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  • Hemric earns first NASCAR Xfinity Series win and championship at Phoenix

    Hemric earns first NASCAR Xfinity Series win and championship at Phoenix

    In a racing career highlighted with numerous heartbreaks and “what-ifs” moments, Daniel Hemric defied the odds and silenced his doubters by capturing two firsts following the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, November 6: first win and first championship.

    Following an overtime finish for the ages, Hemric, a 30-year-old native from Kannapolis, North Carolina, dueled and rubbed fenders against the reigning series champion Austin Cindric on the final lap and final corner to come out on top by a fender and achieve both his first elusive NASCAR Xfinity Series race win and the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

    The championship occurred in Hemric’s 208th NASCAR national touring series start (120th in the Xfinity Series) and following 10 runner-up results in the Xfinity circuit while competing for three different teams, including this season with Joe Gibbs Racing.

    Qualifying occurred on Saturday, November 6, to determine the starting lineup and Austin Cindric, the reigning series champion, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 131.902 mph. John Hunter Nemechek, piloting the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra, qualified alongside Cindric on the front row. 

    With Cindric starting as the highest of four Xfinity competitors vying for this year’s title, Daniel Hemric started fourth, Noah Gragson qualified sixth and AJ Allmendinger lined up in 12th.

    Prior to the event, Harrison Burton dropped to the rear of the field due to multiple inspection failures. JJ Yeley also started at the rear of the field in a backup car after spinning in practice along with David Starr, who dropped back due to unapproved adjustments to his car.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Cindric and Nemechek dueled for the lead through the dogleg, the frontstretch and for a full lap before Nemechek was able to power through and lead the first lap. 

    As the field fanned out and jostled early for positions, Cindric was in second behind Nemechek followed by Hemric, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Gragson. Allmendinger, meanwhile, was in the top 12. 

    Through the first 10 laps of the finale, Nemechek was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Cindric, who was the highest-running title contender on the track. Hemric settled in third followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Haley, Brandon Jones, Riley Herbst, Allmendinger and Michael Annett. Jeb Burton was in 11th, Sam Mayer was in 13th ahead of Myatt Snider and Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown was in 16th and Harrison Burton was battling for a top-20 spot. 

    Ten laps later, Cindric made a strong move beneath Nemechek through the frontstretch and the dogleg to take the lead for the first time, though Nemechek kept Cindric’s No. 22 CarShop Ford Mustang within his sights. Hemric remained in third place on the track ahead of Allgaier, Gragson settled in fifth and Allmendinger was mired in 10th behind Annett. 

    Another 10 laps later, Cindric, who navigated his way through lapped traffic, continued to lead by more than seven-tenths of a second over Nemechek’s No. 54 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra. Hemric stabilized himself in third place, but his No. 18 Poppy Bank Toyota Supra trailed the two leaders by nearly two seconds as he also had Allgaier closing in for position. Gragson continued to run in fifth while Allmendinger was up in ninth.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Cindric received the early upper hand in his bid to defend his series title as he captured his season-high 13th stage victory of the season. Behind, Hemric edged teammate Nemechek to settle in second followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Annett, Herbst and Haley.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for adjustments and Hemric emerged with the lead following a stellar work from his pit crew that enabled him to exit pit road with the top spot. Cindric exited in second followed by Jones, Gragson, Allgaier, Nemechek and Allmendinger.

    The second stage started on Lap 52 as Hemric and Gragson occupied the front row followed by Jones, Cindric, Allmendinger and Allgaier. At the start, Hemric rocketed away with the lead as the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch and the dogleg. 

    The following lap, Cindric muscled his way back to second as Allgaier challenged teammate Gragson for third along with Nemechek.

    Nearing the Lap 60 mark, the caution flew due to an on-track incident and long spin for Jeffrey Earnhardt on the backstretch as the incident also involved Joe Graf Jr. and Kyle Weatherman. At the time of caution, Hemric was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over Cindric. In addition, Allgaier and Nemechek, both of whom were battling for third place, had made on-track contact twice towards the frontstretch in front of Gragson while Allmendinger was in sixth ahead of teammate Justin Haley.

    On Lap 65, the race restarted under green as Hemric and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Hemric and Allgaier dueled for the lead as the field again fanned out through the frontstretch. Through the backstretch, however, Hemric was able to clear Allgaier to retain the top spot until Nemechek, who gained a strong run entering the frontstretch, muscled his way back to the top spot the following lap.

    With Nemechek leading teammate Hemric, Allgaier retained third ahead of Cindric while Allmendinger and Gragson battled for fifth. 

    Through the first 75 laps of the event, Nemechek was leading by nearly a second over teammate Hemric and Cindric. Teammates Allgaier and Gragson were in the top five followed by Allmendinger, Haley, Jeb Burton, Annett and Harrison Burton, who methodically worked his way from the rear of the field. 

    Five laps later, Nemechek extended his advantage to more than a second while Hemric and Cindric challenged one another for the runner-up spot and for the championship lead.

    With four laps remaining in the second stage, Hemric, who managed to cut his deficit to Nemechek amid lapped traffic, overtook teammate Nemechek entering the frontstretch to reassume the lead. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Hemric echoed his challenge for his first NASCAR national touring series title against his fellow competitors by capturing his 10th stage victory of the season. Cindric managed to overtake Nemechek to move into second followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Allmendinger, Haley, Harrison Burton, Annett and Herbst.

    Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and Hemric retained the lead following another strong service from his crew followed by Cindric, Nemechek, Allgaier, Allmendinger and Harrison Burton while Gragson, who dodged an uncontrolled tire pit road penalty, dropped to 10th.

    With 103 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch and through the first turn. Amid the start, Hemric retained the lead ahead of Cindric, Nemechek, Allmendinger, Harrison Burton and Allgaier. 

    The following lap, the caution returned due to a hard accident involving Joe Graf Jr. in Turn 1 after making contact with Sage Karam.

    Under the final 93 laps of the finale, the field restarted under green. At the start and with the field again fanning out through the frontstretch, Hemric dueled and managed to fend off Nemechek to retain the lead ahead of a steaming pack of cars. 

    During the following lap, however, the caution returned when Sage Karam made contact with Matt Mills, which sent Mills into the Turn 1 outside wall and with right-side damage.

    Under caution, Gragson pitted his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro for a chassis adjustment while the rest led by Hemric remained on the track.

    With 87 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hemric retained the lead by a narrow margin over Cindric and Nemechek as Harrison Burton made his way up to fourth ahead of Allgaier. 

    Two laps later, Cindric made a bold move beneath Hemric entering the frontstretch and nearly slid in front of Hemric’s No. 18 Toyota to take the lead. Behind, Harrison Burton challenged Nemechek and Allgaier for third while Allmendinger was battling teammate Haley and Annett for sixth.

    With approximately 75 laps remaining, the caution returned due to possible fluid on the track when the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Stefan Parsons erupted in flames past the start/finish line as he parked his car on the dogleg in the frontstretch. At the time of the caution, Cindric was leading by a reasonable margin over Hemric, Nemechek, Allgaier and Harrison Burton.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Cindric retained the lead following a strong service from his pit crew ahead of Nemechek, Allgaier, Allmendinger and Hemric.

    With 66 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Cindric and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier pulled ahead on the inside lane in front of Cindric and the field.

    Not long after, the caution returned when Jade Buford spun in Turn 2. Then, Allgaier, the leader, was penalized for dropping below the apron and the yellow line prior to crossing the start/finish line during the previous restart. Allgaier’s penalty moved Cindric back to the lead ahead of Hemric. In the midst of the restart, Gragson, who restarted 13th, was up to seventh.

    Down to the final 60 laps of the finale, the field restarted under green as Cindric and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Cindric retained the lead while Hemric moved up to second after Allmendinger made contact with Nemechek entering the first turn. Behind, Gragson challenged Harrison Burton and Allmendinger for fourth as Jeb Burton joined the party. 

    Ten laps later, Cindric continued to lead by more than a second over Nemechek and Hemric, both of whom were battling for the runner-up spot before the former prevailed. Gragson was in fifth behind Harrison Burton while Allmendinger was in sixth.

    With 40 laps remaining, Cindric stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Nemechek while third-place Hemric kept the two leaders within his sights as close as possible. Behind, Gragson was up in fourth ahead of Harrison Burton while Allmendinger was mired back in sixth, trailing the lead by more than five seconds.

    Under the final 30 laps of the finale, Cindric increased his advantage to nearly two seconds over Nemechek. Hemric trailed by more than two seconds while Gragson and Allmendinger remained in fourth and sixth.

    Down to the final 24 laps of the finale, Hemric’s charge for the championship began as he overtook teammate Nemechek for second place. By then, Cindric continued to lead amid lapped traffic, but was only approximately two seconds ahead.

    Then with 19 laps remaining, the caution flew when Allmendinger, who was in sixth and trying to pit under green amid vibration issues, spun his No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro below the Turn 2 apron and near the pit road entrance. The caution all but erased Cindric’s advantage over Hemric, Nemechek and the field.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Cindric retained the lead following another stellar service from his pit crew. Hemric exited in second followed by Gragson, Harrison Burton, Nemechek and Haley.

    Down to the final 13 laps of the finale, the field restarted under green. At the start and with the field fanning out through the dogleg, Cindric dueled against Hemric while Gragson challenged behind. Through the first two turns and the backstretch, Cindric, who had Gragson trailing behind him, managed to fend off Hemric on the outside lane to retain the lead back to the frontstretch and past the start/finish line. Just then, the caution flew when Jeb Burton, who was in a three-wide battle, spun following contact with Sheldon Creed in Turn 3, which drew the caution as Burton continued without sustaining any serious damage.

    With eight laps remaining, the field restarted under green. At the start and with the field again fanning out through the dogleg, Hemric dueled against Cindric trough the first two turns followed by Gragson, but Cindric managed to clear Hemric through the backstretch. 

    The following lap, Gragson, who tried to narrow the gap between himself and his two title rivals, slid up and hit the Turn 1 outside wall. Though he continued to run under power, he was losing spots on the track and losing ground towards his championship bid. Meanwhile, Hemric started to launch an attack beneath Cindric for the lead through Turns 3 and 4.

    Just then, the caution returned when Buford and Josh Williams wrecked in Turn 3. The wreck was enough to send the finale into overtime.

    In overtime, Cindric and Hemric again dueled for the lead through the first two turns ahead of the field. Remaining side-by-side through the backstretch, Hemric wiggled slightly underneath Cindric entering Turn 3 and barely clipped Cindric, but both continued running straight approach the frontstretch. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Cindric was still leading by a narrow margin over Hemric as Harrison Burton tried to spoil the battle. 

    Entering the first turn, Cindric had Hemric cleared for the top spot. Hemric then tried to draw himself alongside Cindric entering the backstretch, but Cindric fought back on the outside lane and Hemric chose to settle behind Cindric through the straightaway. Then on the final corner, Hemric sent his No. 18 Toyota as hard as he could to the inside lane and managed to move Cindric up the track entering Turn 4. As both competitors dueled and rubbed fenders coming to the finish line, Hemric managed to pull ahead and beat Cindric by 0.030 seconds to win the race and the championship. 

    With his accomplishment, Hemric became the 31st different competitor to achieve an Xfinity Series championship, the third to do so while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, the third to do so while driving a Toyota and the 170th different competitor to win an Xfinity race. In addition to becoming the sixth first-time Xfinity winner of 2021, Hemric became the first competitor to record a first career race win and series championship in the same event. The win and the championship occurred in Hemric’s final ride with Joe Gibbs Racing as he will be moving to Kaulig Racing and attempt to defend his series title in 2022.

    The Xfinity championship was also the first for veteran crew chief Dave Rogers, who kept Hemric poised and composed to attack late for the win and the title.

    Ironically, Hemric and his No. 18 JGR Toyota team rallied from an early scare to the weekend, where his primary hauler that was transporting his car broke down while commuting to Phoenix and had to be transported on an alternate hauler. The hauler was able to arrive with the car as Hemric was able to hit the track for the series’ lone Xfinity practice session on Friday, November 5.

    Upon claiming his championship flag and performing a long victorious burnout, Hemric capped off his long-awaited first win in NASCAR by performing a victorious backflip in front of his crew and the Phoenix fans.

    Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “[I] Lost my breath! Unbelievable!” Hemric said on NBCSN. “These guys right here, they’ve been asking me all year, ‘How bad do you want it?’ I gave [the win] away here [at Phoenix] in the spring. [I] Felt like we had to give one up last week to get here. We were not going to be denied. Thank you, Dave Rogers, Bill and Cindy Gallaher, everyone at Poppy Bank, Lou Gallaher, Jr., I’m talking to you. Man, they took a chance on me. 2015, some form or fashion. They stuck with me through times. They probably shouldn’t have, to be honest with you. How about those race fans? That backflip good enough for you? I’ve been waiting a long damn time to do that. Thank you Joe Gibbs, everyone at [Toyota Racing Development], Toyota…Everyone here that makes this program what it is. I know I’ve given up a lot. People doubted me. I’ll do it all over again for a night like this. I’m blacked out. Just knew I had to be the first one to the [finish] line…This is what it’s all about. Winning at the second-highest level in all of motorsports. What an honor. Unbelievable! I’ll do it all over again. I’ll take all the heartbreaks again to live this right here. That’s the greatest feeling in the world.”

    While on the championship stage and hoisting the trophy, Hemric took a moment to evoke a powerful message about perseverance and emerging victorious amid the struggles in life.

    “[This championship] ain’t for all those kids about racing trying to get to a level,” Hemric said. “It’s about people in life. It’s about coming from nothing and making yourself all that you work for. That’s what it’s all about. This is the American dream. I’m living a history of it, living proof of it. Un-be-lievable.”

    Cindric, who was trying to become the eighth different competitor to achieve back-to-back Xfinity titles, settled in second place in a season highlighted with five victories and his last in the series as a full-time competitor, where he will be moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series to pilot the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2022. Despite the result, Cindric, who managed to wrap up the sixth Xfinity Series owner’s title for team owner Roger Penske, kept his head high over the late battle for the driver’s title.

    “If everyone in the stands enjoyed it, it’s good racing,” Cindric said. “I’m very appreciative of the opportunity to race on such a big stage, the opportunity to race for Roger Penske, to represent Ford Performance, our companies and all of our sponsors that have helped us this season. It would’ve been awesome to finish this out. I felt like we had a dominant race car. I felt like we did everything right. Come up a little short. Sometimes, it’s like that way. Unfortunately, at the end of both seasonal championships [regular and season] this year, I’m getting moved out of the way and doored, but that’s hard racing. That’s why everyone enjoys watching this series. It’s because there’s a lot on the line. Thankful for the opportunity and pissed to be second for like the third week in a row.”‘

    Gragson, meanwhile, never recovered following his late contact into the wall and slipped back to 12th place in the final running order, which left him in a career-best third-place result in the final standings and in a season where he captured three victories. During his post-race interview, Gragson gave props to his crew chief Dave Elenz, who will be moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022, while the driver will be remaining as a full-time competitor for JR Motorsports for the upcoming season.

    “Just disappointed,” Gragson said. “I’m not really sure what happened there on that second-to-last restart. I got just sideways off into [Turn] 1, like there’s oil down or something. I’m kind of mind-blown on what happened. [I] Hit the wall there running third. We rebounded really well, I thought, from pit road, mistake early on in the race. Everybody just dug deep, kept working hard. A lot of big adjustments. We didn’t have the car nearly where we wanted it to be all weekend, practice, qualifying. Those guys, they beat us tonight. Just not enough this weekend. We didn’t bring out best car. Just thankful, really thankful. We’ll go on next year.”

    Like Gragson, Allmendinger, who struggled with pace throughout the finale, could not recover from his late spin and ended the season in 14th place on the track and with a career-best fourth-place result in the final standings. Despite the late misfortune during the finale, Allmendinger praised his team, Kaulig Racing, for the season-long performance that included five victories and the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season championship. Like Hemric and Gragson, Allmendinger will be remaining in the Xfinity circuit with Kaulig in 2022.

    “I just probably need to be a little better here [at Phoenix] as well to kind of lead us in a better direction,” Allmendinger said. “That’s part of growth here at Kaulig Racing. Of course, you’d like to have at least contended for [the championship]. Then I thought at worst, we’re gonna finish fifth or sixth. Then, the wheel was coming off on the right rear. I apologized to Austin [Cindric] because I think he had the race probably won. I don’t want to be a part of the storyline like that. I’d like to have been a better storyline, but part of the growth. Definitely not what we wanted today, tonight. We’ll come back strong. Thanks to all the men and women at Kaulig Racing, [owner] Matt Kaulig, [team president] Chris Rice for making this such a dream season. We kept making the Hyperice Chevy just a little bit better, but never really had the speed we needed to go run with [Cindric] or [Hemric]…We’ll come do this again next year.”

    Harrison Burton, who made his final start with Joe Gibbs Racing before moving up to the Cup circuit to drive for the Wood Brothers Racing team, finished third on the track followed by Riley Herbst and Justin Haley. John Hunter Nemechek, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    Michael Annett finished 11th in his 436th and final NASCAR national touring series start before retiring from full-time competition.

    Despite not competing in the Xfinity finale, Ty Gibbs earned the 2021 Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year title in a season where he won his first four career races in 18 starts.

    The 2021 Xfinity finale was the final race aired on NBCSN as USA Network will covering the majority of NASCAR Xfinity and Cup events during the second half of the 2022 season.

    There were 16 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 61 laps.

    Results.

    1. Daniel Hemric, 48 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Austin Cindric, 113 laps, Stage 1 winner

    3. Harrison Burton

    4. Riley Herbst

    5. Justin Haley

    6. John Hunter Nemechek, 39 laps led

    7. Brandon Jones

    8. Brett Moffitt

    9. Justin Allgaier

    10. Sheldon Creed

    11. Michael Annett, one lap led

    12. Noah Gragson, three laps led

    13. Sam Mayer

    14. AJ Allmendinger

    15. Dylan Lupton

    16. Blaine Perkins

    17. Ryan Sieg

    18. Jeremy Clements

    19. Myatt Snider

    20. Brandon Brown

    21. David Starr

    22. JJ Yeley

    23. Jeb Burton

    24. Tommy Joe Martins

    25. Sage Karaam

    26. Kyle Weatherman

    27. Kyle Sieg

    28. Ryan Vargas

    29. Matt Mills

    30. Alex Labbe, two laps down

    31. Bayley Currey, four laps down

    32. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

    33. Jade Buford – OUT, Accident

    34. Stefan Parsons – OUT, Engine

    35. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

    36. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

    Bold indicates championship finale contenders.

    Final standings.

    1. Daniel Hemric

    2. Austin Cindric

    3. Noah Gragson

    4. AJ Allmendinger

    5. Justin Allgaier

    6. Justin Haley

    7. Brandon Jones

    8. Harrison Burton

    9. Myatt Snider

    10. Jeb Burton

    11. Riley Herbst

    12. Jeremy Clements

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ teams and competitors enters its off-season period before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 19, to commence the 2022 season. The event is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Chandler Smith wins race, Rhodes captures Truck Series title at Phoenix

    Chandler Smith wins race, Rhodes captures Truck Series title at Phoenix

    Phoenix Raceway was the site of the Championship 4 race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the second straight year. John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, Matt Crafton, and Ben Rhodes each had a shot at the title. Three of them were looking for their first Truck Series title.

    Out of those four, Ben Rhodes was able to capture the Truck Series championship for the first time in his career in only 141 starts. The Kentucky native made the winning move by passing Zane Smith with eight laps to go and never looked back to claim the 2021 Truck Series championship.

    “I wouldn’t even be here today if it wasn’t for Duke and Rhonda (Thorson, ThorSport team owners),” Rhodes said. “They gave me my opportunity in this sport. They were my very first full-time national team that I raced for and I’ve been with them ever since. They’re so amazing and I can’t even begin to thank them enough. This has just been a ride of a lifetime. I hope it’s not over. I want to keep going now. This is amazing.”

    While there was a Championship 4 race out on the track, there was also a race winner to be decided as well. Chandler Smith qualified on the pole with qualifying back for the first time this year. Stages of 45/45/60 laps made up the 150 lap event.

    One of the Championship 4 contenders, Nemechek, got in the wall early on Lap 1. As a result of the contact with the wall, his left-front tire went down and he lost two laps in the process after bringing the truck to pit road. The first yellow flew shortly thereafter on Lap 11 for the No. 45 of Lawless Alan who crashed on the frontstretch. The caution allowed Nemechek to gain one of his laps back.

    Despite Smith starting on the pole, the Georgia native lost the lead to the No. 2 of Sheldon Creed but was able to grab the lead back with 10 laps left in the stage and collect the first stage win. Rhodes finished fifth, Crafton seventh, Zane Smith ninth and Nemechek was 30th, 1 lap down.

    During Stage 2, there were no cautions and it was a relatively calm stage. There was one newsworthy item though as Sheldon Creed clinched the most laps led of the season on Lap 80 and won the $50,000 bonus from Marcus Lemonis of Camping World. Even though Creed dominated the stage, the California native was passed again for the stage win, this time on the last lap of the stage when Smith made the move on the start/finish line. Rhodes was third, Zane Smith sixth, Crafton eighth and Nemechek finished 27th, still one lap down.

    The final stage began with 51 laps to go but didn’t stay green for long. The fourth and final yellow flag flew on Lap 102 for the No. 12 of Tate Fogleman who stalled on the track. The caution allowed Nemechek to regain his lap and get back in contention for the title.

    Following the restart with 45 to go, Zane Smith passed Rhodes for third and became the highest-ranked Championship 4 driver. As for Nemechek, the North Carolina native continued his rally up toward the front and got as high as ninth with 10 laps to go. Nemechek’s run stalled out to seventh and Zane Smith looked comfortable in fourth. Unfortunately for Smith, he was passed by Rhodes with eight to go and fell to runner-up in the Championship 4. Rhodes, however, ended the season with the championship title after opening the season up with two victories at Daytona.

    Chandler Smith passed Creed for the lead and the eventual race win with 17 laps to go for his second win of the 2021 season. The Georgia native also won the Rookie of the Year title as well.

    Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com

    “Overall, we unloaded today and got out on the track really good,” Chandler Smith said about the win. “Our Safelite Toyota Tundra topped off P2 right off the bat and was really comfortable, but was here in 2019, kind of thought the same thing and had a little experience under my belt and good news to base off of.”

    “We didn’t get a mock run in and I told my crew chief Danny Stockman how many numbers freer we needed to be from the end of practice to qualifying. We were solid in qualifying and that gave us a good adjustment to where we needed to be tonight.”

    Zane Smith finished fifth and fell short once again for the second consecutive year.

    “It’s been a wild of a year,” Zane Smith said. “I don’t know which one hurt more, last year or this one. We fired off good, honestly too good, and just got way too tight. We tried everything from inside the truck and all the tools I had and didn’t really help. Couldn’t hold them off.”

    There were four cautions for 25 laps and 12 lead changes among three different leaders. Smith led six times for 39 laps en route to victory.

    Championship 4 Results:

    (3rd) Ben Rhodes, 2021 Truck Series Champion
    (5th) Zane Smith
    (7th) John Hunter Nemechek
    (12th) Matt Crafton

    Stage 1: Chandler Smith, Creed, Gilliland, Friesen, Rhodes, Hocevar, Crafton, Eckes, Zane Smith, Kraus

    Stage 2: C. Smith, Creed, Rhodes, Friesen, Gilliland, Z. Smith, Hocevar, Crafton, Enfinger, Eckes

    Official Race Results of the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway:

    1. Chandler Smith, won both stages, led 39 laps
    2. Stewart Friesen, led five laps
    3. Ben Rhodes
    4. Sheldon Creed, led 106 laps
    5. Zane Smith
    6. Christian Eckes
    7. John Hunter Nemechek
    8. Todd Gilliland
    9. Carson Hocevar
    10. Austin Hill
    11. Johnny Sauter
    12. Matt Crafton
    13. Grant Enfinger
    14. Tyler Ankrum
    15. Derek Kraus
    16. Chase Purdy
    17. Hailie Deegan
    18. Drew Dollar
    19. Ryan Truex
    20. Jack Wood
    21. Dean Thompson, 1 lap down
    22. Will Rodgers, 1 lap down
    23. Jordan Anderson, 1 lap down
    24. Willie Allen, 1 lap down
    25. Ty Dillon, 1 lap down
    26. Austin Wayne Self, 3 laps down
    27. Chris Hacker, 3 laps down
    28. Danny Bohn, 3 laps down
    29. Taylor Gray, 4 laps down
    30. Cory Roper, 4 laps down
    31. Spencer Boyd, 4 laps down
    32. Kris Wright, 7 laps down
    33. Tyler Hill, OUT, Alternator
    34. Tate Fogleman, OUT, Electrical
    35. Tanner Gray, OUT, Rear Gear
    36. Lawless Alan, OUT, Crash

    Up Next: With the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season now complete, teams will start prepping for the 2022 season that begins February 18, 2022, at Daytona International Speedway. It will air live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio at 7:30 p.m.

  • Weekend schedule for Phoenix season finale

    Weekend schedule for Phoenix season finale

    This weekend NASCAR travels to Phoenix Raceway where all three series will crown their 2021 champion.

    Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will face off against Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. for the NASCAR Cup Series title Sunday afternoon.

    Elliott is the defending race winner and current champion. Truex won the championship in 2017 while Hamlin and Larson will be vying for their first title.

    Noah Gragson, Austin Cindric, Daniel Hemric and AJ Allmendinger will race for the 2021 Xfinity Series championship Saturday night. The Truck Series Championship 4 of Zane Smith, Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton and John H. Nemechek will compete Friday night for the Camping World Truck Series title.

    The ARCA Menards Series West will also compete this weekend on Saturday, Nov. 6 in the Arizona Lottery 100. Practice will be at noon with no TV while the race is set for 3 p.m. on TrackPass and MRN.

    There will be live post-race availability after each race on NASCAR Press Pass.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Nov. 5

    11:05 a.m: Truck Series practice – No TV
    12 Noon: Press Pass with NASCAR President Steve Phelps – Watch Live
    4:05 p.m.: Cup Series practice – NBCSN
    5 p.m.: Press Pass with Cup Series Championship 4 crew chiefs – Watch Live
    5:05 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying – FS1
    6:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice – TrackPass
    8 p.m. ET: Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 race
    Distance: 150 miles (150 laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 150
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, Nov. 6

    5:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying – TrackPass/NBC Sports stream
    7 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying – CNBC/MRN
    8 p.m.: Press Pass post Cup qualifying – Watch Live
    8:30 p.m. ET: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race
    Distance: 200 miles (200 laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/TSN3

    Sunday, Nov. 7

    3 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Championship race
    Distance: 312 miles (312 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 75, Stage 2 ends on Lap 190, Final Stage ends on Lap 312
    NBC/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    The ARCA Menards Series West will also compete this weekend on Saturday, Nov. 6 in the Arizona Lottery 100. Practice will be at noon with no TV while the race is set for 3 p.m. with coverage on TrackPass and MRN.

    Phoenix Raceway:

    Season Race #: 36 of 36 (11-07-21)
    Track Size: 1-mile
    Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 9 degrees
    Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 11 degrees
    Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees
    Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
    Race Length: 312 laps / 500 Kilometers
    Stage 1 Length: 75 laps
    Stage 2 Length: 115 laps
    Final Stage Length: 122 laps

    Phoenix Raceway Qualifying Data:

    Track Qualifying Record: Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (143.158 mph, 25.147 secs.) on November 13, 2015.
    2020 Championship Race Pole Winner: Metric Qualifying, Chase Elliott started from the pole position.

    • Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman lead the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Phoenix Raceway with 37 starts each.
    • Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Phoenix Raceway with a 4.727 in 11 starts.
    • The youngest series Phoenix pole winner: Kyle Busch (April 22, 2006 – 20 years, 11 months, 20 days).
    • Five different manufacturers have won a pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway, led by Chevrolet with 18 and followed by Ford (15), Toyota (7), Dodge (4) and Pontiac (4).

    Phoenix Raceway Race Data:

    Track Race Record: Tony Stewart, Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac (118.132 mph, 02:38:28) on November 7, 1999.
    2020 Championship Race Winner: Chase Elliott, Chevrolet (112.096 mph, 02:47:00) on 11-08-20.

    • Kevin Harvick leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Phoenix Raceway with nine victories (2006 sweep, 2012 Playoff race, 2013 Playoff race, 2014 sweep, 2015 Spring race, 2016 Spring race, 2018 Spring race).
    • Six of the 50 NASCAR Cup Series races (12%) at Phoenix Raceway have been won from the pole or first starting position.
    • Eight of the 50 (18%) NASCAR Cup Series races at Phoenix Raceway have been won from the front row.
    • The third starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field producing more winners (seven) than any other starting position.
    • Ryan Newman won the 2017 Phoenix Raceway race from the 22nd starting position, the furthest back an active NASCAR Cup Series race winner has started.
    • The youngest NASCAR Cup Series Phoenix winner: Kyle Busch (November 13, 2005 – 20 years, 6 months, 11 days).
    • Brad Keselowski leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix Raceway without visiting Victory Lane with 24 starts.
    • Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Phoenix Raceway with 11 victories among seven drivers.
    • In total four different manufacturers have won at Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by Chevrolet with 24 victories and followed by Ford (17), Toyota (7) and Pontiac (2).

    From OddsChecker: Kyle Larson favored to win 2021 Season Finale 500

    Larson is given +190 odds to win the race making him a strong favorite. However, Chase Elliott, +350, Denny Hamlin, +400, and Martin Truex Jr., +450, are all given good odds to win the race as well. Nobody else has better than +1400 odds to win the race.

    2021 SEASON FINALE 500 WINNER ODDS 

    Driver Odds Implied chance 
    Kyle Larson +190 34.5% 
    Chase Elliot +350 22.2% 
    Denny Hamlin +400 20% 
    Martin Truex Jr. +450 18.2% 
    William Byron +1400 6.7% 
    Kyle Busch +1600 5.9% 
    Joey Logano +2200 4.3% 
    Ryan Blaney +2500 3.8% 
    Alex Bowman +2500 3.8% 
    Brad Keselowski +2500 3.8% 
  • Austin Dillon to make 300th Cup career start at Phoenix

    Austin Dillon to make 300th Cup career start at Phoenix

    With the 2021 NASCAR season less than a week away from concluding, Austin Dillon is within reach of achieving a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Series finale at Phoenix Raceway, the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will reach career start No. 300 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Welcome, North Carolina, and the eldest grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, Dillon made his inaugural appearance in the Cup circuit at Kansas Speedway in October 2011. By then, he was a full-time NASCAR Truck Series competitor for Richard Childress Racing and contending for the series’ championship. Driving the No. 98 Curb Racing Chevrolet Impala, Dillon started and finished 26th in his Cup debut.

    After making one Cup start in 2012, where he finished 24th at Michigan International Speedway in June, Dillon made his Daytona 500 debut in 2013, where he finished 31st in RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet SS. He competed in 10 additional Cup races throughout the 36-race schedule, piloting between the No. 33 RCR Chevrolet SS and the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet SS. He also made two starts in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS as an interim competitor for three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart, who suffered a broken right leg following a sprint car accident at Iowa in August and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season. Throughout the 11-race schedule, Dillon’s best Cup results were a pair of 11th-place finishes in both Michigan International Speedway scheduled events (June and August). At Talladega Superspeedway in October, Dillon, who was driving the No. 14 SHR Chevrolet, was running in third place on the final lap and was primed at a run for the win until slipping sideways in front of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., spinning in the middle of the backstretch and being t-boned by Casey Mears that sent Dillon’s car airborne before landing on all four wheels. Despite the accident, Dillon, who survived, nursed the car back to the garage and in 26th place. 

    A month after the 2013 NASCAR season concluded, where Dillon achieved his first Xfinity Series championship despite going winless, RCR promoted Dillon as the driver of the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet SS for the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series season. The 2014 season marked the return of the No. 3 in the Cup Series since the 2001 Daytona 500, where the late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. died after an accident on the final lap.

    In Dillon’s first run in the No. 3 car in the Cup circuit, he won the pole position for the Daytona 500, thus becoming the fifth rookie competitor to achieve the 500 pole and the fourth overall to do so in the No. 3 car. Despite finishing ninth, Dillon went on to achieve one top-five result and three additional top-10 result throughout the 36-race schedule before finishing in 20th place in his rookie Cup season and missing out on the Rookie-of-the-Year title to Kyle Larson.

    Dillon’s sophomore Cup season, 2015, was overshadowed by a harrowing last-lap accident at Daytona International Speedway in July, where Dillon hit the spinning Toyota Camry of Denny Hamlin across the finish line at the tri-oval, launched over a handful of cars and smashed into the catchfence while upside down. After coming to rest on his roof, his battered No. 3 Chevrolet was then hit by a spinning Brad Keselowski before coming to a full stop on the roof. With several crew members running across the track to aid to Dillon, Dillon was able to exit the carnage uninjured, where he was diagnosed with a broken tailbone and a bruised forearm. In the midst of the incident, Dillon managed to finish in seventh place, which was one of five total top-10 results he achieved throughout the 2015 Cup season. Managing a season-best result of fourth place at Michigan International Speedway in August, Dillon was unable to make the Playoffs as he finished in 21st place in the final standings.

    The 2016 Cup season was one of Dillon’s consistent seasons to date, where he earned two poles, four top-five results, 13 top-10 results and a career-best average-finishing result of 15.9, throughout the 36-race schedule. He also made the Playoffs for the first time in his career and advanced into the second round of the Playoffs before his title hopes came to an end prior to the penultimate round, where he was beaten by Hamlin in a tie-breaker for the final spot to the third round. Nonetheless, Dillon settled in 14th place in the final standings. By then, Dillon surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Commencing the 2017 Cup season in 19th place in the Daytona 500, Dillon achieved his first NASCAR Cup Series career victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May after he overtook Jimmie Johnson when Johnson ran out of fuel with two laps remaining before fending off Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. at the finish line. With his first Cup career victory, Dillon returned the iconic No. 3 to Victory Lane in the Cup circuit since Dale Earnhardt won at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2000. He also became the seventh different competitor to achieve a first Cup win in the Coke 600. Dillon went on to achieve a total of three top-five results and four top-10 results throughout the season before making the Playoffs and settling in a career-best 11th-place result in the final standings.

    Dillon opened the 2018 Cup season on a high note by winning the 60th annual Daytona 500 in February and claiming his second Cup career victory after he turned Aric Almirola on the final lap and muscled away from the field entering the frontstretch. The victory made Dillon the 38th different competitor to achieve a victory in the 500 as he also recorded the third 500 win for Richard Childress Racing and the first for the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt won his first and only Daytona 500 title in 1998 following a 20-year effort. To go along with a total of two top-five results and eight top-10 results, Dillon made the Playoffs, but was eliminated from title contention following the first round. He went on to finish in 13th place in the final standings. By then, he was nearing 200 Cup career starts.

    Coming off a disappointing 2019 Cup season, where he earned a total of six top-10 results and finished 21st in the final standings despite winning three poles, Dillon, who earned four top-10 results through the first 17 events of the 2020 season, achieved his third Cup career victory at Texas Motor Speedway in July following a late two-tire strategic pit stop and a battle with teammate Tyler Reddick. Despite being absent for the inaugural Cup event at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course due to a positive COVID-19 test in August, Dillon qualified for the Playoffs for the fourth time in his Cup career. Despite being eliminated from title contention following the second round, he went on to finish in 11th place in the final standings and cap the season with four top-five results and nine top-10 results.

    This season, Dillon, who won the second of two Bluegreen Vacations Duel events at Daytona in February following a final lap, slingshot move on Bubba Wallace approaching the tri-oval, has recorded one top-five result and eight top-10 results, with his best on-track result occurring in the Daytona 500. Though he did not make the 2021 Cup Playoffs, he is currently ranked in 17th-place in the standings, the highest-ranked position for the remaining competitors whom did not make the Playoffs.

    Through 299 previous Cup starts, Dillon has accumulated three career victories, six poles, 16 top-five results, 57 top-10 results, 333 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.8 with his best points result being 11th (2017 and 2020).

    Dillon is primed to make his 300th Cup career start at Phoenix Raceway, host of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship event, on Sunday, November 7. The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished third at Phoenix and maintained his lead in the points standings.

    “It was a good day for the No. 11 Toyota,” Hamlin said. “So I’m happy. I would have been happier if Bubba Wallace Jr. had held on to a top 10. We think Bubba’s gonna be great. How can he not with me and Michael Jordan mentoring him on the things we know best? It’s perfect—I talk to Bubba about racing and Michael talks to him about championships.”

    2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started on the pole and finished fourth at Phoenix, posting his third top-five of the year.

    “Unfortunately,” Keselowski said, “we had two missing/loose lugnuts in post-race inspection. I’m not saying we’re looking for an advantage, but if you’re gonna ‘cut corners,’ the Phoenix track layout is the place to do it.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex pulled away late and won the Instacart 500 at Phoenix, ending a 29-race winless streak.

    “It’s good to be back in Victory Lane,” Truex said. “I’d forgotten what it looked like there, and asking Kyle Busch to describe it was a waste of time.”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano led a race-high 143 laps at Phoenix and finished second.

    “It was about one year ago that the COVID-19 outbreak shut down our sport,” Logano said. “It’s times like those that make you take stock and be thankful you’re alive. It was the same feeling I got after being confronted by an angry Ryan Newman.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth at Phoenix.

    “Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer had a memorable feud at Phoenix back in 2012,” Harvick said. “I think they probably would have thrown hands had an army of crew members not stepped in between them. So, much like Sunday’s race at Phoenix, nothing happened then either.”

    6. Kyle Larson: Larson started at the rear after failing inspection but worked his way back to the front for a seventh-place finish.

    “I failed two inspections,” Larson said. “As you know, NASCAR inspections are pretty routine, monotonous, and boring. That being said, both of mine were more exciting than the race itself.”

    7. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished fifth at Phoenix, recording his second top-five result of the year.

    “I started from the rear due to unapproved adjustments,” Elliott said. “For those of you not familiar with it, ‘starting from the rear’ is another term for ‘qualifying is virtually meaningless in NASCAR.’”

    8. Christopher Bell: Bell finished ninth at Phoenix.

    “Actor Jason Biggs served as Grand Marshal for the race,” Bell said. “His ‘start your engines’ command was awesome. And boy, did he put ‘everything into it,’ much like he did to that pie in the movie ‘American Pie.’”

    9. William Byron: Byron came home eighth in the Instacart 500 as Hendrick Motorsports placed three cars in the top 10.

    “Trucks series driver Stewart Friesen and his wife Jessica will be racing in the same race at Bristol on March 26th,” Byron said. “In a perfect world, the two will make contact and wreck each other, allowing a witty race reporter to ask one of them, ‘How did you two meet?’”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 25th at Phoenix, his day sidetracked by a number of problems.

    “Let’s see,” Busch said. “To start with, I had a penalty for an uncontrolled tire. Then, I got spun into the wall by Ross Chastain. And there was more. It was a run of bad luck matched only by my run of expletives I uttered on my radio.”

  • Truex snaps winless drought, records first Cup victory of 2021 at Phoenix

    Truex snaps winless drought, records first Cup victory of 2021 at Phoenix

    The 29-race winless drought for Martin Truex Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota team came to an end under the afternoon sun in the desert state of Phoenix, Arizona, after the 40-year-old veteran from Mayetta, New Jersey, rallied from an early scrape in the wall to prevail on a restart with 25 laps remaining and over Joey Logano to win the Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 14. 

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Brad Keselowski started on pole position. Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was due to start on the front row with Keselowski, but ended up dropping to the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice. As a result, Christopher Bell moved up to the front row.

    Along with Larson, teammate William Byron and Cody Ware dropped to the rear of the field due to their respective machines also failing pre-race inspection twice. Chase Elliott and Quin Houff also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments along with Garrett Smithley, his case due to a driver change.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Keselowski was able to jump ahead with a strong lead, even as he went low through the dogleg and entering Turn 1, followed by Denny Hamlin, who overtook teammate Christopher Bell for the runner-up spot. 

    Following the first lap, Keselowski was the leader followed by four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota competitors led by Hamlin. The following lap, however, Hamlin was able to move his No. 11 Offerpad Toyota Camry into the lead.

    By the fifth lap, Hamlin was ahead by more than half a second over Keselowski, who was soon overtaken by Bell for the runner-up spot. Truex remained in fourth place ahead of teammate Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney. 

    Five laps later and through the first 10 laps of the event, Hamlin stabilized his lead by half a second over teammate Bell while Keselowski, Truex and Blaney were in the top five. Kyle Busch fell back to sixth followed by brother Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto.

    The following lap, Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry made contact with the outside wall exiting Turn 1 and entering the backstretch, which allowed Blaney to overtake him for fourth place. 

    By Lap 20, Hamlin extended his advantage to more than a second over Bell’s No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry while Team Penske’s Keselowski, Blaney and Logano were in the top five. Truex remained in sixth place while the Busch brothers battled for seventh place. Stenhouse was in ninth followed by DiBenedetto while Kevin Harvick was in 11th. 

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Hamlin remained in the lead followed by Keselowski, teammate Blaney, Bell and Logano. Kurt Busch and Stenhouse were in sixth and seventh while Truex fell back to eighth. Harvick was in ninth while Kyle Busch dropped back to 10th in front of DiBenedetto. By then, Kyle Larson was in 14th behind Austin Dillon and teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott were in 20th  and 21st behind teammate Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace, who was making his 250th NASCAR national touring series career start.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Keselowski exited pit road with the lead over Bell, Blaney, Harvick, Hamlin and Truex. Following the pit stops, Larson was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. 

    The race restarted on Lap 36 with Keselowski and Bell on the front row. At the start, Keselowski retained the lead followed by teammate Blaney. Bell dropped back to third followed by teammate Hamlin and Logano.

    On Lap 44, Blaney emerged with the lead after overtaking teammate Keselowski through the backstretch and coming back to the start/finish line. By then, Bell was still in third followed by Logano, Hamlin and Harvick.

    Shortly after, the caution returned when Bowman, who checked up behind Ross Chastain and made contact with him, was hit by Austin Dillon and spun as his No. 48 Ally/Best Friends Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE made light contact with the outside wall in Turn 1. The accordion effect nearly collected Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Corey LaJoie and rookie Chase Briscoe. 

    Under caution, some like Kyle Busch, Byron, DiBenedetto, Chastain, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell, Elliott, Larson, Bowman, Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Justin Haley and rookie Anthony Alfredo pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track. During the pit stops, Austin Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The race restarted on Lap 50 with teammates Blaney and Keselowski on the front row. At the start, Blaney utilized the dogleg to remain in the lead. Teammate Keselowski, racing in his No. 2 Wurth Ford Mustang, remained in second while teammate Logano battled Bell for third in front of Hamlin. 

    By Lap 60, the three Penske competitors were out in front led by Blaney. Behind, Hamlin was in fourth while Chase Elliott, racing on fresh tires in his No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, moved up to fifth ahead of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Stanley Toyota Camry. Bell fell back to seventh in front of Harvick while Byron, another competitor on fresh tires, was in ninth ahead of DiBenedetto, Kurt Busch, Truex, Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Tyler Reddick. 

    Ten laps later and through the first 70 laps of the event, Blaney’s No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang continued to lead by nearly three-tenths of a second over teammate Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Keselowski, meanwhile, was pressured by Hamlin for third place as Elliott joined the battle. Kyle Busch, Harvick, Byron, teammate Larson and DiBenedetto were in the top 10 while Bell fell back to 11th.

    With the laps in the first stage closing, the battle for the lead heated up as Blaney came under fire from teammates Logano and Keselowski with Hamlin and Elliott scrambling in the battle. Despite nearly losing the lead to teammate Logano, Blaney was able to hold on ahead of a five-car battle and claim the first stage victory on Lap 75. In claiming his first stage victory of this season, Blaney also became the seventh different competitor to record a stage victory through the first five Cup events of the 2021 season. Logano settled in second followed by teammate Keselowski, Hamlin and Elliott. Kyle Busch settled in sixth followed by Harvick, Byron, teammate Larson and DiBenedetto. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Logano emerged with the lead after exiting pit road with the top spot followed by teammate Blaney Hamlin, Elliott, Keselowski and Larson.

    The second stage started on Lap 83 with teammates Logano and Blaney on the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out through the dogleg, Logano retained the lead followed by Blaney while Elliott muscled his way into third place entering the backstretch. Keselowski and Hamlin battled for fourth followed by Larson and Harvick. Behind, Byron and DiBenedetto battled for eighth as Kyle Busch joined the battle. 

    Six laps later, the caution returned for an on-track accident involving Cody Ware and rookie Anthony Alfredo, who wrecked into the Turn 2 outside wall following contact from Ware and sustained heavy damage to his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang.

    Under caution, some like Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Cole Custer, McDowell, Preece, Haley and James Davison pitted while the rest led by Logano remained on the track.

    Following an extensive caution as a result of Alfredo’s incident, the race resumed under green on Lap 98 with teammates Logano and Blaney remaining on the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out through the dogleg again, Logano retained the lead followed by teammates Blaney and Keselowski while Hamlin was in fourth ahead of Elliott, Kyle Busch and Byron.

    Two laps later and through the Lap 100 mark, Logano was scored the leader followed by teammate Blaney and Keselowski. Elliott overtook Hamlin for fourth and went to work on Keselowski for more. Teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch were in fifth and sixth while Larson moved up to seventh ahead of teammate Byron. Bell and Harvick were in the top 10. 

    By Lap 110, Logano continued to lead by more than half a second over teammate Blaney while Elliott settled in third. Keselowski was in fourth while Larson, racing in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, prevailed over a battle with Hamlin to move into the top five.

    By Lap 120, Logano extended his advantage to less than two seconds over teammate Blaney. Elliott retained third place while teammate Larson moved into fourth place. Keselowski was back in fifth ahead of Hamlin, Harvick, Kyle Busch, teammate Truex and Byron. 

    Not long after, Larson continued to flex his muscles after overtaking teammate Elliott for third place. By then, he was less than four seconds behind race leader Logano. In addition, Keselowski started to close in on Elliott for position along with Hamlin.

    By Lap 130, Logano was leading by more than three seconds over Larson, who earlier overtook Blaney for the runner-up spot. Keselowski moved up to fourth followed by Hamlin while Elliott fell back to sixth. Truex started to close in on Elliott for the sixth spot while Harvick, Byron and Aric Almirola were in the top 10. Bell and teammate Kyle Busch were in 11th and 12th followed by DiBenedetto, Briscoe, Bowman and Wallace. Kurt Busch was mired in 17th followed by Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones and Stenhouse.

    Nearing the Lap 140 mark, pit stops under green started to occur as Keselowski pitted followed by Harvick, Elliott, Logano, teammate Blaney, Kurt Busch, Bowman, Stenhouse, Truex, Byron, Almirola, Erik Jones, Buescher, Cole Custer, Hamlin, teammate Bell, teammate Kyle Busch, Larson and Briscoe. Following the pit stops, Larson was busted with a second pit road speeding penalty. Kyle Busch was also penalized due to an uncontrolled tire violation.

    By Lap 150 and with most of the leaders completing pit stops under green, Corey LaJoie, who has yet to pit, was scored the leader. Logano was in second followed by teammate Blaney, Truex, Keselowski and Hamlin. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 156, Logano reassumed the lead from LaJoie. Blaney, Truex and Keselowski were in the top five followed by Hamlin, Harvick, Byron, teammate Elliott and Bell. By then, Larson was back in 22nd, still on the lead lap and in front of Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace, while Kyle Busch was in 30th, the sixth car scored a lap behind the leaders.   

    Through the first 175 laps of the event, Logano stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Truex. Teammates Blaney and Keselowski were in third and fourth followed by Hamlin. Harvick was in sixth while Byron, teammate Elliott, Almirola and Bell were in the top 10. By then, Larson was back in 17th and still on the lead lap while Kyle Busch was in 28th, the sixth car scored a lap down. Meanwhile, LaJoie, still on the track on old tires but with enough fuel to complete the second stage, was scored in the top 15.

    With the laps in the second stage closing, Logano continued to lead by approximately two seconds over Truex while Hamlin and Blaney battled for third place. Keselowski stabilized himself in fifth place followed by Harvick, Byron, teammate Elliott, Almirola and Bell. 

    While Truex was able to decrease his deficit to Logano to, Logano was able to retain the lead and navigate his way through lapped traffic to claim the Stage 2 victory on Lap 190. In claiming his first stage victory of the season, Logano also became the eighth different competitor to record a stage victory through the first five events of the 2021 Cup season. Hamlin was scored in third place behind teammate Truex while Keselowski managed to overtake teammate Blaney for fourth place. Harvick, Byron, Almirola, Elliott and Bell were scored in the top 10. By then, Larson moved back up to 13th ahead of Kurt Busch while Kyle Busch was in 27th, two laps behind.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Logano retained the lead after exiting pit road in first followed by Hamlin, Truex, Blaney, Keselowski and Harvick. Following the pit stops under caution, Almirola, Elliott and Ross Chastain were penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 113 laps remaining, the final stage commenced with Logano and Hamlin on the front row. At the start, Logano nearly got turned after being bumped by Truex, but he retained the lead through the dogleg and entering Turn 1. Behind, Hamlin and Keselowski battled for the runner-up spot through the backstretch while Blaney retained fourth ahead of Harvick, Byron and Truex. Behind, Larson moved up to eighth followed by Erik Jones and Stenhouse. 

    With 110 laps remaining, Logano was ahead by nearly six-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by teammates Blaney and Keselowski with Truex moving back into fifth over Byron. By then, Larson moved up to seventh over Bell, Harvick and Stenhouse. Meanwhile, Wallace was in 11th ahead of Jones and Kurt Busch.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Logano was leading by approximately a second over Hamlin. Blaney, Truex and Keselowski stabilized themselves in the top five followed by Byron, racing in his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Larson was in seventh followed by Harvick, Bell and Stenhouse. Behind, Wallace, Jones, Briscoe, Kurt Busch and Bowman were running in the top 15. Almirola and Elliott, following their late pit road penalties, were in 18th and 20th while Kyle Busch was mired back in 24th, a lap behind.

    With 88 laps remaining, Truex gained a huge run entering the backstretch to emerge as the new leader over Logano. As Hamlin remained in third followed by Keselowski, Larson fought his way back into the top five after passing Blaney. 

    Eight laps later and with 80 laps remaining, Truex was leading by more than a second over Logano. Hamlin, Keselowski and Larson remained in the top five followed by Blaney, Harvick, Bell, Byron and Bubba Wallace, who overtook Stenhouse for position.

    Down to the final 70 laps of the event, Truex extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Logano, who also had Hamlin starting to close in on him for the runner-up spot. Keselowski was still in fourth, trailing by less than five seconds, while Larson remained in fifth, trailing by more than five seconds. Blaney and Bell battled for sixth followed by Harvick, Wallace and Byron.

    Under the final 65 laps of the event, Byron made a pit stop under green. By then, Truex stretched his advantage to more than five seconds over teammate Hamlin, thus dropping Logano to third. Keselowski, Larson and Bell were in fourth, fifth and sixth while Wallace continued to his impressive run to the front as he was scored in seventh. 

    Shortly after, Logano and Larson pitted under green. Blaney soon pitted along with Keselowski, Elliott, Bell, Almirola, Wallace, Reddick, Ryan Newman, leader Truex and others.

    With 55 laps remaining and the leaders completing service under green, Truex was back out in front by nearly two seconds over Larson. Hamlin was in third followed by teammates Logano and Keselowski. Bell and Harvick were in sixth and seventh followed by Blaney, Byron and Wallace. 

    Behind, Kyle Busch, racing on old tires, made contact with the outside wall while scored in 14th. Despite the incident, the race remained under green as Busch pitted for fresh tires and dropped out of the lead lap category. 

    With 50 laps remaining, the caution flew when Reddick made contact with the outside wall in Turn 2 after cutting a right-front tire.

    Under caution, nearly all of the leaders returned to pit road and Logano muscled his way back into the lead following a stellar service from his No. 22 pit crew. Truex exited in second place followed by Truex, Keselowski, Larson and Hamlin. On track, though, Wallace did not pit for fresh tires and emerged as the leader. Following the pit stops, Briscoe was busted with a pit road speeding penalty.

    With 44 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Wallace and Logano on the front row. At the start, Wallace and Logano made contact as the field fanned out to three lanes through the dogleg. Through Turn 1, Keselowski managed to prevail in a three-wide battle to take the lead followed by teammate Logano. Wallace remained in third followed by Truex while Larson, Hamlin and Byron battled for fifth. 

    With 40 laps remaining, teammates Keselowski and Logano battled for the lead while Truex trailed by more than a second. Truex, Larson and Hamlin were in the top five while Wallace was trying to hang on in sixth while battling Hamlin and Harvick.

    Two laps later, Logano used the infield dogleg on the frontstretch to reassume the lead over teammate Keselowski. 

    With 31 laps remaining, Logano extended his advantage to over a second over teammate Keselowski and Truex. Just as Truex was able to take over the runner-up spot, the caution returned the following lap when teammate Kyle Busch, the first competitor scored a lap down, spun across the start/finish line after receiving a tap from Ross Chastain. At the time of caution, Wallace had fallen back to 16th on old tires. 

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Logano retained the lead following another stellar pit stop followed by Truex, teammate Hamlin, Keselowski, Larson and Harvick.

    With 25 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Logano and Truex on the front row. At the start, Logano went super low through the dogleg, Truex remained on the outside lane and the field fanned out to multiple lanes.

    Back to the start/finish line, Truex reassumed the lead over Logano followed by Hamlin, who was locked in a battle with Keselowski and Larson. Teammate Elliott was back up in sixth followed by Almirola, Byron, Harvick and Bell. 

    With 20 laps remaining, Truex was leading by nearly half a second over Logano while Hamlin and Keselowski were in third and fourth. Teammates Larson and Elliott battled for fifth in front of their other teammate William Byron. Harvick was in eighth followed by teammate Almirola and Bell. Blaney was in 11th in front of Bowman, Kurt Busch was in 14th and Wallace was in 17th in between Cole Custer and Austin Dillon.

    Five laps later, Truex extended his advantage to a second over Logano with Hamlin trailing behind. Keselowski was locked in a battle with Larson for fourth while Elliott settled in sixth. Harvick, meanwhile, overtook Byron for seventh while Bell and Blaney were in the top 10. Earlier, Custer made a pit stop under green after making contact with the wall with help from Wallace.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Truex remained in the lead by more than a second over Logano. Hamlin settled in third, nearly two seconds behind, followed by Keselowski. Elliott, meanwhile, managed to move into the top five while Larson was locked in a battle with Harvick for sixth place. 

    With five laps remaining, Truex continued to lead by more than a second over Logano with Hamlin trailing by two seconds. By then, Harvick prevailed over Larson for sixth place while Keselowski and Elliott remained in the top five. 

    Utilizing the final laps to his favor in cruise control and with a respectable lead of over a second over Logano, Truex was able to take the white flag, navigate his No. 19 Toyota Camry through the circuit smoothly for a final time and come back around to claim his first checkered flag of the season and become the fifth different winner through the first five Cup races of the 2021 season. 

    The victory was Truex’s 28th of his Cup career, moving him to a tie with Carl Edwards and Rex White for 28th place on the all-time Cup wins list, and first at Phoenix as he also claimed his first Cup victory since June 2020 at Martinsville Speedway. In addition, crew chief James Small claimed his second career victory while Joe Gibbs Racing claimed Cup career win No. 187.

    “Just an awesome job by everybody, James [Small], [car chief] Blake [Harris] and all the pit crew guys fixing it,” Truex said on FOX. “Really solid. I thought at the beginning of the race, we were gonna run 15th or so. Man, I can’t really believe it, I’m speechless. This feels pretty amazing. Phoenix has been a tough one for us and to come here and win this, I wish it was November, but hopefully we can come back here in November and have a shot at being in the Final Four. Man, just so thankful and so proud of everybody at JGR and everybody who makes this possible.”

    Logano settled in second place for the second time this early in the season while Hamlin finished third and claimed his fourth top-five result through the first five events of this season.

    “All of the above, just a little bit everywhere is where it seemed [Truex] beat us,” Logano said on MRN. “Once they got [Truex] tuned in, he was the fastest car on the racetrack. We did a good job maximizing our day with our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. We were a second-place car and finished second, won a stage and second in the other stage, so a lot of points. I hate finishing second, though. It really stinks, but, overall, this has been a good racetrack for us. The last few times we’ve been here is first, third and second, so we’re all over it, just needed that last run not to have a caution. I think we were in a pretty good spot to maybe run that thing out, but, overall, that was where we had it.”

    “Yeah, I think we are happy with [the finish],” Hamlin said. “Obviously, we want to win with our Offerpad Toyota but certainly the short tracks is something we want to put a lot of emphasis on this year. We just didn’t have the results on the short tracks that we wanted last year, but getting the first short track win here for JGR – 1, 3 is a good sign that we worked on the right things and we are headed in the right direction.”

    Keselowski finished fourth for his third top-five result in four races while Elliott rounded out the top five at Phoenix, which marked his best result since finishing in second place in this year’s Daytona 500. Harvick, Larson, teammate Byron, Bell and Blaney completed the top 10 on the track.

    Almirola rallied from his slow start to the season by finishing 11th followed by Stenhouse, Bowman, DiBenedetto and Kurt Busch. Wallace posted a 16th-place result in front of Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez finished 20th and 21st, rookie Chase Briscoe finished 22nd in front of Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch ended his long afternoon in 25th.

    There were 22 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 45 laps. 

    Denny Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings 39 points over Brad Keselowski, 44 over Logano, 56 over Truex, 57 over Larson and Elliott and 60 over Harvick. 

    Results.

    1. Martin Truex Jr., 64 laps led

    2. Joey Logano, 143 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Denny Hamlin, 33 laps led

    4. Brad Keselowski, 19 laps led

    5. Chase Elliott

    6. Kevin Harvick

    7. Kyle Larson, one lap led

    8. William Byron

    9. Christopher Bell

    10. Ryan Blaney, 35 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    11. Aric Almirola

    12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap led

    13. Alex Bowman

    14. Matt DiBenedetto

    15. Kurt Busch

    16. Bubba Wallace, four laps led

    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, one lap down

    26. Ryan Preece, one lap down

    27. Corey LaJoie, one lap down, 12 laps led

    28. Ryan Newman, one lap down

    29. Tyler Reddick, two laps down

    30. B.J. McLeod, three laps down

    31. Cole Custer, four laps down

    32. Quin Houff, seven laps down

    33. James Davison, nine laps down

    34. Garrett Smithley, 12 laps down

    35. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Power steering

    36. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

    37. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

    38. Timmy Hill – OUT, Engine

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return to the south to compete at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the first of two visits to the track for the series this season, on Sunday, March 21. The event is slated to occur at 3 p.m. on FOX.

  • Cindric nabs his second win of the season at Phoenix Raceway

    Cindric nabs his second win of the season at Phoenix Raceway

    One driver was better than the rest Saturday during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Before You Dig 200 presented by Arizona 811 and that was Austin Cindric in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    He spent most of the race up in the front and led the most important lap, the last one. It was a battle for the lead and it bit some drivers, but it was Cindric bringing home the trophy.

    Cindric stated, “I think it was a role reversal from the last time we were here. He (Justin Allgaier ) obviously got a good restart and stuck on top of three there fighting for track position. I came away with a win here with Carshop Ford Mustang.” He added, “It’s awesome to have them on board for this season, keep pink and white colors in Victory Lane.”

    Coming in second with another great run was Ty Gibbs in his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Ford. Having a great finish in third was Brandon Brown in his No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Stage 1:

    Stage 1 was rather uneventful with no actual cautions. However, on the last lap, Josh Berry had issues and Jesse Little smacked into the wall, but the stage was already over. Cindric would win this stage.

    Stage 2:

    Stage 2 had a couple of incidents that pretty much involved only one car such as Dexter Bean hitting the wall and Noah Gragson, who had a fire underneath his car. Daneil Hemric won the stage.

    Stage 3:

    Stage 3 is where chaos would hit but again in mostly one car incidents. Harrison Burton spun and then Brett Moffitt spun. Brandon Jones hit the wall and Alex Labbe also spun. One thing never changed though and that was the leader. The last lap had cars bouncing off the wall and each other, but Cindric made it through with no issues after battling with Ty Gibbs who finished second.

    Brandon Brown, Riley Herbst and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top five. Jeb Burton, Bayley Currey, Justin Allgaier, Brett Moffitt and Jeremy Clements finished sixth through 10, respectively.

    In the NASCAR Series standings, Cindric leads with 248 points, Hemric is second with 201 points, in third is Jeb Burton with 172 points, in fourth is Allmendinger with 162 points, and rounding out the top five is Harrison Burton with 162 points.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series head next to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sat., March 20.

  • Annett to make 300th Xfinity start at Phoenix

    Annett to make 300th Xfinity start at Phoenix

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Michael Annett, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Phoenix Raceway, Annett will achieve 300 starts in the Xfinity circuit.

    A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Annett made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the 2008 season-finale event at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. Driving the No. 03 Toyota Camry for Germain Racing, Annett started 29th and finished 36th in his series debut.

    The following season, Annett entered the Xfinity Series as a full-time competitor in Germain Racing’s No. 15 Toyota Camry and as a rookie contender. Throughout the 35-race schedule, Annett achieved a season-best sixth-place result at Auto Club Speedway in October, a total of four top-10 results and a 10th-place result in the final standings.

    Throughout the 2010 season, Annett only managed two top-10 results (ninth at Nashville Superspeedway in April and seventh at Iowa Speedway in July) and a 13th-place result in the final standings. 

    After two seasons with Germain Racing, Annett joined forces with Rusty Wallace Racing for the 2011 season as he piloted the No. 62 Toyota Camry. Throughout the 34-race schedule, Annett achieved two season-best sixth-place results, a total of seven top-10 results and a ninth-place result in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in the Xfinity Series.

    When Rusty Wallace Racing shut down due to a lack of sponsorship, Annett joined Richard Petty Motorsports and drove the iconic No. 43 Ford Mustang. While Annett did not record a single victory throughout the season, he achieved his first six top-five career results, including a pair of career-best third-place results (Daytona International Speedway in July and Dover International Speedway in September). He also took home the Dash 4 Cash bonus following a sixth-place result at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and a total of 17 top-10 results. When the 2012 Xfinity season concluded, he ended up in a career-best fifth place in the final standings.

    During the 2013 Xfinity Series season-opening event at Daytona, Annett was involved in a late multi-car accident and ended up dislocating and fracturing his sternum. He ended up missing the following eight Xfinity events as he recovered while Aric Almirola and Reed Sorenson filled in as interim competitors. Returning for the final 24 events of the 2013 season, Annett managed to earn a season-best fifth-place result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, a total of four top-10 results and a 15th-place result in the final standings.

    After spending the following three seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he competed for Tommy Baldwin Racing and HScott Motorsports, Annett returned to the Xfinity Series as he teamed up with JR Motorsports as driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro. Throughout the 2017 season, Annett notched a career-best runner-up result at Road America in August. He also achieved a total of seven top-10 results and qualified for the Playoffs based on points before settling in ninth place in the final standings.

    Returning for a second full-time season with JRM in the Xfinity Series, Annett struggled with on-track consistency as he only managed a total of three top-10 results throughout the 33-race schedule, including a season-best seventh-place result at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. He ended up missing the Playoffs and finishing in 14th place in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 200 Xfinity career starts.

    Despite the struggles from the previous season, Annett remained at JRM for a third full-time season in the Xfinity Series. Only this time, he sported the number 1 alongside his Chevrolet Camaro. In his first race in the No. 1 car, Annett claimed his first elusive victory in NASCAR in the season-opening event at Daytona after leading a race-high 45 of 120 laps and holding off teammate Justin Allgaier in the final laps. Annett’s first career victory in the Xfinity circuit came in career start No. 230.

    Along with his maiden victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the 2019 season was a successful one for Annett, who went on to achieve a total of six top-five results and 19 top-10 results. He also made the Playoffs for the second time in three seasons and remained in title contention through the Round of 8, where he was eliminated prior to the finale. Nonetheless, he concluded the season in ninth place in the final standings.

    Annett opened the 2020 Xfinity season with an 11th-place result in the season-opening event at Daytona after being involved in a multi-car wreck on the final lap. While he did not record a single victory throughout the season, he achieved four top-five results and a career-high 22 top-10 results. He made the Playoffs for the third time in four seasons, but was eliminated from title contention early. He settled in ninth place in the final standings for a second consecutive season and for the third time in four seasons.

    This season, which marks his fifth with JRM, Annett has recorded results of 36th, 15th, 13th and sixth through the first four Xfinity scheduled races. He and his No. 1 JRM Chevrolet team are ranked in 11th place in the regular-season standings.

    Through 299 previous starts in the Xfinity level, Annett has achieved a victory, a pole, 18 top-five results, 86 top-10 results and an average result of 15.8.

    Catch Annett’s milestone start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 13, at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Ty Gibbs’ full 2021 Xfinity schedule revealed

    Ty Gibbs’ full 2021 Xfinity schedule revealed

    Coming off an historic debut and victory at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Ty Gibbs will return for an additional 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series races throughout the 2021 season for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    The 18-year-old grandson of NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner, Joe Gibbs, from Charlotte, North Carolina, will make his second career start in the Xfinity circuit at Phoenix Raceway on March 13.

    He will then compete at Martinsville Speedway on April 9 followed by Darlington Raceway on May 8, Dover International Speedway on May 15, Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 5, Pocono Raceway on June 27, Road America on July 3, Watkins Glen International on August 7, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on August 14, Michigan International Speedway on August 21 and at Richmond Raceway on September 11. During the 2021 Xfinity Series Playoffs, he will also compete at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on October 9 and at Kansas Speedway on October 23.

    JGR took to social media to reveal the announcement and Ty Gibbs’ schedule.

    With Gibbs’ full part-time Xfinity schedule revealed, he will also continue to pilot Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra led by crew chief Chris Gayle.

    Gibbs made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut last weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, where he led 14 laps and outlasted the field through two overtime attempts to record his first victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series. By winning at Daytona in his debut, he became the sixth competitor to win in their series debut but the first to do so without a prior Cup start. He also became the 165 different competitor to record an Xfinity Series win and the 18th to do so while driving for his grandfather’s organization.

    In addition to a part-time Xfinity schedule, Gibbs currently competes as a full-time competitor in the ARCA Menards Series for JGR and in the No. 18 Toyota Camry led by crew chief Mark McFarland.

    With Gibbs’ next event on the schedule at Phoenix in March, Ty Dillon will return for the following two NASCAR Xfinity Series races with JGR at Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 27 and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6.

  • Elliott wins 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix

    Elliott wins 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix

    One for the ages on a cloudy afternoon in the desert state of Arizona.

    Nine months after the start of what would be a bizarre season of racing and on a day where a number of icons led by Jimmie Johnson made their final full-time starts in NASCAR’s premier series, Chase Elliott etched his name as a NASCAR Cup Series champion.

    The Dawsonville, Georgia, native, who started at the rear of the field and methodically worked his way to the front, led seven times for a race-high 153 of 312 laps, took the lead for the final time with 42 laps remaining and pulled away from title rivals Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano to claim his first title by winning the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway as he also claimed his fifth victory of the season and the 11th of his Cup career. Above all, Elliott was able to come back around and celebrate as the 2020 Cup Series champion.

    The starting lineup was based on four stats: current owner’s standings, driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, the four championship finale contenders started first through fourth led by pole-sitter Chase Elliott and followed by Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin.

    Prior to the race, however, Elliott started at the rear of the field due to his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE failing pre-race inspection twice. Brennan Poole also dropped to the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice.

    Moments before the race started and during the pace laps, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson moved to the front of the grid as he received a final salute from the fans and the NASCAR community before he moved back to start in 26th place.

    When the final race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced under green, Logano, who started at the front, jumped ahead with the lead and was followed by teammate Keselowski, Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch as the field battled early for positions through the dogleg turn and entering Turns 1 and 2. The early start for Logano was enough for him to lead the first lap of the race.

    The following lap, Keselowski and Hamlin battled dead even for the runner-up spot and in front of Blaney and Kurt Busch. Alex Bowman was in sixth followed by Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, teammate Aric Almirola and Matt DiBenedetto. Elliott, meanwhile, was in 31st after starting at the rear of the field.

    By the fifth lap, Logano was leading by nearly a second over teammate Keselowski while Hamlin was in third ahead of Blaney, Kurt Busch, Bowman and Kyle Busch. By then, Elliott moved up to 25th place.

    Following the first 10 laps of the finale, Logano continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Keselowski, who had Hamlin pressuring on him for the runner-up spot. 

    The following lap, Hamlin went wide in Turn 2, which allowed Keselowski to make a crossover move and retain the runner-up spot as teammate Blaney joined the battle. By then, Elliott moved his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the top 20. In addition, Ryan Preece, who made contact with the wall, pitted under green.

    By Lap 15, Logano extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Keselowski, who had Hamlin closing in for position. Blaney and Kurt Busch continued to run in the top five followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, DiBenedetto and Almirola. By then, Elliott made his way into the top 15.

    Five laps later, on Lap 20, Logano stabilized his advantage in the race and in the title battle by more than two seconds over Keselowski with Hamlin still in third and Elliott in 13th behind Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Cole Custer.

    Another five laps later, on Lap 25, Elliott was in 11th place and pressuring Almirola for a spot in the top 10 on the track. By then, Logano was still leading by more than a second and a half over teammate Keselowski and Hamlin, both of whom continued to battle one another for the runner-up spot. 

    Two laps later, Elliott made his way into the top 10 after passing Almirola, though he was more than 10 seconds behind race leader and title contender Logano and his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. 

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Logano was ahead by more than a second over teammate Keselowski and Hamlin, with Blaney and Kurt Busch in the top five. Bowman, DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Bowyer and Elliott were in the top 10. By then, Harvick was in 11th ahead of teammates Cole Custer and Almirola, Jimmie Johnson was in 16th behind Erik Jones and William Byron, Martin Truex Jr. was in 18th in between Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon, Matt Kenseth was in 21st ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Newman and Bubba Wallace was in 24th. Christopher Bell, racing in Leavine Family Racing’s final race in NASCAR, was in 20th while Ty Dillon, racing in Germain Racing’s final race in NASCAR, was in 29th. 

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Logano retained the lead following the first round of pit stops. Hamlin exited in second place followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Bowyer and Blaney. During the pit stops, Keselowski dropped six spots in eighth place following a slow pit stop, where his jack man ran into the tire changer during the service. Elliott exited in 11th place behind Harvick. Following the pit stops, John Hunter Nemechek was assessed a speeding penalty.

    The race restarted under green on Lap 36 with Logano and Hamlin on the front row. At the start, Logano retained the lead after driving through the dogleg turn to block Kyle Busch and entering Turns 1 and 2. Hamlin also retained the runner-up spot while Kyle Busch and Bowman battle for third ahead of Bowyer and Keselowski.

    By Lap 40, Logano was ahead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Bowman while Elliott, who made a bold three-wide move on Keselowski and Kyle Busch for positions earlier, battled Bowyer for additional spots in the top five. 

    A lap later, Elliott moved his No. 9 Chevrolet into fourth place over Bowyer. Another lap later, Keselowski overtook Bowyer and Kyle Busch to move into fifth place with the four final title contenders running in the top five. By then, Logano was still leading by nearly two-tenths of a second over Hamlin with Bowman trailing by two seconds. 

    Three laps later, on Lap 46, Elliott overtook teammate Bowman exiting the backstretch and entering Turn 3 to move into third place as he was three seconds behind title rivals Logano and Hamlin. By then, Keselowski also started to close in on Bowman’s No. 88 Truck Hero/ChevyGoods Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for fourth place.

    By Lap 50, the final four title contenders were running first through fourth on the track, with Logano leading Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry by nearly eight-tenths of a second. Elliott was in third, trailing by more than three seconds, while Keselowski, racing in his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, was in fourth place.

    Behind, Bowman was in fifth followed by Kyle Busch, Blaney, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto. Jimmie Johnson was in 12th in between Erik Jones and Byron while Kenseth was in 21st in between Bell and Bubba Wallace.

    By Lap 60, Logano stabilized his advantage to more than half a second over Hamlin. Behind, Elliott, the fastest car on the circuit, remained in third place, trailing by more than three seconds, while Keselowski remained in fourth place. Meanwhile, Blaney moved into fifth place.

    With five laps remaining in the first stage, the final four title contenders continued to run first through fourth on the track, with Logano leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over Hamlin, Elliott running in third and Keselowski settling in fourth. Blaney was the highest-running non-title contender in fifth while Bowman and Kyle Busch battled for sixth place. Bowyer, making his final start, was in eighth followed by Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto, both of whom were ahead of Johnson.

    Down to the final laps of the first stage and with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, Hamlin started to close in on Logano’s No. 22 Ford for position as he was two-tenths of a second behind. 

    Despite being pressured for the lead, Logano was able to hold off Hamlin and win the first stage on Lap 75 by more than half a second as he collected his seventh stage victory of the 2020 Cup season. Hamlin settled in second followed by Elliott, Keselowski and Blaney while Kyle Busch, Bowman, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto settled in the top 10. By then, Johnson was in 11th and Kenseth was in 24th.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Logano retained the lead over Hamlin following the pit service. Elliott and Keselowski followed behind along with Bowyer, who received a stellar stop from his No. 14 crew to move into the top five. 

    The second stage started on Lap 83 with Logano and Hamlin on the front row followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Bowyer and Blaney. At the start, Logano retained the lead while Kyle Busch made a low dive through the dogleg turn in an effort to move into the top five. 

    Entering Turns 1 and 2 and the backstretch, Hamlin and Elliott battled for second behind Logano while Keselowski was shuffled back to sixth behind Kyle Busch and Bowyer.

    Shortly after, Elliott battled Hamlin for second, but the latter persevered as he went to work on challenging Logano for the lead. Elliott retained third place in front of Kyle Busch and Bowyer while Keselowski went to work on Bowyer for more. Keselowski would eventually take over fifth place and was followed by teammate Blaney, thus dropping Bowyer to seventh.

    By Lap 90, Logano was leading by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who was closing in for the lead, while Elliott was trailing by approximately seven-tenths of a second. Though Logano caught a piece of debris on his front grille not long after, he continued to lead by nearly half a second over Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota with Elliott in third and Keselowski in fifth.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Logano remained in the lead, but he had Hamlin closing in on him in another bid for the lead as the leaders started to catch lapped traffic. By then, Logano used the lapped car of Quin Houff to remove the debris off of his grille. Elliott was in third in front of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry while Keselowski was in fifth ahead of teammate Blaney. Bowyer and Johnson were in seventh and eighth while DiBenedetto and Kurt Busch settled in the top 10 ahead of Erik Jones, Truex, Byron, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Harvick.

    Five laps later, the final four title contenders were running first through fourth on the track, with Logano leading by a narrow margin over Hamlin as Elliott continued to run in third ahead of Keselowski. Blaney overtook Kyle Busch for fifth place while Johnson overtook Bowyer for seventh place. 

    On Lap 110, Logano continued to lead by a narrow margin over Hamlin as he made another bid for the lead in the race and the championship battle while Logano radioed vibrating concerns on his car. 

    Shortly after, Elliott caught the top-two title contenders for the lead as he battled Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Eventually, Elliott prevailed for the runner-up spot, though he, Hamlin and Logano battled for the lead. 

    On Lap 115, Kyle Busch, who was running near the top five, made an unscheduled four-tire pit stop to address a vibrating concern on his No. 18 Toyota.

    Five laps later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Chevrolet into the lead following a hard on-track battle with Logano as Hamlin continued to linger behind the two leaders. Eventually, Hamlin overtook Logano for the runner-up spot with the latter losing ground on the lead. Keselowski, meanwhile, was more than three seconds behind in fourth place. Behind, Blaney was in fifth while Johnson was in sixth.

    On Lap 128, Keselowski surrendered fourth place on the track to pit under green following vibrating concerns. 

    Past the Lap 130 mark, Elliott was leading by nearly a second over Hamlin with Logano, teammate Blaney and Jimmie Johnson in the top five. Bowyer and DiBenedetto battled for sixth while Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron were in the top 10. 

    Nearing the Lap 140 mark, pit stops under green started to occur as Blaney and Bowman pitted. Logano also pitted along with Custer, Harvick, Hamlin and Elliott, the race/title leader.

    Back on the track, Jimmie Johnson, who had yet to pit, assumed the lead followed by DiBenedetto, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Christopher Bell. By then, Bowyer and Byron pitted.

    Three laps later, Johnson surrendered the lead to pit. DiBenedetto, who briefly took the lead, also pitted along with Kurt Busch and Bell while Aric Almirola took the lead over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Keselowski and Elliott.

    By Lap 150 and with most of the leaders having completed a pit stop under green, Almirola was still at the front of the field and by four-tenths of a second over Elliott with Hamlin in third, Keselowski in fourth and Logano in sixth. A lap later, Elliott reassumed the top spot.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 156, the final four title contenders were running first through fourth on the track, with Elliott leading by eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin with Keselowski in third and teammate Logano in fourth. Blaney was in fifth while Almirola, racing on old tires, was in sixth. Johnson was in seventh while Kenseth was mired outside the top 20.

    Just past the Lap 160 mark, the caution flew when James Davison made contact with the outside wall in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch exited in first following a two-tire pit stop. Elliott, the first car on four fresh tires, exited in second place followed by Austin Dillon, who pitted for two fresh tires. Hamlin, Logano and Keselowski exited in fourth through sixth. Following the pit stops, Austin Dillon was assessed a pit road speeding penalty as he dropped to the rear of the field.

    Under caution, Bowman received the free pass while Christopher Bell, Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Nemechek and Stenhouse took the wave around to return to the lead lap.

    With 23 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, a majority of competitors racing on the inside lane made the low dive below the dogleg turn and entering Turns 1 and 2. At the front, Elliott reassumed the lead over Kurt Busch while Hamlin, who slipped entering Turns 1 and 2, fell back to fifth place as teammates Keselowski and Logano overtook him for position. 

    With 20 laps remaining in the second stage, Elliott was ahead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Keselowski while Logano was in third, though he had Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Johnson and Blaney pressuring him for more. 

    Three laps later, Keselowski assumed the lead, though he had Elliott pressuring him for the top spot. Though Elliott ran into the rear end of Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford entering Turns 1 and 2, Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet wiggled, which allowed Keselowski to retain the lead. By then, the final four title contenders were back running first through fourth on the track. 

    With 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Keselowski stretched his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Elliott with third-place Logano trailing by more than a second and fourth-place Hamlin trailing by more than two seconds. Blaney moved into fifth place followed by Johnson while Kurt Busch continued to hold strong on two fresh tires in seventh place. Kyle Busch rallied his way back into eighth place followed by William Byron, DiBenedetto, Harvick and Bowyer.

    Two laps later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Chevrolet into a heated battle for the lead against Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford Mustang. While Elliott led the following lap, Keselowski fought back, but the former prevailed by a narrow margin. By then, Logano was still behind by more than a second while Hamlin was behind by more than two seconds. 

    With three laps remaining in the second stage, the battle for the lead between Elliott and Keselowski continued to intensify as the latter made a charge on the former through the corners. Despite the challenge, Elliott continued to lead by a narrow margin as he also started the final lap of the stage. 

    On the final lap of the second stage, Keselowski gained a run on the backstretch to draw himself dead even beneath Elliott. In Turn 3, he emerged ahead and managed to move up and clear Elliott entering Turn 4 to win the second stage on Lap 190 and claim his eighth stage victory of the season. Logano settled in third followed by Hamlin, who emerged with the most stage victories of this season (11). Blaney was scored in fifth while Johnson, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Byron settled in the top 10. Bowyer was in 11th behind teammate Kevin Harvick while Kenseth, meanwhile, was back in 27th behind Chris Buescher.

    Under the stage break, Ryan Preece’s car, which stalled while trying to enter pit road, was pushed back to the garage. Not long after, the leaders pitted and Elliott reassumed the lead after beating Logano off of pit road in first place following a four-tire stop. Hamlin exited in third place followed by Blaney while Keselowski, who received a slow pit stop, lost four spots and fell back to fifth ahead of Harvick.

    With 112 laps remaining, the final stage started with Elliott and Logano on the front row. At the start, Elliott and Logano battled dead even for the lead through the dogleg turn and through Turns 1 and 2 before Elliott prevailed on the backstretch. Logano retained second place over Hamlin while Keselowski moved up to fourth place. 

    Three laps later, Elliott was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Logano with Hamlin and Keselowski battling behind. Blaney settled behind in fifth while Byron moved up to sixth. Johnson and Harvick battled for seventh while the Busch brothers were scored in the top 10. 

    Down to the final 100 laps of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the final four title contenders were running first through fourth on the track, with Elliott leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Logano as Hamlin and Keselowski trailed behind. Blaney was in fifth followed by Byron, Johnson, Harvick and the Busch brothers. Bowyer was in 13th behind Truex while Kenseth was in 24th behind McDowell.

    With less than 90 laps remaining, Elliott continued to lead by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Logano. Meanwhile, Keselowski overtook Hamlin for third place, with the latter struggling with loose conditions and keeping pace with his title contenders. 

    With 80 laps remaining, Elliott stabilized his advantage in the overall race and the championship battle by more than seven-tenths of a second over Logano while Keselowski and Hamlin continued to run in third and fourth. Blaney remained in fifth place while Jimmie Johnson overtook teammate Byron for sixth place. Harvick, DiBenedetto and the Busch brothers were scored in the top 10. Bowyer was in 12th while Kenseth was in 24th. 

    Ten laps later, with 70 laps remaining, Elliott extended his advantage to more than a second over Logano with Keselowski and Hamlin trailing behind, though final pit stops were expected for the lead lap competitors to complete the race to its scheduled distance.

    Another 10 laps later, with 60 laps remaining, Elliott remained in the lead by more than six-tenths of a second over Logano with Keselowski trailing by less than a second and Hamlin trailing by more than three seconds. Blaney continued to run as the highest-running non-title contender in fifth followed by Johnson, Harvick, DiBenedetto, Byron and Kurt Busch. 

    Not long after, pit stops under green occurred as Blaney pitted. Kurt Busch also pitted along with Kyle Busch, Byron, Hamlin, Harvick, Almirola, Johnson, Logano, Keselowski and Elliott, the leader. 

    Back on the track, Stenhouse, who has yet to pit, was the leader followed by Logano, Elliott, Hamlin and Keselowski. 

    With 50 laps remaining, Logano emerged with the lead in the overall race and the championship battle after Stenhouse pitted. Elliott trailed by one and a half seconds while Hamlin and Keselowski were in fourth and fifth, trailing by more than four seconds. Shortly after, Hamlin moved into third place over Keselowski, who suffered another slow pit stop. 

    Seven laps later, Elliott cut the deficit down to a tenth of a second behind Logano. In Turns 1 and 2, Elliott gained a run on Logano as they battled through the backstretch. Riding behind Logano’s rear bumper, Elliott made a move to the inside of Logano in Turn 3 and cleared him to reassume the lead in Turn 4 with 42 laps remaining. 

    With 40 laps remaining, Elliott was leading the overall race and the championship battle by nearly half a second over Logano. Hamlin was in third, trailing by nearly four seconds, while Keselowski was in fourth, trailing by more than four seconds. Blaney continued to run in fifth place followed by Jimmie Johnson, Harvick, DiBenedetto, Byron and Kyle Busch. By then, Bowyer was in 15th while Kenseth was in 23rd.

    Ten laps later, with 30 laps remaining, Elliott stretched his lead in his No. 9 Chevrolet to more than a second over Logano’s No. 22 Ford. Keselowski muscled his No. 2 Ford into third place, trailing by less than four seconds, while Hamlin faded back to fourth place, trailing by nearly five seconds, in his No. 11 Toyota.

    Another five laps later, with 25 laps remaining, Elliott continued to stretch his advantage to two and a half seconds over Logano. Keselowski and Hamlin remained in third and fourth, though both were slowly seeing their title hopes vanquish. 

    With 20 laps remaining, Elliott remained as the leader in the overall race and the championship battle by nearly three seconds over Logano with Keselowski and Hamlin running third and fourth. Behind the final four title contenders, Jimmie Johnson overtook Blaney to move into fifth place. Harvick was in seventh behind Blaney while DiBenedetto, Byron and Kyle Busch were in the top 10. Bowyer was in 14th while Kenseth was in 23rd behind Erik Jones and Ryan Newman.

    Five laps later, with 15 laps remaining, Keselowski started to close in on teammate Logano for the runner-up spot. By then, Elliott was still leading by less than three seconds while Hamlin was behind by nearly eight seconds. Jimmie Johnson continued to run in fifth place in front of Blaney. 

    With 10 laps remaining and a championship within sight, Elliott was still leading by more than three seconds over Logano, who had teammate Keselowski challenging him for second place. Hamlin was in fourth while Johnson was in fifth. By then, 12 of the 39 competitors on the track were scored on the lead lap, with Harvick, DiBenedetto, Byron, the Busch brothers, and Truex running on the lead lap. 

    Shortly after, Keselowski overtook teammate Logano for second place. By then, Elliott was still leading the race and the title battle by more than three seconds. Hamlin was behind by more than eight seconds while Johnson remained in fifth, nearly 11 seconds behind.

    With five laps remaining, Elliott remained in the lead by less than four seconds with a championship grower closer and closer towards his grasp. Keselowski continued to run in second place followed by teammate Logano and Hamlin while Johnson continued to run in fifth place ahead of Blaney.

    Despite closing in on lapped traffic, Elliott continued to methodically lead the race by a comfortable margin over his title rivals. When the white flag waved, he was ahead by more than three seconds over Keselowski.

    For one final lap, Elliott was able to navigate the turns and the straightaways at his own cautious pace as he came back to the finish line and claimed the checkered flag to win both the season finale and his first Cup title.

    With his accomplishment, Elliott became the third-youngest Cup champion at age 24 years, 11 months and 11 days. He also became the 34th different driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series title, fourth to do so while driving for Hendrick Motorsports and the eighth in the last 10 seasons. In addition, Elliott became the first Chevrolet competitor to win the Cup title since teammate Jimmie Johnson won his record-tying seventh title in 2016.

    This marked the seventh consecutive year since the inception of the current Playoff-elimination format where the final Cup race of the season was won by the champion.

    Elliott’s championship achievement was one that was well-received by the limited fans attending the race, his crew members, his family headlined by his father and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Bill Elliott, team owner Rick Hendrick, and his fellow competitors, many of whom drove alongside Elliott to congratulate him, including seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished fifth in his 686th and final race as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor.

    “I’m not sure that I still even know [what it means to win the championship],” Elliott said on the frontstretch while emotional. “I’m at a loss for words. This is unbelievable. Oh, my gosh. We did it. That’s all I’ve got to tell you. Unreal. Championship crew chief, Alan Gustafson, is now a NASCAR Cup Series champion, and very deserving. I just can’t say enough about our group. I felt like we took some really big strides this year, and last week [at Martinsville Speedway] was a huge one. To come out of that with a win and a shot to come here and have a chance to race is unbelievable.”

    “All you can dream for is an opportunity, and I’ve been very fortunate to have that over the years,” Elliott added. “You know, and that’s all thanks to some great people. You know, my parents obviously have played a huge role. The past year has been tough. I lost my best friend about a year ago tonight. Lost my grandmother last year. And all those things bring families closer, so I really can’t thank them enough.”

    During the final laps of the race, Elliott mentioned how he was anticipating a caution to fall and have his stable lead and road to the title nearly vanquished. 

    “Yeah, just waiting on the caution, as always,” Elliott said. “You know, I saw Joey was pretty loose there and felt like I needed to get to him while I could. I knew I’d been kind of tight on a longer run and he was probably going to get a little better. Just unbelievable. I mean, I just never would have though that this year would have gone like it has. I mean, NASCAR Cup Series champion. Are you kidding me? Unreal.”

    Ironically, Elliott achieved his first NASCAR Cup championship the same season the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series and the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship, a feat both teams also made during the same year back in 1988 when Bill Elliott also won his first NASCAR Cup title.

    Following the 2020 finale, Chase and Bill Elliott joined the Pettys (Lee and Richard) and the Jarretts (Ned and Dale) as the only father-son combo to win a Cup title. 

    “I couldn’t breathe during Martinsville [last weekend],” Bill Elliott, along with wife, Cindy, said. “Today was, I just said we’ve had a heck of a year and whatever Chase does today, we’re so proud of him. We’re gonna make the best of it. When [Logano] got ahead of us during that last stop, I didn’t think we’d ever do it…Chase dug it in and came by and was able to pull it off. Unbelievable. If it wasn’t for Rick Hendrick, we would not be here today.”

    Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.

    The 2020 Cup championship was the 13th for Hendrick Motorsports led by team owner Rick Hendrick and the first for veteran crew chief Alan Gustafson.

    “It was a nail-biter,” Hendrick said. “You saw all the action when the race starts and you get swept up in a wreck. [Elliott] came through there like a champ…I’m excited about next year with our young guns. It’s just a roller coaster. You’re happy, sad, jubilant, teary. It’s all of that rolled up in one, but it couldn’t be any better other than Jimmie [Johnson] could’ve won the race and Chase won the championship. I’m so proud of Chase and I’m very thankful that Jimmie got to race with me his career and I look at all the championships and look at what a great guy he is off the track. That Chase is unbelievable. I don’t know how many he’s gonna win, but it’s gonna be a bunch…To finish [this season] with a championship, it’s just unbelievable. I don’t think it’s gonna sink in.”

    “We’ve been close,” Gustafson added. “Man, a lot of good people have done a lot of good things for me. Got to thank all of them. Certainly, a great day. Sweet win here at Phoenix, which is a track I’ve won with three other guys with, so that’s cool, too. In the Playoffs, you’ve got to win. I think that’s the key. You got to win races. It’s different than the regular season. Everybody brings their best stuff and everybody’s on their A game. We knew we had to win. Last week was the big one. We knew we had to win to transfer. Winning when you have to like that when you’re back’s against the wall is a tough thing to do, but when you do it, it just brings a lot of momentum, a lot of confidence to the team. We knew coming here was a great track for us. We’re ready. We’ve been through a lot and we just knew it was our time.”

    Behind Elliott, Keselowski finished in second place and emerged as the championship runner-up for his best points result since winning the 2012 Cup title. Teammate Logano finished in third place on the track and in the final standings despite leading 125 laps and displaying competitiveness on the track for his second Cup title.

    “Man, just didn’t have the speed at the right time,” Logano said. “Early in the race, our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang was really fast and no one really did anything wrong. Our pit crew was on it. Our strategy got us out front there at the end. [Elliott] seemed like he really lit off pretty good there. That last run was able to go really fast. And got another vibration towards the end of the run and lost the turn. Still a little free. Yeah, we were close, and you know, everyone executed and did their job, and that’s what we should be most proud of. And also how far we’ve come from the beginning of the season until now as a team. A lot to be proud of. It stings not winning, I’m not going to lie, it hurts, but at the same time we’re stronger because we went through it…You either win or get stronger, and unfortunately we are the stronger ones today and we’ll get stronger, but we’ll be better for next year.”

    Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

    “I would have liked to have had one of those late race yellows like we saw in the Truck and Xfinity race,” Keselowski said. “I thought we were pretty good there, just didn’t have the track position to make it show. I thought we had a shot at the end of the second stage and just couldn’t keep it up in spot to keep it where we could have a lead. Really proud of the speed we had. Just a solid day and just wish we had one more spot.”

    Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

    Finally, Hamlin, who entered the finale while making his 15th attempt in winning his first Cup title, finished in fourth place on the track and in the final standings for the second year in a row after struggling with speed and keeping pace with his title rivals.

    “We were a little off handling, but I think just overall car speed, just didn’t quite have enough,” Hamlin said. “We just, as an organization, got to get a little bit better, especially on the short tracks. It just seems like we were a little bit off all year and that was all I had, that’s for sure. I was pushing for everything I had. The FedEx Camry just didn’t quite have enough today. We ended up fourth…Pretty proud what this team’s doing and what we’re building forward. Proud of the effort. We’ll come back and do it again next year. Looking forward to it. We’ll win as many races as we possibly can to get ourselves back in Phoenix again with another shot. Proud of this whole Joe Gibbs FedEx team for giving me cars that are capable of winning every week.”

    Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

    While Elliott celebrated a championship, Jimmie Johnson emerged with a smile upon exiting his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the final time as he wrapped up his 19-year illustrious career in NASCAR with seven championships, 83 career wins, 36 poles, 232 top-five results, 374 top-10 results and over 18,000 laps led, all while driving the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports.

    “Man, my heart’s full,” Johnson said. “I’m just so happy to have this wonderful career and so many great people behind me. First and foremost, my wife, Chandra, [she’s] been with me every step of the way. My kids. This has just been quite a journey for all of us. I’m very thankful for today. [I] Had a great run on the track. I just can’t go without congratulating Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports on another championship. It’s been a great run. I’ve had 19 years in the Cup Series, two years in the Xfinity Series. I’ve met so many wonderful people, I’ve worked for great people, with great people. I learned so many lessons inside and out of the car. I’m full. This has been a great journey. I’m ready to spend my time a little bit differently instead of 38 weeks a year being on the road, racing in the Cup Series. Just ready for it and very full…I’ll be around.”

    Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.

    Along with Johnson, Clint Bowyer finished 14th in his 541st and final Cup career race while Matt Kenseth finished 25th in his 697th and final scheduled race of his illustrious career. Bowyer will be succeeded by Chase Briscoe while Kenseth will be succeeded by Ross Chastain.

    Seven-time championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus called his 708th and final NASCAR Cup Series race as he will step down from the No. 24 team driven by William Byron and serve as Vice President of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports, beginning next season. Veteran Ryan “Rudy” Fugle will take over as Byron’s crew chief next season.

    Christopher Bell finished 17th in the final NASCAR race for Leavine Family Racing while Ty Dillon finished 21st in the final NASCAR race for Germain Racing.

    Bubba Wallace finished 15th in his 112th and final Cup race in the Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 43 Chevrolet, Alex Bowman finished 16th in his 118th and final race in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet before he takes over the No. 48 HMS Chevrolet, Erik Jones finished 22nd in his 110th and final race in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Daniel Suarez finished 31st in his 35th and final race in the No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota.

    Cole Custer was officially named the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year in a year where he won his first Cup career race and made the Playoffs.

    There were 19 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 27 laps.

    Results.

    1. Chase Elliott, 153 laps led

    2. Brad Keselowski, Stage 2 winner, 16 laps led

    3. Joey Logano, Stage 1 winner, 125 laps led

    4. Denny Hamlin

    5. Jimmie Johnson, four laps led

    6. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

    7. Kevin Harvick 

    8. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap led

    9. William Byron

    10. Martin Truex Jr.

    11. Kyle Busch

    12. Kurt Busch, four laps led

    13. Aric Almirola, one lap down, seven laps led

    14. Clint Bowyer, one lap down

    15. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    16. Alex Bowman, one lap down

    17. Christopher Bell, one lap down

    18. Austin Dillon, one lap down

    19. Tyler Reddick, one lap down

    20. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    21. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    22. Erik Jones, one lap down

    23. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    24. Ryan Newman, one lap down

    25. Matt Kenseth, one lap down

    26. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

    27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps down, one lap led

    28. Cole Custer, two laps down

    29. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    30. J.J. Yeley, six laps down

    31. Daniel Suarez, six laps down

    32. Joey Gase, 10 laps down

    33. James Davison, 10 laps down

    34. Ryan Preece, 13 laps down

    35. Josh Bilicki, 16 laps down

    36. Timmy Hill, 24 laps down

    37. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Rear end

    38. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Suspension

    39. Quin Houff – OUT, Handling

    Final standings.

    1. Chase Elliott

    2. Brad Keselowski

    3. Joey Logano

    4. Denny Hamlin

    5. Kevin Harvick

    6. Alex Bowman

    7. Martin Truex Jr.

    8. Kyle Busch

    9. Ryan Blaney

    10. Kurt Busch

    11. Austin Dillon

    12. Clint Bowyer

    13. Matt DiBenedetto

    14. William Byron

    15. Aric Almirola

    16. Cole Custer

    Bold indicates Championship finale contenders.

    The NASCAR Cup Series enters its off-season period before returning for the 2021 Daytona Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, beginning on Tuesday, February 9, for the Busch Clash on the Daytona Road Course and leading up to the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 14.