Title hopes: Analyzing the Championship 4 after Friday practice

On Friday, NASCAR Cup Series teams were offered a 50-minute practice session ahead of the championship event on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Take a look at how each of the Championship 4 teams fared on Friday before their biggest race of the season.

JOEY LOGANO

Team: Team Penske No. 22 Ford

Final practice rank: 7th (132.802 mph)

Final 10-lap average rank: 5th (131.470 mph)

Noteworthy: Logano entered Phoenix with the most time to prepare after winning on Oct. 16 at Las Vegas. The No. 22 crew proved to make good use of its time with a fast Mustang Friday evening in an issue-free session.

Quotable crew chief: "Joey is as confident as I've seen him since I've worked with him. I thought coming into this race two years ago, we were good and thought we had a chance. I feel like he's even more confident this year. Why that is, I'm not sure. You'll have to ask him that. I think he's confident in the team he has right now. His ability through this new car, where he's gotten to throughout the season." -- Paul Wolfe

CHRISTOPHER BELL

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota

Final practice rank: 20th (131.719 mph)

Final 10-lap average rank: 31st (128.549 mph)

Noteworthy: Bell was stunningly slow on Friday, not even cracking the top 30 in 10-lap averages. The walk-off winner two rounds in a row may need another comeback come Sunday.

Quotable crew chief: "With this schedule we felt like we could try to optimize the way we were going to unload. We just didn't hit it quite right, so .... we're not worried about it. I don't think you should be, either. We got the whole rest of the weekend to figure it out. I got all the confidence in my guys and our tools, and certainly Bell. Doesn't have to be perfect. That's the good thing. We just got to get it close." -- Adam Stevens

ROSS CHASTAIN

Team: Trackhouse Racing No. 1 Chevrolet

Final practice rank: 1st (133.240 mph)

Final 10-lap average rank: 8th (131.248 mph)

Noteworthy: On the flip side of Bell's situation was Chastain, who was quickest on single-lap speed Friday evening. Chastain rode the Martinsville momentum into Phoenix and immediately emerged as a legitimate contender for Sunday's championship.

Quotable crew chief: "Everybody gets excited about making the [Championship] 4. The move was incredible. I think we all spent a good couple of days just watching and rewatching it. Like I said, it’s a testament to him and his willingness to do what it takes. Certainly, [the] team looks at that and says, 'Man, this guy is willing to do what it takes.'" -- Phil Surgen

CHASE ELLIOTT

Team: Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet

Final practice rank: 10th (132.343 mph)

Final 10-lap average rank: 4th (131.485 mph)

Noteworthy: Elliott was fastest of the four title contenders in 10-lap averages Friday evening. His most recent results have been less than ideal, finishing 10th or worse in five of the last six races. That didn't matter Friday as the team showed legitimate speed.

Quotable crew chief: "Obviously, everyone on the 9 team, everybody at HMS have a bit heightened ... intensity, sensitivity. You're just trying to overcommunicate, trying to dot all I's, cross all the T's. I don't know that there's like, 'Hey, we do this this week and not the rest.' You try to do everything you do normally a little bit better." -- Alan Gustafson