AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR President Steve Phelps provided positive bookends to his State of the Sport press conference Friday morning at Phoenix Raceway.
In the preamble to questions from reporters, Phelps described NASCAR racing as “resilient and growing,” citing a welcome recovery from adverse weather that affected television ratings for several of the Cup Series’ most important events.
To end the news conference on the dais he shared with NASCAR chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell, Phelps delivered a message familiar to those who have covered the sport for the past six years.
“I’ve said this at every single one of these States of the Sport,” Phelps said. “This is my seventh year saying this, and I will say it this year, next year and the following years, which is: The best days of NASCAR are not behind us. They are ahead of us, and I believe that to be true.”
As Phelps pointed out, aggregate television ratings as well as attendance improved year-over-year despite the ill-timed challenges presented by the weather.
“We had an event, the Clash at The Coliseum, and we were looking at a historic atmospheric river for our event — that’s what they called it — just a lot of rain. I think we’ll go with that. So, we did something we had never done before. We pulled a race up a day, and we raced on Saturday night.
“Got crushed in the ratings. Fans didn’t know when it was, how they were going to get there … Saturday’s the lowest-rated day of the week. But it was the right thing to do. It was a financial bath for us, but it was the right thing to do for the industry.
“Go two weeks down the road, and we had more rain. So, we delayed the start of the (Daytona 500) a full day, and we took a ratings bath. So, we were down minus-27. Then we had a rain-shortened race at the Coca-Cola 600, a rain-interrupted event at the Chicago Street Race, so three of your biggest races — down double digits.”
Despite the hardships caused by weather, NASCAR’s rating numbers have reached positive territory entering the season finale at Phoenix.
“What does that say to me?” Phelps asked rhetorically. “It says to me that the sport is resilient, and the sport is growing.”
Phelps took umbrage at the suggestion amplified by social media that the drivers competing for series championships at Phoenix this weekend weren’t worthy of their positions in the respective Championship 4 races.
“What I would say is that all of our drivers knew the format,” Phelps said. “And these drivers in all three national series competed and went to the highest level, and they deserve to be here.
“So just take the Cup race. You have a former champion who won to get in, as he did last year (Ryan Blaney); a Regular Season Champion who won to get in here (Tyler Reddick); and you have a two-time Cup champion who won to get here (Joey Logano). And then the young man who pointed his way through, William Byron, is an incredible talent.
“So, all four of these drivers deserve to be here. Full stop.”
O’Donnell addressed the recent controversy in the Round of 8 elimination NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville Speedway that resulted in stiff penalties to 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing and Richard Childress Racing for manipulating the outcome with Championship 4 spots on the line.
“What I saw at Martinsville pissed me off, and it pissed everyone off at NASCAR,” O’Donnell said. “Because we all know better, and we know what happened. We do have rules in the rule book where we can address it, and we did. We had a call with our OEMs where we were very clear what our intentions are going forward.
“Will we have a rule next year (addressing the OEMs’ role)? One thousand percent, and they know that.”
O’Donnell also said that NASCAR will always look at potential tweaks to the postseason format but that playoffs are here to stay.
Phelps also had high praise for the production facility that opened this year in Concord, North Carolina, citing the volume of high-quality, targeted content produced for a wide array of platforms.
“What we’ve done so far in that building is nothing short of extraordinary,” he said.
Other topics included in the discussion included recognition of Martin Truex Jr., who is retiring from full-time competition at the end of the season; a nod to Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, which is selling its charters and will leave the sport; NASCAR’s promise to continue its innovations with a vibrant schedule; and progress with partner Goodyear in the production of softer tires for short tracks and road courses.
“We are going to continue to be bold and innovative in everything that we do,” Phelps said. “Not just the race schedule, but everything that we do to drive this sport forward. It’s the only way you will grow is to be bold and innovative in the decisions that are made, and we’re going to do that.”
AVONDALE, Ariz. — The battle to get into this weekend’s Championship 4 field at Phoenix Raceway has been a claws-out, stress-filled contest the last two weeks, with ramped-up pressure at Homestead-Miami and Martinsville. Joey Logano, though, has been above that whole fray, ever since his victory in the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas.
“Not my deal,” Logano said with a laugh. “I don’t have to worry about it. My batteries are recharged. Everyone had their tongues hanging out trying to get in.”
Logano and fellow title hopeful Tyler Reddick enter Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season finale (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock) with teams that have relished the extra time to focus on their Phoenix game plan. Those two will face off against Ryan Blaney and William Byron, who clinched their Championship 4 slots with clutch performances just last weekend at Martinsville.
Logano has had the longest runway, thanks to his Vegas victory on Oct. 20 that made him the first to clinch. He and his No. 22 Team Penske Ford group have used that formula before, advancing from the Round of 16 this year with a playoff-opening win at Atlanta, and using a Round of 8-opening triumph in 2022 to seal a Championship 4 berth, one that he converted into his second Cup Series title.
The extra lead time has been valuable for No. 22 crew chief Paul Wolfe, a meticulous veteran who joined Team Penske in 2010.
“I think it’s definitely real. I like where we’re at,” Wolfe said in a pre-Martinsville interview. “We did it two years ago, and really it’s all about preparation and making sure we’ve done everything we know possible when we unload in Phoenix, and it just gives you a bigger time frame to go through all that and go over that and focus on that so mentally, you’re not drained when you get to Phoenix. We’re two weeks ahead of where a lot of guys will be. I mean, everyone that’s made it this far in the playoffs has people working in the background preparing, whether they know that they are yet or not.
“So to say that no one else is thinking about Phoenix, that’s not true, but as our team directly, we’ve been able to spend the time and know that when we load up, I can kind of sit back and know that we’ve looked at everything, we feel confident with what we have, and you’re not mentally drained when you get there on Friday and you’re ready to go and feel fresh. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Reddick rolled into the Phoenix field by virtue of his compelling last-lap dash on Oct. 27, snatching a Homestead-Miami victory from fellow playoff drivers Blaney and Denny Hamlin, his team co-owner at 23XI Racing. The title shot is the first for Reddick, who is an Xfinity Series champion twice over, but it’s also the first for his 23XI group.
With the bonus preparation time has come additional resources, with Toyota-affiliated Joe Gibbs Racing offering assistance in the days leading up to the Phoenix finale.
“Knowing we’re in, knowing that this car right here that we’re working on is going to be a Championship 4 car, just gave us extra time to really focus on that car and understand what the work going into that car, what it means, what it’s going to be racing for,” Reddick said during Thursday’s Championship Weekend Media Day. “It’s been really cool over, I’d say, the last week to see everyone from JGR chipping in and helping and coming by the shop, going over the car with our folks at Airspeed. It just feels like everyone has really banded together and made sure we have everything we need on the car, that it’s as fast as it can be when we get here.”
That optimism came with a slight note of caution from No. 45 crew chief Billy Scott, who signaled last week that he hoped the team could keep its successful stride. Martinsville, however, was a wash for Reddick, who retired short of last Sunday’s finish with a brake issue. The team will aim to make that result a forgettable blip on its season-long journey this weekend.
“Most of our team, and Tyler, myself, we’ve not been a part of a Cup final four,” Scott said. “So just trying to get ahead of it, trying to understand what surprises we’re in store for, trying to already act like we’re going to Phoenix instead of Martinsville, I feel like has been helpful. Working on our car more, getting ahead of time on that, making sure we go over everything a couple times, being prepared for practice changes out there with a different schedule. I think all that’s beneficial. We just have to make sure we don’t lose our kind of flow we’ve got. We’ve had a few good weeks of really competitive racing that we don’t want to lose track of that and get out of the rhythm, and momentum is a real thing. So it’s kind of the fear in the background.”
Logano, for one, is using the advantage as motivation. The No. 22 team started out slowly this year, but ratcheted up its performance when it mattered with all three wins in the second half of the season. Two of those have come in the playoffs, providing the luxury of breathing room for crucial stretches of the 10-race postseason.
“I mean, it just gives you more time, right?” Logano said. “Give this team time, we become pretty dangerous pretty quickly.”
“There is – as we know it – no Xfinity Series without Wayne Auton.” – Kyle Petty
“Wayne’s been a staple of this sport for so many years.” – Justin Allgaier
“He’s like, one of my favorite people that works at NASCAR.” – Austin Cindric
Not often do people agree unanimously on anything, a statement truer in racing than in most other circles. Wayne Auton is the exception.
At age 66 and after more than 40 years spent working for the sanctioning body of the United States’ top form of stock-car racing, Auton’s storied career as the series director of the NASCAR Xfinity Series will come to an end Saturday at Phoenix Raceway with the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
Put simply, Auton loves racing. That much is obvious to anyone who’s spent two seconds around the jovial, mustached native of Hickory, North Carolina, who’s usually chuckling along the way.
FUELED UP AND FIRED UP
The racing career of Wayne Auton began nearly 60 years ago, a child joining his father, Robert “Hoot” Auton, to lend a hand in the infield of Rockingham Speedway.
The high-banked, 1-mile oval nestled in south-central North Carolina holds plenty of memories for Auton. Unocal, then the fuel supplier for NASCAR, used to hire the safety teams and fire trucks for each event. Hoot owned some fire equipment, Wayne said, and therefore the duo went to plenty of Rockingham races.
That led to an encounter with none other than “Big” Bill France Sr., the founding face of NASCAR.
“Let me tell you – he was a giant,” Auton recalls. “My dad introduced me to him in the Unocal building in the infield in Rockingham. And he got talking to me a little bit. He said, ‘What are you gonna do for a living?’ I said, ‘I’m gonna go work for you.’ He said, ‘Keep that thought. You never know.’ So here I am.”
Auton was somewhere between the ages of 8 and 10 at that time – “I can’t remember exactly” – and by age 28, Auton was exactly right.
NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images
He started his career selling cushions at his local Hickory Motor Speedway, then drinks, then popcorn, earning $0.03 per box sold. He then took a larger leap, becoming the track’s fire marshal, tying back to his father’s fire equipment. Shortly thereafter, David Hoots – today, a former Cup Series race director – became Hickory’s chief steward, necessitating a new official on staff. Enter the 20-year-old Auton.
“That was my first job being an official,” he said.
Eight years later, after time spent at Hickory, Tri-County Motor Speedway and assisting NASCAR Hall of Famer Jerry Cook in Modified races, Auton’s first full-time opportunity arose in NASCAR, traveling as an official for the Goody’s Dash Series.
“And then yeah,” Auton said. “Rest is history, I guess you’d say.”
“WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER”
Over four decades, some lessons stick with a person more than others.
The one with firm roots in Auton’s mind today was planted in 1995. Entering Daytona in February, Auton served as the series director of the Goody’s Dash Series. He left as the series director of the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series. Fast forward to Daytona in July.
This time, it was a contested meeting between “Mr. France” and “Coach” Les Richter, the former NFL’er turned head of operations of NASCAR through a dedicated career in motorsports leadership.
“I thought they were going to get in an argument,” Auton said. “I thought I was in trouble. I says, ‘Man, what have I done?’ They’re arguing over who’s going to ask me to go to the trucks.
“So a lot of few words were set behind the door that were personal from Coach. But then he said, ‘This is the teams, and this is us.’ And he took his hands and held them out. And he said, ‘This is what we got to do.’”
Auton interlocked his fingers, imitating Richter’s gesture made 29 years ago.
“I learned from that very point that we worked at this as a team,” Auton said. “We never, ever — it’s not NASCAR side; it’s not the team side. It’s, we have to work together to make the sport better.”
Auton left that meeting with another different title – this time as series director of the burgeoning NASCAR SuperTruck Series – known today as the Craftsman Truck Series.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Perhaps the most difficult part of building relationships in any capacity is maintaining them.
Auton’s job as series director means enforcing competition rules to produce the most fair racing possible. The results of that job can sometimes cause frustration or disagreements. Auton has found ways to lessen those moments – or at the very least keep them professional, never personal.
“The one thing that we try to make sure that teams know (is) we’re no different than the teams are,” Auton said. “We are the sanctioning body. We are the officiating team. But we have a job to do when we come inside these gates. They have a job to do when we come inside these gates. And when we walk outside those gates, your friends will still want to have a cold beer with you.”
In 16 years overseeing the Truck Series and through the end of this 13-year stint in the Xfinity Series, Auton has plenty of friends that still want to have that post-race beverage. That, of course, is his greatest joy.
“Heck, this is our family,” Auton said. “The job absolutely could go away today. But the people in it’s what’s going to be hard (to leave). And they know that we got a job to do. And if we do our job inside this gate, when we walk outside that gate, they’ll see you, they’ll still speak to you. And don’t make it personal because they have a job to do. We don’t make it personal in the garage against them.
“They’re trying everything they can do to beat the person beside them. They’re not trying to beat us. It’s our job to make sure that every car is checked as good as it can be.”
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
Building those connections has worked, as evidenced by anyone who has spent time around him.
“The thing that I love about Wayne is Wayne’s a racer,” Justin Allgaier, a longtime veteran of the Xfinity Series, said. “He understands the teams. He understands the good and the bad challenges that everybody goes through. I think he’s extremely fair when it comes to looking at things through the glass window of what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong.”
Austin Cindric, the 2022 Daytona 500 champion who first won the 2020 Xfinity Series title, credits Auton for his growth as a stock-car racer.
“I really do love Wayne,” Cindric said. “He’s like, one of my favorite people that works at NASCAR. In my time, I feel like I experienced a lot of growth in the Xfinity Series, and Wayne was there from start to finish for me, and wasn’t ever afraid of being honest with me. And I felt like I grew to be the same back, whether if it’s fun conversations or tough conversations, depending on the day.
“It’s hard to find people like him. Wayne’s one of those people you kind of need two or three to replace. So it’s a shame I won’t get to see him every weekend and give him a high five, but it’s definitely somebody I’ll really have appreciated along the journey to get to the Cup Series.”
Christopher Bell has won 19 Xfinity races across the past eight seasons, including two this year. His face lit up when asked about Auton.
“Wayne is an amazing (series) director,” Bell said. “He’s one of the only ones that have actually given a young driver myself at the time advice, and I remember him telling us that you have to practice getting out the right side of the car.
“That stuff is so valuable and something that I took with me the rest of my career, even whenever I got into the Cup Series — and then with the car change, figuring out how to get out the right side of the Next Gen car. He’s just an awesome person who really looks after the racers and makes sure that they’re doing well.”
Jeff Curry | Getty Images
LEAVING ON A HIGH NOTE
Auton’s decision to leave his post after this 13th Xfinity season didn’t come easily. The emotions of this departure, he said, started to really set in during the October race weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“I knew two years ago that was coming time,” he said. “This sport is so busy today … it wears on you. I definitely knew when I got off the plane from Sonoma at 7:15 a.m. Sunday morning after we had been up all day in Sonoma working the race, I told my wife, I said, I can’t wait till November. But it’s really starting to hit home.”
There is nothing Wayne Auton loves more than racing – except for the people who race. The ones who put the cars on track each week. The drivers who climb behind the wheel and send those machines whipping through corners at 140 mph and tear down the straightaway with engines screaming at 200 mph.
“We don’t do this for accolades,” Auton said. “We do this because we love the sport. To me, it’s the best sport in the world. Got five wheels on it – four on the ground and the steering wheel. Greatest sport ever. And anybody that says that this sport hasn’t afforded them a good life needs to look in a mirror.
“We always hear, I wonder what the people are really doing for a job. We get to put on a show. We get to put on races that people sit at home and watch it on FOX, FS1, NBC, USA, The CW now that they’re coming on board. … They get to sit home and watch it. We get to actually live it. We get to go in and smell the tires burning and the gas, the fumes of the gas, and it’s just a refreshing job that you don’t really feel like you’re working.”
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
On Saturday night, another Xfinity Series champion will be crowned. Allgaier is back for the fifth time in the past six years, still seeking his first title. He’s got a bit of extra motivation this year.
“I told (Wayne), I said, ‘My only goal for this year is to make sure that you have to be front center at the banquet,’ ” Allgaier said. “And I want to be able to call him up on stage and be a champion and call him up there. I almost thought I wasn’t gonna have a shot to go to the top eight to do that, but that’s my goal. I’d love to be able to embarrass him a little bit on the stage after winning the championship because it’d be pretty special.”
Auton isn’t planning to be back in the garage in 2025. He wants to stay out of the way of future leadership without feeling like he’s stepping on any toes. He will be back, however, at Rockingham Speedway on April 18-19 as the Truck Series returns for the first time since 2013 and the Xfinity Series for the first time since 2004.
“God, man, it’s hard to sit here and explain the opportunities that we’ve had, places we’ve got to see, the people we’ve got to meet,” Auton said, reflecting on how good each of these years have been. “And it’s all about the people. I’ll say it again. The job could go away today. I wouldn’t miss one minute of it, but I know when those trucks roll to Daytona …”
Auton’s voice shakes and he pauses to collect his thoughts, the emotion setting in as he speaks in the office of the NASCAR Xfinity Series hauler.
“(Gonna be) the first time in 33 years I didn’t go to Daytona,” Auton said. “Thirty-third champion coming up. That’s pretty cool.”
NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 concludes at Phoenix Raceway.
With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name.
Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess.
We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?
Current Standings:
1. Steve Luvender: 950
2. r/NASCAR Community: -118
3. Cameron Richardson: -163
4. Dustin Albino: -171
Race 36 of 36: Phoenix
Our pickers had a 50/50 shot between their two remaining picks last week at Martinsville. Dustin Albino chose Bubba Wallace, who earned 19 points. The NASCAR subreddit chose Ryan Preece, good enough for a 31-point day. Denny Hamlin earned 40 points for Steve Luvender, while Cameron Richardson’s selection of Kyle Larson led the day with 46 points after the No. 5 finished third Sunday.
All season, our pickers carefully chose their drivers, and now we’re down to the final race. That means just one car — no choice, really — remains on each board. Steve Luvender’s 118-point lead can’t be toppled, but the battle for second place is still in play. Which drivers did our panelists save for last?
Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 9, Chase Elliott
Dustin’s pick last week: No. 23, Bubba Wallace (19 points)
Total season points: 779 (fourth place, -1 since last week)
Dustin: My second half downward spiral continued at Martinsville with Wallace. The good news for this weekend: the maximum number of points my opponents can score is 40, given they all saved Blaney for the championship race. The potential bad news: eight times in the last two years has a driver scored more points than the champion, so it’s possible but no guarantee. Here’s to Elliott getting me out of the cellar at Phoenix. Hendrick Motorsports struggled at Phoenix in the spring, with its best entry finishing 14th. Elliott has top 10s in half of his 16 starts at the 1-mile track and it’s the site of the biggest moment in his racing career in 2020.
NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 12, Ryan Blaney
Steve’s pick last week: No. 11, Denny Hamlin (40 points)
Total season points: 950 (first place)
Steve: I saved the best for last, though I was tempted to employ YRB last week at Martinsville. Ryan Blaney’s success at Phoenix is well-documented; he’s finished no worse than fifth in the last six trips there. The only thing I’ll miss out on with my pick is stage points, which Championship 4 contenders don’t earn in the championship race. No matter, though, because none of my competitors can catch me in the standings. For now, I’ll await the glitzy awards ceremony and giant novelty check afforded to the 36 for 36 champion! (Wait, we don’t get our own fantasy-game-players’ banquet?!)
NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 12, Ryan Blaney
Cameron’s pick last week: No. 5, Kyle Larson (46 points)
Total season points: 787 (third place, +1 from last week)
Cameron: It all comes down to this! Well, Steve’s already won the survivor pool, but Blaney was always the plan for the Champ 4 race regardless of if he was going for title No. 2 or not. The defending champ is an absolute machine at the 1-mile desert oval. He has top 10s in the last eight Phoenix outings, including finishes of fifth or better in the last six. Really enjoyed participating in 36 of 36 all year long and hope we can do something similar to this in 2025. Thanks for following along!
r/NASCAR Community: No. 12, Ryan Blaney
r/NASCAR’s pick last week: No. 41, Ryan Preece (31 points)
Total season points: 832 (second place)
Well, there’s not much to be said in this week’s voting thread on the NASCAR subreddit with only one option left: Ryan Blaney.
u/Extreme-Bite-9123: “Victory is impossible, now all we can do is hold second”
u/Joey_Logano: “Ryan Blaney is the best choice because Ryan Blaney is Ryan Blaney.”
u/iiRyanPreece: “Would Ryan Blaney be Ryan Blaney if Ryan Blaney was Ryan Blaney?”
Thanks to all the Redditors who played along this season!
Check back next week to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey wraps up.
And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season comes to an end Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
It’s the fifth year of the final showdown taking place in the Arizona desert, and three familiar faces will be duking it out for the Bill France Cup alongside a first-time challenger for the Cup championship.
After his thrilling victory to clinch his second consecutive bid to the Championship 4, Ryan Blaney will get the chance to defend his championship and be the first to go back-to-back since Jimmie Johnson in 2010.
Two-time series champion Joey Logano is back to his usual even-year achievements after clutch wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway this postseason cemented his place in the title race. He’ll look to become just the 10th driver in Cup history to win three or more championships.
After initially not knowing if he made the Championship 4 or not when the checkered flag waved at Martinsville Speedway last weekend, William Byron seeks his first championship after falling short of his maiden title in 2023. Byron is the only driver from the Hendrick Motorsports camp to make the Championship 4 after three of the four cars in the organization made the Round of 8.
Then, there’s regular-season champion Tyler Reddick getting his first shot at a title. The regular season paid more than enough to the No. 45 driver, who struggled throughout the first nine races of the playoffs and even found himself upside down at Las Vegas in the Round of 8. In a must-win situation at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Reddick surged by Blaney in the final corner of the final lap to deliver 23XI Racing’s first chance at a championship.
As the weekend is set to get underway, NASCAR.com has you covered from all angles for Championship Weekend. Read our full coverage below to get ready for the Cup Series title race.
MOST COMPETITIVE TITLE RACE EVER?
James Gilbert | Getty Images
— Most even Championship 4?: The numbers say no one has the clear edge Sunday as Logano, Blaney, Reddick and Byron are all skilled at Phoenix. | Read more
— Making the case: Why each Championship 4 driver can win the Cup Series title … | Read more
— Exclusive club: … but why Ryan Blaney’s win would be historic in more ways than one. | Read more
— The Action Network: NASCAR odds, championship pick for Phoenix | Read more
— Extra prep, less pressure: Look out, competition. The ‘batteries are recharged’ for Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick. | Read more
— No. 24 in ’24?: William Byron is back in the Championship 4 for the second consecutive year, and his confidence is soaring. | Read more
— Motivation and momentum: Recap Championship 4 Media Day at Phoenix and hear from drivers heading into Sunday. | Read more
— Rise to the occasion: Racing Insights says a non-Champ 4 driver wins Sunday, but who will finish highest of those going for the title? | Read more
— By the numbers: Crew chiefs Luke Lambert and Drew Blickensderfer dive into the Championship 4 drivers’ previous performances at Phoenix Raceway. | Watch video
— Final tally: See the betting odds for Phoenix and who owns the bragging rights as the favorite for the final race of the year. | Read more
— The making of Martin: Journey through Martin Truex Jr.’s early career before his days as a Cup Series champion. | Read more
— Last rodeo: Paint schemes for Championship Weekend, including Truex’s final livery that throws back to his very first Cup start. | Photo gallery
— Gone fishin’: Truex reflects on 19-year Cup Series career and what’s next. | Watch video
— @nascarcasm: The many eras of Truex’s lengthy NASCAR national series career. | Photo gallery
— Fantasy: Stage points still in play as final fantasy lineups are set this weekend. | Photo gallery
— Fantasy Update: Remain Championship 4-heavy for 2024 finale | Read more
Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.
Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The following suggestions are Ken’s picks to watch before this Sunday’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock).
The NASCAR Cup Series arrived at Phoenix Raceway in October 1994 with a new seven-time champion.
Dale Earnhardt’s victory in the previous race at Rockingham clinched the title for Earnhardt with two races remaining on the 1994 slate.
Earnhardt and car owner Richard Childress spent the week celebrating their success with a hunting trip that saw Childress escape serious injury after a fall.
When it came time to qualify, the field was quick to notice that Goodyear had the superior tire. Ward Burton, who had found success earlier in the season qualifying, claimed the highest qualifying spot for a Hoosier-powered driver with a 27th-place start.
Sterling Marlin, who was capping off his first season in the No. 4 car for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, put the car on the pole for the event. He narrowly beat out Rusty Wallace for the top spot. Wallace was just one week removed from officially being eliminated from having a chance at the title, despite another strong season from the No. 2 car.
Two other drivers who were in the first year of new partnerships, Ricky Rudd and Terry Labonte, looked to be two of the fastest cars out west.
Rudd led 99 laps in his own No. 10 car before slowly fading throughout the day. He eventually brought his car home with a respectable seventh-place finish.
Labonte, who replaced Rudd in the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports, continued his hot stretch by leading a race-high 112 laps en route to Victory Lane.
Mark Martin, Marlin, Jeff Gordon and Ted Musgrave rounded out the remainder of the top five.
Earnhardt came home 40th after engine issues ended his day early. He still left with a 379-point advantage over Wallace with one week remaining. He sat 75 points ahead of Martin for the runner-up spot in the standings.
Phoenix Raceway was always a track synonymous with the success of Bobby Hamilton and the end of the 1996 season seemed fitting that another chapter of his story would take place at the track.
Hamilton made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at the track in 1989, driving one of the “Days of Thunder” movie cars for Rick Hendrick.
The car was stripped of its camera equipment for the event, following an eye-popping fifth-place qualifying effort from Hamilton, which allowed him to go out and compete for a victory at the track.
He subsequently led five laps but engine issues left him with a 32nd-place finish. His flashes of success in the car led to Hamilton landing a ride in the No. 68 car for Mark Smith in 1990. Hamilton made the most of his time in the car, capturing the Rookie of the Year honors in 1991.
Hamilton showed signs of success over the next few seasons while driving for Smith, Dick Moroso, Aikins-Sutton Motorsports and Felix Sabates before the No. 40 team was purchased by Dick Brooks.
Much of his speed was shown at Phoenix, as he backed up his debut race with a 13th-place finish in 1991 after leading a lap. He returned to the track in 1992 with the Mark Smith-led team and finished eighth.
Hamilton did not race at the track in 1993 but returned in 1994 with an 11th-place finish.
All of his signs of promise led to him landing a dream ride in 1995, taking over the No. 43 car owned by Richard Petty, who retired from driving following the 1992 season finale.
The chance Petty took on Hamilton proved to be a correct choice, as he finished a career-best 14th in the season standings while battling for a handful of victories throughout the season.
Everything was looking up for the team in 1996, as they looked to build on the immediate success of their first full campaign together.
Adding to the excitement of the season was that it marked the 25th anniversary of the partnership between Petty and his longtime sponsor STP. The team rolled out a handful of throwback paint schemes for Hamilton to race throughout the season, honoring the success between Petty and the sponsor through the years.
The team didn’t find as much improvement as they had hoped for the 1996 season but the race at Phoenix turned out to be one to remember for everyone involved.
All of the focus at Phoenix was on the championship battle between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte, as well as Dale Jarrett of Robert Yates Racing.
Labonte entered the weekend up 32 points on Gordon and 76 on Jarrett, as there were just the races at Phoenix and Atlanta remaining on the schedule.
Unfortunately, Labonte didn’t seem to have the luck on his side, as he broke his left hand during a practice crash at the track on Friday. The break put a damper on the important weekend for Labonte and his team but they did manage to catch one good break.
Heavy winds sent sand blowing through the air, postponing qualifying until the following day.
When the teams were able to qualify on Saturday, it was Labonte’s younger brother Bobby who put his car on the pole for the race. Gordon and the elder Labonte both struggled during qualifying, as they started 19th and 30th respectively.
Jarrett on the other hand, took advantage of the Hendrick Motorsports struggles and put his No. 88 car fifth on the board. Hamilton qualified a quiet 17th.
The race on Sunday proved to be another instance of championship-level grit, as Labonte made his way up through the entire field with his injured hand to lead 61 laps.
It looked like Labonte had the car to beat late, as he led two long stretches late before giving up the lead to Geoff Bodine for fresh tires with just about 50 laps remaining.
The ensuing restart saw Hamilton eventually take advantage and put the No. 43 Petty Enterprises car back in Victory Lane for the first time in 13 years.
It was Hamilton’s first career Cup Series victory, coming in his 167th start, ironically at the same track he made his series debut at just a handful of years earlier.
The points battle saw Labonte shrug off his pain and finish third, a few spots ahead of Gordon and Jarrett, who both finished inside the top-10.
This set up the season finale for the championship, with Labonte entering the weekend 47 points up on Gordon and 99 on Jarrett, as he chased his first Cup Series championship since he won it in 1984.
The end of the unique 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season saw Joey Logano and Chase Elliott racing for a title following their victories at Kansas and Martinsville respectively. Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin rounded out the Championship 4 after racing their way into the battle with enough points through the Round of 8.
The weekend was also bittersweet, as it marked the final start as full-time Cup Series drivers for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, 2003 series champion Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.
It looked like the weekend couldn’t have got off to a better start for Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports team, as they won the pole for the race, narrowly beating out the rest of his championship rivals in qualifying.
Elliott’s supreme start to the weekend went sour quickly, as he failed pre-race inspection twice and had to start at the rear of the field.
He took the early adversity and swept it to the side, as he worked his way through the field before taking command of the race in dominating fashion. He already made his way to third by the end of the first stage.
Elliott led 153 laps after starting from the rear, the first championship-deciding race that was held at the track, en route to the first Cup Series championship of his career.
His championship, teamed with his father Bill’s in 1988, helped them become the third father and son duo to win Cup Series titles. They joined Lee and Richard Petty and Ned and Dale Jarrett.
All of the championship contenders showed up strong, as Keselowski, Logano and Hamlin finished second, third and fourth in the race.
Johnson, who was competing in his last race in the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports, finished fifth.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick all share a common incentive for Sunday’s Cup Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway, but for each one, hoisting the Bill France Cup would hold its own special distinction.
The possibilities came into focus Thursday as the four title hopefuls met the press for Media Day rounds at the 1-mile Arizona oval, which will host Sunday’s season finale (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock). Blaney has the rare opportunity to become the first driver to win consecutive Cup Series crowns since Jimmie Johnson’s five-title run ended in 2010, and Team Penske teammate Logano has the chance to join the rarefied ranks of NASCAR’s three-time Cup champions. Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron and 23XI Racing’s Reddick will bid for their first Cup crowns, which would also carry special significance for their famed team owners.
Blaney aims to follow the same blueprint that launched him to his first Cup Series title last season, where an emotion-filled victory at Martinsville Speedway one week earlier provided his No. 12 Ford team a surge that carried into Phoenix weekend. This year’s Martinsville triumph may have been more spirited, one that sapped away the setback of falling one spot short the week before at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It also provided Blaney a title berth that was available only by winning.
“I talked about momentum last year and confidence coming into this race, and we were able to utilize that, and I think it’s the same way,” said Blaney, who is making his second-ever Championship 4 appearance. “I feel like it’s even more momentum than last year because winning that must-win last week at Martinsville. I think that Martinsville win last week was even bigger than ’23 because we didn’t have to win that race last year at Martinsville. We just had to have a good day, but we still ended up winning, which was great momentum for us. But I think just the lows of me losing the race at Miami, us rebounding at Martinsville, a must-win, doing it coming from where we did in the pack to get the lead there at the end and carrying it into this week, and then having the chance to do what we can do this week in going back-to-back, I think riding high for sure. But we’re fully focused on what it takes.
“Heck, we were talking about it on stage at Martinsville. Everyone was ready, like, ‘What’s next week? What are we going to do next week? How can we be better next week?’ and that’s a cool group to be around.”
Logano, his teammate, is making his sixth Championship 4 appearance and shares the opportunity to give team owner Roger Penske his third straight Cup title. His credentials are already established as a future NASCAR Hall of Famer, but a triumph on Sunday would make him the only active driver with three championships.
Reaching three would lift him into the ether, joining Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Tony Stewart as legendary drivers who have achieved that mark.
“I think as you do this longer, you start to think about the people that help you get here. You become a little less selfish, I believe, when it comes to what a championship means,” said Logano, who hoisted the title in 2018 and 2022. “I think it matters so much to everybody else that’s working on the team, too. Having three would be great, but seeing everyone else celebrate is even better to me, like seeing everybody just as excited for their families as well. Like that, to me, matters more than stacking up the stats, so just want to see them do that. Now, the stats come along with it, so they’re hand in hand, but definitely would like to see everybody celebrate together.”
Byron’s path to Phoenix is another return Championship 4 trip, but one that he had to wait for. When fellow title contender Christopher Bell was penalized for his last-lap Martinsville wall ride after nearly a half-hour of deliberations among NASCAR officials, the final berth in the four-driver field was his. Allegations of race manipulation on both sides of the playoff bubble were met this week by a collection of major penalties, adding another layer of controversy to the outcome.
Byron has maintained that he’s staying above the fray, calling the wait “excruciating,” but that his focus remains forward. He has a chance to give the No. 24 its first championship since 2001, capping off Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary season in the best possible way.
Martinsville hangover? Byron doesn’t think so.
“I haven’t ever felt as bonded to my team as I am now,” said Byron, who’s also in his second Champ 4 field. “I feel like we had a meeting on Sunday night about it, and I feel like we’ve turned the page really, really quickly. So for me personally, I’ve blocked out a ton of the noise. I haven’t looked at social media. I don’t really care. I’m just focused on trying to get the 24 car as fast I can, and I think past experiences probably have helped fuel that, where it’s like I’ve been through enough BS in my cup career, where I kind of know what to focus on and what to block out.”
Reddick is the only one of the four making his debut on the championship stage, and the 28-year-old driver has multiple firsts he’s striving for. His first Cup Series title would also be the first for his 23XI Racing group and team co-owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, who formed the team a little more than four years ago.
Depending on the perspective, the magnitude of what a Cup Series title would mean could provide either motivation or pressure.
“I think it could be both, honestly,” Reddick said. “As a competitor, these are the moments you live for, being able to be in this situation and this position to go fight for a championship, but certainly when I when I think of Michael, Denny, the rest of the owners, I think of everyone back at Airspeed, those that travel on the road and dedicate their lives to this goal. Certainly it’s good pressure, but you say incentive, yes, there’s a lot of that as well to get the job done.”
Blaney claimed last year’s Cup Series title with a second-place finish at Phoenix after earning his way into the Championship 4 by taking the checkers at Martinsville, the final race in the Round of 8. He needed a win again this year at Martinsville Speedway to give himself a chance at another championship.
“It just feels like Groundhog Day because last year was the same thing. He had to win, and he won,” Ed Salmons, vice president of risk at Vegas’ Westgate SuperBook, told NASCAR.com this week. “That’s just so hard to do.”
With a stellar record on short, flat tracks in general and at Phoenix in particular, and competing for a team that has been fast all season, Blaney is poised to repeat. In fact, Team Penske has two chances to win its third-straight title as Blaney is accompanied by 2022 champ Joey Logano in the final four.
Salmons opened Blaney as the +300 favorite (3-to-1 odds) to win at Phoenix and has him at +175 to win the championship by finishing ahead of the three other contenders — Logano, William Byron and Tyler Reddick.
Christopher Bell is the outlier at the top of the oddsboard. Despite being out of contention for the title, Bell is the second betting choice at +400. Ross Chastain’s victory at Phoenix last year marked the first time in the 10-year history of the current playoff format that the final race was won by a driver not among the Championship 4.
As far as the title contenders, Byron is +500 at the SuperBook to win the race and +280 for the championship, and Logano and Reddick are priced equally at +700 for the race and +350 for the title.
Here are the odds to win Sunday’s Phoenix race from three sportsbooks (Salmons anticipates these numbers moving based on qualifying, especially if one of the four finalists earns the No. 1 pit stall — “one of the biggest pit stalls in all of NASCAR,” he says):
Driver
SuperBook
DraftKings
BetMGM
Ryan Blaney
+300
+400
+310
Christopher Bell
+400
+500
+525
William Byron
+500
+600
+475
Joey Logano
+700
+650
+600
Tyler Reddick
+700
+750
+700
Kyle Larson
+1400
+800
+900
Denny Hamlin
+1400
+1200
+1400
Ross Chastain
+1800
+1600
+1800
Chase Elliott
+1800
+2200
+1600
Brad Keselowski
+3000
+4000
+4000
Martin Truex Jr.
+3000
+2200
+2200
Chase Briscoe
+4000
+3500
+3500
Ty Gibbs
+5000
+3000
+3500
Chris Buescher
+5000
+4000
+4000
Kyle Busch
+10000
+3500
+5000
“It almost looks too simple sometimes,” Salmons said. “You can never forecast a loose wheel or when a problem will happen — obviously that’s the thing about motorsports, anything can happen at any time where it can affect your race results. But if the race plays out in a true fashion, speed-wise, you would think it’s Blaney and Byron as far as the playoffs.”
Salmons’ book faces liability on a Blaney title, and he acknowledges pricing the No. 12 Ford so short partly to discourage action.
“If this was just race, I would probably have him and Bell [priced equally],” Salmons said. “He’s definitely a little bit lower based on the championship race.”
How should bettors play Blaney?
Blaney backers may be enticed to bet him to win Sunday’s race rather than in championship futures since the potential payout is larger. After all, in nine of the 10 years of this playoff format, one of the four championship drivers won the final race, so why not shoot for the larger profit?
Quantitative NASCAR analyst Jim Sannes, however, sees value on Blaney in odds to win the championship.
“My sims have Blaney winning [the title by finishing ahead of Byron, Logano and Reddick] 35.8% of the time, well clear of his 28.6% implied odds [+250 at FanDuel],” Sannes, managing editor at FanDuel Research, said in a direct message. “He’s up there due to his great track history, the speed in Martinsville, and how good he was at both Gateway and Iowa earlier this year.
“As a result, I’d much rather back Blaney to win the championship than the race just because there’s such good value here, and it means I don’t have to deal with Bell and others.”
While bettors should always shop at multiple sportsbooks to find the best odds for their wagers, Sannes’ 35.8% projection translates to +179 odds. Theoretically, there’s value in any price better than that, so Blaney is not a recommended championship bet at +175.
Should bettors consider a non-contender at Phoenix?
A respected bettor in Las Vegas bet Bell at Salmons’ opening price of +500, prompting the move to +400 at the SuperBook.
“I was surprised at this,” Salmons said. “I know Bell won the first race here, and I thought I opened him low at five.”
Even though Chastain won last year’s Phoenix race, Salmons believes there’s a certain courtesy paid by non-contenders to the drivers trying to win the championship.
While he’s not opposed to wagering on a driver outside the Championship 4, Sannes thinks Bell is overvalued in this spot.
“I’m open to betting a non-championship driver, but I’d want more forgiving odds in order to do so,” Sannes said. “Chase Elliott at +1900, specifically, is enticing, given it would require a very specific running order for him to back off and help Byron. I haven’t bet Elliott and am unlikely to do so, but he would be the one guy who would intrigue me there.”
AVONDALE, Ariz. — The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season has been one long heavyweight bout between Christian Eckes and Corey Heim.
Eckes, the driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet, and Heim, pilot of the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, have dominated the first 22 races of the 23-race slate. Eckes has scored four victories for the second straight season, matching his career high. Heim is a six-time winner this year, doubling his previous best of three a year ago.
Their yearlong battle culminates in a Truck Series title-bout showdown at Phoenix Raceway Friday night (8 ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as part of a Championship 4 that also includes two-time 2024 winner Grant Enfinger and fellow double victor Ty Majeski.
“Obviously, have a ton of respect for Corey and the whole 11 team,” Eckes said at Thursday’s Champ 4 media day from the 1-mile track. “Battling all year long has been super fun. I really haven’t had that a couple years, a very fierce rival like that. So, it’s pushed us to be better. I’m sure it’s pushed him to be better, too. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to this weekend. I’m sure we’re gonna have to battle him just like the other two. It’s Phoenix, so nothing’s really guaranteed as far as what’s going to happen this weekend. You never know what’s going to happen till the last green-white-checkered.”
Heim, the 22-year-old returning to the Championship 4 for the second consecutive year, has a similar appreciation for the caliber of competition his No. 11 team and Eckes’ No. 19 program have established. Eckes, the 23-year-old making his title-fight debut, enters having scored 21 top 10s in 22 races, including a streak of 20 straight — unbroken since a 32nd-place DNF at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February.
“Yeah, it’s been fun racing with Christian this year,” Heim said. “He’s been on top of his game pretty much every week. I think he’s got, like, a pretty crazy top-10 streak or something going on right now. I’ve raced with him for a long time, ever since I started out in late models. And it’s been seven, eight years since I’ve been racing against him. And it’s cool to see us having the success we are this year.
“But like you said, there’s definitely gonna be some other trucks to worry about. I mean, it is the Championship 4, after all, so it just matters who peaks at the right time, and I guess we’ll see. I think we’ve just got to be on top of our game, and we’ll be there at the end.”
Eckes takes pride in that “crazy” top-10 streak — and the 14 top fives that have come with them. In the 109 combined starts made by a McAnally-entered truck ahead of Eckes’ 2023 debut with the organization, 30 of those ended in top 10s — and only five in the top five.
“We’ve turned it into a championship-contending organization,” Eckes said. “I remember the day — Dec. 6, 2022 — when I first came to McAnally-Hillgemann Racing, and I said, ‘My bar’s here. My bar is a championship.’ I finally have a chance to achieve that this weekend, so that’s our number one priority.”
Justin Casterline | Getty Images
And while Enfinger and Majeski may be listed as the “also” duo above, neither should be overlooked in Friday’s title race.
Both of Enfinger’s 2024 wins came within the past three races, scoring Round of 8 victories at Talladega Superspeedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway to secure his spot in the Championship 4 for the second straight season and third appearance in the past five years.
Enfinger, now driving the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet, was also in position to earn the 2023 championship at Phoenix until a late caution erased that opportunity.
“Grant’s capable of anything, right?” Eckes said. “I mean, he won two races in the last round alone. Like I said earlier, it comes down to one race, and the 9’s been super clutch. That’s our kind of co-teammate, I guess. He’s got an alliance with MHR. So we’ve worked hard this week, both teams. So I’m confident in them to have a chance.”
Enfinger’s season began dreadfully short of his expectations. Though he led 25 laps across the opening two events, Enfinger finished 16th or worse in five of the opening nine races, mustering a best finish of ninth twice. But a runner-up effort at North Wilkesboro Speedway sparked a far better future for the No. 9 team in which Enfinger scored 10 top 10s in the past 13 starts.
“There’s been three or four races this year that we’ve had race-contending speed anyway — even if it wasn’t a dominant truck, we had a truck capable of winning a number of races,” Enfinger said. “And how I see it is us at our best, we’re able to contend and beat these guys when they’re at their best. Where we faltered some this year is our consistency. But we’ve got a really, really good pit crew. We’ve got what I feel like is the best guys on pit road. Got a really, really good spotter in Tim Fedewa. He’s racing for a championship in the Cup Series this weekend with Ryan Blaney. It’s a spot that I’ve been here before at this championship race. Jeff (Stankiewicz, crew chief) has been here. He’s been able to win a championship with Sheldon (Creed) four years ago.
“So think from personnel, from our parts and pieces, the trucks we have and our extra preparation that we’ve had to have here, I think maybe we aren’t looked at as a favorite. I don’t know. But I definitely don’t know how you automatically bet against us. Maybe if we were performing how we did at the beginning of the year and all we did was win Talladega, maybe I can buy into that. But nobody on our team feels that way.”
Majeski’s two wins this year have come at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park at Richmond Raceway, respectively — both of which are flat short tracks that share similarities with the 1-mile track at Phoenix.
“I think this is our type of race track,” Majeski said. “Anytime Joe (Shear Jr., crew chief) and I show up to a flat short track, I feel like we’re a threat to win. I feel like we’ve all had our parts of the season where we’ve been dominant. And I really feel like the Championship 4 that are here really are probably the four that deserve to be here the most. That doesn’t happen all the time with this format, so it’s good to see that. I think that’s good for the sport, good for everybody involved to have us four here.
“It’s going to be an interesting race, for sure. I feel like we have as good a chance as anybody. Like I said, being on a short track, I feel really good about our chances.”
His competition knows Majeski’s strengths will likely come into focus Friday night, particularly after Majeski led 48 laps in the 2023 season finale.
“It’s really just gonna come down to whoever’s leading of the four after 150 laps,” Eckes said, “because I’m not really sure how to handicap it right now.”
The penalty levied to Ross Chastain and the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing team was upheld after the team’s appeal was heard Thursday in front of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel; Richard Childress Racing, meanwhile, withdrew its appeal.
NASCAR issued a $100,000 fine and docked 50 driver points each from Chastain, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace after an investigation of the on-track data and team scanners from the final laps of Sunday’s Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. NASCAR also fined the owners of each team $100,000 and deducted 50 owner points.
NASCAR determined the actions violated sections 4.4.B&D: NASCAR Member Conduct of the Rule Book, which include race manipulation and actions detrimental to stock-car racing.
Crew chiefs Phil Surgen, Justin Alexander and Bootie Barker, along with their respective spotters Brandon McReynolds, Brandon Benesch and Freddie Kraft, were all suspended for the 2024 season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Darian Grubb, Joel Keller and Eric Phillips will step in as the crew chiefs for the respective teams this weekend.
Team executives Tony Lunders, Keith Rodden and Dave Rogers were also suspended for the 2024 finale at Phoenix.
The Appeals Panel, consisting of Kelly Housby, Lyn St. James and Steve York, upheld the penalties to the No. 1.
“We feel in the best interest of racing and to protect the integrity of the sport, it was appropriate to uphold and affirm NASCAR’s decision with regard to the NASCAR rule 4.4, attempting to manipulate the outcome of the race,” the panel said in a statement.
Trackhouse Racing will not appeal to the Final Appeals Officer.
