With a packed crowd filled with NASCAR’s most faithful celebrities and the best drivers in the world, the Phoenix Raceway put on a stellar event that catered to anyone who was in attendance.
Whether attendees had no knowledge of the event at hand or were die-hard racing fans, Championship Sunday was a slam dunk. The end of a three-day weekend that was filled with racing and many activities for fans to interact with, Championship Sunday drew in fans from all across the country to watch the sport that they love.
“It is the culmination of the whole season to watch a champion get crowned,” Michigan native Ryan Rollins said.
“It is a bucket-list item,” he added. “I have never been here. It is our first trip to Phoenix. The weather is great and the racing is awesome, so we are here to see a great race today.”
Rollins traveled to Avondale with his family that included his wife Brenda, his mother and father, as a “cross-it-off-the-bucket-list” trip. They had recently traveled to the previous NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 8 in Miami, where Brenda and his mother surprised Rollins and his father with this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Switching from Michigan to the West Valley, Anthem native Jacob Martin was just as excited to be able to see Championship Sunday. Martin would find his way into the event, not through purchasing a ticket but by working at a vendor stand on the track’s infield. But even from the sellers’ side of things, Martin is a racing fan at heart. He was still able to reap the same benefits as the normal fan.
“I had a great time,” Martin said. “I am always happy to come out, but not even that. I love the experience. It is a good time, and they have all of the events around. They open the garage; it is really an open field for the fans.”
Both Martin and the Rollins family would be treated to an electric atmosphere that included a gripping race and entertainment to make Championship Sunday a true bucket-list item.
The day’s first event for the fans started well before the race was underway, as the Phoenix Raceway would enlist the help of country music star Jon Pardi to help energize the crowd in an intimate, track-side concert that included many of his top songs, including “Night Shift,” “Dirt on My Boots,” and “Head Over Boots,” all of which revved up the crowd.
Shortly following the concert, the track was raided by smoke-bearing paragliders, as representatives from the Army Golden Knights’ parachute team trickled in from the sky and landed on the race surface, which fans met with roars of approval.
After a prayer and renditions of “God Bless America” and the national anthem, a two-jet military flyover concluded the preliminary events. From there, the race began with Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald Jr. driving the pace car as its honorary driver.
This edition of Championship Sunday included elite racing vehicles breezing at an average speed of 104 miles per hour, and a field of the top four drivers in the sport, as well as 32 other drivers that made up the field. The final four were Joey Logano, sporting the yellow No. 22 car; Ross Chastain in the black and blue No. 1 car; Christopher Bell in the black and gold No. 20 car; and Chase Elliott in the white and blue No. 9 car.
The race kicked off, and Logano assumed the early lead. He maintained it for the majority of the race, as he led for 187 of the 312 laps. Lap after lap it seemed like Logano was pulling further and further ahead.
After some time, however, Elliot found himself in a crash, resulting in time-consuming damage to his front right wheel, causing him to fall behind two crucial laps to the field with just over 100 laps remaining. From there, his championship aspirations were essentially squashed.
The race came down to the field chasing Logano, as the next closest contender was Chastain, who was the fastest driver through the last 20 laps, but his effort was in vein, as Logano would beat out Chastain and teammate Ryan Blaney for his second NASCAR Cup title, becoming the first driver all time to win two championships with Penske.
Overall, the event was a hit, featuring exciting racing and just as exciting entertainment, making Championship Sunday all that it was meant to be. As a whole, the West Valley is proud to hold such a prestigious event.
“It is just an honor, honestly,” Martin said, speaking for the West Valley. “There are a lot of big tracks. There is Daytona, Bristol and those are two great tracks, and just to have the championship come to a smaller stadium like Phoenix Raceway, it’s amazing.”