Posted on by Staff Report

Whoever said nice guys couldn’t finish first never met Jimmie Johnson. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet has conducted himself with class and dignity throughout his career, whether he was hoisting his seventh championship trophy or having one of those days when patience was tested.

That sort of attitude, backed with historically impressive results on the track — 83 wins, seven titles, 18,937 laps led, we could go on — has endeared Jimmie to fans young and old across the world.

So when the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion announced his plan to retire from full-time NASCAR racing at the conclusion of the 2020 season, he did so with an unspoken expectation of celebrating his final run surrounded by those who cheer for him the loudest – his fans in the stands.

Unfortunately, 2020 had other plans. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sport for nearly two months. Races were postponed, a schedule was rebuilt.

When NASCAR returned safely and swiftly, fans were either not permitted to attend the event, or attendance was drastically reduced for safety and health reasons. It ended up being a season unlike any Johnson had experienced

Enter Chevrolet, the manufacturer with which Johnson has driven throughout the entirety of his Hall of Fame NASCAR career.

Making great use of its @TeamChevy social media platforms, Chevy developed a creative way to ensure Johnson felt the connection from some of his biggest fans ahead of his final race as a full-time series driver.

Fans on social media were asked to share their favorite Jimmie Johnson memories, and the text from those posts was gathered and artfully created into a portrait of the GOAT himself. The ad is made of an ousting 5,000 words and 26,000 characters, and it tells the story of Jimmie Johnson the man just as much as Jimmie Johnson the racer.

The #JimmieTribute full-page ad ran in USA Today on Nov. 6; if you missed that keepsake, you probably saw the massive #JimmieTribute display banner at Phoenix Raceway.

As the outpouring of tributes showed beyond doubt, Jimmie is clearly a great driver – but he is, somehow, perhaps an even better person.

The kicker in the ad from Chevrolet?

“We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.”

Neither could we.

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday night. Jimmie Johnson competed in his final race as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver.

One might have wondered if these two will ever be seen in the same field again.

RELATED: Elliott capture first Cup Series title

Well, that might come sooner than anyone thought. Like, in a couple of months.

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick indicated the two may team up for an entry in the prestigious Rolex 24 sports-car race in late January at Daytona International Speedway.

“Both of our guys, Chase and Jimmie, will be in the 24-hour race, so I’m looking forward to that,” Hendrick said as part of his post-race press conference.

When asked to confirm if the two would drive in the Rolex, Hendrick said: “Maybe I jumped the gun on that. I’m not 100 percent sure. I heard a rumor, OK, so I can’t confirm that.”

Not yet at least.

Posted on by Staff Report

Every 2020 race, except the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, is comprised of three stages — Stage 1, Stage 2 and the Final Stage. The Coca-Cola 600 added a fourth stage. Drivers who finish in the top 10 in Stage 1 and Stage 2 earn additional race points, with the winner of each stage earning 10 points, second place earning nine points, third place earning eight points, etc., down to one point for 10th place. Stage 3 of the Coca-Cola 600 awards points in the same manner as Stages 1 and 2 in the other races.

The Final Stage produces the race results and awards points across the field.

Below is a cumulative running tally of how many stage points drivers have earned this year, as well as their stage wins — a stage win will provide an additional bonus point per win of the postseason.

RELATED: Stage lengths for the 2020 season

Through Phoenix Raceway playoff race
Note: Does not include points earned for Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at Daytona International Speedway

Rank Driver Stage wins Stage points
1 Ryan Blaney 4 346
T-2 Martin Truex, Jr 5 310
T-2 Chase Elliott 10 310
4 Joey Logano 7 307
5 Kevin Harvick 7 290
6 Denny Hamlin 11 279
7 Brad Keselowski 8 252
8 Alex Bowman 4 247
9 Kyle Busch 3 228
10 Clint Bowyer 4 155
11 William Byron 2 146
12 Jimmie Johnson 1 131
13 Kurt Busch 1 130
14 Aric Almirola 2 125
15 Matt DiBenedetto 0 110
16 Erik Jones 0 108
17 Austin Dillon 0 103
T-18 Tyler Reddick 1 75
T-18 Christopher Bell 0 75
20 Ricky Stenhouse Jr 1 55
21 Chris Buescher 1 34
22 Bubba Wallace 0 20
23 Cole Custer 0 19
24 Ryan Newman 0 17
25 Ryan Preece 0 16
26 Ty Dillon 1 13
T-27 Kyle Larson 0 9
T-28 Matt Kenseth 0 9
T-28 John H. Nemechek 0 9
30 Michael McDowell 0 5
31 Corey Lajoie 0 1
Posted on by Zack Albert

A stout field of seasoned veterans pressed 24-year-old Chase Elliott throughout Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway, just lacking the closing oomph to take the NASCAR Cup Series championship for themselves.

RELATED: Race results | Chase Elliott hoists title

In the end, Brad Keselowski finished second to Elliott — the newly crowned champ — in the Season Finale 500, followed under the checkered flag by Team Penske teammate Joey Logano in third and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin in fourth. Though the other three were fixtures among the top five throughout the 312-mile event, none were able to stop Elliott down the stretch.

Keselowski actually slipped by Elliott for a Stage 2 win, but his run was slowed slightly by some missed time on pit stops. His No. 2 crew gave up six positions during a competition caution early in Stage 1, lost another four places during the Stage 2 break, then returned him to the track fourth among the Championship 4 after the final green-flag pit cycle. Nevertheless, Keselowski was able to rally, finishing 2.740 seconds behind Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“It’s a team effort, and just was tough to fight back through,” said Keselowski, who led 16 laps in a quest for his second Cup Series crown. “We got up to second there at the end, and I feel like we were pretty equal. The 9 car and I would have loved to have had a chance to race it out, but that’s not the way it played out.”

RELATED: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano reflect on coming up short

Logano led 125 laps — second only to Elliott’s 153 — and won the opening stage. Though he secured his second win of the season at Phoenix back in March, he didn’t have the same closing kick that Elliott did down the stretch in the finale.

Although he had visions of recreating the path to the championship that he carved out at the end of the 2018 season, he wound up two positions short.

“Obviously when you don’t win it, it hurts. It definitely stings,” Logano said. “Yeah, I told the guys before the race started, I said in these races when you get to the Championship 4, you can’t lose. You either win or you become stronger. Unfortunately we got stronger today.

“We learned a lot about ourselves and learned that we are capable. We’re capable of executing when we needed to. We just need to go faster. That was one thing. But I think overall there’s a lot to be proud of throughout the season, where we’ve come from, how much we’ve grown as a team, especially with the crew chief swap in the beginning of the season this year and without practice. That was a pretty big hurdle we had to jump.”

Hamlin entered the event as a trendy pick for pre-race favorite, having amassed seven victories this season — most of the four title contenders. He ended the race as the only one of the Championship 4 who did not take a turn in the lead, struggling at times with the short-track aptitude of his No. 11 JGR Toyota.

“We just didn’t have enough car potential for us,” said Hamlin, still seeking his first Cup Series title. “Our balance was not bad, maybe a little bit off, but just not enough in reserve. I think Penske and Hendrick both had two teammates inside the top 10 before we even got to our next best two other teammates. Our organization has got to get a little bit better on these types of tracks, and especially it being — it going to be the deciding factor in the championship.

“We’ve just overall got to get a little bit better. I knew for me probably around Lap 200 that we needed some special circumstances to kind of go our way.”

RELATED: Denny Hamlin ‘proud of what we’re building’

Posted on by Staff Report

Cole Custer was officially awarded Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Cup Series after the conclusion of Sunday’s season-ending event at Phoenix Raceway.

Custer, 22, completed his first full Cup Series season for Stewart-Haas Racing, driving the No. 41 Ford. His year was highlighted by a dramatic first Cup Series victory July 12 at Kentucky Speedway.

RELATED: Cole Custer driver page

Custer topped Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Brennan Poole and Quin Houff in the Rookie of the Year standings. Harrison Burton (Xfinity Series) and Zane Smith (Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series) claimed Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in NASCAR’s other national tours.

“I think it was definitely a rookie season with a lot of peaks and valleys,” Custer said. “It was a really interesting season to be a rookie with no practice, no testing or qualifying, so it was a lot of just learning on the fly, but I think we all managed it very well. We had a really good rookie class of me, Tyler, Christopher, John Hunter, I think we all had really good runs throughout the year and it definitely means a lot to win that.”

Custer ended the season with two top-five and seven top-10 finishes. His Kentucky win came thanks to a bold four-wide move that vaulted him from fourth place to first in the final lap. Custer became the first rookie to win a Cup Series race since Chris Buescher prevailed at Pocono Raceway in 2016.

Custer was the only rookie to qualify for the Cup Series Playoffs. His postseason run ended with his ouster in the Round of 16.

Posted on by Holly Cain

Chase Elliott won the biggest race of his life — rallying from having to drop to the rear of the field on pace laps to cross the Phoenix Raceway finish line first in the Series Finale 500 — earning his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship at the age of 24, the youngest champion in NASCAR’s premier series in 25 years.

Ultimately, Elliott won by 2.74 seconds over fellow title contender Brad Keselowski from Team Penske. Joey Logano was third and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin finished fourth.

Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, 45, was fifth in his final race as a full-time driver, and he congratulated his young Hendrick Motorsports teammate Elliott on-track and later on pit lane — a fitting symbol of the sport’s “changing of the guard.”

RELATED: Race results | Chase Elliott wins 2020 Cup title | Tributes to Jimmie Johnson
SHOP: Chase Elliott gear

“Awesome, awesome, awesome,” Elliott screamed into his team radio after taking the checkered flag. “We are the champions!” 

Three of the four title contenders led laps at the 1-mile desert oval. Logano was out front 125 laps and Keselowski led 16 laps, but Elliott’s 153 laps led were indicative of his motivation, talent and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team’s preparedness for this race. He only earned his place in the four-driver championship field with a clutch victory last week at Martinsville Speedway and made the most of that work on Sunday.

Elliott wrestled the lead away from Logano for good with 43 laps of the 312-lap race remaining. It was the result of a determined driver and team after the car failed pre-race inspection multiple times Sunday morning and had to start last in the 39-car field. 

His focus was evident, however, from the drop of the green flag. Elliott’s Chevrolet was 15th by Lap 15. He took the lead for the first time at Lap 79 and led eight different times on the afternoon.

Once Elliott rallied to the front, the four title contenders were predominantly the top four drivers on track the remainder of the race — truly settling the championship among themselves.

“Obviously, when you don’t win it hurts, it definitely stings,” Logano said. “I told the guys before the race, you can’t lose. You either win or you get stronger. Unfortunately, we got stronger today.”

RELATED: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano reflect on coming up short

With this championship, Elliott and his father Bill (the 1988 series champion) became only the third father-son NASCAR Cup Series championship combination in the sport’s history joining Lee and Richard Petty and Ned and Dale Jarrett. Elliott’s father stood trackside for the race and joked afterward that he had given his son some simple advice for the big day. Advice Chase readily admits went through his head as he challenged for the life-changing trophy.

“He told me, ‘all you have to do is beat three people,’ ” a smiling Elliott said of his father’s pre-race advice. “He said all week he felt confident that we could come out here and do this. And he was right.

“This is a moment I’ve dreamed about. This is all I’ve wanted to do is be a race car driver and race in NASCAR. To be honest, I’m humbled.”

Elliott’s good friend Ryan Blaney finished sixth followed by regular-season champion Kevin Harvick, Matt DiBenedetto, William Byron and Martin Truex Jr.

Clint Bowyer, who is moving to the FOX television booth, and former series champion Matt Kenseth, who is returning to retirement, finished 14th and 25th, respectively, in their final race. Crew chief Chad Knaus, at the helm for Johnson’s seven titles, led Hendrick driver Byron to that ninth-place showing. 

And Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer, who qualified for the playoffs with a victory at Kentucky Speedway this summer, finished 28th, officially wrapping up the 2020 Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

“I’m at a loss for words, this is unbelievable,” Elliott said. “Oh, my gosh. We did it. I mean, we did it. That’s all I’ve got to tell you. Unreal.

“Crew chief, Alan Gustafson, is now a NASCAR Cup Series champion, and very deserving. I just can’t say enough about our group. I felt like we took some really big strides this year, and last week was a huge one. To come out of that with a win and a shot to come here and have a chance to race is unbelievable. Heck, I don’t know. I don’t even know. This is unreal.”

The Cup Series’ next race is the 2021 Daytona 500, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 14 — 98 days away.

NOTE: NASCAR Cup Series post-race inspection is complete. All clear. No issues. Engine tear down is complete and all clear.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Terrin Waack

The checkered flag has waved on Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR career.

After 19 complete seasons and 686 career starts, Johnson is retiring from full-time Cup Series competition. He goes down in the sport’s record book tied for most driver championships, matching only NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Johnson won a series-high five championships in a row.

“My bucket is full,” Johnson said. “NASCAR has been so wonderful for me. This journey has been more than I could have ever dreamed of or expected or hoped for.”

RELATED: Full coverage of Johnson’s final weekend

It all came to a close Sunday at Phoenix Raceway in the Season Finale 500. Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, earned his first-ever Cup Series championship by not only having the best finish out of the title contenders but also winning the event. Johnson came in fifth.

Johnson didn’t realize the significance of his top-five run until daughter Evie celebrated it on pit lane afterward.

“Daddy, I think you won,” she said.

Johnson politely corrected his oldest of two.

“No,” she said. “The first four cars were in the championship and you beat everybody else.”

Evie was right. Behind Elliott were Championship 4 contenders Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in order. Johnson couldn’t have placed better among his competition.

The result counted for Johnson’s fifth top five this year and the 232nd in his career. He also closed out with 10 top 10s in 2020 and 374 since his rookie 2002 season.

That was Johnson’s last ride in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet — the same car he steered to Victory Lane a historical sixth-best 83 times since his first win on April 28, 2002 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, his home track. Alex Bowman will take over the entry in 2021.

“I’ve let in about as much as I can,” Johnson said. “I feel like the offseason will happen, and I won’t have team meetings and 2021 planning meetings, and my trips to the shop won’t be as frequent. I’ll still go and still be around HMS just because it’s home.

“But I think as next year comes around and I don’t go to Daytona for the 500 and those firsts that come along, that’s when it will take deeper — it’ll continue to set in deeper and deeper.”

Slowly but surely. Johnson still hopes to run one-off NASCAR races when he can.

RELATED: Drivers, peers pay tribute to Jimmie Johnson

And he’s not leaving the cockpit either, just switching to an open seat. Johnson partnered with Chip-Ganassi Racing to drive in the NTT IndyCar Series part time next year. He actually travels Monday to Monterey, California, for a Tuesday test. He practiced at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, earlier this week, too.

Johnson is going out on his own terms, which is all he wanted when he announced his retirement plan a year ago.

“I have friends that have been NASCAR drivers, friends of mine that have played professional football, professional baseball,” Johnson said. “Very few have had the opportunity to call their shot and say when they’re gone. Some have had injury, some were forced out, some sponsorship or opportunity passed them by. And either way, watching them, there’s a big voice that I’ve noticed.

“I’m just thankful I won’t have that void.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott won his first NASCAR Cup Series title Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, joining his father, Bill, as champions of stock-car racing’s top division.

At 24 years, 11 months and 11 days old, Elliott became the third-youngest Cup Series champion in NASCAR history. Only Jeff Gordon, who claimed his first title at 24 years, three months and eight days old in 1995, and 1950 champ Bill Rexford (then 23 years old) were younger.

Elliott topped fellow finalists Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano in the season-ending race, held for the first time at the 1-mile Arizona oval. Hamlin, the ace for Joe Gibbs Racing this season, was also competing for his first Cup Series crown; Team Penske teammates Keselowski and Logano were both seeking their second series titles.

“I’m not sure that I still even know,” Elliott said when asked what the championship means to him. “I just, man, I’m at a loss for words. This is unbelievable. Oh, my gosh. We did it. I mean, we did it. That’s all I’ve got to tell you. Unreal.

“Championship crew chief, Alan Gustafson, is now a NASCAR Cup Series champion, and very deserving. I just can’t say enough about our group. I felt like we took some really big strides this year, and last week was a huge one. To come out of that with a win and a shot to come here and have a chance to race is unbelievable.”

RELATED: Race results | Chase Elliott wins at Phoenix

Even more unbelievable considering Elliott had to come from the back of the field because of multiple failures in pre-race inspection. However, Elliott was already up to third place by the end of Stage 1. Then, he moved up to second by the end of Stage 2 before taking over the race in the final stage.

Elliott ended up leading a race-high 153 laps, including the final 43 circuits after passing Logano on Lap 270 of 312. Elliott’s margin of victory was a hefty 2.740 seconds over Logano’s teammate Keselowski.

Elliott became the fourth driver to bring a driving championship to team owner Rick Hendrick. His march to the title gave Hendrick Motorsports its 13th title and its first since 2016, when teammate Jimmie Johnson scored the last of his record-tying seven championships — all with Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick’s other titles came from Gordon, a four-time champ who spent all of his Cup Series career with the organization, and 1996 title winner Terry Labonte.

Elliott rode into the postseason picture with two victories, then advanced through the playoffs with wins in both the Round of 12 and Round of 8 finales. Along the way, he continued his mastery of road-course racing, stretching his win streak to four with triumphs at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course (a new venue added after the COVID-19 shutdown) and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. His other victories were career firsts, one on Charlotte’s oval layout and the other at Martinsville Speedway in the season’s penultimate race.

His Sunday triumph brings the championship back to the small town of Dawsonville, Georgia, where Bill Elliott’s march to his only Cup Series title was celebrated in 1988. The Dawsonville Pool Room, a shrine to the Elliotts and other Peach State racing legends, regularly cheered Bill Elliott’s wins by sounding its signature “si-reen.” The pool room’s owners shifted those victory cries to mark Chase Elliott’s accomplishments as he climbed through the NASCAR national series ranks.

RELATED: Chase Elliott through the years | Youngest NASCAR Cup Series champions

Like his father, Chase Elliott carried the No. 9 to a championship. They are the third father-son duo to win Cup Series titles, following Lee and Richard Petty, and Ned and Dale Jarrett — all NASCAR Hall of Famers.

“All you can dream for is an opportunity, and I’ve been very fortunate to have that over the years,” Elliott said. “You know, and that’s all thanks to some great people. You know, my parents obviously have played a huge role. The past year has been tough. I lost my best friend about a year ago tonight. Lost my grandmother last year. And all those things bring families closer, so I really can’t thank them enough.”

The championship marked Elliott’s second national series title. He also secured the NASCAR Xfinity Series title as a rookie with JR Motorsports in 2014.

The title was also a first for crew chief Alan Gustafson, who completed his fifth season atop the No. 9 team’s pit box. Gustafson’s crown came in his second Championship 4 appearance; he also helped guide four-time champ Jeff Gordon to the title round in his final full season in 2015.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

RELATED: How to follow races on NASCAR.com | NASCAR Live Stream

Monday, November 9
1 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Sportscar Championship (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Special: Lamborghini Super Trofeo at Laguna Seca, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, November 10
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
10 p.m., Lost Speedways (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
10:30 p.m., Lost Speedways (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, November 11
1 a.m., Lost Speedways (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1:30 a.m., Lost Speedways (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West: Arizona Lottery 100 (tape delay), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, November 13
Noon, Dale Jr. Download: Chad Knaus (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1 p.m., Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Saturday, November 14
10 a.m., IMSA Auto Racing: 12 Hours of Sebring, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing: 12 Hours of Sebring, NBC/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing: 12 Hours of Sebring, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Sunday, November 15
9 a.m., NASCAR The Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Posted on by Staff Report

Jimmie Johnson made his final NASCAR Cup Series start as a full-time driver in Sunday’s Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

As the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion rides into the next phase of his racing career with 83 career victories, his fellow peers took time to share how Johnson has impacted them and the sport.