Larson Wins at Phoenix, Caps Off Dominant Year with Championship

Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race from Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his 10th victory of the season and win his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Larson was dominant all season and ran up front for most of the race at Phoenix.  Throughout the race, Larson and his teammate Chase Elliott seemed to have the strongest short-run cars, and the race came down to a late restart with just over 20 laps to go.

Larson pitted under the final caution as the fourth of the championship drivers, but his pit crew got him off pit road first and he was able to control the final restart from the lead.

On the final restart, Larson pulled out to the lead and held off a challenge from Martin Truex Jr.  Larson was able to hold off the other championship drivers and picked up his first NASCAR championship.

Larson said his team made the difference on the final pit stop.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

“Without my pit crew on that last stop, we would not be standing here,” Larson said.  “They’re the true winners of this race; they’re the true champions.  I’m blessed to be a part of this group.”

Larson missed most of the 2020 season after uttering a racial slur during an iRacing event, and teamed up with Hendrick Motorsports for the first time this year.

Larson said during his time away from the sport last year, he wasn’t sure if he would ever drive a Cup Series car again.

“I didn’t even think I’d be racing a Cup car a year and half ago, and to win a championship is crazy,” Larson said.  “Thank you so much to Rick Hendrick…and every single person at Hendrick Motorsports, this win is for all of us.”

“This event was crazy and this format’s wild.  I’m glad we were able to get it done.”

Truex challenged Larson on the restart for the win, but could not hang with Larson over the final 20 laps.

Regardless of how fast he was the run before, Truex said the clean air ultimately won out at the end of the race.

“Clean air seemed to be a good bit of an advantage there; whoever got out front was good for 20, 30, 40 laps, and then the long-run cars would start coming around,” Truex said.  “Ultimately we needed to beat him off pit road.”

“We win and lose as a team, and I’m really proud of our efforts this year.  [Larson] had a hell of a season and congratulations to them.  Second sucks; I hate it.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Chase Elliott

6. Aric Almirola

7. Kyle Busch

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Christopher Bell

10. Brad Keselowski

11. Joey Logano

12. Matt DiBenedetto

13. Cole Custer

14. Ross Chastain

15. Austin Dillon

16. Kurt Busch

17. William Byron

18. Alex Bowman

19. Tyler Reddick

20. Ryan Preece

21. Daniel Suarez

22. Erik Jones

23. Ryan Newman

24. Michael McDowell

25. Chris Buescher

26. Justin Haley

27. BJ McLeod

28. Cody Ware

29. Joey Gase

30. Josh Bilicki

31. Garrett Smithley

32. Corey LaJoie

33. David Starr

34. Anthony Alfredo

35. Chase Briscoe

36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

37. Quin Houff

38. Timmy Hill

39. Bubba Wallace

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Truex Holds off Hamlin to Win at Richmond

Martin Truex Jr. won the Federated Auto Parts 400 from Richmond Raceway on Saturday night to lock himself into the next round of the Playoffs.

Truex overtook his teammate Denny Hamlin during the final pit cycle and was ahead by over eight seconds with 50 laps to go.  After Truex’s tires began to wear out, Hamlin was able to cut the lead down to just two seconds but ran out of laps at the end of the race.

Truex started the race on the front row, but NASCAR penalized him for jumping the start.  The penalty put Truex in a hole early in the race, but he said he knew his car was fast enough to overcome the early penalty.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

“That was frustrating,” Truex said.  “It felt pretty good those first couple laps; I knew we’d have a good enough car to overcome it.”

The victory was Truex’s first since he won at Darlington in May, and Truex said the Joe Gibbs Racing cars are picking up at the right time.

“It’s been awhile,” Truex said.  “We talked last week about how much speed we’ve had in these things.  Very happy to get to do this and go to Bristol without any worries next week.”

Hamlin began the Playoffs last week with a victory, and he followed it up at Richmond with a strong run.

Hamlin said he was hoping to go back-to-back coming into the weekend.

“Just needed a couple more laps,” Hamlin said.  “I really wish we got two in a row…a great day for our team.  It’s go-time now.”

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Denny Hamlin

3. Christopher Bell

4. Chase Elliott

5. Joey Logano

6. Kyle Larson

7. Ross Chastain

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Kyle Busch

10. Ryan Blaney

11. Austin Dillon

12. Alex Bowman

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Aric Almirola

15. Tyler Reddick

16. Chase Briscoe

17. Daniel Suarez

18. Matt DiBenedetto

19. William Byron

20. Ryan Newman

21. Erik Jones

22. Cole Custer

23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

24. Chris Buescher

25. Ryan Preece

26. Anthony Alfredo

27. Justin Haley

28. Michael McDowell

29. Corey LaJoie

30. BJ McLeod

31. Garrett Smithley

32. Bubba Wallace

33. Joey Gase

34. JJ Yeley

35. Quin Houff

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Kurt Busch

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Truex Dominates in Darlington

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Martin Truex Jr. won the Goodyear 400 from Darlington Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

Truex was dominant on Sunday, and won both stages while leading a race-high 248 laps.

After the victory, Truex commented on how he became the first stage winner to finally take the checkered flag at Darlington.

“We’ve won a bunch of stages here the last couple of years; always lady luck got us,” Truex said.  “Really proud of everybody on this Auto Owner’s Camry.”

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

While dominant throughout the day, Truex had to hold off Kyle Larson over the final green-flag run.  After Larson made up some time during the final green-flag pit cycle, he was able to chase down Truex as he worked his way through lapped traffic.

Hamlin said the heavy traffic at the end of the race allowed Larson to challenge for the lead.

“I knew the car would do what I wanted it to do, and I just had to manage those long runs,” Truex said.  “It was really loose that last run, and I was nervous with the 5 catching us.  We got mired in some traffic there.”

Larson said he was surprised he was able to challenge at the end of the race with how bad his car handled all afternoon.

“Felt like we were not very good all day, but I passed a lot of cars and found myself towards the front,” Larson said.  “I was surprised I was able to get to him…he was just a little better than I was on the long run.”

“Fun to come here to Darlington with low downforce and during the day.”

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Kyle Larson

3. Kyle Busch

4. William Byron

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Chase Elliott

8. Ryan Blaney

9. Chris Buescher

10. Ryan Newman

11. Chase Briscoe

12. Tyler Reddick

13. Joey Logano

14. Christopher Bell

15. Ross Chastain

16. Austin Dillon

17. Alex Bowman

18. Erik Jones

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Corey LaJoie

23. Daniel Suarez

24. Brad Keselowski

25. Ryan Preece

26. Anthony Alfredo

27. Michael McDowell

28. Justin Haley

29. JJ Yeley

30. Quin Houff

31. James Davison

32. BJ McLeod

33. Josh Bilicki

34. Cody Ware

35. Kurt Busch

36. Cole Custer

37. Aric Almirola

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Truex Wins at Martinsville

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Martin Truex Jr. won the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 from Martinsville Speedway on Sunday to pick up his second win of the season.

Truex ran towards the front for most of the day, but his car began to come alive when the sun set.  Truex got around Denny Hamlin late in the race and was able to pull away to pick up the win.

Truex said the teammates had diverging setups at the end of the race.

James Gilbert/Getty Images

“I was loose coming off the corners and his car got tight,” Truex said.  “We kind of had opposite things going on and it made it difficult to pass.”

Truex said he struggled with his handling until the lights came on towards the end of the race.

“[Crew chief] James Small and the guys really hung with me all day,” Truex said.  “We never could quite get it the way we wanted.  It started getting dark and it came to life.”

Hamlin was dominant throughout the race, and led a race-high 276 laps before settling for a third-place finish.

After a rash of cautions throughout the third stage, Hamlin said his car didn’t have the speed over the final green flag run.

“We had a good short-run car, just did not have a good long-run car,” Hamlin said.  “We had a really fast car for 20 laps or so, and then it would just kind of go away.”

“We had a great day and stayed up front all day.  Gave ourselves a shot at it, just wasn’t quite good enough.”

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Chase Elliott

3. Denny Hamlin

4. William Byron

5. Kyle Larson

6. Joey Logano

7. Christopher Bell

8. Tyler Reddick

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Kyle Busch

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Matt DiBenedetto

13. Chris Buescher

14. Austin Dillon

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

16. Bubba Wallace

17. Ross Chastain

18. Cole Custer

19. Ryan Newman

20. Aric Almirola

21. Kurt Busch

22. James Davison

23. Josh Bilicki

24. Quin Houff

25. JJ Yeley

26. Anthony Alfredo

27. Chase Briscoe

28. Cody Ware

29. BJ McLeod

30. Erik Jones

31. Michael McDowell

32. Daniel Suarez

33. Brad Keselowski

34. Alex Bowman

35. Justin Haley

36. Ryan Preece

37. Corey LaJoie

 

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Truex Out-Duels Logano in Phoenix

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Martin Truex Jr. won the Instacart 500 from Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first victory of the season.

Truex passed Joey Logano on a late restart to take the lead, and he was able to hold off the field to pick up the win.

Following early contact with the wall, Truex’s team was able to get his car dialed-in.  After his team was able to get him track position up front, Truex had one of the fastest cars on the track.

After winning only once in 2020, Truex said he was excited to get back to victory lane early in the season.

“We had a tough year last year; we were a little bit rocky,” Truex said.  “That was a hell of an effort by everybody.  Just so thankful for everyone at JGR and everybody that makes this possible.”

Phoenix will host the season finale in November, and Truex said he hopes he will be fighting for a championship the next time the Cup Series takes to the track.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

“Phoenix has been a tough one for us,” Truex said.  “I wish it was November, but hopefully we can come back here in November and have a shot at being in the final four.”

Logano led a race-high 143 laps, but he had to settle for second after Truex took the lead on the final restart.  Logano took the inside lane coming back to green, but Truex was able to hang on the outside to take control.

Logano said he thought the bottom was going to allow him to pull ahead of Truex on the final restart.

“I was surprised [Truex] was able to hang with me on that start,” Logano said.  “When you’re in the corner door-to-door, the outside car has control of you.”

“Overall a solid day.  It’s not a win; second hurts, but we’ll move on and go to Atlanta.”

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Joey Logano

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Chase Elliott

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Kyle Larson

8. William Byron

9. Christopher Bell

10. Ryan Blaney

11. Aric Almirola

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Alex Bowman

14. Matt DiBenedetto

15. Kurt Busch

16. Bubba Wallace

17. Austin Dillon

18. Chris Buescher

19. Ross Chastain

20. Erik Jones

21. Daniel Suarez

22. Chase Briscoe

23. Michael McDowell

24. Justin Haley

25. Kyle Busch

26. Ryan Preece

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Ryan Newman

29. Tyler Reddick

30. BJ McLeod

31. Cole Custer

32. Quin Houff

33. James Davison

34. Garrett Smithley

35. Josh Bilicki

36. Cody Ware

37. Anthony Alfredo

38. Timmy Hill

Sean Gardner/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)

Keselowski Dominates in Richmond

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Brad Keselowski won the Federated Auto Parts 400 from Richmond Raceway on Saturday night to lock himself into the second round of the Playoffs.

Keselowski was dominant all night, and led a race-high 192 laps.  Keselowski took the lead for the first time in Stage 2, and he was able to control the race the rest of the way.

Keselowski’s team brought the same car to Richmond that won earlier in the year at New Hampshire, and he said he hopes to take the same car to Phoenix and fight for the Championship.

“I wanted to do a really cool burnout with it, but I want this car for Phoenix; it’s two-for-two,” Keselowski said.  “I don’t want to look too far ahead; we’ve got to get there.”

“If we can get to Phoenix, we’ll be really good.”

Martin Truex Jr. was strong on Saturday, but he wasn’t able to catch Keselowski on the final run, ultimately settling for a second-place finish.

Truex said he didn’t think he was going to run up front after struggling with his car’s handling early in the race.

“Never really got the balance right all night,” Truex said.  “It was slow on the short run early and slow on the long run late.  Somewhere in between we’d be pretty competitive, but we really couldn’t just put it all together.”

“Just solid every week.  Hopefully we can keep putting ourselves in the front and we can win races.”

Next Saturday, the Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the final race in the firsr round of the Playoffs, where four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention.

Austin Dillon, one of the underdogs going into the Playoffs, followed up his runner-up finish at Darlington with a fourth-place at Richmond with one of the fastest cars of the night to put himself 36 points above the cut line.

Dillon said a late-race pit miscue may have cost him a shot at contending with Keselowski for the victory.

“When we came to pit road, we were trying to bring everybody down,” Dillon said.  “I was going to hit the red box, so I had to make another lap.  That cost us three seconds.”

“I hope they keep doubting us.  We’re in a good spot and we’ve got a good round after that.  We’ll go to Bristol and do what we need to do to get to the next round.”

Unofficial results:

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Joey Logano

4. Austin Dillon

5. Chase Elliott

6. Kyle Busch

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Aric Almirola

9. Alex Bowman

10. Clint Bowyer

11. Tyler Reddick

12. Denny Hamlin

13. Kurt Busch

14. Cole Custer

15. Christopher Bell

16. Matt Kenseth

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

19. Ryan Blaney

20. Ryan Preece

21. William Byron

22. Erik Jones

23. Ryan Newman

24. Chris Buescher

25. Michael McDowell

26. Bubba Wallace

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Ty Dillon

29. Daniel Suarez

30. John Hunter Nemechek

31. Jimmie Johnson

32. Quin Houff

33. Brennan Poole

34. JJ Yeley

35. Joey Gase

36. Reed Sorenson

37. James Davison

38. Timmy Hill

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton and Sean Gardner (Getty Images)

Harvick Holds off Dillon to Win Southern 500

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Cook Out Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway on Sunday night to win the first race of NASCAR’s Playoffs.

Harvick inherited the lead late in the race after the two front-runners made contact racing for the lead.  With the laps winding down, Chase Elliott was doing his best to hold off Martin Truex Jr.  When Truex drove hard into the corner, the two made contact and slammed into the wall.

Truex pitted with a flat tire as Elliott limped around trying to nurse the car to the finish, and Harvick was able to take the lead.

Harvick said he was excited to start off the Playoffs with a victory without having the fastest car.

“Wound up fighting all night long,” Harvick said.  “This Busch Beer Ford Mustang wasn’t where we wanted it to be, but leaders got tangled up there.  Next thing you know, we’re racing for the win.”

Harvick had to hold off a charge from Austin Dillon in the closing laps.  As Harvick’s car got tighter over the final 10 laps, Dillon was able to pull within a half-second but couldn’t make the pass.

Dillon drove the car hard into the final corner, but came up just short on getting to Harvick’s back bumper.

Dillon said he was trying everything he could do to win and lock himself into the next round of the Playoffs.

“I was just trying all I could,” Dillon said.  “It’d have been nice to get that win and lock ourselves in the next round.  Heck of a finish for our whole Number 3 team.”

Dillon started the Playoffs as an underdog, and started the race below the cutoff line.  Leaving Darlington, Dillon now sits eighth in the standings, 10 points above the cutoff with two races remaining.

Dillon said his team has worked all season to perform when it mattered most.

“We showed up when it mattered,” Dillon said.  “A lot of people count you out, but I don’t count myself out or this team.  We’re just going to keep doing our thing.”

“We’ve just got to keep plugging.  Richmond’s next week and we’ve got another good short track car for them.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Austin Dillon

3. Joey Logano

4. Erik Jones

5. William Byron

6. Alex Bowman

7. Kyle Busch

8. Kurt Busch

9. Aric Almirola

10. Clint Bowyer

11. Brad Keselowski

12. Cole Custer

13. Denny Hamlin

14. Matt Kenseth

15. Ryan Newman

16. Michael McDowell

17. Ryan Preece

18. Jimmie Johnson

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Chase Elliott

21. Matt DiBenedetto

22. Martin Truex Jr.

23. Tyler Reddick

24. Ryan Blaney

25. Daniel Suarez

26. Chris Buescher

27. Ty Dillon

28. Brennan Poole

29. Ross Chastain

30. JJ Yeley

31. Quin Houff

32. Josh Bilicki

33. Joey Gase

34. Christopher Bell

35. Timmy Hill

36. John Hunter Nemechek

37. Corey LaJoie

38. Bubba Wallace

39. James Davison

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

Harvick Dominates in Dover

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Drydene 311 from Dover International Speedway on Sunday afternoon in the second half of a doubleheader weekend.

Harvick was strong throughout the day, and led the most laps and won both stages on his way to a series-leading seventh victory.

Jimmie Johnson took the lead using pit strategy following a late caution, but he was not a match for Harvick on the restart.  When they took the green flag for the final time with 17 laps to go, Harvick was able to get around Johnson and pull away on his way to the checkered flag.

Harvick said his team worked overnight to help make the adjustments needed to win on Sunday.

“Really got to thank everybody on this team,” Harvick said.  “[Crew Chief] Rodney Childers and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for overcoming what happened yesterday with the trackbar and being able to nail the balance today.”

After he won the first stage, Harvick clinched the regular season championship, which awards him an additional 15 Playoff Points.  With the Playoffs set to begin in two weeks, Harvick will now have 57 bonus points when it begins.

Harvick said his team must continue to push forward, especially after Denny Hamlin picked up his sixth win on Saturday.

“With Denny winning yesterday, we needed to win today and we’re going to need all the points we can get,” Harvick said.  “As you look at these Playoffs, you just never know what to expect.”

For the second day in a row, Martin Truex Jr. finished second.  With the finish, Truex extended his streak to seven-consecutive races finished inside the Top 3.

Truex said the car was worse Sunday than it was on Saturday, but his team worked hard to challenge for the win.

“We tried some things overnight; definitely didn’t do what we hoped it would do,” Truex said.  “We fought hard…we executed well and came home with a good result.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. William Byron

5. Alex Bowman

6. Joey Logano

7. Aric Almirola

8. Brad Keselowski

9. Austin Dillon

10. Cole Custer

11. Kyle Busch

12. Ryan Blaney

13. Kurt Busch

14. Chris Buescher

15. Matt Kenseth

16. Clint Bowyer

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Tyler Reddick

19. Denny Hamlin

20. John Hunter Nemechek

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Erik Jones

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Ryan Newman

25. Michael McDowell

26. Ryan Preece

27. Christopher Bell

28. Daniel Suarez

29. Ty Dillon

30. Brennan Poole

31. BJ McLeod

32. Josh Bilicki

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Quin Houff

35. Garrett Smithley

36. Timmy Hill

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

38. JJ Yeley

39. Chase Elliott

40. Joey Gase

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images)