In a testing exhibition race, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones captured the checkered flag in the 42nd annual non-points paying race at Daytona International Speedway. This is his first time winning the Busch Clash and his second time winning at Daytona. This marks Joe Gibbs Racing’s ninth victory in the race, which allows them to lead in all-time victories by teams over Richard Childress Racing.
Ryan Newman led the 18-car field to the green flag a little after 3 p.m. on a sunny Florida day. The first half of the 187-mile trek proved to be uneventful as several Fords led the pack while a majority of the Chevrolets in the pack fell to the back. But as the cross flags were put up, strategy talks began to unfold, which provided some on-track action and mix-up.
On Lap 46, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones, along with Ryan Blaney, took a splash and go, except for Jones, who took four tires after a brief mishap missing his pit box. Other Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske drivers shortly followed suit at Lap 47, leaving the Chevrolet camp and Joey Logano.
With less than 20 to go, the Chevrolet drivers including Logano were faced with the decision of pit or be hunted down by a second pack who had been triumphed by the Chevrolet competitors who had yet to pit. Keselowski brought the pack to the bottom line, which mixed in with the first pack at Lap 63.
Kyle Busch, Logano and Keselowski were involved in a wreck after Logano tried to come low on Busch. Both Busch and Keselowski were scored out of the race. Keselowski showed obvious frustration as he slammed the door to his ambulance in which he rode to the infield for further mandatory evaluation. Logano was able to return to the track with repairs. Jimmie Johnson also received minor damage from the incident.
Following the conclusion of the caution, Denny Hamlin led the field back to the green flag with four laps to go, though more than six cars piled up as they crossed the start/finish line beginning with pole winner Ryan Newman clashing into Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and William Byron. Truex and Byron retired from the race before the restart.
Hamlin and Almirola led the field back to the green and Hamlin cut a tire in the entrance of turn three, collecting many cars, bringing out the red flag. Another caution flew as cars wrecked attempting to make a white flag run, taking out Chase Elliott.
Jones was damaged in two incidents. Out of 18 drivers, six finished.
From their first steps as a part-time team in 2011 to finishing in the top-25 in points and three top-fives in 2019, Leavine Family Racing (LFR) is looking to capitalize in 2020 as the young team continues their partnership with Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and brings in an Xfinity Series great to the stable.
In 2019, the No. 95 car led nearly a fourth of the Great American Race and produced an eighth-place finish during the July Coke Zero Sugar 400. And though it was rained out, Leavine states that Procore Toyota was one of the better cars left.
“I wanted to finish the race; I was not satisfied with an eighth-place finish,” says team owner Bob Leavine.
Looking to unload a strong car in Daytona for rookie Christopher Bell, who comes from Joe Gibbs Racing’s (JGR) Xfinity Series, Leavine calls the 25-year-old focused and very intense with a sense of urgency.
“He’s adapted at every level he’s come up through. Sure, there will be adjustments,” said Leavine. “He drives his heart out. From my standpoint, what more can I ask for?”
LFR announced in September 2019 that the Oklahoma-native prodigy would be behind the wheel of the No. 95 Toyota Camry in 2020. Bell, a 2017 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion, has 16 career wins in the Xfinity Series with seven Truck Series wins. Bell moves with experienced crew chief Jason Ratcliff atop the pit box. Ratcliff has a combined total of eight years working on Sunday with multiple drivers including Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano.
Upon in-house conversation regarding maintaining continuity with Bell, Leavine says, it was decided to move Mike Wheeler as crew chief to the position of competition director, allowing Ratcliff to step up to the Cup Series once more with Bell.
“There’s always a comfort level when a driver is able to maintain his crew chief; it’s just familiarity,” Leavine said. “It’s difficult switching to somebody you don’t know. Wheels is a great engineer and we wanted to have additional engineering support, so we talked to Jason about it, how he felt about it. Wheels and Jason did a lot of visiting and in fact, the TRD people thought “man if you can pull that off, that’s kind of a dream team.’”
While starting with LFR during the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series will be a first for Bell, the season will mark LFR’s second season with TRD, who provides enginers and technology, data and technical assistance to the team.
“We were just one of a dozen or 15 cars when we were with Ford and with Chevrolet, and we saw absolutely no growth there because the big Chevy teams and the big Ford teams get all the support and then it’s a trickle-down effect to those teams that are in alliances,” Leavine added, calling their TRD support a relationship.
In a 2019 NASCAR press release when Bell’s upcoming tenure with LFR was announced, TRD president David Wilson made his support for both Bell and LFR clean.
“TRD and Toyota have worked with Bell since his early dirt track career and we’ve been proud to see him work his way to NASCAR’s highest level,” Wilson stated. “Christopher is a special talent and we’re happy to have him winning races and championships in a Toyota. We look forward to seeing his continued growth and success at LFR in 2020. We’re also pleased with how the relationship between JGR and LFR has progressed during their first season working together. We’re confident this enhanced alliance for 2020 will continue to make them a threat for race wins week in and week out.”
2020 marks LFR’s fifth full-time season and hopes to secure their first win with Bell after coming close following a second-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2019 with Matt DiBenedetto. Bell will make his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series with the orange and black Procore colors during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. Tune in to FOX at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 16, to catch the action.
SpeedwayMedia.com has launched a new podcast in conjunction with Anchor.fm, titled “News and Views from SpeedwayMedia.com.” The show, hosted by Associate Editor Joseph Shelton, will discuss the latest news and views from not only the Speedway Media staff, but from dignitaries and other media members in the racing world.
“First thing’s first, this is a show that’s by the fans and for the fans,” said Shelton. “How the show gets built up over the course of the season depends on the input and reviews from the listeners, so they are definitely encouraged to reach out to us with any input they may have. We’re definitely looking to make this an optimal racing podcast experience for the listeners and readers of SpeedwayMedia.com.”
As a new year fast approaches, there are a number of changes that can be noted prior to the start of the 2020 season, including driver switches and schedule alterations. The upcoming season may also be the year of sport-changing announcements regarding the upcoming 2021 body style and the anticipated reorganization to the 2021 season schedule.
But as drivers and teams prepare to dial in their steel chariots at the World Center of Racing, here are a couple of changes that you should be aware of during the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
62 years of speed: The Daytona 500 is less than 50 days away, which only means one thing: the start of another NASCAR Cup Series season. The Great American Race has produced astronomical victories for several drivers; namely Austin Dillon bringing the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing car back to Daytona’s victory lane, 20 years following Dale Earnhardt’s accomplishment; or Denny Hamlin securing an emotional victory following the death of J.D. Gibbs, son of team owner Joe Gibbs.
The week-long 2020 Speedweeks presented by Advent Health will welcome back the Busch Clash (formerly dubbed the Advance Auto Parts Clash) on Sunday, Feb. 9, following Daytona 500 Qualifying presented by Kroger. This annual exhibition race will return to its namesake, as it was named the Busch Clash, for the first 18-years of its history, beginning in 1979.
Continuing to add to the anticipation, Daytona International Speedway announced on Friday, Nov. 22, the renaming of the Thursday 150-mile qualifying races. Bluegreen Vacations Corporation, a Boca Raton, Fla. based vacation and resorts-industry hot spot will take over the entitlement sponsor of the twin duels on Thursday, Feb. 13. Speedway president Chip Wiles calls the duel races an “an integral part of Speedweeks.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – FEBRUARY 18: The Thunderbirds perform a flyover prior to the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
“The qualifiers’ history is rich and now we’re beginning a new chapter of that history, thanks to Bluegreen Vacations,” Wiles added.
The 62nd running of the Daytona 500 will be held on Sunday, Feb. 16, accompanied by the pageantry of NASCAR’s finest drivers. County musician Darius Rucker will bring excitement through the microphones before the drop of the green flag by two-time Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tune in to live coverage, brought to you by FOX, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The 2020 shuffle: Many changes regarding drivers and sponsorship have been made so far during the 2019 portion of the NASCAR off-season; particularly, Paul Menard’s retirement and the inclusion of Matt DiBenedetto into the famed Wood Brothers family.
32-year-old Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will adjust to the No. 47 Chevrolet in the JTG Daugherty Racing camp. The No. 17 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford Mustang, a gig held by Stenhouse since 2013, will be driven by former-JTG Daugherty Racing driver Chris Buescher, a past Xfinity Series champion (2015) while employed by Jack Roush. This move, announced in September of 2019, drops 2019 rookie Ryan Preece into the No. 37 car, ran also by JTG Daugherty Racing.
A pair of Daniels are out of the top NASCAR series in 2020. Rookie Daniel Hemric wheeled the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro to his only top-five finish at the spring Talladega race. However, things changed for the one-year Cup driver when he was released from the two-car operation in September. “Forever grateful to Richard and everyone at RCR racing for the opportunity,” Hemric mentioned on Twitter following the announcement.
Hemric will be replaced by back-to-back Xfinity Series Champion Tyler Reddick. Hemric will transition back into the Xfinity series to drive 21 races for JR Motorsports in 2020.
Photo Credit: Adam Lovelace for Speedwaymedia.com.
Despite announcing that he was “surprised” and had “secured millions,” Stewart-Haas Racing announced in November that Daniel Suarez will not return to the No. 41 Ford Mustang, as he was replaced by Cole Custer, who will come to the Cup Series after an outstanding four-year performance in the Xfinity Series.
Suarez put a cap on his third season in the Cup Series, following a desperate bid for a win with Stewart-Haas Racing after spending two years with Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 19 Toyota Camry. During his reach, 27-year-old Suarez has secured 32 top 10s and two poles. A career best-finish of second place came for Suarez in the Pocono Hills of Pennsylvania in July of 2018.
Suarez has yet to announce plans for the 2020 season.
Aside from the notable, Xfinity great Christopher Bell will be welcomed by Leavine Family Racing in 2020, replacing DiBenedetto in the No. 95 Toyota Camry. Matt Tift and David Ragan are out at Front Row Motorsports, leaving veteran Michael McDowell in the No. 34 car and John Hunter Nemechek, who will replace Tift in the No. 38 Ford Mustang following Tift’s recent medical concerns.
We’re headed west: As Kyle Busch zoomed under the checkered flag at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it was the track’s final hosting of the series’ championship-deciding match up.
Photo by Rachel Schuoler for SpeedwayMedia.com.
In 2020, teams will pack up and head west to decide the NASCAR’s top series’ champions. ISM Raceway (formerly known as Phoenix International Raceway) announced in March of 2019 they will host the 2020 NASCAR Championship Weekend.
The timely announcement comes after the completion of a $178-million modernization project that not only moved the start-finish line between what was seen as turns one and two but, re-envisioned the future of the Arizona 1.5-mile track.
In an exciting twist, Homestead-Miami Speedway will welcome back drivers, teams and fans back to their South Florida location for the Dixie Vodka 400, just over a month following the conclusion of the 2020 Daytona 500. During this time, Homestead-Miami Speedway will celebrate 25 years of racing while ending an 18-year run of championship hosting in the fall.
“Ralph Sanchez’s vision for our track more than 25 years ago was to host a spring race and be a part of South Florida’s March calendar,” said then-Homestead-Miami Speedway President Matthew Becherer. “A March race weekend affords us many unique opportunities to entertain the South Florida community as we host NASCAR races for many years to come.”
NASCAR’s top drivers will see additional switch-ups in the 2020 schedule. Among those changes, Atlanta Motor Speedway’s date as second on the season schedule will be bumped back to host the sport following the daring west coast swing, immediately after the Daytona 500. Pocono Raceway will condense their two-date schedule into an entire June weekend and Daytona International Speedway says goodbye to their summer July race and says hello to the regular-season finale, to take place on Saturday, Aug. 29.
The Stephen Cox Blog is presented by “Porsche Legend: The Penske L&M Porsche That Made Racing History”
You
know, if Fox body Mustangs keep soaring in value I may have to rename
this series of articles. And that would be a good thing.
My
1980 base model Mustang was originally equipped with a 2.3 liter,
four cylinder engine, manual four-speed transmission, 13-inch wheels
and a 7.5-inch rear end with a 2:73 open differential. Not exactly a
performance monster, but in its defense, the car has traveled over a
quarter of a million miles with nary a complaint and has been perhaps
the most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned.
Our
rebuilding project began with the installation of a 347 Windsor small
block stroker engine from McGunegill Engine Performance in Muncie,
Indiana. The transmission was upgraded to a 5-speed Tremec manual.
The next major phase of the car’s rebuild is now complete with a little help from my friends at Late Model Restoration (LMR). I was having a hard time choosing between the TRX wheels commonly used on the early, performance-oriented Foxes and the later Pony wheels. But once we made the decision to upgrade to five-lug wheels, the rest was academic. TRX wheels are not available in the five-lug format, so I opted for LMR’s gorgeous chrome Ponies. Now that I see them on the car, I’m glad I chose them. They look incredible.
Additionally,
the entire rear axle assembly was upgraded to a 9-inch Ford GT unit
with 3:73 gears. The new 17-inch Pony wheels are huge compared to the
stock 13’s, and somewhat larger than the 15-inch, four-lug Anson
slots that had been on the car for the last decade. New Continental
Extreme Contact performance tires were mounted. The entire stock
brake system was upgraded with Late Model Restoration’s disc brake
conversion kit. Essentially, my Mustang now has the brake system of a
2000 Mustang GT.
Although I’ve not yet conducted any acceleration tests, the performance and handling of the car has changed dramatically after the completion of this most recent phase. The 3:73 rear end is the most noticeable change. First gear launches like a rocket and demands an almost instant shift into second. Every gear now feels like a performance gear… even overdrive (fifth). I don’t need to downshift to pass anyone. I can stay in fifth and zoom from 55 mph to 80 in a flash. It’s scary fast. Perhaps the 3:73 is actually a bit too much gear. After driving about 200 miles I’m still undecided.
The
new four-wheel disc brake system is outstanding, and a genuine
necessity on a 400+ horsepower car. The brake pedal has superb feel
and gives the driver great confidence. Track testing is yet to come,
but these brakes are more than enough for street use. And remember,
this 1980 Mustang weighs some 500 pounds less than the 2000 GT model
for which this brake system was designed. That’s a huge advantage. I
anticipate the brakes holding up pretty well under road course
conditions.
An
untimely December snow in central Indiana made photos a bit
challenging, but I did the best I could under the circumstances. The
next phase of our rebuild will include a complete suspension
overhaul, including subframe connectors and lowering springs.
This
is turning into a really fun car. Ford should have built it this way
from the beginning.
Stephen
Cox
Driver,
FIA EGT Championship & Super Cup Stock Car Series
The Ford GT era of the 2010s will end with the decade as the Ford GT Le Mans program will not race in IMSA in the hands of privateers, as reported by Racer.com. This also means the end of Chip Ganassi Racing’s participation in the IMSA WeatherTech Series for the time being. The program’s closure will leave the GTLM class with only 6 full-time participants in IMSA going into the 2020 season.
Fellow Ford pilot Ben Keating, who took a GTE AM class win at Le Mans only to later be disqualified due to his fuel tank being too big, is also opting out of racing his Ford in favor of a Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR in 2020.
“If I decide to race the Ford again at some point, that will require a whole lot more stuff,” said Keating.
The Ford GT’s return to competition from 2016 to 2019 coincided with the 50th anniversary of their four consecutive wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1966-69 and generated a lot of fanfare. However, in May of 2019 Ford confirmed they would be closing the program after the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans in the WEC and after the 2019 Petit Le Mans in IMSA.
The Ford GT program found it’s share of victories, including their class return to Le Mans in 2016 despite claims on sandbagging from other teams. They also won in their class at Watkins Glen in 2017 and at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2018. Despite not winning any titles in WEC or IMSA, they scored 16 class wins in 56 races, meeting and exceeding the goals set by Ford.
Despite the car no longer competing in an official capacity, there’s reason to believe that it made an impact in sports car racing beyond the track. Following the conclusion of the 2019 IMSA season, the sanctioning body reported that viewership for the sport increased by 15 percent. Although this was in the latter half of the GT’s participation in the sport, there’s no denying that part of the sport’s heritage was part of the larger draw in 2019.
One would think with the end of the season on September 22, IndyCar would go into hibernation until the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March, but the news flow had other plans.
Fan favorites James Hinchcliffe and Sébastien Bourdais no longer have rides in the IndyCar series at this time. However one thing bigger than most, Roger Penske bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the IndyCar Series, and IMS Productions. This is the biggest news for the series since the merger in 2008.
For anyone who doesn’t know, Penske has more than just racing teams; he has car dealerships, Truck rentals, and has been successful in almost everything he has tried. Now he owns the series and has been given wholehearted approval among the owners in the series.
What lies ahead for the future of the series? Penske has indicated that he wants to get a list of top-10 priorities together to see what needs to be done to help all the properties he has just purchased. We’ll see what those are before too long, but this is the best shot in the arm the series has has for a long time. With all due respect to the Hulmans, the previous owners of IMS and IndyCar, Penske has the capital and connections to make the improvements needed to these properties.
While we wait to see what Penske does to his newest acquisitions, we’re also waiting to see Hinchcliffe is going to do. The writing was on the wall for his time at the now named Arrow-McLaren-Schmidt-Peterson Racing once they went to Chevy and apparently for Hinchcliffe’s appearance in the ESPN body issue. He had funding from Honda Canada and has a few personal sponsors, but it appears at this time they’re not enough for a full season, otherwise another Honda team would probably pick him up. He’d need at least six-to-eight million dollars to help fund a prospective team.
The most recent news is that Bourdais will no longer have his ride at Dale Coyne Racing. Unlike Hinchcliffe, whose future is very much in flux, Bourdais does have plans for next year as he will be driving in IMSA in the Cadillac for the JDC-Mustang Sampling Racing team. This doesn’t preclude any possible part-time racing in IndyCar or other sportscar racing. With Peugeot returning to prototype racing in the next year, could he return for overall victory at Le Mans?
Even with two popular drivers not having full-time rides, the IndyCar Series has a lot optimism going into next year and beyond. When the season kicks off on March 15, maybe we’ll have a clearer idea of what the season will entail.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Denny Hamlin finds redemption from last week’s mistake to secure his spot into the Championship 4 by winning the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway.
“I can’t believe it,” Hamlin said post-race.
Hamlin was below the cutoff race and lost 44 points in a single race. Today’s win negates that mistake as the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota will go for his first career NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series championship.
“This race team worked so hard this whole year. They deserve to be there. I put them in a bad hole last week. I told them today in the meeting, I said, I’m going to give everything I’ve got to make up for the mistake I made last week. That’s all I got.”
Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. will join Hamlin and go for their second championship. If one of them wins next weekend, they will become the second active driver in the field with multiple championships (Jimmie Johnson holds seven titles).
“Guys did a great job, this M&M Camry was good,” Busch shared. “Thanks to everybody at JGR, Stanley, Toyota, TRD. It’s cool to have a chance to go race for a championship.”
Truex was the first driver to lock in after winning at Martinsville.
“I know we’re ready for Homestead,” stated a confident Truex. “To put three (JGR) cars in the Championship 4 is pretty incredible, so thanks to TRD and Toyota and all those guys. Bass Pro, Auto-Owners, everybody that helps us on the 19, and we’ll see what we can do next week.”
Harvick will be the second seed with his 49th career victory last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
“The one thing about this particular year, it seems like you’ve had great weeks, you’ve had mediocre weeks so that momentum thing is kind of hit-or-miss as you go through it,” Harvick explained the various parts of his season as being a momentum factor. “Just really proud of everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford.”
Joey Logano comes to pit road for full service, four tires and fuel. The adjustments the crew made would hurt the car instead of help, as the No. 22 team fell one lap down. Photo courtesy of Rachel Schuoler with Speedway Media.
Stage 2 winner and Playoff contender Joey Logano was competing up front in the first half of the race. After the conclusion of Stage 2, Logano’s crew made an adjustment on the car that appeared to not agree with the track conditions. When the field returned to green flag racing, Logano dropped through the field and even fell a lap down. He could never recover, finished ninth, and was the first driver eliminated from the Playoffs after being above the cutoff line to start the day.
“I went from a car that could lead and win a stage and run really well, and from what they told me, it was an air pressure adjustment made it go from a winning car to can’t stay on the lead lap, and one of the tightest things I’ve ever driven. I don’t really understand it. It doesn’t make any sense. You change tires and change a half pint of air, that sounds ridiculous. It is what it is. Just wasn’t our year to make it, I guess. But we’ll fight for fifth, I guess, in points for this year, and we’ll move on.”
“It stinks. It hurts a little bit, but we’ll live,” Logano said. “Everything is going to be OK. Life is a lot worse in other ways for some. We’re still fortunate to be here and get to do what we love. It’s a bummer for sure. It doesn’t take anything away from that, but it’s just part of the game sometimes.”
Three other drivers in must-win situations were also eliminated from the Playoffs: Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. For Elliott, he battled for the lead throughout the first half of the race, but a blown tire in Turn 1 caused race-ending damage on his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet.
“Yeah, it’s just a continuation of our first two weeks, unfortunately, ” Elliott said. “I feel like we were in a good position to run solid. I’m not sure why we had a tire go down. I think that’s what happened, at least; it seemed like it. It’s unfortunate. Like I said, these last three weeks have been pretty rough. So, hopefully, Homestead goes better and we can get prepared good for next season and get a good notebook for next year.”
“All in all, a great season for our team,” Larson shared after the race. “A little rocky at the start, but we kept our heads down and kept working hard and got our stuff a lot better and more consistent throughout this season. We’ll try to go to Homestead next week and get a win.”
Busch, Blaney, Larson, Harvick and Truex finished in the top six respectively. Erik Jones was the highest non-Playoff driver who finished in seventh. Clint Bowyer, Logano and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10 positions. Elliott, the final Playoff driver, finished 39th after crashing out on Lap 166.
The champion for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be crowned next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — When the Playoffs were on the line, Justin Allgaier rose to the occasion by winning the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino 200 as the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 has officially been declared.
“We had a hot rod today,” Allgaier declared.
After winning five races in 2018, Allgaier looks for redemption at Homestead-Miami Speedway this year by winning his first race of the season. It also came at the right time since the JR Motorsports driver was among the cutoff line throughout the race.
“I don’t think we could have beaten the 20 (Bell),” said Allgaier. “But when he made his mistake, we capitalized on it. That’s what it’s all about. No question (not winning) is a weight on your shoulders, man. You can’t even begin to describe it.”
Christopher Bell won last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway to secure his spot for the championship race. Bell led every green-flag lap in both opening stages, but a speeding penalty on pit road forced him to drop to the rear of the field on the restart of the final stage. Another caution, later on, forced him to pit again. The No. 20 car went one lap down and wasn’t able to recover.
“I feel like I gave up a winner,” said Bell. “It all comes down to this one next week. I’m ready for it. I feel really good about where we’re at, and our car is going to be extremely strong next week.
“We’ve prepared a ton for this. Ever since we left Homestead last year, we knew that this race was where we needed to improve. Pretty much all year long, we’ve been focused on Homestead.”
Since Brandon Jones won at Martinsville, no other driver was completely locked in yet. In a combination of stage points and other competitors falling out of the race, Cole Custer had a large enough gap in the points standings to mathematically lock himself into Homestead.
“I never got the memo,” Custer laughed when asked if he was told about the championship status update after Stage 2. “I was giving it all I had. I was really struggling with the brake pedal. I kind of lost it at the start of the run. I had to save the whole run until like 15 laps to go, and then I just let it happen. I just came up a little bit short, but I think that was the best run we’ve had at Phoenix in a long time.”
“I’m looking forward to Homestead, and hopefully we can do one spot better.”
The regular-season champion, Tyler Reddick, will now go for a second consecutive championship in the Xfinity series. Last year, he won with JR Motorsports. This year, he’ll look to bring a title to Richard Childress Racing.
Chase Briscoe, Michael Annett, Austin Cindric, and Noah Gragson were the four drivers eliminated after Phoenix.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will crown their champion next Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Saturday’s qualifying session proved why the eight remaining Playoff drivers are fighting for the last remaining transfer positions for next weekend’s championship race. Kyle Busch earned his first Busch Pole Award of the season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at ISM Raceway.
He set a pole-running pace on his first lap, then ran even faster on his second lap around the one-mile circuit at 140.116 mph (25.693 seconds). He edged fellow Playoff driver and defending Cup champion Joey Logano (139.752 mph) by .067 seconds, as only two points separate the two drivers that currently hold the last two transfer positions.
“I think this is actually the first race all year we made a mock (qualifying) run in practice,” said Busch. “Maybe there’s something to that. The guys did a great job. We fight hard every week trying to figure out what we need to do to continue to improve and get better, and a lot of others guys have certainly done that over the year.”
Denny Hamlin, the first driver below the cutoff line in the championship, qualified third ahead of Martin Truex Jr., the first driver to lock himself into the Championship 4 after winning at Martinsville Speedway. Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will make up the third row of Sunday’s starting grid.
Last week’s winner, Kevin Harvick, will start seventh. The first non-Playoff driver was Kurt Busch who will start alongside Harvick. Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney round out the top 10, as all Playoff drivers will start in the top 10.
With points being tight and a big potential shuffle if a driver below the cutoff line wins, Busch understands the importance of getting the pole and starting strong with valuable track position.
“Hopefully today bodes well for tomorrow,” he said. “Overall, proud to start out front in this very important race and very important with track position and such.”
Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500 will be the penultimate race of the 2019 season. Four drivers will be eliminated as the others will head to Miami to race for the Cup championship. Coverage for tomorrow’s race will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
