How final four drivers advanced to NASCAR Cup Series championship race

After 35 races and a controversial finish to the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, NASCAR's Championship Four is officially set.

As teams prepare to head to Arizona for the championship race at Phoenix Raceway this Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), here are the four drivers vying for the title and how they got to this point.

Joey Logano | Team Penske No. 22 Ford

With an average finish of 17.57 (his worst since 2011), six top-fives, 12 top-10s and six DNFs in the 35 races, the two-time Cup Series champion (2018, 2022) endured a rocky season. Despite the adversity, Logano has three wins (Nashville, Atlanta fall, Las Vegas fall), with the Las Vegas triumph sending him to the championship race. 

Logano has three career wins at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway, including a title-clinching victory in 2022. Since the current elimination-style playoff format debuted in 2014, Logano has made the Championship Four in every even-numbered year. 

If the 34-year-old captures a third title, he'd become the 10th driver to win three or more championships.

Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota

Regular-season champion Reddick and his fourth-year team — co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan — enter their first Championship Four as an organization. In his second season driving for the team, Reddick has had a career year, notching three wins (Talladega spring, Michigan, Homestead-Miami), 12 top-fives, 20 top-10s, three poles, only four DNFs and an average finish of 13.4.

Reddick's third-to-first final lap at Homestead-Miami punched his ticket to the championship race in spectacular fashion. Reddick has never previously made the Cup Series Championship Four, but he has won two Xfinity Series championships (2018, 2019) in the elimination-style format. 

Ryan Blaney | Team Penske No. 12 Ford

Restarting at the back of the top 10 for Sunday's final restart, Blaney appeared to be in good shape. However, with excellent long-run speed and leaders Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott catching lap traffic, he ran them down and pulled away to a 2.5-second win to go back-to-back at Martinsville en route to another Championship Four appearance. 

After losing the lead to Reddick in the final turn at Miami, Blaney erased any doubts Sunday.

With six DNFs and an average finish of 15.6, the season has not been smooth for the No. 12 driver. Despite the inconsistency, Blaney has three victories (Iowa, Pocono, Martinsville fall) and a lot of momentum as he looks to repeat as Cup Series champion in Phoenix.

William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet

It appeared there would be no Hendrick Motorsports driver racing for a championship after Christopher Bell's wall riding maneuver in the last turn at Martinsville. However, Byron got the final spot on points after NASCAR deemed Bell's move illegal. With NASCAR's ruling, Bell was relegated to the last driver one-lap down, advancing Byron to the Championship Four for the second consecutive season. 

Byron has three wins (Daytona 500, Circuit of the Americas, Martinsville spring) this season, 20 top-10s, four DNFs and an average finish of 13.2. But the wins have been overshadowed because they came so early in the season.

The summer months were a struggle for Byron, who nonetheless impressed in the playoffs with six straight top-six finishes entering Phoenix. He aims to win his first Cup title and first title for the famed No. 24 car since Jeff Gordon in 2001.