November 5th, 2023. Cheers echoed in the grandstands when the checkered flag was waved at Phoenix Raceway in the final race of the Cup Series season. Even though Ross Chastain had secured the triumph, it was the runner-up who celebrated wildly with the No. 12 crew.

Ryan Blaney had won the championship for the first time in his career, extending Team Penske’s dominance in the Next-Gen era after Joey Logano won the previous year.

While Blaney’s triumph was a statement, it didn’t create a seismic shift in the NASCAR garage. The same can’t be said for Kyle Larson, who won a staggering 10 races in 2021 to lift the trophy after missing 34 races the previous year because of a racism scandal.

Even Chase Elliott’s win in 2020 was a landmark win, simply because of his status as the most popular d

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