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NASCAR Cup Series Championship
Avondale, AZ - November 10, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

START: 11TH  
STAGE ONE: 10TH  
STAGE TWO: 13TH  
FINISH: 13TH  
POINTS: 11TH
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang team finished 13th in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, adding to a solid day for Team Penske that ended with teammate Joey Logano's win and championship. After qualifying in the 11th position, Cindric showed solid speed in his No. 2 Ford throughout the first stage as he finished 10th. After the first pit stops of the day, the No. 12 team was part of a pit crew reshuffling as the jackman for the No. 22 Ford came down with an illness. Cindric's jackman, Pat Gray, was moved to Logano's team and Cindric's crew was backfilled thanks to the depth of the Team Penske pit crews. Despite the changes to his team, Cindric continued to maintain a position in the first half of the running order, nearly racing himself into position for a top-10 finish in the series' final standings before finishing 13th in the 312-lap event and coming just 10 points short of the top 10 in points. The No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang team picked up their second NCS victory earlier this year at World Wide Technology Raceway, and Cindric's 11th-place points finish is his career-best mark. 

CINDRIC'S THOUGHTS: "First off a huge congratulations to Joey, Mr. Penske and everyone on the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team. Three championships in a row just shows what kind of team we have at Team Penske. Those guys set a high bar and it makes me hungry to get to Daytona for next season. Great effort today, all year really, by this Discount Tire Ford Mustang team. We took some big steps in our growth, and I'm proud to go racing with Brian (Wilson) and all the guys. A great season and looking forward to next year." 

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/RICHMOND WATER HEATERS FORD MUSTANG

START: 17TH    
STAGE ONE: 6TH    
STAGE TWO: 1ST  
FINISH: 2ND   
POINTS: 2ND
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang team came only a few feet from winning their second-consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway before finishing second to Team Penske teammate Joey Logano. In Saturday's qualifying session, Blaney was one of several drivers to bobble in the center of Turns 1 and 2, resulting in a 17th-place starting position. Many in the garage, however, pointed to the race speed in the No. 12 Ford and Blaney wasted little time in driving to the front of the field after the green flag dropped. Following a sixth-place finish in the first stage, Blaney restarted fourth for stage two to set up a run to the race lead as that stage concluded. A caution on Lap 66 brought Blaney and other leaders down pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires as Championship 4 contender, William Byron, elected to stay out with tires only 16 laps old. After restarting from the sixth position, Blaney became boxed in by Byron's teammate, Kyle Larson, as he attempted to run down Byron and Logano, who drove to the lead after restarting fifth. Once he dispatched of Larson, Blaney began to take chunks of time out of Logano's lead, eventually making it a Team Penske battle at the front for the last six laps of the race. As the two raced cleanly, Blaney gave it a valiant effort before crossing the finish line in second. The No. 12 team finished the year with three wins, helping give Team Penske its first 1-2 finish in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship standings. 

BLANEY'S THOUGHTS: "Yeah, just worn out really and just couldn't quite get there. And tried really hard to do so, just restart didn't really work out and just got too far away from me and took me a while to pass a couple guys and just could never get by Joey. Yeah, ran out of time.

"But congrats to him, congrats to the 22 team and Pennzoil and Ford. They put together a great playoffs, and we're happy. If we're going to race somebody, I'm happy it was him for the championship, and happy to be one-two for Roger, three in a row for Roger, super amazing, and Ford.

"But on my side, I hate it for Menards, Advance Auto Parts, Body Armor, Dex Imaging, Wabash, the Wurth group, everybody who really puts a lot of effort into our program."

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG

START: 2ND    
STAGE ONE: 1ST    
STAGE TWO: 3RD 
FINISH: 1ST  
POINTS: 1ST
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang team fought through more adversity than any of the other Championship 4 drivers in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, but sheer perseverance won out as he took the checkered flag to capture his third NCS title. Logano joins a list of five other NASCAR legends with his third career title and gives Team Penske its 47th championship in team history. The third-consecutive NCS title for Team Penske places a capstone on a remarkable season for the team as a whole, adding to wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Indianapolis 500 along with championships in IMSA and WEC. Logano began the 312-lap race from the second position before quickly assuming the to win the first stage with ease. As issue on the first pit stop of the day and the loss of jackman Graham Stoddard to illness dealt the team significant curveballs in the first half of the race, but over the second half of the event Logano stayed within sight of the lead and passed the No. 24 of William Byron for the top spot with 53 laps to go following a yellow-flag pit stop for fresh tires after a Lap 66 incident. As the race wound down, Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney was able to drive to the rear bumper of the No. 22 Ford but could not muster a run to make the pass through clean racing between the last three NCS champions (Logano - 2022 and 2024, Blaney - 2023). The No. 22 team finishes the 2024 season with four points-paying wins - three in the NCS Playoffs - and a dominating victory in the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.  

LOGANO'S THOUGHTS: "I love the playoffs. I love it, man. What a race! What a Team Penske battle there at the end. Had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12. And he had a lot of long run speed there, and it was all I had there to hold him off.

"Man, three of them, that's really special to get that. What a team. To fight through today, we went through a little bit of adversity throughout the race. I can't thank Ford enough and Shell and Pennzoil and Hunt Brothers Pizza, Paul Wolfe. What a crew chief do I have?

"I've got the best team. I don't know if I'm the best driver, but I've got the best team, and together we're very well-rounded and can show up when it matters the most. We've got a mentally tough team that can make things happen when it matters."

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off with the return to the historic Bowman Gray Stadium for the NASCAR Clash. The non-points event is scheduled for Sunday, February 2, 2025 and will be broadcast live on FOX.