Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials said Monday that no penalty would be issued to the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team after a review of a late-race situation in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway.

Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday morning that officials would review a contest for position between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin (No. 11 team) and Erik Jones (No. 20 team) in the closing laps of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 for potential playoff implications.

Hamlin finished 11th — one spot ahead of Jones — and qualified for the field of four championship finalists in Sunday’s season finale.

“After conducting a review of the on-track competition and 20 team radio communication from Sunday’s race at Martinsville, NASCAR will not issue any penalties to the 20 team,” a statement read.

MORE: How the Championship 4 shook out | Martinsville results

Jones, in his next-to-last race with Joe Gibbs Racing, made repeated contact with his teammate’s bumper as the laps ticked down. Rick Carelli, spotter for Jones and the No. 20 JGR team, told his driver, “Don’t pass him, Jones. Stay with him and drive what you can.” Hamlin’s 11th-place finish — just a few car-lengths ahead of his teammate — was enough to claim a Championship 4 berth on the basis of points.

Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Wally Brown said Monday that there was no “team orders” directive that governed how the four-car organization’s drivers competed against each other.

“It’s just not the way we race,” Brown said. “Obviously if you listen to that whole transcript, there was a lot of talk about point implications across the board from multiple teams. Let’s face it, I mean, at that point in time, Denny was not going to let him around. They probably would have crashed if they would have tried to. … The stakes are high. You’re not going to give up those spots, you’re going to do everything you can.”

Chris Gabehart, crew chief for Hamlin’s No. 11, said that the contest was “just racing,” noting in the previous week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway that Busch did not let up for teammate Martin Truex Jr., who finished a close second as he chased a win and an automatic Championship 4 spot.

“I can certainly tell you where Martinsville was concerned, Erik was doing plenty of what he was needed to do to the 11’s back bumper to try to get by him,” Gabehart said. “If there were some sort of team orders on, he wouldn’t have been beating our back bumper. I think Denny was very determined to not get passed, he knew how important it was, he was very difficult to pass, and that’s how it played out.”

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

Shortly after crossing the finish line for his first win at Martinsville Speedway to make the Championship 4, Chase Elliott admitted that a performance under pressure is what the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team was lacking.

It’s safe to say they have found that missing piece and it doesn’t look like they’ll be losing it any time soon.

“Oh, my gosh, this is the biggest win ever for us,” Elliott said. “I’m just so proud to be able to be backed into a corner like that and have to win tonight. I feel like that’s what we’ve been missing these past four or five years and perform when we don’t have a choice. And, to do that tonight; we couldn’t ask for a better night. This is unreal.”

ADVANCING: Championship 4 set for Phoenix

Now, the NASCAR Cup Series’ Most Popular Driver will compete for a championship in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway next Sunday for the first time in his fifth full-time season. Chevrolet hasn’t appeared in the final playoff round since 2016 when Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson earned his record-tying seventh title.

On a chilly fall Sunday evening in Martinsville, Virginia, it appeared a changing-of-the-guard moment had occurred at Hendrick Motorsports with Elliott’s fourth win of the 2020 season and the 10th of his young career.

“These are all moments that I’ve never experienced and moments we haven’t done yet as a team,” Elliott said. “I think it’s huge for me personally. I think it’s huge for our team as a whole; each and every person that puts in time and effort to try to make our program work. I think that when you’re able to be in a position that we were in like we were tonight to try to perform and go and do that, I think everybody gains a lot of confidence from it.

“We proved to ourselves that we could do it,” he added. “I think we also believed that we could do it, but to go out there and actually achieve it is something that we haven’t experienced yet as a group. … We want to assert ourselves among those people who can make it (to the Championship 4) consistently. I feel like we’re very capable of doing that.”

Although Elliott led a dominant and career-high 236 of the 500 laps in the Xfinity 500 Round of 8 elimination race, it was far from easy for the No. 9 team. On Lap 351, Elliott was originally penalized when it appeared the jackman went over the wall too soon during a round of pit stops under caution. The penalty was rescinded, however, after further review by NASCAR officials, discovering the crew member re-established his place on the pit wall after realizing his mistake, which is permitted in the NASCAR Rule Book.

The clutch move saved Elliott from dropping back to the rear of the field in the final stage. It also proved that not only is Elliott capable of rising to the occasion in a pressure-packed situation, but the team can do the same.

“We’ve been trying to take this step now for the last two or three years and I feel like we’ve been really ready to do it and able to do it,” said crew chief Alan Gustafson. “We have not done it when it mattered. Today, we were able to overcome some pretty tough circumstances at Texas and come here really in a must-win situation and being able to do it was great.”

With Elliott earning his first grandfather clock with his Martinsville win, has the time come for the next generation of drivers to start winning championships?

We’ll have to wait a week to find out, but as Elliott prepares to cap off his most successful season to date with a potential title in Phoenix, the veteran-like mindset he has developed will not waver as he enters the most pivotal moment of his career.

“I think if we sit back, start worrying about who is favorite, who is not, who is the underdog, getting everybody running their mouths deal, I’m just not about that,” Elliott said. “I think it’s unproductive. We’re going to worry about ourselves, try to give it our best shot to win.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Four drivers were eliminated from the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway, as the postseason field was trimmed for the final time from eight drivers to four.

Read on for a full update on the standings and results.

MORE: Race results

Eliminated drivers

— Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
— Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
— Kurt Busch, No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
— Alex Bowman, No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Advancing to the Championship 4

1. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
2. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
4. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Finalgrid2020 Ncs Grid Martinsville 01

The ups

— Chase Elliott dominated this race, leading a career-best 236 laps for the win — but it was almost all for naught. On a late pit stop, Elliott’s jackman was over the wall too soon and initially a penalty was called. This likely would have ended Elliott’s shot at the victory and the Championship 4, but upon review, the crew member knew to get back off pit road and behind the wall, resetting his position. Elliott’s quick-thinking teammate (along with a hefty dose of masterful driving) saved the day and sent him to Phoenix Raceway.

— Is Joey Logano the favorite to win it all? After disappearing for most of the regular season after the break for the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2018 champ has put the pieces together in a big way, clinching his Championship 4 spot at Kansas Speedway two weeks ago and putting together a strong Round of 8. He was a headache to all trying to make it at Martinsville, battling at the front of the field all afternoon and finishing third. Kevin Harvick shockingly not making the Championship 4 and Logano being the most recent winner at Phoenix, he might be the guy everyone is trying to beat a week from now.

The downs

— Harvick entered the race second in the playoff standings with a 42-point advantage, seemingly a lock to make it to Phoenix. Partway through Stage 2, the No. 42 of Matt Kenseth made contact with the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and knocked the valve stem off the left-rear wheel, causing the tire to lose air. Harvick was then forced to pit from 25th on Lap 180 under green, putting him two laps down. He fought back all afternoon to get back on the lead lap and had a shot to point his way in at the end but just couldn’t make it stick. A last-ditch effort to move the No. 18 of Kyle Busch in the final stretch that spun them both saddled him eight points below the cutline for the playoff heartbreak.

— Denny Hamlin might have cause for concern. At several points during the race, his No. 11 Toyota was below the cutline — at one of his best tracks, mind you — and while his 11th-place finish was enough to propel him to a second straight Championship 4, it was his third non-top 10 in the last four races and sixth of the playoffs. He’s the defending winner of the Phoenix fall race, but it’s clear this team, the second strongest all season, isn’t hitting on all cylinders at the worst possible time.

—  As much of a shock as it was to see Harvick miss the Championship 4, it was a medium surprise to see Martin Truex Jr. fall short as well. The 2017 champ has been lights-out at Martinsville lately, but a loose wheel after a final stage pit stop necessitated another stop late in the stage to fix it relegated him to a 22nd-place finish. He had four finishes of 22nd or worse in the playoffs, coming off a streak of eight straight finishes of fourth or better to finish the regular season.

Next race

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway for Sunday’s Championship 4 race — the Season Finale 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Holly Cain

Chase Elliott cruised to an impressive 6.577-second victory over Ryan Blaney on Sunday in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway — earning a position in next week’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 season finale.

Equally as dramatic was a failed last-lap pass for position that eliminated the regular-season champion and nine-race winner Kevin Harvick from advancing to that final round. Harvick had to pass 2019 series champ Kyle Busch for one position — one point — to be able to advance to next week’s title race and instead the cars crashed after making contact. Harvick ended up 17th, eight points shy of a playoff berth.

With his victory, Elliott, 24, of Hendrick Motorsports, joins Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who advanced to the title race with a victory two weeks ago at Kansas. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, a seven-race winner, raced his way into the Championship 4 with an 11th-place finish at Martinsville, and Logano’s Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth Sunday, was the final driver to earn a championship opportunity.

RELATED: Race results | Shop for winner gear

“Just so proud,” said Elliott, who was ranked sixth in the championship, 25 points below the cutoff line entering the race and was in a must-win position to earn his first chance at NASCAR’s most prestigious championship.

“To be backed into a corner like that and have to win tonight, I feel like that’s what we’ve been missing these past four of five years. To perform when we don’t have a choice. And to do that tonight, I couldn’t ask for a better night. It’s just unreal.”

Elliott, who led a race-best 236 of the 500 laps, took the lead for good with 43 laps remaining after passing Martin Truex Jr., who thought he had a loose wheel. Truex, who also needed to win to advance to the Championship 4 for the fourth straight year, nursed his car home in 22nd place instead.

After taking the lead, Elliott was able to drive away from the field and Team Penske teammates Blaney, Logano and Keselowski, who finished second, third and fourth, respectively. Playoff drivers Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman — both needing a victory to advance — finished fifth and sixth, followed by Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer. Matt DiBenedetto rounded out the top 10.

Ultimately, eight points separated Keselowski from Harvick after the checkered flag, but it was a long, tense day of math and motivation for both former series champs. Had Harvick been able to pull off that last-lap pass on Busch, he would be challenging for a title instead of Keselowski.

Harvick had a tire go down early in the race causing him to make a green flag pit stop and lose two laps putting him in catch-up mode on the half-mile Martinsville track.

“For sure with the way we’ve run here in the past,” Harvick said, acknowledging he and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team expected the Martinsville race to be a challenge.

“Everybody kept battling there and I tried to run into the door of the 18 as a last-ditch effort there and spun him out there so sorry to put him in the middle of trying to gain a point. Not a great three weeks. It didn’t go our way. We fought for everything we had and it just came up short.”

RELATED: Kevin Harvick eliminated from playoff field

Hamlin, who will be making his second consecutive Championship 4 appearance, said as excited as he was to make the title round, he still felt badly that after a season like Harvick had, he ultimately would not be championship-eligible. The two won 15 of the 35 races.

“I feel badly for Kevin, they probably deserve a little better than that, it’s just the format, I guess, it’s just three races and everything you do for eight innings doesn’t matter if you don’t have a great ninth inning,” Hamlin said.

The Season Finale 500 at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway takes place next Sunday at 3 p.m. ET (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage is complete. There were no issues in the teardown. The No. 18 had one lug nut not safe and secure.

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 2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., Unrivaled: Earnhardt vs. Gordon (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, November 3
2 a.m., IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1 p.m., IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4 p.m., Inside MotoAmerica: Laguna Seca (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., Glory Road: Modified Mastery (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., Glory Road: Battle of the Big 3 (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), 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 4
1 a.m., Dale Jr. Download: Kyle Larson and Rick Hendrick (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4 p.m., Glory Road: IndyCar/NASCAR Crossover (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4:30 p.m., Glory Road: Dodge Returns (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Thursday, November 5
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Friday, November 6
7 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NGROTS, FS1/FOX Sports App
8 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway

Saturday, November 7
1 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Lucas Oil 150 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
7 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
3:30 p.m., Lost Speedways (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4 p.m., Lost Speedways (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1, 3)
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
8 p.m., Lost Speedways, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
8:30 p.m., Lost Speedways, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix Raceway (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
9:30 p.m., Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
2 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Arizona Lottery 200 at Phoenix Raceway
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway

Sunday, November 8
Noon, NASCAR Race Hub: Phoenix, FS1/FOX Sports App
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3, 5)
7 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m., NASCAR iRacing Series at Phoenix Raceway (tape delay), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
8:30 p.m., Lost Speedways (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
9 p.m., Lost Speedways (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway

Posted on by Pat DeCola

“It’s hard to fathom,” Kurt Busch said.

“It’s insane,” Martin Truex Jr. echoed a moment later.

While both former champions missed the cut for the 2020 Championship 4, it’s not their own playoff pursuits ending that they’re talking about.

No, they’re referring to regular-season champion Kevin Harvick being left out of the final four drivers to compete for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series title next Sunday at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Race results

The nine-time 2020 winner was eliminated from postseason contention after the Round of 8 finale in Sunday’s Xfinity 500, finishing 17th at Martinsville Speedway — his fourth finish outside the top 10 in the final five races leading up to next weekend’s title decider.

“It didn’t go our way. We fought for everything we had and it just came up short,” said Harvick, who will now fight for a fifth-place finish to the season, easily his best from a statistical standpoint. “You have to put them together three weeks at a time and it comes down to one race and it came down to one race for us tonight and came up short. … We had a great year.”

Harvick entered the race second in the playoff standings with a 42-point advantage, but the first among those not locked in via win. Fellow Round of 8 contender Chase Elliott ended up winning the race from below the cutline, which ultimately gave Harvick the boot.

The day was filled with trouble for the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

Early in Stage 2, Matt Kenseth’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet made contact with Harvick’s ride and knocked the valve stem off the left-rear wheel, causing the tire to lose air. Harvick was then forced to pit from 25th on Lap 180 under green, with the unscheduled stop putting him two laps down.

The 2014 champ then scratched, scraped and clawed his way back through the field over the course of the remaining 300-plus laps, working to get the free pass and snag positions back spot by spot. Harvick managed to get back on the pace by Lap 401 and eventually snuck his way into the top 10.

Unable to compete for the win, he was essentially battling Brad Keselowski for the final spot, separated by a single or a handful of points as the race neared completion. In need of one point coming to the checkered, Harvick attempted to push the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of longtime frenemy Kyle Busch out of the way to gain one more point — he held the tiebreaker over Keselowski — but instead spun himself and Busch and was saddled with the 17th-place result and a now less pleasant trip out west to the desert later this week.

The playoffs started with a bang for Harvick, knocking out two wins in the Round of 16 at Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway and continuing to rack up bonus points. Phoenix Raceway — his best track, with nine wins — seemed a certainty. A Championship 4 without 2020’s best regular-season driver is, as Kurt Busch indicated, unfathomable.

Welcome to the NASCAR Playoffs, where anything can — and we now know will — happen.

“Never expected that out of the 4 team,” said Busch, Harvick’s former SHR teammate. “Rodney Childers is a genius crew chief. Kevin Harvick is like a surgeon when it comes to gaining points. It shows you the level of competition and how everything is important. … Never expected the 4 to have the trouble that he did. It shows you how tough this really is.”

The 2020 Championship 4 features Elliott, Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.

The fact it won’t include Harvick was certainly a gut punch to Harvick Nation, but “Happy,” as comedically sardonic as ever, won’t be sulking for too long, with nine trophies from this season to admire on his mantel.

“No,” Harvick said, “I’ve been punched in the gut a lot harder.”

Posted on by Jason Christley

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour announced two major dates for the 2021 schedule Sunday afternoon: Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway.

The tour will return to Martinsville at night on Thursday, April 8. And it will return to Richmond under the lights on Friday, Sept. 10.

“The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has a rich legacy at both facilities,” said Jimmy Wilson, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour director. “Now our current competitors have a chance to etch their names alongside the legends who’ve won races at these historic venues.”

Martinsville hosted a modified race in NASCAR’s inaugural season on July 4, 1948.

NASCAR’s National Modified Championship, the predecessor to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, competed at Martinsville from 1960-1984. The modern-day NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continued to race at the historic half-mile short track from 1985-2002 and 2005-2010. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was originally scheduled to return to Martinsville on May 8, 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Thursday, April 8, 2021, Martinsville will host a NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Friday, April 9, 2021 and the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday, April 10, 2021. All three races will be held under the bright lights at the iconic half-mile short track.

2021 NASCAR race tickets are available for purchase today via phone at 877-RACE-TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.

The Whelen Modified Tour will make its first trip to Richmond since 2002, and will be part of the historic celebration of America’s Premier Short Track’s 75th anniversary.

Richmond first hosted a modified race in NASCAR’s inaugural season on May 16, 1948. The race was the first NASCAR sanctioned race in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond hosted the modern-day NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour from 1990-1993, 1997 and 1999-2002. Mike Stefanik, elected to the 2021 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and one of the Modified Tour’s 10 greatest drivers of all-time, holds the modern-day record with three wins at Richmond.

Richmond’s fall race weekend will include three races over two days starting with the Modified Tour under the lights on Friday, Sept. 10. America’s Premier Short Track will host a day-night doubleheader with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race and a NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on Saturday, Sept. 11.

2021 NASCAR race tickets are available for purchase via phone at 866-455-7223 or online at richmondraceway.com.

The schedule for the complete 2021 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be announced in the near future.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Ty Dillon and wife Haley welcomed their second child to the world. Their son, Kapton Reed Dillon, was born Thursday, Oct. 29.

The couple had a daughter in 2017, Oakley Ray Dillon. Kapton is the second addition to the Dillon family tree this year as Ty’s brother, Austin, and wife Whitney welcomed son Ace earlier this year.

Ty Dillon will lineup 25th in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Holly Cain

Harrison Burton may have fallen out of championship contention weeks ago, but the 20-year-old is driving every bit like a title threat right now, earning his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday afternoon in the Draft Top 250 at Martinsville Speedway.

The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota held off veteran and NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff contender Justin Allgaier by .355 seconds and led the final 53 laps of the race to become the youngest winner (20 years, 22 days) in series history at the famed half-mile track — bettering his own father Jeff Burton’s mark (23 years, two months, 24 days).

RELATED: Race results | Martinsville schedule

Burton’s 81 laps out front were best in the field and his win was the rookie’s fourth on the season. It came in the series’ first race at Martinsville Speedway since 2006.

“Great race car and best team in the garage,” Burton excitedly told his father, a broadcaster on the NBC race telecast as he made his way to the finish line for a victory burnout.

And while it was an important personal triumph for the second-generation driver, Burton’s victory had an important impact on the ultimate championship battle — three of the final four championship-eligible positions were decided by points. Allgaier’s runner-up effort was good enough to allow him to transfer to the title round next week at Phoenix, joining Saturday’s 10th-place finisher Austin Cindric, 12th-place finisher Justin Haley and seventh-place Chase Briscoe, who had already advanced with a win two weeks ago.

Crossing the line just behind Burton and Allgaier to round out the top five Saturday were Noah Gragson, Jeb Burton (the winner’s cousin) and Ross Chastain — with Gragson and Chastain falling just short of advancing into the Championship 4 round. Brandon Jones (ninth place) and Ryan Sieg (11th place) also failed to earn a position in the Championship 4.

Those motivated to earn a title shot certainly put in the effort, however. Gragson won Stage 1 and led 23 laps on the day. Chastain won Stage 2 and led 31 laps on the afternoon.

Pit strategy ultimately played a big role, however. Non-championship contenders such as Burton and veteran AJ Allmendinger, who led 68 laps, were able to gamble on pit-stop timing and track position. Allmendinger had the lead after the Stage 2 restart, and he and Burton were the only two drivers to trade the top position from there out while the early leaders navigated back up through the field in traffic.

Allmendinger, who led twice for 68 laps, fell from contention when his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet slowed with a flat left-rear tire. That left Burton in front for the final 53 laps. Allmendinger finished 26th, two laps down.

Of the four drivers who have advanced to decide the championship next week at Phoenix, Allgaier is the only one with previous experience in the Championship 4. This will be the JR Motorsports veteran’s fourth chance to earn the title. The 34-year-old driver’s previous-best championship finish in this playoff format was third — both in 2016 and 2017. He is a three-race winner this season.

Briscoe, 25, who has a series-best nine victories in the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, has a best championship finish of fifth — last year. Cindric, the regular season champion and a five-race winner in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, is also making his Championship 4 debut. His previous best showing was sixth place in last year’s championship. Haley, 21, the driver of the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet and three-race winner in 2020, will also be making his Championship 4 debut.

“A lot of boxes checked for us today, I feel like we’ve had to points-race the entire playoffs,” Cindric said. “And it’s been really annoying. We’ve brought some really fast race cars to the tracks in the last few weeks and our guys did an incredible job coming to the race track with no notebook and really basing it off the Ford simulator of notes from the Cup guys. Really proud of that effort. It’s a year’s worth of work and going to try to go take advantage of it next week.”

“I think we have to go there prepared to win the race,” Cindric added.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action to decide the 2021 championship, Saturday, Nov. 7 in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway (5 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: No major issues emerged from post-race inspection. The No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Allgaier was found with one lug nut not safely secured in a post-race check.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Following an electrifying Daytona 500, the 2020 NASCAR season gets into full swing with a string of West Coast races. But in early March the COVID-19 pandemic causes shutdowns across the sports landscape, and NASCAR makes the decision to press pause on its season.

Go behind the scenes during a historic moment for the sport in MotorTrend’s docuseries “NASCAR 2020: Under Pressure,” which launches today exclusively on the MotorTrend App. Watch as the industry rallies together to find a way to safely return to racing and to be the first American sport back in action.

RELATED: Start your free trial today on the MotorTrend App

Episode 1 titled “Hit the Brakes” starts the “Under Pressure” docuseries, produced by MotorTrend group in partnership with NASCAR. But come back every Saturday, from Nov. 7 to Dec. 12, to see an all new episode of “Under Pressure,” an inside look at the unforgettable 2020 NASCAR season.

Plus, with your free trial to the MotorTrend App you will also get access to over 3,600 hours of automotive entertainment, including shows from MotorTrend, Discovery Channel, live events and more. Start watching “Under Pressure” today.