All the Numbers You Need to Pick a Winner at NASCAR's Championship 4
Here's the case for Christian Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano
- A Martinsville victory put Christopher Bell in the Championship 4 with Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain.
- Elliott (2020) and Logano (2018) are past champions looking to add another trophy to their impressive trophy cases.
- Longshots Bell and Chastain have have combined for just one top-five finish (zero wins) in 13 career starts at Phoenix.
It can be argued that only three drivers looking to race their way into next weekend’s Championship 4 in Phoenix were household names when they arrived at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. (Former champion Joey Logano was already in, so he doesn’t count). The others were:
• Former Cup Series champion, multi-time Most Popular Driver, and five-time 2022 winner Chase Elliott was probably the best-known of the group on the Championship 4 bubble.
• Three-time Daytona 500 winner, 60-time Cup race winner, and consistent Championship 4 driver Denny Hamlin must be considered in that group.
• Popular Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney—although winless this season—is better-known than any winless driver should be.
The other Championship 4 contenders went into the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville a combined 11 wins in 507 Cup career starts and 8-for-136 this year. Household names? Hardly! Maybe in some NASCAR-obsessed households, but certainly not in many.
They were Ross Chastain (two victories this year), Chase Briscoe (one), William Byron (two), and Christopher Bell (three, including last weekend’s 500-lapper that qualified him for the Championship 4).
Twice during the 10-race Playoff series Bell has faced a win-or-go home challenge, and he won both times. He won the Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Roval to get to the Round of 8, then won the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville to advance to Phoenix.
The Martinsville victory put Bell in the Championship 4 with Logano, Elliott, and Chastain, the latter suddenly a household name across America. His sensational, oft-replayed, last-lap, wall-riding, all-or-nothing, never-seen-before charge got him to fifth (later, advanced to fourth) and into the Phoenix finale 4 by four points over Hamlin.
Here’s a look at this year’s Playoff survivors with a chance at a championship on Sunday at Phoenix:
The Championship 4:
Chase Elliott
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Chase Elliott
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro
Owner: Rick Hendrick
Primary sponsors: NAPA/Hooters
Crew chief: Alan Gustafson
How qualified: won four regular-season races and was first in regular-season points
Season recap: 35 starts, victories at Dover, Nashville, first Atlanta, Pocono, and second Talladega; 5 victories, 12 top-5 finishes, 20 top-10 finishes, 4 DNFs
Round of 16: 36th at Darlington, 11th at Kansas City, and 2nd at Bristol
Round of 12: 32nd at Texas, 1st at Talladega, and 20th at Charlotte Roval
Round of 8: 21st at Las Vegas, 14th at Homestead, and 10th at Martinsville
Most recent Phoenix results: 11th, 5th, 5th, 1st (2020 fall) and 7th
Lifetime at Phoenix: 13 starts, 1 victory, 5 top-5 finishes, 8 top-10 finishes, and 4 DNFs
Comment: One of two former champions to make it through to the Championship 4. Only time will tell if that experience handling the pressure from two years ago will help him become a two-time champion.
Joey Logano
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Joey Logano
Team: Team Penske
Car: No. 22 Ford Mustang
Owner: Roger Penske
Primary sponsors: Pennzoil/Shell
Crew chief: Paul Wolfe
How qualified: won two regular-season races and was second in regular-season points
Season recap: 35 starts, victories at first Darlington, St. Louis, and Las Vegas, 10 top-5 finishes, 16 top-10 finishes, and 4 DNFs
Round of 16: 4th at Darlington, 17th at Kansas City, and 27th at Bristol
Round of 12: 27th at Texas, 27th at Talladega, and 18th at Charlotte Roval
Round of 8: 1st at Las Vegas, 18th at Homestead, and 6th at Martinsville
Most recent Phoenix results: 8th, 11th, 2nd, 3rd, and 1st (2020 spring)
Lifetime at Phoenix: 27 starts, 2 victories, seven top-5s, 15 top-10s, 4 DNFs
Comment: Finished four of the nine Playoff races in good shape, but the other five have been troubling. You can’t win and finish better than sixth three other times during one stretch, then finish in the teens and 20s the next five races.
Christopher Bell
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Christopher Bell
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Primary sponsors: DeWalt/Rheem
Crew chief: Adam Stevens
How qualified: won one regular-season race and was 10th in regular-season points
Season recap: 35 starts, 3 victories, 12 top-5 finishes, 19 top-10 finishes, 6 DNFs
Round of 16: 5th at Darlington, 3rd at Kansas City, and 4th at Bristol
Round of 12: 34th at Texas, 17th at Talladega, and 1st at Charlotte Roval
Round of 8: 34th at Las Vegas, 11th at Homestead, and 1st at Martinsville
Most recent Phoenix results: 26th, 9th, 9th, 17th, and 24th
Lifetime at Phoenix: 5 starts, 0 victories, 0 top-5 finishes, 2 top-10 finishes, 0 DNFs
Comment: Twice in the first nine Playoff races he won to avoid elimination, at Charlotte to wrap up the Round of 12, then recently at Martinsville to complete the Round of 8. Now … if only his “miracles” will deliver one more time.
Ross Chastain
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Ross Chastain
Team: Trackhouse Racing
Car: No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro
Owner: Justin Marks
Primary sponsors: Advent Health/Worldwide Express
Crew chief: Phil Surgen
How qualified: won 2 regular-season race and was 3rd in regular-season points
Season recap: 35 starts, won at COTA and first Talladega, 14 top-5 finishes, 20 top-10 finishes, 5 DNFs
Round of 16: 20th at Darlington, 7th at Kansas City, and 6th at Bristol
Round of 12: 13th Texas, 4th at Talladega, and 37th at Charlotte Roval
Round of 8: 2nd at Las Vegas, 2nd at Homestead, 5 at Martinsville
Most recent Phoenix results: 2nd, 14th, 19th, 23rd, and 28th
Lifetime at Phoenix: 8 starts, 0 victories, 1 top-5 finish, 1 top-10 finish, 0 DNF
Comment: Regardless of what happens for the rest of his NASCAR career, the first memory many will have of this relative newbie will be his spectacular last-lap charge at Martinsville to race his way into the Championship 4 at Phoenix.
