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Chase Elliott is a NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Elliott had the best car throughout Sunday’s title race at Phoenix Raceway and easily achieved his first Cup Series title against Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.
Elliott, 24, passed Logano for the race victory and the championship with 42 laps to go and set sail as the three drivers he was racing for the title couldn’t come close to the challenge. Elliott led 153 laps, the best of all drivers.
The championship is Elliott’s first and will likely make him the first driver since his father, Bill, in 1988 to win the Cup Series title in the same season he was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver. Chase Elliott has been NASCAR’s most popular driver for the past two seasons and is a shoo-in for his third in a row.
Elliott had to start from the back of the field on Sunday after his car failed several times. But he quickly took the lead and took the lead for the first time on lap 79 of the 312-lap race.
Keselowski was second, while Logano was third and Hamlin fourth. Elliott’s teammate and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson finished fifth in his last NASCAR Cup Series start as a full-time driver.
Chase Elliott celebrates his first NASCAR Cup Series title. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
Elliott’s number was fluorescent yellow in honor of Johnson on Sunday. And the young driver broke down in tears in his car when he realized he had become a Cup Series champion.
The Elliott family are only the third to have a father-son combination to win the Cup Series titles. The Pettys were the first with Lee and Richard, and Dale Jarrett joined his father, Ned, when he won the 1999 Cup Series title.
It was clear to Elliott that the reality of being a Cup Series champion sank after he got out of his car in front of the stands.
“To win and lock in the championship, these are times you can only dream of,” said Elliott. “It’s a dream. I just hope I never wake up.
After getting out of his car, Elliott hugged his car owner Rick Hendrick and Johnson at the same time. Hendrick is the most successful owner in NASCAR history; he’s fielded championship cars for Terry Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Johnson and now Elliott.
No one was up to Elliott
Logano was ahead of Elliott on the last leg of the race because he had made a lap earlier to take advantage of new tires. But Elliott quickly took him down and made the pass easy.
Everything was customary after that. Elliott’s margin of victory at the end was over three seconds as the other three title contenders wanted a late warning flag for a chance to restart. It wasn’t a crazy wish either. The Truck Series and Xfinity Series title races came down to two-lap restarts on Friday and Saturday night. But there was no reason for NASCAR to issue a warning in the final 100+ laps of Sunday’s Cup Series race.
The victory was Elliott’s second in a row and his fifth of the season. He won the last race of the third round at Martinsville to qualify for the final four. The victory not only ensured he would be part of the title race, but also knocked Kevin Harvick out of the playoffs. Harvick was the series’ winningest driver in 2020 with nine wins.
Final standings of the playoffs
1. Chase Elliott
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Joey Logano
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Alex Bowman
7. Kyle Busch
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Kurt Busch
11. Austin Dillon
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Matt DiBenedetto
14. William Byron
15. Aric Almirola
16. Cole Custer
Race results
1. Chase Elliott
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Joey Logano
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Matt DiBenedetto
9. William Byron
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Kyle Busch
12. Kurt Busch
13. Aric Almirola
14. Clint Bowyer
15. Bubba Wallace
16. Alex Bowman
17. Christopher Bell
18. Austin Dillon
19. Tyler Reddick
20. Chris Buescher
21. Ty Dillon
22. Erik Jones
23. Michael McDowell
24. Ryan Newman
25. Matt Kenseth
26. John Hunter Nemechek
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28. Cole Custer
29. Brennan Poole
30. JJ Yeley
31. Daniel Suarez
32. Joey Gase
33. James Davison
34. Ryan Preece
35. Josh Bilicki
36. Timmy Hill
37. Garrett Smithley
38. Corey LaJoie
39. Quin Houff
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Nick bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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