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NASCAR insiders sound off on 'wide open' championship between JGR and Hendrick, if playoff format worked

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones17 hours agobrianjones_93
NASCAR Championship 4 2025
Courtesy of NASCAR

Two NASCAR insiders shared their thoughts on the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race that will take place at Phoenix on Sunday. On The Teardown podcast, Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck of The Athletic sounded off on the battle between the drivers from Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and Hendrick Motorsports.

“This is the most wide open I have felt this Championship 4 field has been in a long time,” Bianchi said. “…As you dive into it deeper this week, it’s like you can make a case for any of the four, legitimately.”

The four drivers who are competing in the championship race are two JGR drivers (Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe) and two drivers from Hendrick (William Byron and Kyle Larson). “All four of these twams come in running very, very well,” Bianchi added. “…All four of these drivers are legit. They are arguably the four best drivers on the season.

Gluck talked about interviewing Christopher Bell after the race. Bell, who just fell short of reaching the Championship 4, praised the playoff format, saying the four drivers who made the championship race deserved to be there.

More on the NASCAR playoffs and championship race

Gluck said he agrees with Bell, but he supports determining the champion through a 36-race format. “I’m not going to change my mind based off one race today,” Gluck said about the Martinsville race. “But out of all the years, this might be the most deserving four.”

“…But it’s not like this every year, and it’s not even like this in every series,” Gluck added. “Yes, it worked out this year. Great, that’s wonderful. I still don’t believe this is the format that NASCAR should go with in the future, and they’re not.”

It’s not clear when NASCAR will change the playoff format, but there will be something different for the playoffs next year. Instead of Phoenix Raceway hosting the championship race, NASCAR will have the event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Phoenix will still be part of the playoffs, as it will host a playoff race on Oct. 18.

But what about this year’s race? Who comes in as the favorite since it’s “wide open?” Per BetMGM Sportsbook, Hamlin is the odds-on favorite to win the title, and he’s followed by Larson, Byron, and Briscoe.