2022 NASCAR Cup Series Race Thirty-Six Phoenix

Rest In Peace Coy Gibbs who died in his sleep last night. Coy, father of Ty Gibbs and COO of Joe Gibbs Racing, joined his son onstage in Victory Lane after the Xfinity Series race. He did not wake up this morning. He was 49 years old.

Penkse teammates Joey Logano (22) and Ryan Blaney (12) lead the 36 car field to the green flag for the final race of the season. The skies are clear and it’s 74 degrees at race time. The stages for today’s event are 60-125-127.

Get well soon to NBCSport’s Steve Letarte who had an emergency appendectomy Saturday night.

Joey Logano gets the early lead.

Ross Chastain (1) turns Chase Elliott (9) on the restart on lap 200 of 312.

Joey Logano wins easily and is the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.

I would’ve preferred to see Chase win, but if he couldn’t win, Joey was the only other person I wanted to see win. So, overall, I’m satisfied with the outcome of the final race for the Cup series. The race itself was awful. After watching the Xfinity series race and following the series all season and seeing the dirty driving of Ross Chastain I anticipated a race not worthy of a season finale.

I expected the Cup Series race to be boring, but it exceeded my expectations. It lacked excitement and intensity. The television broadcast seemed to alternate between blimp shots of three cars driving around and of multiple split-screen combos. The race did not seem to be competitive and was definitely not memorable.

Since I wasn’t listening to the radio I could never determine the relevance of the three cars driving around. Also the cars seemed to be driving slowly. I believe it was the camera angles creating an optical illusion making the cars look like they were driving 55-65 mph. The race may have been exciting or enjoyable at the track, or maybe on the radio. I did not have access to either and was stuck with the boring television broadcast.

Brad ‘It’ Keselowski (6) quickly exited his burning car. I’m beginning to wonder if the 2022 NASCAR Ford is a Pinto instead of a Mustang.

Seems to me the penalties for the championship race should be more severe. The penalties are in place to discourage a team from cutting corners to win a race. Cutting corners to win a championship should draw exponentially greater penalties.

Motorsport News:

1. 1. 1. Coy Gibbs Passes Away; Ty Gibbs Not Racing at Phoenix, Daniel Hemric in the #23.
      2. Ty Gibbs Dominates at Phoenix; Wins 2022 Xfinity Series Championship.
      3. JR Motorsports Drivers Proud Despite Not Winning Xfinity Championship.
      4. Austin Hill Wins 2022 Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year Honors.
      5. Noah Gragson Ends Career Year Runner-Up in Points.
      6. Steve Letarte to Miss Phoenix Broadcast Due to Surgery.
      7. Pala Casino Spa Resort secures naming rights to final NASCAR Cup Series race on Auto Club Speedways 2-mile oval.
      8. Toyota President Delivers a Message About Ty Gibbs’ Future.
      9. Toyota Racing Embraces its Future Amid Emotional Changes.
      10. Ty Gibbs Misses Cup Series Season Finale After Emergency.
      11. Joe Gibbs Racing Vice Chairman & COO Coy Gibbs Dies at 49.
      12. What NASCAR’s Championship 4 drivers said they would change about the playoffs.
      13. Gragson: “I drove my ass off” trying to catch Gibbs for title.
      14. Daniel Hemric to drive No. 23 in Cup finale, subbing for Ty Gibbs.
      15. Joe Gibbs Racing vice chairman Coy Gibbs dies at age 49.
      16. Protest Group Targeting Toyota Shows Up At Phoenix NASCAR Race.
      17. Berry: ‘Didn’t Have It When It Counted’ For Xfinity Title.
      18. Ty Gibbs Holds Off JRM Trio for Xfinity Title.
      19. Coy Gibbs Dies In His Sleep After Son Ty Gibbs Celebrated 2022 Xfinity Series Championship.
      20. Xfinity Breakdown: Ty Gibbs — For Better or for Worse – Wins it All.
      21. Mike Harmon Racing forms alliance with Gary Keller for 2023.
      22. MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia wins the world title at season-ending Valencia Grand Prix.
      23. Joey Logano joins elite group by winning second Cup Series championship.
      24. NASCAR Cup Series Championship: Elliott smacks inside wall after contact with Chastain, Logano in title position.
      25. Hamlin on JGR culture after Gibbs/Jones drama at Martinsville.
      26. Reddick knew ‘right away’ head was injured in Martinsville crash.
      27. Said, Merrill set COTA lap records en route to TA and TA2 poles.
      28. Transcript: Joey Logano – Phoenix Frontstretch Interview.
      29. Transcript: Chase Elliott – Press Conference.
      30. Transcript: Christopher Bell – Press Conference.
      31. Transcript: Ross Chastain – Press Conference.
      32. Transcript: Roger Penske – Press Conference.
      33. Joey Logano dominates at Phoenix for second NASCAR Cup title.
      34. End of an Era: Kyle Busch, M&M’s and Joe Gibbs Racing.
      35. Transcript: Joey Logano – Press Conference.
      36. Phoenix Post-Race Inspection Complete.
      37. NASCAR Looking for Partners for Chicago Street Race.
      38. Truck Series Saw Growth in TV Ratings in 2022.
      39. Phoenix TV Ratings.
      40. Mike Harmon Racing Gets Rebrand for 2023 season.
      41. NMPA Most Popular Driver Voting Open.
      42. Phoenix Penalties; Chris Gayle Fined for Loose Lug Nut.
      43. Nashville Mayor’s Office, Bristol Motor Speedway Present Contract for Fairgrounds Speedway to Fair Board for Review.
      44. Contact From Ross Chastain Ends Chase Elliott’s Championship Dreams.
      45. Kevin Harvick Makes NASCAR History at Phoenix Raceway.
      46. Mike Harmon Racing Undergoes Changes for 2023 NASCAR Season.
      47. NASCAR Planning Changes for Short Tracks & Road Courses.
      48. Despite Inflation, Nascar Enjoyed A Banner Year When It Came To Attendance.
      49. Eliminated Playoff Drivers Speak After Cup Championship Race.
      50. Ryan Blaney Frustrated With Winless 2022 Cup Year.
      51. Keselowski Spontaneously Catches Fire to End 2022 Season, Ford to Assess Fires in Off-Season.
      52. Exclusive: First-Seasons with former Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Hines.
      53. Crew Member Injury Keeps Christopher Bell From Title on Heels of Coy Gibbs’ Death.
      54. Tony Kanaan Refuses to Give Up the Indy 500.
      55. Ricciardo in talks over Merc, Red Bull reserve role.
      56. Logano’s Phoenix win, title perfectly encapsulated wildly entertaining 2022.
      57. Hamilton made honorary citizen of Brazil.
      58. Red Bull, Verstappen end Sky Sports boycott.
      59. Motorsports boosted my confidence after dyslexia diagnosis.
      60. Nieve Holmes: Enduro rider considers World Championship switch after Euro title win.
      61. Esports: James Baldwin, UK’s first FIA Motorsport Games champion, wants to race GT.
      62. Mike Conway: “It would be great to go into the winter on the back of a victory”.
      63. Sebastien Loeb Racing allies with Polaris, to field SSV for Xavier de Soultrait at 2023 Dakar Rally.
      64. Kevin Hansen, Molly Taylor join Veloce for Energy X Prix, 2023 XE season.
      65. Fernando Alonso “open” to Potential Team-up with Max Verstappen at Le Mans.
      66. Sergio Pérez pinpoints the moment he knew his championship challenge was over.
      67. Pirelli’s Mario Isola: 2022 cars and tyres “set to provide us with another thrilling race” in Brazil.
      68. NASCAR world reacts to sudden passing of Coy Gibbs.
      69. Chase Elliott dodged questions and chance for payback after Ross Chastain incident in NASCAR title race.
      70. Every NASCAR Cup Series playoff champion through the years.
      71. Joey Logano and his 4-year-old son celebrated his NASCAR championship with a special race-car ride.
      72. NASCAR Superlatives 2022: We polled drivers to see what they think of everyone else.
      73. New trio takes home Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
      74. Kyle Busch’s time with Joe Gibbs Racing ends on emotional note at Phoenix.
      75. All-time NASCAR Cup Series champions.
      76. Coyne considering part-time third IndyCar entry.
      77. First Time and Repeat HSR Classic Daytona presented by IMSA Winners Crowned after Competitive and Dramatic Classic 24 Hour Race at Daytona International Speedway.

Next Race: Daytona

GO 9 & 48!!!!