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Chase Elliott wins Phoenix final and seals first Cup Series championship
Chase Elliott roared in his first NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday, edging out the rest of the Championship contenders 4 in the season-ending race at Phoenix Raceway.
Elliott led a record 154 of 312 laps in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to win the 500 season finale and the title. His fifth win of the season was his first on the Arizona 1-mile track and the 11th of his Cup Series career.
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The race was dominated by the Championship 4 drivers, who ran 1-2-3-4 for several portions of the event and finished that way, with Brad Keselowski second, Joey Logano third and Denny Hamlin fourth. Hamlin was the only driver eligible for the title who did not take a lead in the race; the other three contenders each triggered two numbers in the header column.
Just behind Championship 4, seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson finished his last full-time season with a fifth place finish. The # 48 Chevrolet driver Hendrick Motorsports was recognized at pre-race ceremonies, and several of his competitors joined him wearing hats marked “One Final Time” to commemorate the occasion.
His teammate Elliott was scheduled to start from pole position but fell to the back of the field before the start after his No.9 Chevrolet twice failed the pre-race inspection. He quickly regained some lost ground, making his way into the top 20 in the opening nine laps and placing in the top 10 with 26 laps in the books.
Logano won the first stage and Keselowski slipped through Elliott to take the second stage. But Keselowski’s offer was hampered by slow pit stops a few times. His No.2 crew from Team Penske dropped four places during the Stage 2 break, then lost ground in the final green flag pit cycle, coming out fourth in the title quartet.
The race was also the last event for Chad Knaus, who helped Johnson win all of his seven titles as a worthy Hall of Famer team leader. He will become Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition after the season.
Clint Bowyer also ended his Cup Series career, finishing 14th in the No.14 Ford Stewart-Haas Racing. Phoenix marked his last event before moving on to FOX Sports and its broadcast team next season.
The next Cup Series race is the 2021 Daytona 500, scheduled for Sunday February 14 at 98 days.
This story will be updated.
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