NASCAR analyst Jordan Bianchi recently explained how the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series title race "feels wide open," especially since the usual favorite, Team Penske, has yet to secure any spots in the Championship 4.
After Sunday's race (October 19), Chase Briscoe locked in his spot by winning at Talladega Superspeedway and now leads the standings ahead of Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson. Denny Hamlin clinched the first spot after winning at Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are below the cut-line by 38 and 47 points, respectively.
During a clip from the latest episode of The Teardown podcast, Bianchi compared the status to the last NASCAR Cup season when Blaney and Joey Logano were front-runners.
"It feels wide open and if Penske doesn't get to Phoenix, I don't think there is a clear-cut favorite. Where a year ago, you were like, 'Oh, Ryan Blaney.' And even there was some people like, 'Man, don't sleep on Joey Logano, you know, he's there.' This year, it's like, man. I mean, you can make the chase that Chase Briscoe, site of his first career win, by the way. Denny Hamlin.... Kyle Larson's Kyle Larson," Jordan Bianchi said. "It does feels like anybody's champion and that's really cool. It's a nice level of unknown going into a race," he added.Logano had a solid but frustrating day at Talladega. He ran near the front at times but could not find the late push needed in the pack-style finish and crossed the line 16th. The finish left him short of the points.
"Really frustrating because you’re so close and see in front of you what you've got to do, and you can't do anything about it. It's frustrating. We know what we've got to do now. It's pretty simple," Logano said (via NBC Sports).Blaney, who started the Round of 8 as the betting favorite after winning the Round of 12 opener, had his odds slip. He crashed in Vegas and posted his first playoff DNF. However, the final race of this round could be a turning point for him, given his excellent record of back-to-back victories at the track over the past two years.
What are Team Penske's odds for the NASCAR Championship playoffs race at Martinsville?
While all four of the drivers in the elimination zone have won at Martinsville before, Ryan Blaney has the highest average finish at the short track in the last seven starts. The two-time Martinsville winner has won the last two playoff races at the 0.526-mile track. Meanwhile, Joey Logano has the third-highest average finish of 5.6 after Kyle Larson (5.4) at the track.
William Byron and Chase Elliott are also behind the cutline heading to Martinsville. Byron also has two wins at the short track in his last seven starts. If any of these four drivers win the NASCAR Cup Round of 8 finale race, the 4th place driver would get eliminated.
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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar