AVONDALE, Ariz. – The sun has risen on a chilly morning in the West.
A little later this afternoon, so too will a driver and a team.
The NASCAR Cup Series is set to crown a champion this afternoon at Phoenix Raceway as the Championship 4 finishes off the 2024 season.
William Byron will represent Hendrick Motorsports, carrying title aspirations into the final race of the season for the second straight year. Byron and the No. 24 team have won nine races over the past two years and already has a couple of notable victories this year, claiming the DAYTONA 500 and a win at Martinsville as the organization celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Byron will roll off eighth on the starting grid and has the No. 1 pit stall after qualifying on Saturday. Championship 4 drivers were given first choice of stalls and though Joey Logano qualified higher, he failed inspection twice and was forced to choose fourth.
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson was the highest qualifying car of the group and will start fourth. Chase Elliott is just behind in fifth with Alex Bowman taking the 16th starting spot.
William Byron comes home third for Hendrick Motorsports at Phoenix
A final long run to the checkers proved a little too much to overcome despite a valiant effort from the No. 24 team.
Byron took a final restart with the lead but couldn't hold off eventual-champion Joey Logano. It capped a final, banner day for Hendrick Motorsports as Kyle Larson finished fourth and Chase Elliott came home eighth.
William Byron inherits lead after caution waves in stage three
After a crash brought out a caution amidst a pit cycle, William Byron inherited the lead after stretching the run longer than anyone else.
Byron had just a lap on his new set of rubber when Zane Smith hit the wall to bring out the yellow. Just 59 laps remain.
Caution waves in stage three after William Byron pits
Zane Smith smacked the wall to bring out the caution flag in stage three.
William Byron had just completed a pit stop and is seventh, still on the lead lap. The other three Championship 4 drivers short pitted the stage.
William Byron fourth in stage two, comes out third for stage three
Byron finished the second stage in the fourth position and is still there as stage three has gotten underway. Ryan Blaney is the highest running driver still eligible for the championship and also leads the race.
Stage two goes green; Chase Elliott second, William Byron fourth
After a brief pause for cleanup on pit road, the second stage is now underway.
Chase Elliott is the top showing Hendrick Motorsports driver in second while William Byron runs fourth, second highest among Championship 4 drivers.
The second stage is set for 125 laps, much longer than the first.
Pace car smacks barrels before stage two begins
The pace car made a late dart to pit road but it was too tardy as it smacked the barrels at the pit lane entry.
The caution wave was extended an extra couple of laps as the barrels were repaired.
Chase Elliott nabs lead after pit stops, William Byron up to third
The first round of pit stops shook up the front of the field a bit.
Chase Elliott's No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team put their Chevrolet out front, up four spots from when the yellow flag waved at the end of stage one. William Byron, meanwhile, gained yet another position and is up to third. More importantly, the No. 24 is now the top running Championship 4 car remaining.
The green flag is set to wave to begin stage two.
NASCAR live leaderboard, stage one results: Byron finishes fourth
The end of the first stage came quickly with 61 laps in the books at Phoenix Raceway.
William Byron, who's pursuing his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, finished in the fourth spot, up four positions from where he started in eighth, Chase Elliott, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, finished the opening stint in fifth with Kyle Larson rounding out the top 10 in 10th.
NASCAR Stage 1 results
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
William Byron up four spots early in Championship 4
William Byron advanced from eighth to fourth place halfway through the first stage at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. He's currently second among NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 competitors.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott (fifth) and Kyle Larson (10th) are also in the top 10 while Alex Bowman runs 16th.
NASCAR streaming for Championship 4 race
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race will be streamed on the NBC Sports app.
NASCAR green flag time
The official drop of the green flag is slated for 3:31 p.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. local.
Hendrick Motorsports show up early
Sunday morning was cold. And the wait until race time was long.
That didn't stop plenty of Hendrick Motorsports fans from arriving early.
For some, Sunday presented a bit of a dilemma. For instance, Rhonda Candelario, a long-time Chase Elliott fan said she'd defer to William Byron in the interest of a championship on Sunday. Her husband Luis, meanwhile, described himself as a fan of all Hendrick Motorsports drivers.
The couple, hailing from Chandler, Arizona, were at their second straight Championship 4 race. Luis said a Byron win would create a moment he'd never forget.
"It's going to be awesome," he said. "One of my dreams come true."
Ryan Kalcich, meanwhile, a native of Phoenix, also turned up early, sporting a No. 24 Liberty University hat. While some fans like the Candelarios have followed the sport for decades, Kalcich said he's a relatively new fan and was drawn to Byron after last year's Championship 4 appearance.
"Last year, seeing him in that Championship 4 kind of getting to feel out everything ... I like that 24," Kalcich said. "The car always looks good and it's just kind of stuck with me."
Olympian Michael Phelps to pilot pace car
It's hard to imagine that much could impress Michael Phelps, at least from an athletic standpoint.
But the most decorated swimmer in Olympic history, one with 23 gold medals and 28 medals overall, will take on a new challenge today: Piloting the pace car.
In preparation, he made a few practice laps and spoke about the experience on Sunday morning.
"I'm pretty pumped for this," Phelps said. "Went out and did a test lap and it was kind of fun going 100 miles per hour. Sitting in the front seat doing 100 miles per hour ... it was pretty exhilarating. It only makes me think about what these athletes are going to go through out there going 130 to 160 around this track. Mind blowing to me."
Jeff Andrews, Hendrick Motorsports ready to win title: 'These mornings are special'
The buildup to Sunday afternoon's NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race has seemed endless and despite the nerves that are sure to be present on race day, the morning's dawn offered a bit of relief.
There's a variety of emotions stirring within the Hendrick Motorsports camp and others across the garage but for the 14-time, Cup Series champions, it's largely positive. Company president and general manager Jeff Andrews discussed his feelings on the day a few hours before the green flag dropped.
“These mornings are special,” Andrews said. “It’s race day and a champion is going to be crowned this afternoon. For Hendrick Motorsports to have worked all season long and to be in the middle of that, it’s what we work for. It’s been an amazing year for us. A lot of success, 11 wins but ultimately, today comes down to a championship and we’ve got a car that’s going to go fight for that. William Byron and that 24 team and (crew chief) Rudy Fugle, they’ve had a good week so far. There’s a really good vibe and everybody is upbeat and positive.
“We’re just looking forward to going out today and representing Hendrick Motorsports well and bringing back that 15th trophy.”
As for that potential 15th championship, parties from across the company have restated their confidence in Byron's ability to bring it home. Andrews summed those sentiments up on Sunday morning as well.
“(The 24 team has) grown together and certainly that chemistry of getting William and Rudy back together a few years ago is really now starting to bear fruit,” Andrews said. “This takes time. It takes time not only to build the relationship but get everything in the right place where it needs to be. It’s a tough sport and this format through the playoffs is tough to get through.
“We’re going to go out and do our very best.”
Bowman reflects on NASCAR Cup Series season
It was a banner year for the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by nearly any measure.
Alex Bowman had already set a new career high before Sunday's race with 17 top-10 finishes this season and his win at the Chicago Street Course remains a highlight of the season for Hendrick Motorsports. He's finished in the top 10 in five of nine playoff races.
On Saturday he was asked how he would evaluate his year.
“I think things have been really good for at least the last nine weeks for the most part, so that’s been good,” Bowman said. “I feel like we’re stronger as a race team than when we started the season. We’ve done a lot of positive things, for sure.
I just think evaluating where we are and going from there and just continuing to improve every week is something that’s important to me.”
Bowman will roll off 16th this afternoon.
What's the weather for Phoenix today?
While the morning was cold, temperatures near race time are expected to rise into the high 70s. No rain is in the forecast.
NASCAR starting lineup for Phoenix
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Harris Burton, No. 21
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Corey LaJoie, No. 51
- Noah Gragson, No. 10
- Daniel Hemric, No. 31
- Jimmie Johnson, No. 84
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Derek Kraus, No. 16
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Zane Smith, No. 71
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Kaz Grala, No. 15
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38
- Ryan Preece, No. 41
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Michael McDowell, No. 34
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- JJ Yeley, No. 44
- Chad Finchum, No. 66
- Josh Berry, No. 4 (crashed)
- Jeb Burton, No. 50 (did not run qualifying lap)
What time does the NASCAR race start today?
Today's Championship 4 race will begin just after 3 p.m.
What channel is the NASCAR race on today?
The Cup Series finale will air on NBC.