NASCAR Final 4 favorite is Ryan Blaney, nothing "lucky" about it. Hamlin says title is 'whatever'

Ryan Blaney once made an acting cameo in the movie, “Logan Lucky.”

Just don’t call him that.

“I don’t think anything has been lucky about it, last three weeks we’ve been running amazing,” he said after winning Sunday at Martinsville to earn entry into the NASCAR Championship 4 this week at Phoenix. “We’ve worked really hard to get to the point we need to with speed, and our group has executed very good races and they deserve to be here.”

He’s right. And despite the resumes of the other three drivers — Kyle Larson, William Byron and Christopher Bell — Blaney is the favorite entering Phoenix.

SPEED FREAKS: Ryan Blaney on a roll, but does it continue at Phoenix?

Here's the case.

All year, drivers have had stretches (Larson, Byron, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., which seems like a lifetime ago, and even Chris Buescher) where they looked unbeatable. Right now, that's Blaney.

He couldn’t be going to a better track. He’s never won at Phoenix, he hadn’t won at Martinsville either, but over the last seven races there he leads the Championship 4 in average finish (9.3), top fives (four), top 10s (six) and laps led (321). And Team Penske dominated this race a year ago with Joey Logano winning the race and his second title. Blaney was the only driver that could keep pace, settling for second.

And while Larson has won a championship and Bell is making his second straight championship four appearance, Blaney, despite reaching new heights, is saying and doing all the right things.

“All you want is a shot at a championship,” Blaney said. “It’s just nice to have an opportunity to actually race for a championship and hopefully, we can maximize the weekend. I’m excited for it. It’s going to be fun.”

Let’s go through the gears:

Denny Hamlin says title is, "Whatever": First gear

Denny Hamlin again came up empty in his quest for a championship. He was eliminated on Sunday despite a third-place showing.

Now with 51 wins to his name, Hamlin will remain in the conversation of the greatest drivers to not win a title and at age 42, time is starting to dwindle. Yet, he was pleased at the effort on Sunday and despite a cryptic twitter post later in the evening, indicated that a championship would not define his career.

“Listen, the championships are different now, certainly,” Hamlin said. “I want to win a lot of races and if you can be somebody who wins 50, 60 races, 70 races, the title is whatever. Those are the people that show up each and every week."

“We race to the format we’re given but it’s tough because you have little hiccups like last week which through dirt on your whole season, which is tough.”

William Byron survives, "Hell in a bottle": Second gear

If Byron goes on to win a championship, put a star by Sunday’s performance.

No, a 13^th-place finish isn’t going to wow anyone. But Byron, who did postrace interviews from a seated position after a draining performance in a less-than-stellar racecar, admitted surviving at Martinsville took digging deeper than he had before.

“It was kind of hell in a bottle,” Byron said. “I’ve never been so mad in a racecar, never wanted to get out so much, never been so frustrated at the car: how loose I was, how tight I was in spots … I just had no grip."

“We had a great season and just would’ve sucked to not make it. So, we dug in.”

Aric Almirola nearly scores walk-off win: Third gear

Just one day before Sunday’s race, Aric Almirola announced he would not be returning to Stewart-Haas Racing next season.

And then, he nearly landed the biggest of parting shots, leading 66 laps before losing the lead late to Blaney.

“I’m still on my game, I can still compete at this level and I can still get the job done,” Almirola said afterward. “I wanted that one.”

Almirola has no 2024 plans, though he indicated he is looking to run part-time.

Kevin Harvick to finish career at best track: Fourth gear

While Blaney has been strongest lately, Larson has the best career average finish at Phoenix at 11.7. Kevin Harvick, who will make his final full-time Cup Series start leads in all categories including average finish (8.6), wins (nine), top fives (20), top 10s (30) and laps led (1,699).

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ryan Blaney, NASCAR Championship 4 favorite; Byron endures 'hell'