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
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| Chris Graythen/Getty Images |
