Preseason NASCAR Playoff Predictions: Insiders predict Final Four, Cup Champion

Two NASCAR insiders made their Final Four and Cup Champion predictions for the 2025 season. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic shared their thoughts on which four drivers will compete in the Cup Series Championship race in Phoenix later this year.

Gluck predicted Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and William Bryon will be the Final Four and Ryan Blaney will be the champion. “If you have a Penske driver at Phoenix, Penske is so tough to beat there,” Gluck said.

“If you have somebody at Final Four, and I think Blaney is the one out of Penske that could do it, I have the most faith in him getting there. He will win again, the championship is at Phoenix again. Penske wins their fourth straight title. Ryan Blaney is the one to do it.”

Bianchi selected Larson, Bell, Blaney and Chase Elliott to be in the Final Four and chose Larson to win it all. “At the end of the day, this is Kyle Larson. He is the best driver, he’s got the best crew chief, he’s with one of the best teams,” Bianchi said.

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“If I had to pick a guy to win a single race to win a championship, I’m going to go Kyle Larson. This format I still say sets up really well for him because it affords him the opportunity to be aggressive and you can make mistakes. But he’s got the talent to overcome that and win races and punch your ticket in. I think that he is due for another championship. I think he gets a second one this year.”

Gluck responded, “Not going out on a limb with this one. No big marquee driver changes really, no changes to the car, no changes to the championship race. The big change is Talladega instead of Homestead in the final round. This could be the year of status quo.”

Gluck and Bianchi chose Larson, Blaney and Bell for their Final Four. Of those three, Blaney was the only one to reach the Final Four last year. Blaney finished second last year, falling to Penske teammate Joey Logano.

We’ll find out if either Gluck or Bianchi made the right predictions starting on Sunday, Feb. 16 when the NASCAR season officially starts with the 2025 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.