On Sunday, November 13 in Phoenix, Arizona, four drivers clinched their spot into the Championship 4 in hopes to be the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. After 35 weeks of races, with some added non-points races and off weeks, there is one more remaining and it's the one race four drivers would do anything to win. Here's your NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase recap and preview as they head to Homestead.
It all started in Chicago as 16 drivers were fighting for their chance at being the King of NASCAR. For the first-time Chasers including Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon and Chris Buescher, this was their chance to prove they were meant to race at the top. Chris Buescher shocked many with his win at Pocono and definitely ruined my chase grid considering he was on an under budgeted team with Front Row Motorsports and was the odd rookie out as Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney battled it out. However, he earned it. He is the defending NASCAR XFINITY Champion and brought some life to Ford Racing, with the exception of the Penske drivers. Kyle Larson's win was not as shocking as he had been on the verge several times before and it was only a matter of time before he added "Sprint Cup Winner" to his resume.
For Chase Elliott, he filled the shoes of Jeff Gordon perfectly. Even though he has not yet won a race in his rookie season, he started the season strong, landing the pole at the Daytona 500. Since then he has had ten top-5's, seventeen top-10's and has led over 350 laps. Austin Dillon is another driver who had big shoes to fill when he took over racing the number 3 for Richard Childress Racing, notably his grandfather is owner Richard Childress. Many overlook Austin as a driver even though his statistics show he is a great racer with two NASCAR Championships under his belt, or should I say firesuit. He has won two poles this season and has four top-5's and thirteen top-10's. He has only led 17 laps this season but has also been on the brink of his first win, particularly after a crazy third place finish at Talladega in a car that looked like it belonged in a junkyard. Jamie McMurray also joined these two as a veteran who went without a win and clinched a spot in the Chase.
As the Chase began, I had Martin Truex Jr, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch as my final 4.
Toyota had been hard to beat all season long and they showed they were still a threat as Martin Truex Jr won the Chase opener. His win did not go without controversy as the drivers headed to New Hampshire. Both Truex and Jimmie Johnson, who led a race-high 118 laps, failed post-race laser inspection. However, since both drivers failed by a slight margin, NASCAR decided not to penalize the two which was different than what drivers had experienced during the regular season.
Kevin Harvick won the second race of the round of 16 with his win at New Hampshire beating out Toyota drivers Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. Truex looked to follow-up his Chicagoland win by leading a race-high 141 laps but fell short on the second-to-last restart as he fell behind. After a 20th place finish at Chicagoland, Harvick's win clinched him a spot to the Contender Round of 12 and he continued to be the only driver to not be eliminated in any round of this Chase format.
Dover is known for being a wildcard - just ask Jimmie Johnson who has turned Dover into his playground but was eliminated after the 2015 Chase race. However, Martin Truex Jr came out on top with his second win of the Chase and fourth of the season. From the looks and statistics, he was the one to beat. Along with his win came some losses as the round of 12 was set and four drivers Chase hopes were ruined. The Cinderella story of the Chase, Chris Buescher saw his hopes end as he was far behind the cutline and was in a must win scenario. Teammates Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray had issues that led to their elimination. Larson battled some ignition issues and went a few laps down but came back until he hit the Turn 3 wall on lap 193 of the race. McMurray was battling close to the front and looked secure until his Chase hopes ended in a puff of smoke with engine failure on lap 193 and finishing 40th. Tony Stewart who wished to finish his final full-time Sprint Cup season with a Championship also was left out of the round of 12.
The Round of 12 was included as the wildcard round with Talladega ending the three-race round. Last year, Joey Logano had won every race of the round but not without controversy with Matt Kenseth which later led to the great Martinsville crash ending his Championship hopes. After the Charlotte night race was postponed due to weather, the drivers prepared for a day race on a fresh track.
Several Chasers experienced issues including Kevin Harvick who had electrical problems finishing 38th, Joey Logano who suffered two blown tires and finishing 36th and Denny Hamlin who suffered a late-race engine failure finishing 30th. A crash between Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott on a restart led to the two finishing 32nd and 33rd.
Jimmie Johnson extended his quest for a seventh Championship with his win. After leading a race-high 155 laps, Johnson beat Matt Kenseth to the finish line. The win snapped Johnson's career-long 24-race winless streak. For the first time in this format, he clinched his spot to the round of 8.
Anticipation was growing as Talladega grew closer and drivers knew the only way they could feel safe heading to good ole 'Bama was with a win at Kansas. Kevin Harvick did just that, winning his second race of the Chase and fighting off possible elimination after a poor finish at Charlotte. He beat out Carl Edwards who had the car to beat until the restart on lap 238 when Harvick cleared the 19. Joey Logano also followed Harvick with a great finish after bad luck in Charlotte by finishing third. He went Talladega tied with Austin Dillon for the final spot in the round of 8. However, his teammate Brad Keselowski, who had been one to beat with four wins, became another victim of Chase disaster after an incident with Denny Hamlin. He spun and tore the nose off his car after going through the grass and finished 38th putting him to 11th in the Chase. As for 12th, Chase Elliott experienced issues for the second week in a row after being up front and leading laps until a blown tire and several brushes with the wall led to a 31st finish.
Both races had their fair share of Chase heartbreak but nothing like Talladega could ruin several mores hopes.
Joey Logano took his Ford number 22 to Victory Lane after leading the final 45 laps of the race. Logano would join Johnson and Harvick as the winners of the round of 12 and looked to continue their run for the Championship in the next round. However, the real race was for eighth as Denny Hamlin beat Austin Dillon for the final spot by less than two feet with his third place victory. Chase Elliott's must win scenario was not completed as he finished 12th ending his Chase hopes along with Dillon.
Brad Keselowski had led a race-high 90 laps until he blew an engine while leading giving the lead to teammate Logano. Martin Truex Jr, who had notably been the one to beat in the Chase, also suffered an engine failure and finished 40th ending his Chase hopes as well.
With Talladega in the rear-view mirror, drivers headed to Martinsville ready to see who would make it to the Championship 4.
Jimmie Johnson won yet another race in the Chase and was the first to punch his ticket to Homestead with his ninth win at the track. He took the lead with less than 100 remaining as he passed Denny Hamlin. Coincidently, the two had early contact causing the 48 to suffer a tire rub that needed repair making him fall back to 28th. Johnson also faced another issue during a caution when he slowed to a stop on the backstretch after switching the electronic control unit of his car off mistakenly.
Stewart-Haas teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch finished near the middle of the pack, 20th and 22nd. Unlike his teammates who finished in the top-5, Carl Edwards finished 36th after a blown tire causing hard contact to the wall. These three, along with Joey Logano found themselves on the bubble of elimination as they entered Texas.
After the Charlotte rain postponed night race, many fans were wondering what they would have to do to get some night racing action and mother nature gave them just what they wanted at Texas. At nearly 7:30pm EST, Austin Dillon led the drivers to green. As rain was on the way, drivers fought for each position in hopes of winning and clinching their spot. Carl Edwards came out on top as he got out of his must-win situation after his Martinsville issues, when the race ended short of the 293 laps scheduled. Joey Logano led a race-high 178 laps and fell short to Edwards after pit road misfortune.
Besides the rain, a big story of the race was the contact between Kevin Harvick and Austin Dillon. On one of the final restarts, the two made contact which turned Dillon hard into the wall, ending his top-10 running night. Comments made by Dillon's crew hinted at possible retaliation as Harvick would need a win heading to Phoenix and Dillon had nothing to lose. Dillon denied theories as he stated he just wanted to win as Harvick apologizes for his role in the accident. It's been said that the two have not spoke since the incident despite Harvick trying to reach out to the driver of the number 3.
Kevin Harvick had been dominate at Phoenix for the last several years and had won the last five of six at the track. However, it was Joey Logano who came out as the winner after an overtime win. Logano missed the Championship 4 last year after incidents including the Martinsville battle between he and Matt Kenseth and a blown tire at Texas but will make his return in Miami as he seeks his first Sprint Cup Championship, joining Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. Kyle Busch will also join the three as he looks to defend his title.
During a green-white-checkered restart, Alex Bowman, filling in for Dale Jr in the 88 Chevy, made contact with leader Matt Kenseth after being shoved by Kenseth's teammate Busch which sent the 20 into the wall ending his Chase hopes. This also shook up the field as Bowman had led a race-high and career high 194 laps. With Busch's 2nd place finish, Kevin Harvick was the odd man out as for the first time in this Chase format, he would not be competing for a Championship in Miami.
As we look ahead, the grid has been knocked down to four. As two drivers look to add to their list of Championships and the other two look to become first-time Champions, the battle is looking great. Jimmie Johnson looks to win his seventh Championship joining Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty at the top of the list. Kyle Busch has won 4 races this season but none during the Chase. Joey Logano was part of the first Championship round in 2014 but finished 4th after pit road issues. He has won three races this season as he looks to win his first Championship. Carl Edwards was beat by Tony Stewart in 2011 after what was one of his best seasons in the series. Since then, he switched to Joe Gibbs Racing who has been the top of the series since last year. He has also won three races this season.
For the past two years, the drivers who won at Homestead also won the Chase. This year, many drivers who could contend for a win are not in the Chase, including Kevin Harvick, who has finished 1st and 2nd in the last two races.
As for the statistics, Carl Edwards looks to have the upperhand as he has a 9.25 average finish. However, he has not had a top 10 at the track since 2011 during his last fight for a Championship when he finished 2nd. Jimmie Johnson has a 14.07 average finish with three straight top-10's. Homestead is also one of the few tracks Johnson has never won at. Not only could he tie NASCAR history with his win by clinching his Championship, but he can also check Miami off his track lists without a win with only Chicago, Kentucky and Watkins Glen remaining. Joey Logano has raced at Homestead for the shortest amount of time, since 2009, and has a 17.71 average finish. He finished 4th last year but that was only his second top-10 at the track. Kyle Busch is the defending race winner but has the worst average among the drivers. However, this was also mentioned last year as he was also the worst but he walked away as the Champion.
Even though my grid was ruined from the start, I still have two drivers alive in the battle of the Championship. Though I am pulling for Jimmie Johnson to win, Kyle Busch is my pick to win it all and be the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.
The 2016 season concludes Sunday, November 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway at 2:30pm ET.
