Championship Weekend Happenings From Phoenix: Truck Series Tarnished, Custer Nearly Takes Out Cameraman, NASCAR’s Stupid Mistake, & More

Finally, the curtains have fallen on the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing’s extravaganza at the Phoenix Raceway with a spectacular finish to the NASCAR Cup Series. Across its three divisions starting from the chaotic Truck Series race to the epic Cup Series showdown to Stewart-Haas Racing’s respite, NASCAR’s racing bonanza certainly has a lot of parallels running wide.

Put on your illusory racing helmet and strap yourself for a wild ride as we take you through some of the best storylines of NASCAR’s Phoenix showdown—one that has plenty of drama, emotion, a little Star Wars cameo, and triumph.

The NASCAR Phoenix bonanza—Some lesser-known parallels

First and foremost, all three of the organization’s top events were runaway successes, with the NASCAR nation hooked on throughout the weekend. This includes Ryan Blaney‘s monumental win, acing the 1-mile track in his #12 Ford and clinching his first ever Cup Series title, as well as Ford’s NASCAR sweep with the all-American manufacturer winning all three events.

While the events hit the jackpot with fans packing the arena despite the scorching desert sun, the setting wasn’t devoid of drama. Starting from the first event in the Truck Series, the community witnessed pure carnage when the truckers unleashed chaos, throwing caution to the wind and racing like there was no tomorrow.

On the flip side, the community also got to see Tony Stewart‘s team getting back on the winning ways with its Xfinity Series sensation clinching the Xfinity throne and issuing a strong statement. The #00 driver’s win also caught the attention for all the bad reasons as Custer’s customary burnout was too close for comfort.

So let us dive a little deeper and look at it one by one.

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While the race itself was unbearable to watch for enthusiasts as fellow truckers sent the race into triple overtime in the closing laps before throwing another dramatic episode to make it a 4th overtime, the organization also took things a notch higher painting wrong lines on the track.

Even though the mistake was brought to the notice before Saturday’s Xfinity race, the organization had to go on with the wrong markings on Friday. NASCAR ran its championship decider Truck Series race on Friday with the markings that determine where a leader can start accelerating after a caution painted in the wrong place, making drivers accelerate much later on restarts.

This eventually gave way to the chaotic restarts, partly contributing to the carnage besides the fields’s utter disrespect to each other. The race saw 12 cautions for 77 laps, with 7 in the final stage, eventually extending the Lucas Oil 150 by 29 laps. While the truckers were informed about the restart zone anomaly prior to Friday’s race, the organization is yet to state the original reason behind the error.

Fords take over Phoenix, sweeping the events with 3 titles

Before Toyota’s entry into Stock Car Racing, Chevrolet and Ford were the most dominant manufacturers in the promotion. The two American brands were toe to toe, with Chevy gaining the upper hand in terms of numbers. But as soon as the Japanese manufacturer entered the scene in 2007, things went for a toss as they quickly rose up the ranks, challenging the American duo.

While Chevy remained at the top with teams like Hendrick Motorsports taking them to the podium, the Fords were pretty much sidelined as inconsistency rattled the camp. However, as we get past the championship race in Phoenix, it is quite evident that the Fords are not just seeing a resurgence, they have become the conquorers.

In fact, it was more of a clean sweep for the Michigan-based manufacturer, getting its cars to the winners’ circle with all 3 of its drivers in Truck, Xfinity, and Cup Series making the Ford camp proud. ThorSport Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Team Penske got their Fords across the finish line, clinching 3 titles in 3 consecutive days to trounce Chevrolet and Toyota.

Cole Custer nearly misses a disaster as the victory celebration gets a little close to comfort

Sometimes things can get a little out of hand especially when one’s in their own world after a much sought-after victory. That was exactly what went down on Saturday after Cole Custer almost sent the NBC cameraman for a toss, nearly hitting the media personnel as he did his customary burnouts.

After getting demoted to the Xfinity Series following 3 seasons in NASCAR’s top-tier division, SHR’s Cole Custer finally ended the awful streak gifting himself and his proud Ford team with their first Xfinity title. While the scene was electric for the #00 driver his celebratory burnout was too close for comfort, barely missing the on-track cameraman in the smoke.

Blaney’s triumph, Aric Almirola’s final decision, and Kevin Harvick’s emotional farewell

From a winless last season with Team Penske, Ryan Blaney bounced back with a spectacular finish to his 2023 campaign, delivering the title to Roger Penske. While it was his teammate and 2-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano who won the title last year, Blaney not only proved the detractors wrong but also did not let go of the title, bringing it back to the Ford-associated team.

While Ford fans were ecstatic to see the #12 driver drive home with the title, the scene was also emotional as Kevin Harvick took one last ride in his #4 SHR Mustang as he toasted goodbye to the sport. Even though a win was still missing from the veteran’s 2023 resume, Harvick came home with a decent top-10 finish to end his illustrious Cup Series career-spanning over two decades with 60 wins.

On a similar note, SHR’s Aric Almirola also has come out with a decision of his own. The #10 driver will also leave the Cup Series, ending his full-time tenure with SHR as he plans to step away from the sport. Thus leaving a void to be filled by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, as the team looks to end their awful Cup Series streak next season.

READ MORE: Ben Rhodes Smugly Credits Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim’s Lack of Patience for his Championship Feat at Phoenix

R2-D2 teams up with Bubba Wallace on the track as NASCAR’s 2023 season comes to an end

NASCAR’s epic conclusion at the Phoenix Raceway saw the crowds back again, jam-packed in the stands despite the excruciating heat of the desert. While the racing enthusiasts got a thriller of a race with the Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney taking home the title, Sunday’s Cup Series race was a treat for Star Wars fanatics as well.

2 Star Wars-inspired cars were seen on the 1-mile track as 23XI Racing’s collaboration with Columbia gave fans a wholesome moment as they got to witness the two worlds coming together. Both the #23 and #45 cars were adorned with exclusive Star Wars-themed livery with Bubba Wallace revealing his special helmet a few days ago.

With the action racing its crescendo, fans also got to see the iconic robot character R2-D2 do a little cameo in Phoenix with the #23 driver as he shared images on his Instagram story for his fans.

As the curtains fall on the 2023 season, fans will have to wait for a few months till the NASCAR circus resumes in February to get their weekly dose of entertainment. Let us your thoughts about the grand finale at Phoenix in the comments below.