by more than two seconds over Larson followed by Truex, Byron and Briscoe while Bell, Blaney, Elliott, Harvick and Chastain were in the top 10. Behind, Reddick was in 11th ahead of Cindric, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones while Burton, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Hamlin and Austin Dillon occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Allmendinger was back in 21st ahead of Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Daniel Hemric and McDowell while Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Haley and Ty Dillon rounded out the top 30.
Five laps later, the caution returned when Landon Cassill slipped sideways and smacked the outside wall in Turn 2, where he was then hit by Stenhouse as Stenhouse, who had nowhere to go, spun. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Logano returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Erik Jones exited first after opting for a two-tire pit stop followed by Logano on four fresh tires, Larson, Truex, Briscoe, Blaney, Bell, Byron, Chastain and Elliott. Back on the track, however, Cole Custer assumed the lead after electing to remain on the track.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 90, the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the dogleg as Logano pulled a bold three-wide move to reassume the lead. Behind, Jones retained second while Larson, Blaney and Truex were carving their way through the field to return toward the top of the leaderboard. As the field jostled for positions, Custer was slowly losing spots on the track while on worn tires.
By Lap 94, Bell, who made contact with Elliott a lap earlier, got loose entering Turn 4 as he checked up and fell back to 14th while Elliott was trapped in a three-wide battle against Kevin Harvick and Custer for a spot in the top 10. This allowed Chastain to rocket his No. 1 Worldwide Express/Advent Health Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 past both and into seventh place as he became the second-highest title contender on the track while Logano preserved his advantage of more than a second.
At the Lap 100 mark, Logano was leading by more than two seconds over Larson followed by Blaney, Truex and Briscoe while Chastain was up in sixth place. Meanwhile, Elliott was in ninth behind Erik Jones while Bell was mired back in 12th in front of teammate Denny Hamlin.
Five laps later, Chastain ignited a challenge on Briscoe for fifth place while Logano retained the lead by more than two second over teammate Blaney. Behind, Elliott and Bell remained in ninth and 12th, respectively.
Another 20 laps later, Logano retained the lead both on the track and in the championship battle by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney while Larson, Truex and Briscoe were running in the top five. By then, Chastain was still in sixth place ahead of Harvick, Elliott moved his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in eighth and Bell remained in 12th behind Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
By Lap 140, Logano continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney. Behind, Chastain retain sixth ahead of Harvick, Elliott remained in eighth and Bell was up a single spot in 11th.
Just past the Lap 145 mark, Byron, who was running in the top 10, made a scheduled pit stop for four fresh tires and fuel under green. By then, Logano remained as the leader ahead of teammate Blaney followed by Larson, Truex and Briscoe.
At the halfway mark on Lap 156, Logano was leading by a tenth of a second over teammate Blaney while Truex, Larson, Briscoe, Harvick, Chastain, Bell, Reddick and Hamlin were scored in the top 10. By then, Elliott, who was initially scored in eighth, was back in 28th and a lap down after pitting two laps earlier for fresh tires and fuel.
Three laps later, Blaney, who stalked teammate Logano throughout the first half of the event, overtook Logano to emerge with the lead. Not long after, Byron was able to un-lap himself after pitting a few laps earlier under green. By then, Elliott was still mired a lap behind while Bell and Chastain were in seventh and eighth, respectively.
At the Lap 175 mark, Blaney was leading by more than a second over teammate Logano followed by Truex, Briscoe and Harvick while Larson was back in sixth. With Logano remaining as the top title contender on the track in second place, Bell and Chastain were scored in seventh and 10th, respectively. By then, Elliott was mired back in 18th, but back on the lead lap after overtaking leader Blaney five laps earlier.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 185, Blaney captured his series-leading ninth stage victory of the 2022 season before running out of fuel. Teammate Logano fended off Truex to settle in second while Briscoe, Harvick, Bell, Byron, Larson, Reddick and Cindric were scored in the top 10. By then, Chastain fell back to 11th while Elliott carved his way back to 12th.
Under the stage break, the field led by Blaney pitted for fresh tires and fuel. Following the pit stops, Blaney retained the lead after exiting first followed by Briscoe, Harvick, Byron, Logano and Elliott while Chastain and Bell were back in ninth and 11th.
With 120 laps remaining, the final stage started as Blaney and Briscoe occupied the front row. At the start and the field fanning out through the dogleg, Blaney retained the lead ahead of Briscoe while Harvick and Byron dueled for third in front of Elliott and Logano. A lap later, the caution returned when Reddick, who was making his first start with Richard Childress Racing, got pinned in a four-wide situation against Allmendinger, Hemric and Almirola entering Turns 3 and 4, where he was bumped against Almirola and Allmendinger before spinning. In the process, McDowell made contact with Ty Dillon and spun while trying to avoid Reddick’s No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
During the following restart with 113 laps remaining, disaster struck for Elliott, who restarted in fifth, after Chastain, who restarted seventh, made contact with Elliott as Elliott was turned and sent spinning towards the infield before he made right-side contact with the inside wall. Following the incident, Elliott pitted his damaged No. 9 Chevrolet for repairs. Despite returning to the track, he was mired back in 30th place and a lap down.
When the race restarted with 108 laps remaining, the field fanned out through the frontstretch and through the dogleg while Blaney fended off Briscoe to lead through the backstretch. Behind, Logano overtook Byron for third while Chastain was in fifth ahead of Bell and Harvick.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Blaney was leading by more than a second over Briscoe while Logano retained the lead in the championship standings while back in third place on the track. Byron was in fourth ahead of Chastain, Harvick and Kyle Busch while Bell was back in eighth despite reporting signs of his car blowing up.
Twenty-five laps later, Blaney continued to lead by more than two seconds over Briscoe followed by Logano, the highest-running title contender on the track. Behind, Byron and Harvick battled for fourth while Chastain was in sixth. Bell, who continued to run under full power, was in seventh in front of teammate Kyle Busch and Cindric while Elliott was mired back in 30th place, two laps behind as his title hopes were slowly evaporating.
With 65 laps remaining, green flag pit stops ensued as Briscoe pitted followed by Kyle Busch, Bell and Almirola. Soon after, Chastain pitted along with Byron, Truex, Harvick, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Logano, Cindric, the race leader Blaney and others.
With 58 laps remaining and with most of the field having made a pit stop under green, Blaney cycled back to the lead ahead of Briscoe and Harvick. Meanwhile, Logano was being pressured by a hard-charging Bell for fourth place on the track and for the top seed in the championship battle.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Blaney was leading by nearly two seconds over Briscoe while Harvick was trying to fend off Logano for third place. By then, however, Logano remained as the highest-running title contender on the track ahead of fifth-place Bell while Chastain, who endured a slow pit stop under green, was back in ninth. Elliott, meanwhile, was mired back in 29th and off the pace to the front-runners.
Then with 44 laps remaining, the caution flew when Alex Bowman, who returned behind the wheel following a five-race absence while recovering from concussion-like symptoms, was hit and turned by McDowell entering the backstretch as Bowman spun his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the backstretch inside wall. During the caution period, the field led by Blaney and including the three title contenders (Logano, Bell and Chastain) pitted. Following the pit stops, Briscoe exited with the lead followed by Blaney, Logano, Harvick, Byron, Truex, Kyle Busch and Chastain while Bell, who endured a slow pit stop from his No. 20 pit crew due to an issue while changing the left-rear tire, came out in 16th. During the pit stops, Truex was penalized for speeding on pit road. As the field proceeded under a cautious pace behind the pace car, trouble then struck for Keselowski, who parked his car on the frontstretch as his No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang burst into flames.
When the race restarted with 33 laps remaining, the field fanned out through the dogleg as Briscoe emerged out in front ahead of Blaney, Logano and Byron. As Logano battled teammate Blaney for the runner-up spot, Chastain went to work in challenging Harvick for fifth place before succeeding during the following lap.
With 30 laps remaining, Briscoe was leading by a tenth over Logano while Blaney was fending off Chastain for third place as Byron and Harvick trailed behind. A lap later, however, Logano muscled his car back into the lead ahead of Briscoe, Blaney and Chastain.
Five laps later, Logano was leading both the race and the championship battle by more than a second over teammate Blaney, who was locked in a tight battle for second place against Briscoe, while Chastain, Logano’s closest title contender, was still mired in fourth, two seconds behind Logano, in front of Byron. By then, Bell was up in 10th place and five seconds behind Logano while Elliott was two laps behind in 29th place.
Another seven laps later, Chastain pulled a bold, slide job move on Briscoe through Turns 1 and 2 to move into third place on the track. He, however, remained in the runner-up spot in the championship battle while Logano retained the top spot by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Blaney.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Logano continued to lead the race and the championship battle by four-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney while third-place Chastain was trying to close in on the two Team Penske competitors as he was two seconds behind Logano.
With five laps remaining, Logano retained the lead by half a second over teammate Blaney and over more than a second over third-place Chastain, who continued to gain ground but was running out of time.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano remained as the leader with a reasonable advantage over teammate Blaney while Chastain continued to trail by more than a second. With the clean air to his advantage and no late challenges lurking behind him, Logano cycled his way back to the frontstretch for a final time and streaked across the finish line in first place to win the finale and the championship.
With his accomplishment, Logano, who started the season by winning the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in February, became the 17th different competitor to achieve multiple NASCAR Cup Series championships, which was last made by Kyle Busch in 2019. He also recorded the third Cup title for Team Penske and the second for veteran crew chief Paul Wolfe while delivering the first drivers’ title for the Ford nameplate since 2018. As a result, Logano became the second Ford driver to achieve multiple Cup titles since the late NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson made the last accomplishment between 1968 and 1969.
With the champion Joey Logano winning the finale, this marks the ninth consecutive season since the series’ Playoff elimination-style format was incepted in 2014 where the championship-winning competitor won the finale as Logano recorded his 31st career win in NASCAR’s premier series and fourth of the season.
“We did it! We’re champions again! Yes!” Logano exclaimed on the frontstretch on NBC. “Oh, my God, I’m so excited. Thank you to everybody, my team. You guys are amazing. [They] Gave me a good race car, good pit stop there at the end, got us up in front. Boy, that was just intense there at the end. It’s all about championships. That’s what it’s all about, and we worked so hard the last couple of weeks trying to put ourselves in position. And everything that happened in 2020, I knew we just wanted to have a solid run and do this today.”
“I can’t thank Ford and Shell/Pennzoil enough for supporting me over the last 10 years, getting us a couple championships together,” Logano added. “All our partners at Team Penske, everybody that works on these cars. It’s such a big deal to win these championships. It impacts so many people’s lives. Just an incredible day for us. I knew going into this [event] that we were going to win the championship. I told the guys, ‘We’re the favorite from Daytona.’ We truly believed it and that’s the difference. I had a good time with a bunch of confidence and we had all the reason in the world to be confident. I said I’d never been truly this ready for a championship race and we did it. Man, I can’t believe it.”
Upon saluting the fans, driving his car to the championship stage and hoisting the championship trophy while celebrating with his team, Logano also took the time to cherish the victory with his family, among which included his four-year-old Hudson, who rode with Logano to the championship stage.
“Ever since [Kevin] Harvick gave his son a ride in the car, I always wanted to do that with Hudson,” Logano said on the championship stage. “He’s such a little car guy. It was a special moment to ride together. Man, I can’t say enough about this race team. They just grind it out. They’re so amazing. [Crew chief] Paul Wolfe, everybody that puts so much time and effort into the last few weeks. And not just this 22 team. This goes so much deeper when you think of Roush Yates Engines and the motor that’s in this bad boy. You think of everyone at Ford, all the employees at Shell and Pennzoil, everyone that’s supported me. It’s been 10 years with Shell, and to get a couple of championships and 31 wins is special. [This is] Just a really special year for us. No. 22 [car] in ’22. I told you so!”
Like Logano, team owner Roger Penske was also with a smile after becoming the first owner to win both the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship and the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship in the season, the latter of which he achieved with newly crowned two-time champion Will Power in September.
“It’s a great team effort for everybody here today at Phoenix,” Roger Penske added. “[To] End up in the winner’s circle and also winning the championship is special. What a day for Ford, what a day for Pennzoil and what a day for our team. Tremendous. It took 31 years to [win both NASCAR and IndyCar championships in the same season]. That shows you I’m getting pretty old. Can you believe it? I can’t, but to watch that [finale] at the end and the teamwork with [Ryan] Blaney and all the Ford teams. It was a full team effort. I’m so thrilled to be here.”
“[My last championship] was a long time ago,” Paul Wolfe, Logano’s crew chief who won his first Cup title in 2012 with Brad Keselowski, added. “Ten years later, here we are again. So much has changed, but [it was] so tough. There was so much thrown at us this year with that new [Next Gen] car. So proud of all the guys on the team, Team Penske. To be able to get the first win with this Next Gen car, starting the season off at the Coliseum and ending it like this with a win and a championship. It’s real special. There’s just so many people that have supported me along the way. It’s a lot of hard work. A lot of dedication by a lot of people within the company. I told a lot of people this week, I knew we were prepared. I felt good about it. I just didn’t want to screw it up. I wanted to give Joey the best shot he could at getting it done. He was flawless. He’s been great through the Playoffs.”
While Logano celebrated a championship, Chastain managed a smile on pit road after finishing in third place on the track and in a career-best runner-up result in the final championship standings. The 2022 season, overall, generated a historic season for Chastain and Trackhouse Racing, with the Floridian notching his first two Cup career victories at Circuit of the Americas in March followed by Talladega Superspeedway in April. To go along with a total of 18 top-five results, 30 top-10 results. 692 laps led and a career-best average-finishing result of 13.3 throughout the 36-race schedule, the runner-up result in the final standings have fueled Chastain and Trackhouse, which completed its second campaign in NASCAR, to ignite another run for the title in 2023.
“I think we did everything right there at the end,” Chastain said. “That was a heck of a drive for us. Who had the No. 1 car in second in points on their bingo card [on] February 1st? It’s pretty wild. This is a continuation of a lot of people believing in me. I came into the Truck Series in 2011 with Stacy Compton, Bobby Dotter, Brad. [I moved] On up through Xfinity [Series] with Johnny Davis and got the chance with Jay Robinson, got the chance with Chip Ganassi. To build everything together, to come and drive this No. 1 car, the No. 42 car last year, there’s so many team owners, so many crew members that have put in the work. It’s pretty wild to think we just fought for a Cup Series championship and to have a car to chase [Logano] down at the end. That’s a testament to everybody at Chevy and GM, making me a better racecar driver.
“And my family, they have stuck with me and pushed me forward from the farm to NASCAR. It’s wild why we’re here. I don’t understand. I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to do at the track and on the farm. A lot of people, maybe thought, weren’t sure how I’d be getting out the car. But I’m so proud of the effort and so proud of the execution on pit road of our pit crew. This is only our first shot with Trackhouse [Racing]. For Justin Marks, Ty [Norris] and Pitbull to believe in me to drive this No. 1 car, it’s incredible.”
“I didn’t think [the move at Martinsville Speedway] would [work],” Chastain added. “I think we were going too fast here and didn’t think it would work. I thought it would at Martinsville and feel like I was very blessed and fortunate that it did. But not here. I got to the left of [Elliott] and saw an erratic move that he made to turn left to cover it but I was already there. Look, it’s not who I want to race them or those guys. For everyone at GM, I needed other Chevys up there to fight those other guys. It’s not what I want to do, but I feel like I had position on him and he tried to cover it late. Hats off to Penske and everyone on Joey’s team. I’m happy for them and I’m genuinely happy right now for our team. I wish we had another go at it.”
Like Chastain, the 2022 season was a stellar season for Christopher Bell, who ended up in 10th place in the finale and in a career-best third place in the final championship standings. Overall, Bell capped off his third full-time campaign in the Cup Series with three victories, including two in the Playoffs at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course and Martinsville Speedway in October that enabled him and the No. 20 team to transfer all the way to the Championship 4 round. He also achieved his first four career poles, 12 top-five results, 20 top-10 results, 573 laps led and a career-best average-finishing result of 13.8 throughout the 36-race schedule. The final result, however, left Bell with mixed emotions amid the loss of Coy Gibbs, co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing who died the night before and following Ty Gibbs’ Xfinity Series championship.
“Wow, wow, wow,” Bell said. “From being out and then, the wins at Charlotte and Martinsville. Then all of a sudden, you wake up this morning and you’re racing for a championship. You’re happy, you’re belated and then, your world comes crashing down. Whenever you get news like that, it definitely puts into perspective that there’s more to this than outside of racing. The whole Gibbs family is in all of our prayers and thinking of [Coy Gibbs]. Ultimately today, the best car won the championship. [Logano] was really strong. Proud of our No. 20 group, though. We fought hard. Whenever it was at the end of the race, the last pit stop, or we thought was gonna be the last pit stop, we were right there battling for it. Just proud to be in this position. Proud to be at Joe Gibbs Racing driving this No. 20 car. We were there and hopefully, we can come back again next year.”
Rounding out the Championship 4 field was Chase Elliott, who ended up in 28th place on the track and in fourth place in the final championship standings after he was unable to recover from his late incident involving Chastain. Despite falling short of winning his second Cup title, the 2022 season generated a strong season for the 2020 champion, who achieved a series-leading five victories along with three poles, 12 top-five results, 20 top-10 results, 857 laps led and an average-finishing result of 12.5 throughout the 36-race schedule.
“[I’m] Proud of my team for the effort that they put in this weekend,” Elliott said. “[I] Felt like we got our car a lot better throughout the race. For that, I think we should be very proud. It was nice to make the [championship] round. It’s a very difficult thing to do. Obviously, [I’m] not content with that, but certainly, nice to come out here and have a shot. Hopefully, we can come back stronger next year and give ourselves another chance, and make it go our way next time.”
Ryan Blaney, who ended up in eighth place in the final standings and winless for the first time since 2016, came home in second place during the finale while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Kevin Harvick finished completed the top five. William Byron, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson finished sixth through ninth, respectively.
Notably, Kyle Busch finished seventh in his 528th and final Cup start behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Tyler Reddick finished 23rd in his 110th and final start in the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing while Ty Dillon finished 26th in his 36th and final start driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS Motorsports.
In addition, crew chiefs Greg Ives and Justin Alexander called their final Cup Series events as crew chiefs for Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon, respectively.
Martin Truex Jr., who finished 15th during the finale and winless for the first time since 2014, concluded the 2022 season as the highest non-Playoff competitor in the standings in 17th place followed by Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola and Chris Buescher.
With an 11th-place result during the finale and a 12th-place result in the final standings, Austin Cindric was officially named the 2022 Cup Series Rookie of the Year over Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland. With 19 victories to this season, Chevrolet was awarded its 41st Cup manufacturer’s title, an achievement that was accomplished two weeks ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Kyle Larson winning the event.
There were 11 lead changes for six different leaders. The finale featured six cautions for 39 laps.
Results.
1. Joey Logano, 187 laps led, Stage 1 winner
2. Ryan Blaney, 109 laps led, Stage 2 winner
3. Ross Chastain
4. Chase Briscoe, 11 laps led
5. Kevin Harvick
6. William Byron
7. Kyle Busch
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Kyle Larson
10. Christopher Bell
11. Austin Cindric
12. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led
13. Austin Dillon
14. Erik Jones
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Cole Custer, three laps led
17. Daniel Hemric
18. Corey LaJoie
19. Harrison Burton
20. Aric Almirola
21. Chris Buescher
22. Bubba Wallace, one lap down
23. Tyler Reddick, one lap down
24. Daniel Suarez, one lap down
25. Michael McDowell, one lap down
26. Ty Dillon, one lap down
27. Justin Haley, one lap down
28. Chase Elliott, two laps down
29. Todd Gilliland, three laps down
30. Cody Ware, four laps down
31. BJ McLeod, five laps down
32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., five laps down
33. Garrett Smithley, eight laps down
34. Alex Bowman, eight laps down, one lap led
35. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Electrical
36. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Championship finalists
Final standings
1. Joey Logano
2. Ross Chastain
3. Christopher Bell
4. Chase Elliott
5. Denny Hamlin
6. William Byron
7. Kyle Larson
8. Ryan Blaney
9. Chase Briscoe
10. Daniel Suarez
11. Austin Dillon
12. Austin Cindric
13. Kyle Busch
14. Tyler Reddick
15. Kevin Harvick
16. Alex Bowman
The NASCAR Cup Series competitors and teams enter an off-season period before returning to action at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Busch Light Clash on February 5, 2023. This event will be followed by the 65th annual running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, which will occur on February 19, 2023, and officially commence the 75th anniversary of NASCAR competition.
