Reigning NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session at Phoenix Raceway, where he is one of four drivers racing for the championship on Sunday.
Blaney, driving a Ford for Team Penske, topped the charts in the 50-minute practice on Friday. He’s aiming to be the first driver to win back-to-back titles since Jimmie Johnson, who won five consecutive championships from 2006 to 2010.
If Blaney or his teammate Joey Logano wins, it would give team owner Roger Penske three straight Cup titles. Logano, who finished ninth in Friday’s practice, won the title in 2022. Penske also recently won sports car championships in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, taking the title last weekend in Bahrain.
Martin Truex Jr., who was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round and will retire from full-time racing after Sunday’s race, was the second-fastest in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kyle Larson, who has won a Cup Series-high six races this season, was third-fastest in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He was eliminated from the championship race last week in the final playoff qualifier.
William Byron, the Daytona 500 winner and one of the title contenders, was fourth in a Hendrick Chevy. Byron made the championship four on points after Christopher Bell’s wall-riding move at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday was ruled illegal.
Tyler Reddick, the fourth and final driver in the championship race, was the slowest of the contenders in 21st in a Toyota for 23XI Racing.
Reddick is the only driver making his first appearance in the winner-take-all finale. He drives for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, who are suing NASCAR over the charter agreement they and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign in September.
Logano is aiming for a third Cup title, while Byron is hoping for his first.
