‘You Have to Up the Aggression Level’

• The Cup Series Championship 4 has only finished 1-2-3-4 twice, in 2018 at Homestead and 2020 at Phoenix.
• In the Truck series, two of the four title contenders have finished first and second only twice, last year and in 2020.
• Christopher Bell believes playoff drivers receive preferential treatment from other competitors.

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Winning a championship in NASCAR’s national touring series may seem straightforward: finish ahead of the other title contenders. However, the presence of other drivers complicates matters.

“I don’t see them holding back,” says Justin Allgaier, a six-time Xfinity Series Championship 4 participant, about non-title contenders. “In the moment, I have to be extremely aware of each driver’s stakes.”

“I have to catalog every driver, understanding their alliances, future plans, and overall objectives,” Allgaier continues. “It’s not just about speed; it’s about comprehending the big picture. This is the difference in today’s racing compared to the past. You have to remain fully present and aware of your surroundings.”

Since NASCAR introduced the championship four format in the Cup Series in 2014, the top four contenders have finished 1-2-3-4 only twice: in 2018 at Homestead and 2020 at Phoenix. However, in all nine races, the champion has emerged victorious, with seven of those races seeing two of the contenders finish 1-2.

Last year was an exception when the four title seekers finished in positions 1 (Joey Logano), 3 (Ross Chastain), 10 (Christopher Bell), and 28 (Chase Elliott).

The Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series tell a different story since the playoff format was implemented in 2016. Neither the Xfinity nor Truck series have seen the championship four finish in order of 1-4.

In Xfinity, four out of the seven races have seen two of the four contenders finish first and second. In 2017 at Homestead, William Byron won the championship with a third-place finish, while Cole Custer claimed victory.

In the Truck series, two of the four title contenders have finished first and second only twice in seven years, last year and in 2020. The championship winner has finished second twice, and the series champion has finished third twice as well.

Ben Rhodes, the 2021 Truck champion in his third championship four, says that how title contenders are raced depends solely on the other drivers.

“If it’s a teammate of one of the other championship drivers, they race you really hard because they think they’re helping their teammate,” Rhodes explains. “If it’s anybody else on the track, they race you normally, but nobody cuts you any slack. That’s one of the major challenges of this race—the other drivers. I see them as obstacles or roadblocks. Not the ones in the championship four, because they’re the only ones I’m concerned

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