NASCAR Cup Series championship live updates: Joey Logano executes late run, wins title

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It all comes down to Phoenix Raceway, where Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell will compete for an elusive NASCAR Cup Series title. Who will go home as a champion?

NASCAR reporter Alex Zietlow will be working to answer this question and more by sending along lap-by-lap updates in the section below. Refresh this link for the latest news. Results will be posted after the race.

Unofficial results

P - Playoffs

Live updates: NASCAR Cup Series championship

Stage 3

Lap 312: Joey Logano has won the race, and the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship after a cominant final stage at Phoenix! Stay with The Observer for the latest news and analysis.

Lap 305: Inside of 10 to go and Joey Logano is hanging on in front, and Ryan Blaney is unwittingly running interference between Logano and Ross Chastain in third place. Chastain has 1.7 seconds to make up on Logano, and about 1 second on Blaney.

Lap 292: Inside of 20 laps to go and Joey Logano has put a stranglehold on this one. Among the Championship 4, Logano leads the race after a restart some 15 laps ago.. Ross Chastain is the closest final four car in fourth position, some 2.7 seconds back. Between then are Blaney and Briscoe. Christopher Bell holds in 10th and Chase Elliott is two laps down after earlier troubles.

Lap 285: Back to green! Briscoe leads them back to live racing, and Christopher Bell has worked his way back to 10th in pursuit of Joey Logano, who remains the best car involved in the Final Four ... And as we type that.. Logano with the power move to the front! Logano leads!

Lap 274: Brad Keselowski stops dead on the track after what he said was built-up rubber caught fire... This comes after some pit stops on the most recent caution prior to this shuffled the deck. Christopher Bell had a terrible 19.8 second pit stop after dropping a lug on the left side and fell from 5th to 16th. Chase Briscoe took the lead after stops, Joey Logano third and Ross Chastain 8th. Martin Truex Jr. penalized for speeding.

Lap 268: Alex Bowman spins and makes hard front end contact with inside wall after contact from Michael McDowell. That brings out Caution No. 6 on the afternoon at Phoenix. Logano, Byron, Cindric, Briscoe are your top 4 at the moment under yellow.

Lap 252: The final trips down pit road (at least under green) are made with about 62 laps to go — and Joey Logano cycles out as the leader. But Christopher Bell is here! The 20 team filed down pit road earlier than the rest of the field, gambling that he could chase down Logano with fresher tires if he got a head start on having better equipment. And it’s working for now. He’s staying close. Logano running P4; Bell running P5.

Lap 227: Checking in: It’s Blaney, Briscoe, Logano, Byron, Harvick, Chastain, Bell, Busch, Cindric, Truex Jr. in the Top 10. Chase Elliott still struggling post-Chastain wreck. He’s now two laps down.

Lap 215: Not related to the chase for the championship, but concerning nonetheless: Per RFK Racing, the tire carrier for the No. 17 Ford was struck by a competitor car during a pit stop. He’s being taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Lap 195: Chase Elliott spins out on a restart trying to make an inside move in front of Ross Chastain, who doesn’t lift and gets underneath the No. 9 car. Elliott slams into the wall. That’s probably two broken toe links. At risk of stating the obvious: This is not ideal news for the Championship 4 driver.

Lap 192: 120 laps to go in the season! We’re under green once more.

Stage 2

Lap 185: Ryan Blaney takes the Stage 2 win, and Joey Logano finishes right after him. Martin Truex Jr., Chase Briscoe, Kevin Harvick, Chrstopher Bell, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric file behind them. Chase Elliott’s gamble on pit road mid-Stage 2 appears to be working: He’s emerged off pit road entering Stage 3 in P6 after not having to stress about fuel at the end of Stage 2.

Lap 167: Chase Elliott pitted under green and just passed Joey Logano to get back on the lead lap. Joey Logano will likely stay out all of Stage 2 but will need to conserve fuel to do so. He probably won’t win Stage 2. Ryan Blaney running much faster than him now.

Lap 104: There has been virtually no movement at the top of the field. Joey Logano has already led over 100 laps and counting. His lead over the rest of the field is at about 2.5 seconds. One person to keep an eye on? Ross Chastain has moved into sixth after starting in the mid-20s. The 1 car clearly has speed. But can he pass those in front of him to give him a clean shot at Logano before the checkered flag?

Lap 62: Joey Logano is the first off pit road, staying in control of the race. Kyle Larson makes up a few spots and will be positioned right next to Logano on the Stage 2 restart. Ross Chastain has had speed all day, moving up from his 25th starting position with enviable ease. Going green again soon!

Stage 1

Lap 60: Joey Logano dominates Stage 1, a NASCAR Cup Series-most fifth stage win at Phoenix. Rounding out the Top 10: Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson (P), Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott (P), William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric. (Christopher Bell is running P11; Ross Chastain is running P13.)

Lap 32: Drivers all week have talked about how difficult it will be to pass once cars spread out on the racetrack. And that’s proving true today. Joey Logano looks to be cruising to a Stage 1 win. (Worth mentioning: Zane Smith swept all three stages and started on the pole in the Truck Series championship on Friday, and Ty Gibbs swept all three stages and started on the pole in the Xfinity Series championship on Saturday.)

Lap 9: Joey Logano, who sat on the pole for Sunday’s race, is running well to begin Sunday’s race. It’s Logano, Ryan Blaney (Logano’s Team Penske teammate), Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott rounding out the Top 5.

Green flag! 3:40 p.m. ET: Let’s do this!

3:09 p.m.: Per a statement from Joe Gibbs Racing: “It is with great sorrow that Joe Gibbs Racing confirms that Coy Gibbs (co-owner) went to be with the Lord in his sleep last night. The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time.” Coy Gibbs is the son of Joe Gibbs and the father of Ty Gibbs, who will not be competing in today’s Cup race. (For more information on this, check out our full report here.)

2:35 p.m.: It’s been quite the busy week in motorsports: After an absolutely wild finish at Martinsville — videos of Ross Chastain’s Hail Melon/Haul The Wall have notched over 100 million views, per NASCAR — the Truck Series race on Friday night ended with a thrilling overtime finish, and Saturday’s Xfinity title race was quite the show, too.

2:09 p.m.: Ty Gibbs will not compete in today’s NASCAR Cup Series race due to an unspecified family emergency, per reports. Gibbs won the Xfinity Series championship yesterday. In a statement, 23XI Racing said that Daniel Hemric would be competing in his stead.

2:05 p.m.: We’re still about an hour away from seeing the green flag, and skies are clear in Avondale, Ariz., home of Phoenix Raceway. Temperatures will climb to the high-70s during the bulk of the race. Beautiful day for racing!

How to watch NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix

• Race: NASCAR Cup Series Championship
• Place: Phoenix Raceway
• Date: Sunday, Nov. 6
• Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Purse: $10,542,284
• TV: NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 312 miles (312 laps)
• Racetrack details: Oval, 1-mile
• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 312)

Starting lineup for NASCAR Cup Series championship

As reported above, Ty Gibbs will not compete in the No. 23 car. In a statement, 23XI Racing said that Daniel Hemric would be competing in his stead.

This story was originally published November 6, 2022 at 2:13 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription