Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Needing to make up a 23-point deficit to qualify for the Championship 4, Ryan Blaney started 10th in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500, last among playoff contenders.

RELATED: Race results | Hamlin prevails

Blaney’s Team Penske No. 12 Ford improved throughout the race, and he finished third behind Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, but with Hamlin winning the race and Busch also advancing to the finale, Blaney was knocked out of contention.

Blaney had a chance to win when the race went to a restart with three laps to go, but Blaney started second on the inside, with Hamlin taking the top lane.

“I felt like I got an OK start,” Blaney said. “It’s really hard for the guy on the bottom on the front row to accelerate and turn down the hill. It’s the way (the track) is shaped. It’s kind of tough, especially in Turn 2. But I don’t know, you can always get a better start, right?

“I thought I got an OK start, but the 18 (Busch) got a better one and got inside of me, and, honestly, the top is so dominant, especially if you’re on two (tires), you’re kind of just sliding up from the bottom, and he (Hamlin) was obviously the best car all day. Just needed the lead and I might have been able to pinch him through 1 and 2, and you never know. But it’s not enough.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The race-winning No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin passed post-race technical inspection Sunday at ISM Raceway with no issues.

The No. 11 Toyota was found to be compliant with the 2019 NASCAR Rule Book after Hamlin won the final race in the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, punching his ticket into the Championship 4 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The following cars were found to have one lug nut not safe and secure in post-race inspection: The No. 2 Ford of Brad Keselowski and the No. 53 Ford of JJ Yeley.

With post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

RELATED: Results

The post-race process is part of a new, more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced in February that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the Research & Development Center.

Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions — “a total culture change,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. In the past, race-winning teams found in violation of the rules were penalized with post-race fines, points deductions and/or suspensions, but victories were allowed to stand.

Competition officials introduced the quicker post-race inspection timetable in an effort to make the results official on race day, aiming for a 90-minute target time frame to complete their scrutinizing. The new post-race inspection process was also designed to deal with potential violations more promptly, avoiding any midweek news that might cloud the previous week’s results or the build-up to the following week’s event.

NASCAR will still inspect cars and parts at the R&D Center as needed, but the more comprehensive at-track inspection will take priority.

According to NASCAR statistical archives, the last time a premier-series driver was disqualified occurred in 1973, when early retiree Buddy Baker was demoted to last place in the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The last time an apparent race winner in NASCAR’s top division was disqualified came on April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson (N.C.) Speedway was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank on his No. 85 Chevrolet.

Posted on by Staff Report

Toyota clinched its third manufacturers championship in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with its 18th win of the season Sunday at ISM Raceway near Phoenix.

RELATED: Race results | Hamlin prevails at Phoenix

The automaker’s title is its third in the last four seasons, a run broken only by Ford’s championship performance last year. Joe Gibbs Racing has accounted for all 18 of its premier-series wins this year, tying a single-season record for one organization, set by Hendrick Motorsports in 2007.

JGR clinched three spots in the Championship 4 field that will battle for the title next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Phoenix race winner Denny Hamlin and Gibbs teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. will challenge Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick for the title in the season finale at the 1.5-mile Florida venue.

Before Toyota’s recent tear and Ford’s title last season, Chevrolet had won 13 straight manufacturers championships from 2003-15.

Posted on by Pat DeCola

AVONDALE, Ariz. – The road to Miami wasn’t always paved Peanut M&M’s yellow, but Kyle Busch snagged the final transfer spot and will race for the title in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season finale for the fifth straight year.

Busch led 69 laps from the pole in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway en route to a Championship 4-clinching, second-place finish after Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag. By virtue of the victory by Hamlin – who entered the race below the cutline – mutal rival and defending series champion in Team Penske’s Joey Logano was ousted from contention. Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson were eliminated as well.

RELATED: Race results | Championship 4 set

Busch looked early on to have a shot at winning his way into Miami, but the No. 11 Toyota of Hamlin proved to be too formidable to overcome over the long runs of the second half of the race. Hamlin led a dominant 143 of 312 laps.

“Just didn’t quite have enough. I knew the 11 was the best car in practice,” Busch said on pit road after the race. “I knew we were going to be about third to fifth. We were second. Guys did a great job, this M&M Camry was good. …  It’s cool to have a chance to go race for a championship. Just keep coming up short.”

Busch’s entire nine-race stretch over the playoffs thus far has been a test of his patience – and a testament to the importance of regular-season performance and stage points.

Despite an uncharacteristic four finishes outside the top 10 from Vegas to Martinsville, the regular-season champion cobbled together just enough leeway to finish seven points ahead of Stage 2 winner Logano after the No. 22 dropped like a rock to ninth in the final stage.

Busch says the advancement isn’t any sweeter, however, given his winding path to South Beach.

Because he never doubted he’d be there.

“No, just I never questioned our ability or our opportunity to be able to go out there and achieve to get ourselves to the final four,” Busch said. “We had a rough road, but other teams had rougher. But we’re here, and that’s the good part.”

With such a veteran-laden, talent-heavy Championship 4 he’ll be contending with – JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick will also race for their second career titles – it appears likely that the only way to wind up hoisting the Monster Energy Cup come Sunday night is with a win, as has been the case in every instance of this format.

For those keeping score at home, Rowdy hasn’t landed in Victory Lane since the Pocono Raceway spring race, a span of 21 races.

“Yeah, thanks for the reminder,” Busch said. “Fight as hard as we can, do the best job we can, exactly what we did today. Today we just weren’t good enough. Next week we’ll just have to make sure that we are.

“Somehow, some way, if it works out, it was meant to be. If it doesn’t, then it’s not. Hopefully, the sun will come up for another day.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Out, demon!

Denny Hamlin’s exorcism is complete. At ISM Raceway, the site of one of his biggest disappointments, Hamlin barged back into the Championship 4 with a dominating victory in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500.

Hamlin joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, Sunday’s runner-up, in the Nov. 17 race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The three JGR drivers will battle Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing for the trophy.

RELATED: Race results | Shop: Hamlin gear

After losing control of his car and sliding off Turn 4 last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, Hamlin fell 20 points below the cut line for the Championship 4 entering the Phoenix race. But with his victory, Hamlin knocked defending champion Joey Logano out of title contention. 

“I can’t believe it,” exulted Hamlin, who picked up his sixth victory of the season, his second at ISM Raceway and the 27th of his career. “This race team worked so hard this whole year. They deserve to be there.  I put them in a bad hole last week. 

“I told them today in the meeting, I said, ‘I’m going to give everything I’ve got to make up for the mistake I made last week.’ That’s all I got.’

Logano finished ninth on Sunday and ended the Round of 8 fifth in the standings and seven points behind Busch, who grabbed the last berth in the title race.

Hamlin led a race-high 143 laps, including 142 of the last 146, and built a lead of more than 12 seconds before surrendering the top spot for four laps during a cycle of green-flag pit stops. Hamlin’s advantage was more than nine seconds when John Hunter Nemechek’s Ford slapped the Turn 1 to cause the fifth and final caution.

“One of the best cars of my career, I can tell you that,” said Hamlin, who came to Phoenix as the championship favorite in 2010, only to lose 18 points of his 33-point lead on a misguided pit call. “Fast car. But, yeah, I pushed for all I had. 

“I mean, that’s all I got. Once we got the big lead there, a little over 10 seconds, I just kind of sat there. I got to thinking about if the caution does come out, I want to lap as many (cars) as I can.”

MORE: Defending champ Logano eliminated | Wreck ends Elliott’s championship dreams

A week after his 2010 misfortune at Phoenix, a shell-shocked Hamlin spun early and lost the title to Jimmie Johnson. In contrast, it was a focused and determined Hamlin who showed up at Phoenix on Sunday.

Busch led the first 69 laps of the race but lost the first stage to Hamlin after Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s collision with the Turn 4 wall caused the first caution of the afternoon. When the race came down to a restart with three laps left, Busch couldn’t keep up with his teammate and finished .377 seconds behind the No. 11 Toyota Camry.

“Just didn’t quite have enough,” Busch said. “I knew the 11 was the best car in practice. I knew we were going to be about third to fifth. We were second. Guys did a great job, this M&M Toyota Camry was good.

“It’s cool to have a chance to go race for a championship. Just keep coming up short.”

Logano led 93 laps, won the second stage and was out front until Hamlin passed him for the lead on Lap 177. From that point, Logano dropped like a rock to 11th and fell a lap down to Hamlin before third-place finisher Ryan Blaney started a cycle of green-flag stops on Lap 243 of 312.

Kyle Larson ran fourth and failed to advance to the Championship 4, as did Blaney and Chase Elliott, who rocketed into the Turn 1 wall with a flat left rear tire on Lap 166 and finished 39th.

Posted on by Staff Report

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 is set following Sunday’s race at ISM Raceway, with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch joining Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in next weekend’s title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Two spots were up for grabs in the Round of 8 finale, with Truex Jr. and Harvick having clinched their spots with previous victories this round. Hamlin delivered one of the most clutch performances in NASCAR Playoffs history, becoming just the second driver to enter Phoenix below the cutline and win his way into the title field. That left the fourth spot to either Busch or Joey Logano, with Busch taking it via points after a runner-up finish and eliminating the reigning series champion in Logano.

Logano, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott were eliminated from the postseason.

RELATED: Race results

FIRST IN LINE: Truex Jr. officially clinched his spot by winning the Round of 8 opener at Martinsville Speedway, a fitting location given the year prior he was knocked out of the way in the final turn of the final lap. The short-track win was Truex Jr.’s seventh victory of the year, and his first at the venerable .526-mile facility.

TEXAS CLINCH: Harvick, meanwhile, qualified for his fifth Championship 4 appearance in six years of the playoff elimination format by winning his third consecutive fall race at Texas. The 2014 series champion and crew chief Rodney Childers remain one of the best pairings in the garage.

RELATED: All-time Championship 4 appearances

WRECKED HOPES: Hamlin (-20), Blaney (-23), Larson (-23) and Elliott (-78) entered the Phoenix race below the cutline, some in more drastic positions this others. Elliott was the only driver who mathematically faced a must-win scenario before the green flag ever dropped.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver’s title hopes ended on Lap 167, though. Running in the top five — as he had done all day — the No. 9 Chevrolet appeared to have a tire issue, sending it hard into the wall in a single-car wreck. Elliott exited the race early, ensuring he’d finish outside the top 30 in every Round of 8 race.

“Just a continuation of our first two weeks, unfortunately,” Elliott told NBC. “These last three weeks have been pretty rough.”

STAGING A COMEBACK: Hamlin’s Stage 1 win earned him points against the two drivers just above the cutline in Busch and Logano, although they both finished in the top five as well. By the end of Stage 2, though — one in which Hamlin finished second, but Logano won and Busch finished in the top five again — it became clear that Hamlin would have to win his way in.

And he did.

BY THE NUMBERS: It’s the fifth Championship 4 appearance for Busch, Truex Jr. and Harvick alike. Hamlin will make his second career Championship 4 appearance, and first since he was part of the inaugural field of 2014.

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano’s bid for a second straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crown ended with a slide to a ninth-place finish Sunday at ISM Raceway near Phoenix.

RELATED: Unofficial race results | Hamlin win shakes up playoffs

Logano entered Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500 with a 20-point edge over Denny Hamlin in the battle for the final spot in the Championship 4 field. But Hamlin’s drive to victory clinched an automatic title berth and sealed Logano’s elimination by seven points at the end of the postseason’s Round of 8.

“No clue,” Logano told NBC Sports post-race. “I went from a car that could lead and win a stage and run really well, and from what they told me, it was an air pressure adjustment made it go from a winning car to can’t stay on the lead lap, and one of the tightest things I’ve ever driven. I don’t really understand it. It doesn’t make any sense. You change tires and change a half pint of air, that sounds ridiculous. It is what it is. Just wasn’t our year to make it, I guess. But we’ll fight for fifth, I guess, in points for this year, and we’ll move on.”

Logano led twice for 93 laps, second only to Hamlin’s race-topping 143. He also won Stage 2 over Hamlin, but his Team Penske No. 22 Ford faded over the final stretch, falling off the lead lap on the 238th lap.

Logano missed the playoffs altogether in 2017, then orchestrated a race-winning march in last season’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim his first series title. He’ll be on the outside of the title-eligible foursome in next Sunday’s season-ender in South Florida.

“It stinks. It hurts a little bit, but we’ll live,” Logano said. “Everything is going to be OK. Life is a lot worse in other ways for some. We’re still fortunate to be here and get to do what we love. It’s a bummer for sure. It doesn’t take anything away from that, but it’s just part of the game sometimes.”

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

Monday, November 11
1 p.m., Glory Road: IROC (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1:30 p.m., Glory Road: Controversial Finishes (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., NASCAR 120: ISM Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Monday, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., Beyond the Wheel (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
8 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, November 12
5 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Wednesday, November 13
12 a.m., Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
5 p.m., NASCAR America: Motormouths, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Thursday, November 14
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series West finale: ISM Raceway (tape delay), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

Friday, November 15
2 p.m., Glory Road: The Winston Million (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series qualifying, FS1/FOX Sports App
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NGOTS, FS1/FOX Sports App
8 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN
3:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice
6:30 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200

Saturday, November 16
12 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200, FS2/FOX Sports App
2:30 a.m., NASCAR Presents: Davey Lives On (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
3 a.m., NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 a.m., NASCAR Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 a.m., NASCAR Decades: The 1990s (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 a.m., Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series first practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
9:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series first practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
10:30 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
11:30 a.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Ford EcoBoost 300, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post Race, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., Wood Brothers (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying
3 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Ford EcoBoost 300

Sunday, November 17
11:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FS1/FOX Sports App
1:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBC/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead, NBC/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hot Pass, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Post Race, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN
2 p.m., Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400

Posted on by Staff Report

Chase Elliott’s last-ditch hopes for keeping his playoffs alive ended in a Lap 166 crash that left his Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet with severe damage.

RELATED: Race results | Championship 4 set

Elliott’s car spun sharply at the entrance to Turn 1 and backed into the outside retaining wall. After attempting to drive away, Elliott stopped and exited the No. 9 Chevy unhurt. After being cleared at the infield care center, Elliott said he thought a tire went down to cause the crash.

“Yeah, it’s just a continuation of our first two weeks, unfortunately, ” Elliott said. “I feel like we were in a good position to run solid. I’m not sure why we had a tire go down. I think that’s what happened, at least; it seemed like it. It’s unfortunate. Like I said, these last three weeks have been pretty rough. So, hopefully Homestead goes better and we can get prepared good for next season and get a good notebook for next year.”

Elliott was shown with 165 laps complete of a scheduled 312 in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500, the last race in the Monster Energy Series playoffs’ Round of 8. He entered the next-to-last race of the season ranked eighth. He ends the Round of 8 with finishes of 36th, 32nd and 39th.

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano lunged to the lead at the start of Stage 2 and stormed to his 11th stage win of the Monster Energy Series season Sunday at ISM Raceway near Phoenix.

RELATED: Stage 2 results | Live standings

Logano’s Team Penske No. 22 Ford led 68 laps and was ahead by .940 seconds when the green-checkered flag flew at Lap 150.

Stage 1 winner Denny Hamlin took second place after a fierce battle with Chase Elliott in Stage 2, fighting through a late-developing vibration on the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota. Elliott wound up finishing third as he faced a must-win situation to keep the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 team’s playoff hopes alive.

Eight drivers remain alive in the playoff hunt, and they made a clean sweep of the top eight at the second stage break. The field will be trimmed to the final four by the checkered flag. That Championship 4 group will compete for the title in next Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

A total of 312 laps make up the scheduled distance in Sunday’s Round of 8 finale.

Driver Team Pts
1 Joey Logano (P) Team Penske 10
2 Denny Hamlin (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 9
3 Chase Elliott (P) Hendrick Motorsports 8
4 Kyle Busch (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 7
5 Ryan Blaney (P) Team Penske 6
6 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 5
7 Kevin Harvick (P) Stewart-Haas Racing 4
8 Kyle Larson (P) Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 2
10 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing 1

STAGE 1

Denny Hamlin emerged with a Stage 1 win after a late-stage restart Sunday at ISM Raceway near Phoenix.

Hamlin led just the final three of the 75 laps in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota, sealing his sixth stage win of the season. Chase Elliott jumped up to finish second in the stage in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet.

Kyle Busch won the Busch Pole Award in Saturday’s qualifying and kept up his speed early in the Bluegreen Vacations 500 by leading the opening 69 laps. Busch is targeting his third consecutive victory for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 team at the 1-mile Arizona track, but he was boxed in when Brad Keselowski and William Byron stayed out on older tires during the stage’s only caution period. He settled for third at the stage break

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Joey Logano took fourth and Kyle Larson fifth in a top-five sweep by postseason-eligible drivers. Eight drivers remain alive in the playoff hunt, and they were among the top 11 at the first stage break.

The lone caution period of the stage flew on Lap 66 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 17 Ford crunched the outside wall in Turn 4. All the postseason contenders pitted, exiting in nearly the same order they entered.

Driver Team Pts
1 Denny Hamlin (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 10
2 Chase Elliott (P) Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Kyle Busch (P) Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4 Joey Logano (P) Team Penske 7
5 Kyle Larson (P) Chip Ganassi Racing 6
6 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 5
7 Ryan Blaney (P) Team Penske 4
8 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 3
9 Kevin Harvick (P) Stewart-Haas Racing 2
10 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing 1