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Chase Elliott won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship by winning the last race of the season in Phoenix. The 24-year-old becomes the third youngest driver to win the title behind Jeff Gordon and Bill Rexford.
Elliott took the lead from Joey Logano with 42 laps to go rather easily and continued to take the checkered flag in his first Championship 4 appearance. The No.9 started the race from behind after failing at two. repeated in the pre-race inspection, but had no problem finding the speed to lead a race of 153 laps.
It was the second consecutive victory for Elliott, who nabbed his ticket to Championship 4 by winning the round of 16 final in Martinsville last week. Elliott ends the season with five career wins. He now has 11 Cup Series wins in total.
NASCAR’s most popular driver is the second person in his family to win a Cup title. Chase’s father, Bill Elliott, won the championship in 1988. The Elliotts become the third NASCAR father-son duo to win a title, joining the Petty’s (Lee and Richard) and Jarrett’s (Ned and Dale).
“I’m at a loss for words,” Elliott told NBC shortly after taking the checkered flag. “It’s amazing. Oh my God. We did it. I mean, we did it. That’s all I have to tell you. Unreal.”
Shortly after winning the title, Elliott was congratulated by seven-time champion and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in a pass-the-torch moment. The two then kissed on the pit lane after Elliott got out of the car. Johnson was fifth, the best of any non-playoff driver, in his last NASCAR Cup Series career as a full-time driver.
“These are times you can only dream of,” Elliott said of the exchange with Johnson. “It’s a dream. I just hope I never wake up.”
“I’m so happy for this guy,” said Johnson, who noted that Elliott winning the title was the best result of his last race. “Watching him grow up and being with him and giving him advice every now and then has been really meaningful to me. Today I think more of a championship than anything, it’s pretty awesome.”
Elliott explained after the race that the last text message he read before getting in the car was from Johnson, cheering on No 9 from behind. Elliott, a longtime Johnson fan, went on to say his idol would go down in history as the greatest NASCAR race of all time.
With the help of Johnson’s seven titles and Elliott’s first career title, Hendrick Motorsports has now won 50% of the last 26 Cup Series championships. Johnson, an infallible first-ballot Hall of Fame member, will certainly be elected in two years when he becomes eligible.
As for other drivers ending their careers, Clint Bowyer finished 14th in his last full-time race in the No.14 car. Matt Kenseth, who came out of retirement to replace a suspended Kyle Larson this season, was 25th in which could be his last race as well.
As for the Championship 4 riders, they finished the race 1-2-3-4 as Brad Keselowski finished second ahead of Logano and Denny Hamlin. The four drivers took the lead throughout the race. Logano won Stage 1 and Keselowski won Stage 2. Hamlin was the only driver not to lead a lap in the final race and remains one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history without title.
“No one has won more than us over the past two years,” Hamlin noted after the race. “We will come back and do it again next year. I can’t wait to be there. We will win as many races as possible to get back to Phoenix with another shot.”
Hamlin has won seven races this season, which was the second biggest in the series. Kevin Harvick had the most wins, making nine trips to Victory Lane. In the end, Harvick missed the Championship 4 and finished fifth in the standings. Hamlin was fourth.
By finishing the championship race, NASCAR became one of the few sports to run a full season despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The sport suffered a brief hiatus from March to May, but by using midweek races and daylong shows, the sport was able to complete its program.
“I thought what the sport was capable of achieving was really amazing,” said Keselowski. “To be here today and have a great race for our championship, I think it’s really impressive and maybe NASCAR doesn’t have enough credit for pulling it off given the scenery.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic has brought its fair share of shutdowns, one thing can be certain. The people of Dawsonville, Elliott’s hometown, Georgia, celebrate as the infamous “sireen” screams through town, like after every Chase and Bill Elliott victory.
“I don’t know if it’s true or false, but I think the city of Dawsonville should just exempt all work and school tomorrow,” Elliott joked at the end of his post-race availability, thanking his hometown for everything. his support.
“Heck, I’m still not sure I fully realize what exactly happened,” Elliott said. “I don’t feel like I’m a town crier in these situations, but you know I feel like there’s going to come a point where I’m probably going to fall apart and really lose him.”
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