Chase Elliott Wins at Phoenix, Crowned NASCAR Cup Series Champion

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Chase Elliott won the Season Finale 500 from Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Elliott was awarded the pole for Sunday’s race but had to start in the rear of the field following multiple inspection failures.  Elliott quickly drove up through the field, and took the lead at the beginning of Stage 2.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Elliott led a race-high 154 laps in the winner-take-all finale for the Championship.  He took the lead away from Joey Logano with 43 laps remaining, and he was able to pull away for his fifth win of the season.

Elliott said he could see Logano struggling following the final pit stop and knew he needed to make his move.

“I saw Joey was pretty loose there; felt like I needed to get to him when I could,” Elliott said.  “Just waiting on the caution as always.”

Elliott, who won last weekend at Martinsville to lock himself into the Championship finale, said the season has shown how his team has grown.

“I just never would have thought that this year went the way it has,” Elliott said.  “I can’t say enough about our group.  I feel like we took some really big strides this year, and last week was a huge one.”

Elliott and his father Bill have now joined the Petty and Jarrett families as the only father-son duos to win the Cup Series Championship.  Elliott also became the youngest Champion since Jeff Gordon won it all in 1995, and becomes the first driver to win the Championship and Most Popular Driver in the same year since his father did it in 1988.

Elliott said becoming champion was a dream come true.

“All you can dream for is the opportunity, and I’ve been very fortunate to have that over the years,” Elliott said.  “This is a moment that I’ve dreamed about.  This is all I ever wanted to do…this moment is something not a lot of people get to enjoy.”

Logano finished third after fading late in the race, and he said his car’s handling went away over the final run after giving up the lead to Elliott.

“Just didn’t have the speed at the right time,” Logano said.  “Early in the race our Mustang was really fast.  We were close.”

The race was also the final one for drivers Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson. 

Johnson, the greatest driver of his generation, ended his career with seven Cup Series titles and 83 victories.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

After his fifth-place finish, Johnson celebrated with his teammate Elliott in what many viewed as a passing of the torch.

Johnson said he was proud of the career he put together.

“It’s been a great run; I’ve had 19 years in the Cup Series, 2 years in the Xfinity Series,” Johnson said.  “This has been a great journey and I’m ready to spend my time a little differently.”

“My heart’s full, very thankful for today.  We had a great run on the track, and I can’t go without congratulating Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports on another championship.”

Unofficial results:

1. Chase Elliott

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Joey Logano

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Jimmie Johnson

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Matt DiBenedetto

9. William Byron

10. Martin Truex Jr.

11. Kyle Busch

12. Kurt Busch

13. Aric Almirola

14. Clint Bowyer

15. Bubba Wallace

16. Alex Bowman

17. Christopher Bell

18. Austin Dillon

19. Tyler Reddick

20. Chris Buescher

21. Ty Dillon

22. Erik Jones

23. Michael McDowell

24. Ryan Newman

25. Matt Kenseth

26. John Hunter Nemechek

27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

28. Cole Custer

29. Brennan Poole

30. JJ Yeley

31. Daniel Suarez

32. Joey Gase

33. James Davison

34. Ryan Preece

35. Josh Bilicki

36. Timmy Hill

37. Garrett Smithley

38. Corey LaJoie

39. Quin Houff

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Elliott Wins at Martinsville, Locks Himself into Final Four

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Chase Elliott won the Xfinity 500 from Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon to lock himself into the Championship round.

Elliott came into the race below the Playoff cutline needing a win to advance to the championship race.  Elliott came out swinging, and led 236 of 500 laps on his way to a dominant victory to lock him into the season finale.

Elliott said the victory was the missing piece to his team contending for a championship for the past few years.

“Biggest win ever for us,” Elliott said.  “To be backed in a corner like that and have to win tonight, I feel like that’s what we’ve been missing these past four or five years.”

Elliott led throughout the race, but a late pit miscue almost cost him a shot at the victory.  Elliott’s jackman jumped over the wall too soon, but was able to touch the pit wall to reset himself.  NASCAR originally penalized Elliott, but it was rescinded upon further review.

Elliott said the team was able to adjust on the car to help it drive better to get back to the lead.

“I didn’t think our car was driving as good there at the end as it was at the beginning of the race,” Elliott said.  “Those last couple pit stops…made some really good changes and had a good pit stop on that last one.”

“I feel like we’ve had the group to do this, we just have to go and make it happen; we did tonight.”

While Elliott celebrated, Kevin Harvick saw his championship hopes come to an end.  The nine-time winner and regular season champion struggled all day and finished 17th, eight points out of the final round.  Coming to the checkered flag and in need of a single point, Harvick spun Kyle Busch to try and gain one position.  After spinning himself, Harvick found himself on the outside looking in.

Harvick said regular-season success no longer means a simple road to the championship.

“These championships aren’t winning like Petty and Earnhardt used to win them,” Harvick said.  “You have to put them together three weeks at a time and it comes down to one race.”

“Not a great three weeks; didn’t go our way and we fought for everything we had.  It just came up short.”

Following the race on Sunday, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch joined Harvick as the four drivers eliminated from Playoff contention.

The Cup Series season ends next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, and Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski will join Elliott as the four drivers eligible for the Cup Series Championship.

1. Chase Elliott

2. Ryan Blaney

3. Joey Logano

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Kurt Busch

6. Alex Bowman

7. Aric Almirola

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Kyle Busch

10. Matt DiBenedetto

11. Denny Hamlin

12. Erik Jones

13. Cole Custer

14. Matt Kenseth

15. Christopher Bell

16. Ty Dillon

17. Kevin Harvick

18. Ryan Newman

19. Ryan Preece

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Martin Truex Jr.

23. Austin Dillon

24. Tyler Reddick

25. Corey LaJoie

26. John Hunter Nemechek

27. Daniel Suarez

28. Michael McDowell

29. Timmy Hill

30. Jimmie Johnson

31. JJ Yeley

32. Josh Bilicki

33. Quin Houff

34. Joey Gase

35. William Byron

36. James Davison

37. Brennan Poole

38. Chris Buescher

39. Garrett Smithley

Photos courtesy Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Busch Finally Wins During Wet Texas Weekend

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Busch won the Autotrader EchoPark 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday afternoon to pick up his first win of 2020.

Busch had to wait a few days to pick up his first victory of the year, as a consistent mist stayed in the Fort Worth area for three days.  The race began on Sunday afternoon, but was red-flagged after just 51 laps, and did not resume until Wednesday afternoon.

Busch used pit strategy to get to the front, and he was able to use fuel mileage to get the victory.  After pitting before the rest of the field, Busch had to save fuel over the final 60-lap run.  He was able to save enough to hold off his teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps.

Busch said he had to work hard over the final run to keep his fuel mileage right on the numbers.

“Kept getting great leadership and mentoring from [Crew Chief Adam Stevens],” Busch said.  “Just kept talking to me, reminding me about saving and being able to do what I could.  Trying to stay in the draft as much as I could on the straightaways.”

Busch, who was eliminated from the Playoffs at the end of the last round, extended his streak of consecutive years with a victory to 16 with his win on Wednesday.

Busch said he believes his team is set up to contend again next year.

“This one means a lot just to keep the 16 going,” Busch said.  “Everyone thought we were duds, but we don’t give up.  We’re ready to fight next year; we’ll be back.”

Truex came into Texas needing a win to advance to the final round of the Playoffs, but came up one spot short.

Now Truex has one more chance to race for a championship at Phoenix, and he said he believes he can contend at Martinsville to lock himself in.

“Excited about Martinsville; I know we can win there,” Truex said.  “Seems like one of those years where we’re just second, third, fourth…we’re right there a lot, but we just needed a little bit more to be better.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Christopher Bell

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Alex Bowman

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Kurt Busch

8. Matt DiBenedetto

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Joey Logano

11. Austin Dillon

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. William Byron

14. Cole Custer

15. Tyler Reddick

16. Kevin Harvick

17. Clint Bowyer

18. Ryan Preece

19. Ryan Newman

20. Chase Elliott

21. Erik Jones

22. John Hunter Nemechek

23. Aric Almirola

24. Ty Dillon

25. Corey LaJoie

26. Michael McDowell

27. Daniel Suarez

28. Brennan Poole

29. Josh Bilicki

30. Timmy Hill

31. Garrett Smithley

32. Reed Sorenson

33. Quin Houff

34. Chris Buescher

35. Chad Finchum

36. Jimmie Johnson

37. Joey Gase

38. Bubba Wallace

39. Matt Kenseth

40. JJ Yeley

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton and Chris Graythen (Getty Images)

Logano Holds off Harvick to Win at Kansas

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Joey Logano won the Hollywood Casino 400 from Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon to lock himself into the Championship Round of the NASCAR Playoffs.

Logano took the lead on the final restart, and he held off Kevin Harvick over the final 30-lap run.

Harvick had a faster car throughout the race, but Logano was able to block him over the final run to pick up his first victory since NASCAR returned from their COVID shutdown.

Logano said he was focused on his mirror throughout the final run to block any runs from Harvick.

“I thought if I could hold him off those first 15 laps, I’d have a chance,” Logano said.  “Dirty air was best for us.  When we caught lapped traffic, we were able to gap ourselves as he got more dirty air.”

Logano said the victory reminds him of 2018, when he locked himself in to the final round of the Playoffs early.

“It was on my mind every lap,” Logano said.  “You come into this race knowing if you can win this thing you’ve got an amazing advantage.  We’re going to Phoenix; we’re racing for a championship again.”

Harvick said he needed to beat Logano off pit road if he was going to win.

“It came down to controlling that restart there and we lost the lead,” Harvick said.  “We weren’t the best behind somebody.  Good run for us; wish we could have won but one short.”

Unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Alex Bowman

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Kyle Busch

6. Chase Elliott

7. Ryan Blaney

8. William Byron

9. Martin Truex Jr.

10. Christopher Bell

11. Austin Dillon

12. Matt DiBenedetto

13. Aric Almirola

14. Cole Custer

15. Denny Hamlin

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. John Hunter Nemechek

18. Bubba Wallace

19. Michael McDowell

20. Erik Jones

21. Chris Buescher

22. Ryan Newman

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Ty Dillon

25. Tyler Reddick

26. Clint Bowyer

27. Daniel Suarez

28. Brennan Poole

29. Ryan Preece

30. JJ Yeley

31. Jimmie Johnson

32. James Davison

33. Quin Houff

34. Timmy Hill

35. Josh Bilicki

36. Reed Sorenson

37. Joey Gase

38. Kurt Busch

39. Chad Finchum

40. Matt Kenseth

Photo courtesy Chris Graythen (Getty Images)

Elliott Ends Round of 12 with Roval Victory

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Chase Elliott won the Bank of America ROVAL 400 from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course to win his fourth-straight road course race.

Elliott was a favorite going into the race after winning last year’s event at the Roval, and he was able to pull away from the field on a late restart to pick up his third victory of the year.

Already in a good position to make the next round of the Playoffs, Elliott was able to lock himself into the next round with the victory and pick up five additional Playoff Points for the next round.

Elliott said he wasn’t focused on his points position heading into the Round of 12 finale.

“I feel like you start playing the points game and you can get yourself in trouble,” Elliott said.  “Best way to get to the next round is to win, so hopefully we can do something with it.”

Elliott had a dominant car in 2019, and drove up through the field after an accident while leading. 

This year, Elliott said his team brought an even better car than the one he took to victory lane last year.

“I tweaked on some small things and got a little better than what I was here last year, which was good,” Elliott said.  “I feel like road courses have been fortunate to us the last few trips.”

The race saw the bottom four drivers eliminated from Playoff contention.  Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola each saw their championship hopes come to an end.

Busch, the reigning Cup Series Champion, said his team just continued to be off throughout the Playoffs like they had been during the year.

“Nothing’s played out or has been on our side,” Busch said.  “Terrible year for me, but as other sports greats would say, there’s many other drivers that would love to have a year that we’re having.”

“I knew this round was going to be trouble with the year that we had, and I was right.”

Unofficial results:

1. Chase Elliott

2. Joey Logano

3. Erik Jones

4. Kurt Busch

5. Ryan Blaney

6. William Byron

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Alex Bowman

9. Cole Custer

10. Clint Bowyer

11. Kevin Harvick

12. Tyler Reddick

13. Jimmie Johnson

14. Ryan Preece

15. Denny Hamlin

16. Aric Almirola

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

18. Brad Keselowski

19. Austin Dillon

20. Chris Buescher

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Matt DiBenedetto

23. Ty Dillon

24. Christopher Bell

25. Daniel Suarez

26. Gray Gaulding

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Quin Houff

29. James Davison

30. Kyle Busch

31. Ryan Newman

32. Michael McDowell

33. Josh Bilicki

34. Matt Kenseth

35. JJ Yeley

36. John Hunter Nemechek

37. Brennan Poole

38. Timmy Hill

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images)

 

Hamlin Stuns with Talladega Victory in Photo Finish

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the YellaWood 500 from Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon, beating Matt DiBenedetto to the line in a photo-finish.

Hamlin ran in the back for most of the race to conserve his car for the finish, and he was able to race his way to the front over three overtime finishes.  Hamlin made the pass for the lead as the field entered the trioval, and he was able to beat DiBenedetto to the line by .023 seconds for his seventh victory of the season.

Hamlin said the surprise victory made up for some tough losses throughout the year.

“We just played the strategy…to ride in the back until we were locked in, but things just worked out,” Hamlin said.  “Really excited about this win, unexpected for sure.”

Hamlin got around William Byron and alongside DiBenedetto with a controversial pass below the yellow line in turns 3 and 4.  NASCAR has a rule at superspeedways that no passes below the yellow line are allowed unless the driver is forced there by another driver.

After NASCAR ruled Hamlin was forced down by Chris Buescher, Hamlin said he did what he could to avoid an accident.

“They were crashing in front of us,” Hamlin said.  “Obviously I got forced down like [DiBenedetto] and others did.”

DiBenedetto made a block on William Byron in the middle of turns 3 and 4 that sent Byron’s 24 below the yellow line, and NASCAR ruled against DiBenedetto; his second-place finish turned into a 21st following the ruling.

DiBenedetto said he was doing all he could to hold off the field to try to pick up his first career victory.

“It was actually tough to see, my windshield was filthy from all the Speedy Dry,” DiBenedetto said.  “I was having trouble seeing the block; I was blocking every lane.”

Hamlin took away DiBenedetto’s chance at a victory last year at Bristol, and DiBenedetto said it was a bout of unwanted déjà vu this year at Talladega.

“The emotions…I feel like it’s the same story,” DiBenedetto said.  “Just heartbreak; my wife and I have had a stressful week again.”

“Denny did a great job.  Denny deserves all the support in the world; he’s an incredible racer.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Erik Jones

3. Ty Dillon

4. William Byron

5. Ryan Newman

6. Chris Buescher

7. Tyler Reddick

8. John Hunter Nemechek

9. Brennan Poole

10. Ryan Preece

11. Justin Haley

12. Austin Dillon

13. Quin Houff

14. Alex Bowman

15. Timmy Hill

16. Matt Kenseth

17. Joey Gase

18. Brad Keselowski

19. Cody Ware

20. Kevin Harvick

21. Matt DiBenedetto

22. Chase Elliott

23. Martin Truex Jr.

24. Bubba Wallace

25. Ryan Blaney

26. Joey Logano

27. Kyle Busch

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Jimmie Johnson

30. James Davison

31. Cole Custer

32. Kurt Busch

33. Clint Bowyer

34. Daniel Suarez

35. Brendan Gaughan

36. Michael McDowell

37. Aric Almirola

38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

39. Christopher Bell

Photos courtesy Chris Graythen (Getty Images)

Kurt Busch Shocks Playoff Field with Las Vegas Win

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kurt Busch won the South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday night for his first career victory at his hometown track.

A caution in the middle of green-flag pit stops late in the race caught most of the leaders -- and most of the Playoff drivers -- a lap down.  Busch stayed out longer than the others and was able to inherit the lead when the caution came out and the other leaders had to wave around.

Over the final 30 laps, Busch held off Matt DiBenedetto, Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin over numerous restarts to claim his first victory of 2020 and lock himself into the next round of the Playoffs.

Busch said the victory was the culmination of two decades of frustration at his home track.

“You dream of winning at your hometown track, and for two decades it’s kicked my butt,” Busch said.  “I’m in awe, this is what kids dream of when they grow up racing.”

Busch said the victory was due to his crew chief’s pit strategy call finally working in their favor.

“One of those quirky Matt McCall pit sequences finally unfolded,” Busch said.  “We got lucky; I knew the race would come to us, we just needed to get to nightfall.”

Hamlin had one of the fastest cars throughout the race, but he couldn’t get to Busch’s bumper and challenge for the victory in the closing laps.

Hamlin said it was another example of late-race cautions costing his team a chance at the victory.

“Just the same thing as Darlington, untimely cautions,” Hamlin said.  “It’s what’s keeping us out of victory lane.  We obviously had a dominant car today.”

“Really encouraged with the way we ran.  Obviously disappointed we didn’t win and that’s just been the way the Playoffs have gone.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Matt DiBenedetto

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Alex Bowman

6. Kyle Busch

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Erik Jones

9. Chris Buescher

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Jimmie Johnson

12. Clint Bowyer

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Joey Logano

15. Ryan Newman

16. Cole Custer

17. Aric Almirola

18. Matt Kenseth

19. Ryan Preece

20. John Hunter Nemechek

21. Michael McDowell

22. Chase Elliott

23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

24. Christopher Bell

25. William Byron

26. Ty Dillon

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Bubba Wallace

29. Daniel Suarez

30. Brennan Poole

31. Gray Gaulding

32. Austin Dillon

33. JJ Yeley

34. Quin Houff

35. Joey Gase

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Timmy Hill

38. Tyler Reddick

39. Chad Finchum

Photos courtesy Chris Graythen (Getty Images)

Harvick Wins at Bristol in Round 1 Finale

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night for his ninth win of the season.

Harvick raced with Kyle Busch over the final 50 laps, and the two swapped the lead while getting around lapped traffic.

Busch was not able to get to Harvick’s back bumper in the closing laps, but Harvick said he almost gave away the victory while getting around the slower cars.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

“To beat Kyle Busch at Bristol, I kind of put myself in a little bit of a ringer there,” Harvick said.  “I hit a lapped car and got a hole in my nose.”

“We just kept fighting; we’ve got nothing else to lose.  We were here to try and win a race.”

Busch, who is still winless in 2020, said Harvick’s speed throughout the race was just too much to overcome.

“Just didn’t have enough there at the end,” Busch said.  “Guys did a great job and gave me a really good piece tonight to contend and at least be up there to be close.”

“Lapped cars were definitely a problem, but it’s part of racing.  [Harvick] obviously had the better car.”

Bristol was the final race in the first round of NASCAR’s Playoffs, and four drivers were eliminated from Playoff contention.  Following the race on Saturday night, Cole Custer, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto saw their championship hopes come to an end.

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Kyle Busch

3. Erik Jones

4. Tyler Reddick

5. Aric Almirola

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Chase Elliott

8. Chris Buescher

9. Ryan Preece

10. Michael McDowell

11. Joey Logano

12. Austin Dillon

13. Ryan Blaney

14. Matt Kenseth

15. Kurt Busch

16. Alex Bowman

17. Jimmie Johnson

18. Ty Dillon

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. John Hunter Nemechek

21. Denny Hamlin

22. Bubba Wallace

23. Cole Custer

24. Martin Truex Jr.

25. Ryan Newman

26. Daniel Suarez

27. Gray Gaulding

28. Christopher Bell

29. Quin Houff

30. JJ Yeley

31. Joey Gase

32. Garrett Smithley

33. Corey LaJoie

34. Brad Keselowski

35. James Davison

36. Reed Sorenson

37. Timmy Hill

38. William Byron

39. Josh Bilicki

40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images