Posted on by Pat DeCola

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of four stories examining why each driver could win the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Tuesday: Denny Hamlin
Wednesday: Brad Keselowski
Thursday: Chase Elliott
Friday: Joey Logano

• • •

Denny Hamlin will win the 2020 championship because …

He thinks he can.

I’ll be honest, there’s some cause for concern here. Hamlin’s only win of the playoffs came at Talladega and he has just three top-10 finishes in 10 races since his win at Dover. His 11.1 average finish in the playoffs isn’t mesmerizing when drivers are supposed to be performing at their best.

At no point during a roller coaster of a nine-race stretch to open the postseason did Hamlin seem concerned, down or unsure of the notion that he and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team were going all the way. And despite the surmounting questions since the calendar turned to September, here they are.

RELATED: Ranking all 12 Championship 4 drivers

It might not have been pretty at times and it probably wasn’t their preferred method of advancing to Phoenix with a title shot, but that part of the job is done. And now suddenly Hamlin, who has three more wins than any of his Championship 4 counterparts, has a shot at his first title for the second year in a row.

And looking a little closer at the results of the playoff races, he led laps in all but two of them, pointing to likely having at least the speed necessary to contend for the win Sunday.

The sting of last year’s disappointment likely still feels fresh, and it certainly wasn’t his first taste of championship letdown. Hamlin will be ready to go on Sunday, and he’ll be sure to do everything in his power to not go through that heartbreak again.

Hamlin’s back-and-forth struggle with Kevin Harvick over the summer as two master craftsmen attempted to out-excellent each other was a blast to watch, and it’ll be a bit of a disappointment to not see that story line conclude in the season finale. That might, however, open the door a bit for 2020’s 1B to Harvick’s 1A to just outright dominate the race.

He entered last season’s finale riding a wave of momentum coming off a win at this very track and fell flat at Miami. With expectations slightly diminished from the height of his midseason dominance, perhaps this year Denny Hamlin’s got ’em right where he wants ’em.

MORE: Denny Hamlin through the years

Posted on by Staff Report

The legend is leaving. After Sunday’s Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway, Jimmie Johnson will no longer be a full-time driver in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. That job will instead belong to Alex Bowman next year. So, what now?

For Johnson, he will move on to an IndyCar ride with Chip Ganassi Racing and said recently he is dreaming about a return in the Rolex 24. But as far as NASCAR is concerned, unless we get a cameo appearance — and nothing has been planned — this Sunday is our last chance to see “Seven Time” in a stock car.

So with one more weekend to celebrate one of the best drivers ever to put on a fire suit, let’s enjoy some content. Bookmark this page and come back often, because we will add to it as more becomes available.

ARTICLES

— Johnson’s final race: One Final Time was good for a fifth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway for the seven-time champion. Hear from Johnson as he tries to put into words what his last race meant to him. READ MORE

— Drivers, peers share send-offs: Chad Knaus, Jeff Gordon and others chimed in on social media to pay tribute to Jimmie Johnson for his final race as a full-time driver. Read their kind words and reactions. READ MORE

— Jimmie Johnson cared when he didn’t have to: Hear from Cup Series contemporaries such as Brad Keselowski as they discuss Johnson as a fellow competitor and the way he acted on and off the track. Find out why Keselowski said Johnson cared when didn’t have to, setting “Seven-Time” apart from the rest. READ MORE

— Silver streak: Johnson unveiled a new silvery look for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Ally Chevrolet for his final ride at Phoenix. Check it out and discover what his teammates have planned for their paint schemes that will pay tribute to Jimmie. READ MORE

— Johnson reaches out to young designer: Before this season’s fall race at Texas, Johnson surprised one of his biggest fans, a young University of Michigan design student who was bullied on the internet for introducing a Pride scheme to iRacing. See the young man’s reaction, as well as his No. 48 design for that race. READ MORE

— A legacy of lessons: Johnson’s impact on and off the track is immeasurable. Holly Cain looks at his roots, his rise and the mark he has left on competitors across the sport. READ MORE

— Forever family: Emotions are beginning to bubble to the surface for team owner Rick Hendrick ahead of Johnson’s final full-time start in the No. 48 Chevrolet. READ MORE

VIDEOS

— Johnson honored at Phoenix: Jimmie Johnson was honored at Phoenix Raceway with a pace lap ahead of the field. Watch as the seven-time champion saluted the fans in his final race as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver. WATCH VIDEO

— Favorite Jimmie Johnson memories: As fast as they race and as close as they race, and heck, as much as they race, everyone has a run-in or a rivalry with someone else. But we asked drivers for their favorite Jimmie Johnson memories, and while the stories flourished, not one of them remembered ever being mad at Jimmie. WATCH VIDEO

— Face morph: Clean-shaven, stubbly, marathon-tested and, well, you get the picture. Watch Jimmie Johnson’s face change through the years. For fun, hit pause on the video and see which look you get. WATCH VIDEO

GALLERIES

— Photos from Phoenix: Check out the best pictures from Jimmie Johnson’s final race as a full-time driver at Phoenix Raceway. SEE PHOTOS

— Jimmie Johnson’s career in photos: From his early start on dirt to his seventh championship and all the way to the Boston Marathon and everywhere in between, see photos of Johnson in his best and most revealing times. This includes a look at some of the cool tributes tracks have done for him down the stretch. SEE PHOTOS

— 48 reason to love ‘Seven-Time’: Steve Luvender celebrates Jimmie in a fun way that only he can, reaching far back into that mind of his to pull out some gems like Charlie Meatball, “Boom Confetti,” as well as cameos on Superstore and Herbie: Fully Loaded. One thing is for sure, Johnson has led a very cool life. SEE PHOTOS

— All he does is win: Like we said, there are 83 Cup victories, and you can enjoy them all from the first in 2002 at his hometown track of Auto Club Speedway to the most recent in 2017 at Dover International Speedway to tie Cale Yarborough for sixth place on the all-time win list.  | READ MORE

THE ESSENTIALS
— Jimmie Johnson driver page
— Shop: Jimmie Johnson gear
— Hendrick Motorsports team page
— Racing Reference: Career stats

Posted on by Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 5, 2020) – Today, The NASCAR Foundation announced that Charlene Greer, a lifelong NASCAR fan and nine-year volunteer with Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia/Flagler Counties, is the winner of The NASCAR Foundation’s 10th annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award. Greer received the award — along with a $100,000 donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia/Flagler Counties — during a celebration live-streamed on NASCAR.com from the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America at Daytona International Speedway.

Greer, from Daytona Beach, Florida, is one of four finalists who are all longtime NASCAR fans. Greer grew up spending weekends at the track with her father, a motorsports mechanic. Some of her fondest memories are witnessing Bill Elliott go from being known as “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” to “Million Dollar Bill” with his win at Darlington in 1985 over Labor Day weekend and her first time attending the DAYTONA 500, now her home track.

RELATED: Learn more about The NASCAR Foundation

This year, The NASCAR Foundation chose to celebrate each finalist with a small celebration in their race markets. Finalists include Daryl Farler representing Amputee Blade Runners celebrating at the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation with Nashville Superspeedway; Larry Jordan representing Angel Flight Soars, Inc. at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta; and, Rich Langley with the Roc Solid Foundation celebrating with the team at Richard Childress Racing Museum. Each of the three finalists receives a $25,000 donation to their charity and with it being the 10th year of the Award, an additional $5,000 gift to honor the occasion.

“This year’s finalists are all stand outs. Their NASCAR spirit is behind the incredible work they do to improve the lives of children in our communities each and every day,” said Mike Helton, chairman of The NASCAR Foundation. “What a year this has been and our fans rallied around this award like never before. We are very proud of all the finalists and particularly proud to present the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award to Charlene Greer, a very deserving recipient, to honor the work she’s doing in NASCAR’s hometown of Daytona Beach.”

The award honors the philanthropic ideals and vision of The NASCAR Foundation’s late founder and chairperson, Betty Jane France, and is annually presented to a NASCAR fan who is an accomplished volunteer championing children’s causes. This year marks the 10th annual presentation of the award impacting 354,647 children to date while recognizing 40 finalists with a total of $1,770,000 in contributions to the causes they represent.

Greer’s win will help change the lives of children living with disadvantaged circumstances. The resulting $100,000 donation will cover the costs to transport all of the organization’s more than 1,400 children safely to the eight Boys & Girls clubs after school utilizing bus transportation. With 87 percent of its members on free or reduced lunch and the club’s motto to never turn any child away for their inability to pay, this would help the children to realize their full potential.

“Being a finalist for the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award has been overwhelmingly humbling,” stated Greer. “I cannot thank The NASCAR Foundation enough for giving us the platform to talk about the life-changing works that our staff and volunteers at The Boys and Girls Clubs of Volusia/Flagler Counties facilitates every day. Being able to represent the incredible team of people that stand beside me serving the mission and the passion for our kids has been an honor. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!”

Greer lends nearly 120 hours each month in her support of the Boys & Girls Clubs including operational funding, and her vision and execution of special activities that directly benefit the students. She mentors children which is her favorite role, participates in board meetings and advocates for the cause while meeting with local elected officials and community leaders. Her fundraising efforts are likely the most widely recognized as her support wholly funds the Clubs’ annual Honor Roll Banquet and Christmas party.

To learn more about The NASCAR Foundation’s programs, including the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award and Speediatrics Children’s Fund, please visit NASCARfoundation.org.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of four stories examining why each driver could win the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Tuesday: Denny Hamlin
Wednesday: Brad Keselowski
Thursday: Chase Elliott
Friday: Joey Logano

• • •

Chase Elliott will win the 2020 championship because …

He’s built for this moment.

NASCAR’s playoff format and the whole concept of the Championship 4 is inherently eventful, and Elliott is arguably NASCAR’s biggest superstar — for reasons that extend beyond his last name. Superstars tend to take part in the biggest moments in sport, Elliott being a prime example of that as recently as last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

With his back against the wall last Sunday, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver took the checkered flag in one of the most pressure-packed and intense races in recent memory to secure a title shot for the first time in his career. It was his second straight playoff cutoff race victory, and there’s no remaining doubt that when things are on the line — such as needing to fend off three competitors all vying for the same season-long prize in one race — Elliott won’t shrink from the moment.

The 24-year-old has been making an impact in the sport since before he even turned 18, stretching all the way back to wrecking Ty Dillon coming to the checkered flag north of the border at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park to become (at the time) the youngest winner in Camping World Truck Series history. A dominant run to an Xfinity Series title followed not too long after, too.

Think back to some of the most vivid and impactful NASCAR memories you have over the past five-plus years and there’s a strong chance a good number of them include Elliott, from a nose-first dive into the Turn 1 wall at the Charlotte Roval and subsequent victorious return to that spot for a burnout a few moments later to telling driver No. 18 he was No. 1 earlier this season. NASCAR’s (likely) soon-to-be three-time Most Popular Driver certainly inherited some of that clout from his Hall of Fame dad, but he’s done plenty to back it up over recent years. His Championship 4 appearance is the furthest thing from a fluke. He earned it.

RELATED: Odds for Phoenix race

Statistically-speaking, 2020 is the best season of his career, with four wins, 14 top fives and 21 top 10s. His 1,083 laps led are second only to the season’s elite driver in Kevin Harvick and those four wins could’ve easily been six or seven if a small handful of things had gone slightly differently.

Elliott has yet to win at Phoenix, and hasn’t won on a similarly-configured track, but he’s shown to be much, much more than just a road-course ace. Wins at the very different Dover, Kansas, Charlotte, Talladega, Rovals at Charlotte and Daytona and now Martinsville show he’s tremendously well-rounded and it’s only a matter of time before he knocks a track like Phoenix off his list.

After leading 93 laps from the pole in the spring race, it could be this weekend. And it could be for the championship.

MORE: Chase Elliott through the years

Posted on by Terrin Waack

The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Championship 4 drivers combined to win 20 of the 32 races throughout the 2020 season, and now there’s only one trophy left up for grabs.

Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Justin Haley and Justin Allgaier are the final playoff contenders vying for the title. Whoever has the best finish Saturday at Phoenix Raceway (5 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be crowned this year’s champion.

RELATED: Championship weekend schedule

Forget best finish, these four are entering this finale with a must-win mindset.

“We have all watched the Xfinity races enough this year to know that we are going to be pretty aggressive as far as whether that is just packing air on each other or maybe some contact,” Cindric said Wednesday during virtual Media Day. “I am not going to make any speculation, but I am sure everyone will be giving 100 percent.”

Briscoe leads the series with nine wins. Cindric has a second-best five, while Allgaier and Haley have three victories apiece.

The most recent winner among the group is Briscoe. He clinched his Championship 4 berth with a win at Kansas Speedway in the Round of 8 opener. The other three advanced on the basis of points.

“The confidence is high,” Briscoe said. “I feel like we’ve been the best team all year long, and there’s no reason why we can’t go to Phoenix and be the same way. I feel like we’re going in there with nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Sounds a lot like his competition.

“Obviously we have a lot of confidence,” Haley said. “We feel very confident in what we’ve done on the simulator this week, we feel very confident about what direction we’re going in, we feel confident how our car looked on the setup plate, on the pull-down machine. … I think that we, going into it, have an advantage because we have nothing to lose.”

The Championship 4 may be the only drivers still alive in the championship battle — their only focus — but there are 33 other competitors listed on the entry list. To them, it’s another opportunity to score points, win a race and raise their season stock.

Take Harrison Burton, for example. He captured the last two checkered flags and boasts four wins overall. Burton is currently ranked eighth, which leaves room for improvement. Then there’s Brandon Jones, who won at Phoenix earlier this season. He sits seventh in the standings with three wins.

The highest somebody not title eligible can finish in the final standings is fifth.

“You never know what your three other competitors are going to do for a win,” Allgaier said. “You never know what the other drivers on the race track are willing to do for the win. Right? It’s the last race of the year. Everyone wants to end on a high note.”

JAYSKI: Justin Allgaier returning to JR Motorsports in 2021

As Jones made the March trip to Phoenix’s Victory Lane, Haley came in fifth, Briscoe was behind him in sixth, Cindric sat two cars back in eighth and Allgaier ended up outside the top 10 in 13th.

Allgaier is the sole Championship 4 driver with a previous Phoenix win — two actually, in 2017 and 2019. Cindric is next-best with a fourth-place run in 2018. Both Briscoe’s and Haley’s strongest career finishes were earlier this year.

This is the first time Phoenix is hosting the championship, though. All bets are off.

“This is racing at a pretty high level, and I think we are all professionals,” Cindric said. “I expect that out of my competitors, a professional level of racing. At the same time, I expect them to go for it.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series is racing to an especially chippy conclusion to its 2020 season, and the Championship 4 field has the potential for a 3-on-1 teaming-up among the finalists.

A trio of drivers for GMS Racing — Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt and rookie Zane Smith — will vie for the Gander Trucks crown with Grant Enfinger, ThorSport Racing’s lone title hope, in Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Phoenix Raceway. The GMS group has shown strength in performance this year, and now has it in numbers for the season finale. The notion of a triple-team squeeze, however, may not exactly be a layup.

RELATED: Analysis: Gander Trucks finalists | Phoenix weekend schedule

“Yes and no. I think the four of us just need to race each other the first two stages and then obviously, I think it’s gloves off after that,” said Creed, making his first appearance as a finalist after a four-win season. “Then we go out there and race. I don’t think all of us are going to be in the same area all at once. Some of us might struggle; some of us might be really fast, so I don’t know. We won’t know until Friday, but I don’t know. I think we still have respect for each other, and I think racing the 98 (Enfinger), we should have respect for him, too. But I think that third stage, gloves come off and we do what we have to do to get to the lead or put yourself in position to win.”

Smith, in his first Championship 4 after a two-win campaign to get there, paused and half-laughed at the four-driver dynamic.

“I probably don’t have any teammates this Friday,” said Smith, a 21-year-old product of the NASCAR Next program. “I feel like we’re kind of all on the same page on that. There’s just so much on the line, especially for me. If I could win this deal in my rookie year, that’s a really big deal. That’s how I’m looking at it. I’m not going to go out there and wreck my teammates, by no means, but I’m going to race them just as hard as I would race anyone else.”

Enfinger will be going it alone in some senses, but he’ll have teammates competing alongside him in Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes and Johnny Sauter for Friday’s finale. Crafton and Rhodes just missed qualifying for the championship round, while Enfinger’s clutch victory last week at Martinsville Speedway clinched his berth.

MORE: Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes among those ousted from playoffs

While Enfinger said he’d have welcomed some company in the final from his ThorSport teammates, his approach for the season-ending race won’t change, no matter the odds.

“We’re going against those guys, but I don’t feel like we necessarily have to race any differently,” said Enfinger, a 35-year-old Alabama native. “Our strategy going in there is just to win the race flat-out. I feel like with the competitors that we’re going against that any one of them are capable of pulling off the win. They’ve all won races this year. I feel like at the end of the day that may not be how it looks when the green flag comes out, but I feel like by the time the checkered flag comes out you’re gonna have to have won this race to be the champion.”

This time around, winning might require some finesse — or blunt force, rather — with the bumper, especially if the series’ frenzied competition in recent weeks is any indicator. The racing at both Texas Motor Speedway and Martinsville in the postseason’s previous round ruffled tempers and fenders, ramping up the intensity and sometimes dispensing with on-track courtesies.

“I think it’s over the line, for sure,” said Moffitt, who is aiming for his second Gander Trucks title in the last three seasons. “I feel like I’ve had to, I guess, stoop down to a lot of their levels and get more aggressive and use the truck up a little more to get by people, especially at the short tracks. It just seems like everyone’s doing that these days, and you’re not going to win unless you’re as aggressive as they are.”

Smith, for one, said his patience level for full-contact shenanigans in the season-ending race would be short.

“I’m just going into Friday where it’s one strike and I’m done with it,” said Smith, explaining that he was on the receiving end of contact from ThorSport’s Sauter last weekend at Martinsville. He couldn’t retaliate, needing to protect his points cushion. “… I guarantee you I won’t be taking any of that at Phoenix, and it’ll be a different situation I’m in next time.”

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion will be crowned Sunday in the desert at Phoenix Raceway in the Season Finale 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), wrapping up another spectacular season of NASCAR racing.

Before the on-track action, catch up on some important details.

RELATED: Full Phoenix schedule | Championship 4: Who’s in?

TRACK DETAILS

Built in 1964, Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile desert oval featuring a 1,551-foot frontstretch and a 1,179 -foot backstretch. Turns 1 and 2 have an 8- to 9-degree variable banking and Turns 3 and 4 are banked from 10 to 11 degrees.

Richard Petty won the first NASCAR race in 1978, a Winston West Series event. The premier series has hosted a race every season since 1988.

The track was reconfigured and repaved in 2011, changing the pit stall area, widening the frontstretch, adjusting the dogleg and adding more progressive banking in the turns. In 2018, the start/finish line was relocated in the previous Turn 2 area.

STAGE LENGTHS

Stage 1 will end at Lap 75, Stage 2 at Lap 190 and the Final Stage at Lap 312.

STARTING LINEUP

Chase Elliott earned the final Busch Pole Award of the season, starting on the front row alongside Joey Logano. Championship contenders Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin fill up the second row, while Ryan Blaney completes the top five.

The lineup was determined using NASCAR’s competition-based formula, which is a total number based on the previous event: 15% of a fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race position and 35% of the owner points position.

RELATED: Full starting grid

RULES PACKAGE

Teams will use the enhanced 2020 short oval and road course package, featuring a significantly shorter rear spoiler and front splitter. Cars are fitted with a tapered-spacer engine targeting around 750 horsepower and emphasizing lower downforce due to aerodynamic changes. 

GOODYEAR TIRES

Cup Series teams are provided with nine sets of Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials. Goodyear is accounting for the changes made to the series’ short track package by increasing mechanical grip through new tread compounds. Running with lower downforce, tire wear management will come into play throughout the afternoon for teams and may be a key factor in deciding the race winner.

“This package that the Cup cars run at Phoenix — the tires, horsepower and aero — really produced some great racing when we debuted it in March,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “The sport as a whole came together to come up with ideas to improve this short track rules package, and that enabled us at Goodyear to bring a tire that adds mechanical grip and wears a bit more. Those are two important factors, as the mechanical grip replaces the loss of aerodynamic grip with the lower downforce, while the ability for tires to wear is always a positive.”

CHAMPIONSHIP STATS TO KNOW

— The season finale has been won by a Championship 4 driver in all six years of the current format. Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano are this year’s drivers looking to keep the streak alive.

— Logano (2018) and Keselowski (2012), Team Penske teammates, are the only previous Cup Series champions in the 2020 Championship 4 and both started the season with new crew chief pairings.

— Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Elliott, has three wins at Phoenix with three different drivers. His three victories at this track are more than the other three Championship 4 crew chiefs combined.

— Four of the last seven drivers to reach nine wins in a season failed to win the championship, including the last two: Kevin Harvick in 2020 and Carl Edwards in 2008.

Source: Racing Insights

INTERACTIVE COVERAGE

For a more interactive experience, head over to NASCAR.com or the NASCAR Mobile App to check out an enhanced Race Center, live Lap-by-Lap coverage, the customizable live leaderboard with Scanner, and the return of Drive (featuring in-car cameras). We’ll be on board with Jimmie Johnson for his final race in his final full-time season.

Also, Coca-Cola is sponsoring a YouTube in-car camera with Championship 4 contender Joey Logano.

Watch for the pre-race show sponsored by Sugarlands Shine at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday on NASCAR.com.

Be sure to set your lineup in Fantasy Live and make your picks in the NASCAR Finish Line App!

2019 RACE WINNER

Denny Hamlin’s clutch win at Phoenix in last year’s playoffs punched his ticket to the Championship 4 after being 20 points out of the final transfer spot. Hamlin led 143 laps in the race, outpacing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch for his second win at the track.

RELATED: Championship weekend Power Rankings

ACTIVE PHOENIX WINNERS

Kevin Harvick (nine wins); Jimmie Johnson (four wins); Kyle Busch (three wins); Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman (two wins each); Kurt Busch (one win).

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of four stories examining why each driver could win the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Tuesday: Denny Hamlin
Wednesday: Brad Keselowski
Thursday: Chase Elliott
Friday: Joey Logano

• • •

Brad Keselowski will win the 2020 championship because …

He’s likely to have the fastest car this weekend.

Two of the most dominant performances of 2020 came out of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford at New Hampshire and Richmond, with Keselowski leading close to 400 combined laps en route to victory in those two races. Additionally, those two tracks are perhaps closest in nature to Phoenix’s layout, with the same rules package — one in which Keselowski has arguably performed better than anyone this year — used for all three. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins will bring the same car that won both contests to the desert this weekend to complete the hat trick.

Assuming that car holds up to the rigors of another race (remember, there’s no practice or qualifying to fine-tune, make adjustments or uncover anything seemingly awry), there’s no reason to think the No. 2 Ford won’t be one of, if not the, fastest cars on the track Sunday.

RELATED: Ranking all 12 Championship 4 drivers

But a fast car can only go as far as the driver behind the steering wheel is willing to take it, and the 2012 champ has done his part this year to squeeze just about everything out of his ride.

Keselowski’s 2020 season is on an even pace with his title-winning season (that was somehow almost a decade ago), and the pair square off at the top of his resume for the best two campaigns of his career.

2012: 5 wins, 13 top fives, 23 top 10s, 10.1 average finish, 735 laps led

2020: 4 wins, 12 top fives, 24 top 10s, 10.3 average finish, 936 laps led

For much of the regular season since the sport resumed from a two-month break in the spring, Keselowski was in that tier just below the untouchables in Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, all four of his wins coming since May. Now that one of those drivers (Harvick) is eliminated and the other has had a somewhat up-and-down postseason run, this could be the perfect opportunity for the Cup veteran to land his second title in his first Championship 4 appearance since 2017.

As far as Phoenix goes, Keselowski by his own admission is snake-bitten at the desert track, seeing another win slip from his grasp this past spring after leading 82 laps in March and eventually watching his teammate and fellow Championship 4 driver celebrating in Victory Lane while he came home 11th. Keselowski has just two top 10s there the last six races, though one was a runner-up finish.

Phoenix, however, has not been an entirely barren wasteland for him, nearly producing a season sweep in 2014 with a victory in the spring race and a P2 in the fall. 

If Keselowski and Bullins can put all the pieces together and the hot rod they’re bringing to the track holds up to the high standard it has set, Keselowski could cruise to his second Cup Series title and further cement his NASCAR Hall of Fame resume.

MORE: Brad Keselowski through the years

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s season-ending race at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), which hosts the championship weekend for the NASCAR Playoffs this year for the first time.

The Cup Series lineup was determined using NASCAR’s competition-based formula, which is a total number based on the series’ previous event: 15% of a fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race position and 35% of the owner points position.

RELATED: Learn more about the new lineup formula

Joining Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the front row will be Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

In the majority of national series events since NASCAR’s May return, starting lineups have been set by random draws. This structure, first introduced in early August, draws on performance from both individual races and season-long results, rather than leaving a range of starting spots up to chance.

See the full starting lineup for Sunday’s race below (P = playoff eligible):

Start Driver Car # Team
1 Chase Elliott (P) 9 Hendrick Motorsports
2 Joey Logano (P) 22 Team Penske
3 Brad Keselowski (P) 2 Team Penske
4 Denny Hamlin (P) 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
6 Alex Bowman 88 Hendrick Motorsports
7 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
8 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
9 Clint Bowyer 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
10 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
11 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
12 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Woods Brothers Racing
13 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
14 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
15 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
16 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
17 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
18 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
19 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
20 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
21 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
22 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
23 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
24 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
25 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
26 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
27 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
28 Corey LaJoie 32 Go Fas Racing
29 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
30 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
31 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
32 JJ Yeley 27 Rick Ware Racing
33 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
34 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
35 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
36 James Davison 53 Rick Ware Racing
37 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing
38 Josh Bilicki 77 Spire Motorsports
39 Garrett Smithley 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing