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November 16, 2015

The Rundown: Phoenix


RELATED: Full race results | Series standings | Chase Grid

Below is a breakdown of how the full 43-car field fared at Phoenix International Raceway:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Junior fans that waited out the rain delay were rewarded with the HMS driver’s third win of the season.

2. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Phoenix ace Harvick led a race-high 143 laps despite battling a “loose in” race car and a spotty radio. On to Homestead to defend his title.

3. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Logano failed to make the Championship 4 for the second year in a row, despite his solid finish. He needed to win, but failed to lead a lap.

4. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch also battled radio issues and got too close to the wall on a pit stall that resulted in his team not being able to jack his car up, but the JGR driver came away with a top five and Championship 4 spot, nonetheless.

5. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson was hit with a pit road speeding penalty while leading the race early on, but recovered for his 14th top-five finish of the season.

6. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon waded through handling issues in one area of the track but found himself in a favorable spot when the race was called on Lap 219.

7. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch had one of the fastest cars but was black-flagged after jumping the start of the race. He never got back to the lead and was eliminated from the Chase.

8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin will ride a top-10 finish into Homestead, where he won’t get a shot at a title for the second straight year, but has a chance at his third win of the season.

9. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski needed to win to advance but fell short despite leading four laps.

10. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola has been consistently above average in the Chase and picked up his sixth top 10 of the season at Phoenix.

11. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman clinched his Championship 4 berth with a thrilling move at Phoenix last year, but not much stood out about his 2015 fall race.

12. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards received the free pass on Lap 196 to get back on the lead lap, but didn’t have enough time to get to the front, where he needed to be if he wanted to advance.

13. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard spent a good amount of time in the top 10 and was on pace to top his best career finish (ninth) at the 1-mile track before fading a bit.

14. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. Truex got caught a lap down when the caution came out on Lap 196, but his finish was enough to help him advance to the Championship 4.

15. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. McMurray finished in the top 15 for the third consecutive race and will look to make it four in a row to close the season at Homestead.

16. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Solid finish for Patrick, who overcame a penalty for having crew members over the wall too soon.

17. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. For the third time this season, Allgaier finished in the top 20 in two of three races.

18. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Ragan finished in the top 20 and got a bonus point for leading a lap — not too shabby.

19. Erik Jones, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Jones closes out his substitute driver run for Matt Kenseth with his second consecutive top-20 finish.

20. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon has finished in the top 20 for four consecutive races, his longest such streak of the season.

21. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson came away disappointed with his finish after sporting a top-five car all weekend.

22. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears’ brakes weren’t flowing well, but crew chief Bootie Barker said they looked fine when he brought the car in for a pit stop.

23. Clint Bowyer, No. 15, Michael Waltrip Racing. Since his infamous run-in with Jeff Gordon at Phoenix in 2012, Bowyer has just one top-10 at the track.

24. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger reported that his car had no forward drive on Lap 162 in P24, and he stayed right there.

25. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle is still searching for his second top 10 since August and only has one race left to accomplish it.

26. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. A disappointing season for Kahne continued at Phoenix, where he failed to lead a lap and picked up his worst finish since 2012.

27. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Hard to believe, but Stewart has just three top-10s in 2015 — and he didn’t come close to sniffing one at Phoenix.

28. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto got hit by Kasey Kahne on pit road but still managed his best finish since Darlington.

29. J.J. Yeley, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. Yeley had a great save early in the race and likely salvaged a better finish than he would’ve if he hadn’t.

30. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Gilliland had a vibration in his brakes that plagued him to a finish just inside the top 30.

31. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Hornish had to make an unscheduled pit stop with slight damage on his left rear and came home 31st.

32. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett’s 32nd-place finish is his second best at the 1-mile track in his career.

33. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Whitt’s finish broke a string of three consecutive finishes inside the top 30.

34. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne was penalized for being too fast on pit road and never recovered.


35. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill’s finish was his worst showing in the Phoenix fall race since 2010.

36. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Moffitt struggled with his No. 34 Ford, which had “no front grip in the tires.”

37. Ryan Preece, No. 98 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Preece improved on his starting position by four places, which is a positive sign for a driver in just his fourth career Cup race.

38. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Bowman struggled with the electric system of his ride, telling his team, “Got power voltage, but it does not crank at all.”

39. Jeb Burton, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Burton’s Phoenix showing was his worst finish since Charlotte.

40. Ryan Ellis, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. Ryan Ellis finished 40th in his Sprint Cup Series debut, but finished two spots higher than where he started.

41. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse went to the garage after a brake issue caused a wreck with Joey Gase on Lap 196.

42. Joey Gase, No. 32 Ford, GoFAS Racing. Gase took significant damage to his No. 32 Ford after a wreck with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on Lap 196.

43. Timmy Hill, No. 62 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Hill dropped a valve and eventually had his ride let the motor go.

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