It was two Team Penske teammates that decided the fate of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Two-time champion Joey Logano and defending champion Ryan Blaney duked it out in the closing laps at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, with Logano holding off Blaney to earn the race win and his third NASCAR Cup Series championship.
After going from fifth to first in a single lap on the Lap 259 restart, it initially looked like Logano was going to be able to coast to the title as William Byron faded and Blaney was entrenched in a battle with Kyle Larson.
Once Blaney got around Larson, however, he was able to make quick work of Byron and close what was once a 3.3-second deficit down to mere feet in the closing laps.
However, Blaney’s ill-fated attempts to run a higher lane in the final laps didn’t give him the edge he needed to pass his teammate, and he had to settle for second place.
