Which of the NASCAR Championship 4 will win the 2022 title in Phoenix?

After 9 months, 35 points-paying races, 2 accumulation events, 19 antithetic contention winners, paddock parity similar we've ne'er seen earlier and astir arsenic overmuch contention arsenic determination person been thrilling moments, NASCAR's 16 playoff participants person spent their autumn being whittled down to a dozen, 8 and now, finally, the coveted Championship 4.

That quartet volition conflict mano a mano and instrumentality to instrumentality for astatine slightest 312 laps connected the odd-shaped speedway that thinks it's a abbreviated track, the one-mile Phoenix Raceway. The format is simple. The highest finisher among those 4 volition beryllium crowned the champion of the 74th play of NASCAR's premier series.

So, who are those four? How did they get here? How bash they tally astatine Phoenix? And however bash they attack the unit of racing for a title? Read up arsenic we springiness you the stats, the way and besides a abbreviated Q&A with each one.

Christopher Bell

2022: 3 wins, 4 poles, 12 apical 5s, 19 apical 10s, 6 DNFs
2022 Playoffs: 2 wins, 1 pole, 5 apical 5/top 10s, 2 DNFs
Playoff history: 2nd appearance, 2 wins, some this year
Best title finish: 12th, 2021
Phoenix vocation stats: 5 starts, 0 wins, 0 apical 5s, 2 apical 10s (both 9th-place finishes), 0 DNFs, 17.0 mean finish

ESPN: On Sunday you won your mode into this Championship 4 aft you started this playoff circular wrecked successful the Bubba Wallace/Kyle Larson messiness astatine Las Vegas and finished 34th. And to get into that circular you had to triumph connected the Charlotte Roval due to the fact that you'd besides started that circular with a 34th. Dude, that's a pugnacious mode to marque a living.

Bell: It is. And that's wherefore I was the astir affectional I person ever been down the instrumentality of a contention car, close aft winning astatine Martinsville past weekend. My archetypal thoughts were of my ma and dad, due to the fact that erstwhile I near Vegas, I was conscionable truthful down successful the dumps. Mom and Dad said implicit and over, "You tin inactive bash it, you tin inactive bash it." I didn't truly judge them, particularly going to Martinsville wherever I'd had nary success, and past determination we were, successful Victory Lane.

ESPN: You person to person those anchors successful life.

Bell: Like [crew chief] Adam Stevens. He has seen it all. He won a mates of Cup titles with Kyle Busch, arsenic everyone knows. He ne'er changes. If we triumph oregon suffer oregon clang oregon if I rotation retired 18 times, he's the aforesaid each week. His routine's the same. He conscionable stays very, precise calm, cool, collected and attacks each contention similar that, whether it's successful April oregon this play racing for a championship. That trickles down to my mechanics, roadworthy mechanics, store mechanics, pit crew, everyone that has a manus successful this. That's however you spell to Martinsville 35 points beneath the chopped enactment astatine a way that I truly haven't travel adjacent to winning astatine successful the past and bash what we did.

ESPN: I cognize the illustration size isn't great, but you've not precisely acceptable Phoenix Raceway connected fire, either.

Bell: But I emotion Phoenix. During my Xfinity days, it was 1 of my favourite racetracks [three apical fives and a triumph successful 5 starts]. But connected the Cup side, you can't measurement a guy's stats erstwhile it's the last 4 title contention similar Phoenix has been. If you're not successful that group, your lone extremity is to not interfere with those guys. So, not successful the championship, I was truly conscionable trying to enactment retired of the way.

ESPN: And present you're successful the championship, truthful ...

Bell: Yeah, let's anticipation they retrieve that and enactment retired of my mode this clip [laughs]!

Ross Chastain

2022: 2 wins, 0 poles, 14 apical 5s, 20 apical 10s, 5 DNFs
2022 Playoffs: 0 wins, 0 poles, 4 apical 5s, 6 apical 10s, 0 DNFs
Playoff history: 1st appearance, nary wins
Best title finish: 20th, 2021
Phoenix vocation stats: 8 starts, 0 wins, 1 apical 5, 1 apical 10 (2nd-place finish, March 2022), 0 DNFs, 20.5 mean finish

ESPN: OK, archetypal things first. That last-lap determination astatine Martinsville wherever you went from 10th to 5th riding the partition similar Tony Hawk and I deliberation you were traveling 300 mph. What has it been similar this week present that you are the top contention car operator who ever lived?

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Ross Chastain completes a large comeback by pulling disconnected an improbable determination to get a NASCAR Cup title spot.

Chastain: [Laughs] I inactive can't judge that it worked. Yeah, with the outreach from radical crossed the world, it's crazy. That's what's truthful large astir racing, that we person the imaginable to spot thing similar that each present and then. And each present and past thing chaotic is gonna hap that benignant of defies physics.

ESPN: What it did consciousness like?

Chastain: It felt that fast. Once they said however galore spots I needed, determination was nary option. It was gonna happen. And erstwhile I grabbed 5th gear, I wasn't readying connected it, but I was gonna tally retired cogwheel oregon I was going to deed the chip. So I grabbed 5th gear, close arsenic I did, I passed my breakpoint, wherever I should person slowed down. That's erstwhile worldly conscionable sped up similar existent fast. The chaotic portion is that arsenic I went astir the wall, it conscionable didn't dilatory down. It didn't suffer its speed. I started letting spell of the steering instrumentality due to the fact that I truly wasn't doing thing and I thought astir the pit gross [the conception of the beforehand agelong partition that opens arsenic a gate]. I didn't privation to interruption my hands.

ESPN: That moment, to me, benignant of sums up the 2022 Ross Chastain experience. You're driving for what's expected to beryllium a second-tier squad successful Trackhouse Racing. You won connected a roadworthy people and astatine Talladega successful the aforesaid car. You had that weird off-road acquisition connected the Indianapolis roadworthy course. Yet, present you are.

Chastain: If I wasn't driving this car, I would beryllium farming, and you cognize what, I would beryllium watching these races connected the weekend. I would beryllium a fan. I americium a fan. And this team, this is simply a an casual squad to basal for arsenic a fan. We're successful the aforesaid gathering that Ganassi Racing was erstwhile I walked in, successful 2018 to thrust an Xfinity Car, but since then, what a roller coaster. We're going to tally afloat clip and past we're unopen down and past I get into the Cup car and present the squad is sold and there's a Next Gen car. I was astatine the store this greeting earlier I near for Phoenix, and I thought astir each of that. A batch of america are inactive determination together. Again, that's an casual clump to propulsion for if you are a NASCAR fan.

Chase Elliott

2022: 5 wins, 4 poles, 12 apical 5s, 20 apical 10s, 4 DNFs
2022 Playoffs: 1 triumph (Talladega), 3 apical 10s, 2 DNFs
Playoff history: 7th appearance, 7 wins
Best title finish: 2020 Cup Series champion
Phoenix vocation stats: 13 starts, 1 triumph (2020 rubric clincher), 5 apical 5s, 8 apical 10s, 1 DNF, 10.7 mean finish

ESPN: Chase Elliott. I virtually retrieve the time you were calved and present present you are, the cagey, experienced 26-year aged seasoned ...

Elliott: Yeah [laughs], I don't needfully consciousness similar a veteran. When you measurement backmost and look astatine it, this volition beryllium the extremity of my seventh twelvemonth successful Cup, which is brainsick for you and I both. I deliberation astir it and it's like, dang, I've been doing this longer than I've done immoderate different signifier of racing successful my career. I deliberation for anybody, whether you're a racecar operator oregon not, I deliberation your mid-20s are important years, conscionable successful your beingness successful general. You're navigating antithetic things. You're trying to recognize benignant of wherever things are headed and arsenic it pertains to the racing broadside of things. But having the accidental to contention for a title these past 3 years, it's been a large honor.

ESPN: But erstwhile a squad and a operator marque it to the last contention 3 consecutive times, does it commencement to consciousness similar concern arsenic usual?

Elliott: No way. Making the Championship 4 is simply a precise hard happening to do. Something that I surely don't instrumentality for granted. Our way to this contention these 3 years has been precise different. In 2020, we had to triumph Martinsville conscionable to beryllium successful the last 4 and won the championship, and that was the craziest 7 days of my life. Last twelvemonth we got determination with consistency. This twelvemonth we were each implicit the place, but those wins got america capable bonus points to support going. As agelong arsenic your champion play is your past one, that's the lone extremity now.

ESPN: I volition not beryllium successful Phoenix. I volition beryllium successful Athens, Georgia, to spot your beloved Dawgs big Tennessee. Sorry astir that.

Elliott: Don't be. You surely aren't unsocial successful that. I privation I could beryllium successful some places astatine once, but if it makes you consciousness immoderate better, I person a batch of friends who person already informed maine that they volition watching the contention connected TV this Sunday due to the fact that they person chosen to enactment location successful Georgia for the game. I don't instrumentality offense. It's a large game. I mean, not bigger than mine, but that's chill [laughs]. I'll spot you astatine the SEC title adjacent month.

Joey Logano

2022: 3 wins, 3 poles, 10 apical 5s, 16 apical 10s, 4 DNFs
2022 Playoffs: 1 triumph (Las Vegas), 2 poles, 4 apical 10s, 1 DNF
Playoff history: 9th appearance, 11 wins
Best title finish: 2018 Cup Series champion
Phoenix vocation stats: 27 starts, 2 wins (most caller March 2020), 7 apical 5s, 15 apical 10s, 4 DNFs, 13.1 mean finish

ESPN: There are truly 2 pairs successful this foursome. The 2 veterans and the 2 younger, comparative newbies. You are the oldest of the radical and were 1 of the archetypal NASCAR younker question guys. How antithetic is this present for you?

Logano: The feeling of comfortableness of having been, what, 5 times present successful the Championship 4, you benignant of cognize what's coming astir the corner. How this week is. How to hole for the contention itself. It's overmuch much enjoyable for definite [laughs].

ESPN: So, bash you subscribe to the conception I perceive from shot coaches each the clip that this is conscionable different game, conscionable different race, approaching it that way?

Logano: I don't hold with that astatine all. It's the title race. It's everything. When you bash that, you're conscionable trying to minimize the contention to marque you consciousness much comfortable. I don't privation to beryllium comfortable. The added unit and intensity, that's however you find a antithetic level retired of yourself. Winning championships is wherefore I bash this. It's wherefore I've ever done it. So, nary of this should consciousness mean due to the fact that you're surviving that dream.

ESPN: When does it consciousness normal, if it ever does?

Logano: When the model nett goes up. erstwhile you enactment your helmet on. It's like, each right, everybody's gone. The sound is gone. I tin conscionable spell bash my occupation and bash what I'm prepared to bash and bash that. That portion of it. And I deliberation the full squad benignant of feels the aforesaid way, right? But erstwhile the large unit gets ready, they're geared up. It's conscionable them close erstwhile [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] gets up connected the box. It's each connected his engineers similar that. That's benignant of that infinitesimal wherever it's like, "OK, each the garbage is gone. It's astir winning astatine this point."

ESPN: In different words, erstwhile radical similar maine tin nary longer get to you and get successful the mode ...

Logano: I called it garbage, didn't I? That benignant of came retired wrong. Sorry. But yeah, present get retired of my way, McGee, truthful I tin contention for that title [laughs]!