AVONDALE, Ariz. — Oddsmakers may have listed Kyle Larson as the favorite to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship, but half the field of the four drivers eligible for the title believe the person with the best chance to celebrate Sunday will be a spectator at Phoenix Raceway.
Erin Blaney is in the unique position in that both her boyfriend and her older brother are racing Sunday for the title in the 2023 season finale. It has become a bit of a joke between contenders Ryan Blaney of Team Penske and William Byron on Hendrick Motorsports, who referred to Blaney as his “brother-in-law” last week to trigger questions on what the mood might be like at Thanksgiving dinner if one of the two becomes champion.
“I told Erin, ‘You have the best percentage to be happy after the race, a 50% shot to be happy,” Blaney said Thursday at Phoenix Raceway. “I knew William before he and Erin started dating, but then I really got to know him outside of the track the last three or four years, and he’s a great, great guy.
“I don’t have a problem with it — I feel like people make more of a big deal than it actually is, and he and I have a good relationship. I don’t race him any differently than I would anyone else that I have respect for.”
And that might be the problem with these remaining contenders, who together form the youngest and most amicable group of drivers since NASCAR went to the winner-take-all final four format in 2014.