The NASCAR Cup Series championship race is almost upon us, but Richard Petty has been less than forthcoming when it comes to predicting the outcome of this weekend’s action
Richard “The King” Petty has weighed in on the upcoming championship race in Phoenix(Image: Getty)
The final four contenders for the NASCAR Cup Series championship are set, with William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports bouncing back from a streak of misfortune to secure his spot with a commanding victory at Martinsville Speedway.
The 27 year old is now set to vie for his first-ever career title against his teammate and reigning 2021 champion Kyle Larson, as well as the Joe Gibbs Racing pair of Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe – both of whom have yet to clinch a championship.
As the Arizona race looms this Sunday, seven-time Cup Series champion and record-breaking driver Richard “The King” Petty was quizzed on who he thought would take home the trophy, but the 88 year old remained elusive in his answer.
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“Well, you’ve got a 25 percent chance of picking the right one because theres four of them,” he remarked on the ‘Petty Race Recap’ podcast. “Right now, it’s a toss-up, and there’s no way to predict it or anything…It’ll wind up being the guy that wins it is the one that’s supposed to.”
Petty’s reluctance to single out any specific contender was somewhat echoed by his longtime crew chief and current co-host, Dale Inman, who noted, “The way the 24 (Byron) ran yesterday, you would say the 24.
“But racing probably owes Denny Hamlin one as long as he’s been running and as good as he’s run, and he’s certainly a champion without winning the championship…one of the four will.”
Byron has previously tasted victory at Phoenix, snagging the checkered flag in the 2023 spring race, beating out eventual champion Ryan Blaney of Team Penske. This time around, Blaney didn’t make it past the Round of 8 despite giving Byron a run for his money late in Martinsville.
William Byron is fresh off an impressive win at Martinsville Speedway(Image: Getty)
Hamlin also has a history of winning at Phoenix, having done so in both the 2012 spring race and the 2019 fall race. In the 2025 spring race, he was just shy of a third win, finishing second behind teammate Christopher Bell, who was also eliminated in the Round of 8.
Looking at their championship rivals, Briscoe won the spring race back in 2022, while Larson clinched the top spot in the 2021 fall race, securing his only championship to date.
One factor to keep an eye on in Phoenix will be the mechanical reliability of the Toyotas, as both Hamlin and Briscoe failed to finish in Martinsville due to valve spring issues.
Alarmingly, this wasn’t the only mechanical issue that hampered Hamlin’s Virginia trip, as he also had to deal with a starter problem, according to NASCAR.com..
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Team owner Joe Gibbs has since addressed the valve spring issue, attributing it to a faulty batch when speaking with reporters on Monday.
“We feel like, this morning, we went through everything that happened and got all the parts out and we have a plan and strategy where we end up in a good position and it doesn’t come back to us this next week in Phoenix,” he stated, as reported by Motorsport.com..
“We have those parts, and anytime you have valve spring issues, they come in batches and we think we have that covered.”