Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch win stages as playoff drama heats up in Phoenix

Posted on November 11, 2018November 11, 2018 by Staff Report

Chase Elliott won Stage 1 Sunday at ISM Raceway in Phoenix in dramatic fashion as he took advantage of a flat tire for Kevin Harvick with two laps left to go to take the lead. Harvick, who led the first 72 laps and appeared to be cruising to yet another stage win, had to come to pit road after the right-front tire went down.

Because pit road was closed, Harvick would have to start from the tail of the field to begin Stage 2. Harvick also lost a lap by coming to pit road and at the time was four points below the playoff cutline. Harvick finished in 25th place in the opening stage.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Harvick, who has nine career wins at ISM Raceway, entered Sunday’s race three points above the Championship 4 cutline after 40 points were deducted from his total earlier in the week for a penalty following his victory at Texas. Elliott, who entered 17 points below the cutline, likely needed a win to advance.

Finish	Driver	Team	Race Points
1	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	10
2	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	9
3	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	8
4	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing	7
5	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	6
6	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	5
7	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	4
8	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	3
9	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	2
10	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	1

Stage 2 recap

Kyle Busch won Stage 2 as the dramatic twists and turns continued in the NASCAR Playoff elimination race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix. Playoff drivers Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer were involved in separate wrecks in Stage 2 that brought out cautions.

On the Bowyer caution, lead car Kurt Busch was penalized for passing the pace car before entering pit road. The No. 41 SHR Ford, who entered Sunday below the playoff cutline, was held on pit road for a lap, putting him one lap down at the end of the stage.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

For Logano and Bowyer, the wrecks both ended their days. Logano, who won at Martinsville, will move on to the Championship 4, but Bowyer, who entered the day 51 points below the playoff cutline, saw his dreams of advancing dashed.

Harvick, who had trouble in Stage 1, got back on the lead lap because he was the beneficiary on the Logano caution. He moved up to fourth by the end of Stage 2.

Finish	Driver	Team	Race Points
1	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	10
2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	9
3	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	8
4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	7
5	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing	6
6	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	5
7	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	4
8	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	3
9	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	2
10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	1

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Staff Report

Ever wonder what goes on in a driver meeting? We’re here to help.

This year, we’ll publish the actual rules video your favorite Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will watch before climbing into their stock cars. Above is the video for the Can-Am 500 (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at ISM Raceway.

Posted on November 10, 2018November 11, 2018 by RJ Kraft

Desert dominator Kevin Harvick will lead the field to green for Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), and the nine-time ISM Raceway winner is a must-start this weekend — more on that below. After three practice sessions and qualifying determining the starting order, we’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration as you make roster decisions.

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the playoff game works

Remember that the garage locks at the end of Stage 2. Also, your garage play can only be swapped for a driver of similar classification. (A playoff garage driver can only be swapped for a playoff driver in your lineup; a non-playoff garage driver can only be swapped for a non-playoff driver in your lineup.)

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Phoenix:
Playoff driver 1: Kevin Harvick
Playoff driver 2: Chase Elliott
Non-playoff driver 1: Erik Jones
Non-playoff driver 2: Brad Keselowski
Garage: Kyle Larson

MORE: Fantasy analysis for Phoenix | Driver stats | 10-lap averages | Lineup

Analysis: Two weeks left in the Fantasy Live Playoff Game! I am taking a few calculated risks based on looking to make some gains with plays that others might not have. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver will take on the reconfigured 1-mile ISM Raceway where the restarts should be quite fun and see plenty of movement.

Harvick has been the talk of the weekend following his Texas penalty and he has dominated nearly everything — winning the pole and topping both Saturday practices. He has nine wins here — six in the past 10 races. He will be owned by a high amount of folks, but there is more harm in not having him. Elliott earns my other playoff starting spot as he will start second and was among the top eight in 10-lap averages in both of Saturday’s practices. He has two straight top-three finishes here as well and sitting outside of the cutline will make him extra aggressive in this elimination race.

For my non-playoff drivers, I am going with Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski. Jones has three straight top 10s at Phoenix and was third on the 10-lap board in final practice. Keselowski has shown some surprising speed this weekend — surprising in that Team Penske has not run well here in recent years. He posted top-three fastest lap times in Saturday’s two practices and was second on the 10-lap board in final practice.

The garage pick was tough for me. I weighed Kyle Busch, who is solid here and has been fast all weekend. However, I felt having both him and Harvick was playing it too similar to what most will do and I am looking to try and make gains. To do that, I need to try something a bit different. I did consider Busch in the lineup with Harvick for all bonus picks setup, but I felt Harvick HAD to be in there. I also weighed Denny Hamlin, who has been pretty solid here in recent years. Both Busch and Hamlin were in my initial lineup.

Ultimately, though, I am intrigued by the speed Kyle Larson has shown this weekend and I am going to roll the dice with him in the garage. Given his so-so Phoenix numbers, its a bit of a boom-or-bust play, but I believe its a calculated gamble that could pay off big. So that gives me three non-playoff drivers for the third straight weekend as my roster.

The bonus picks will be all Harvick, all the time. Once again, I will pick him to win both stages and the race on Sunday.

Posted on November 10, 2018June 22, 2021 by Chase Wilhelm

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Aside from Tyler Reddick making the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 on Saturday at ISM Raceway, it was a tough day to forget for JR Motorsports.

Regular-season champion Justin Allgaier appeared to be the driver to beat in the Round of 8 finale, winning the first two stages. But the No. 7 Chevrolet suffered right-front damage after contact with John Hunter Nemechek in the final stage, fading to a 24th-place finish with brake issues.

RELATED: Race results | Who’s in, who’s out

“You know, at the end of the day, we did everything right this year,” Allgaier said on pit road after the race. “We had a great season. Today, we did everything right at the beginning part of the race. That was probably the most frustrating part is we led a lot of laps and we won both stages. It was going to be a great day, but then ultimately there at the end getting ourselves in that bad position.”

Through the disappointment, Allgaier was able to find solace in his five victories this season, a total that he could potentially turn into six in the season finale next Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But admittedly, Allgaier felt they just didn’t do everything right when it mattered the most.

“I feel so bad for my guys, these guys on this 7 team especially, but everybody at JR Motorsports has done a fantastic job all year,” Allgaier said. “We were just in the right place at the wrong time today and didn’t execute like we needed to.”

Similar to Allgaier, Elliott Sadler was also plagued by right-front damage early in the race after contact with the lapped car of Chad Finchum.

“We fought way too many things today,” Sadler said. “We tried some new things and I led us in that direction, so I take full responsibility for that. My guys did so much for me this year and we were so fast at the right times.

“Look, I don’t point fingers,” he added. “I’m the driver. It’s my job to communicate. I just feel my guys are a really good race team and we’ve run up front all year.”

Sadler had to settle for an 11th-place result, missing a shot to make one more title run in Miami in his final race as a full-time driver.

“It’s going to be emotional,” Sadler said, looking ahead to next weekend. “I’ve been racing for 23 years. Been doing it since I was 7, putting a helmet on every weekend. … It’s going to be more relaxing not running for a championship, but it’s gonna suck, too.

“I really wish my guys were going down there (Homestead) to run for a championship. It’s more about them and my sponsors and my team than it is about me.”

Posted on November 10, 2018November 10, 2018 by Staff Report

With the conclusion of Saturday’s Whelen Trusted to Perform 200 at ISM Raceway, the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs field has been trimmed to its Championship 4.

Christopher Bell punched his ticket to next week’s Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a victory on Saturday, leading 94 laps en route to Victory Lane after starting from the rear. Texas winner Cole Custer clinched his Championship 4 spot last weekend with a win in the Lone Star State. Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick advanced to the season finale on points.

Matt Tifft, Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Austin Cindric were eliminated in Saturday afternoon’s event at ISM Raceway.

MORE: Xfinity Series standings | Bell wins at Phoenix, advances to Miami

The standings and point totals — which reset for the finale — as we head to the Championship 4:

Rank	Driver	Points
1	Cole Custer	4000
2	Christopher Bell	4000
3	Daniel Hemric	4000
4	Tyler Reddick	4000

The 2018 Xfinity Series season will conclude on Nov. 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET with the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on November 10, 2018November 10, 2018 by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. – In a playoff round that has been feast or famine for Christopher Bell, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry gorged to his heart’s content on Saturday at ISM Raceway.

Starting from 38th, Bell roared through the field to win the Whelen Trusted To Perform 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race and advance to the Nov. 17 season championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RELATED: Race results | Phoenix schedule

Faced with a must-win situation entering the Round of 8 elimination race, Bell did exactly that. By the end of Stage 1, he had cracked the top 10. At the end of Stage 2, he was fourth. And on Lap 108 of 200, he took the lead under green for the first time, forcing his way past pole winner John Hunter Nemechek for the top spot.

The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender never trailed after that, winning for the seventh time this season, the first time at Phoenix and the eighth time in his career. In a playoff format in which victory provides redemption for a multitude of ills, Bell rallied from first-lap crashes at both Kansas and Texas to earn his spot in the Championship 4.

“I’ll be honest, after Kansas and Texas, I just kind of accepted that we weren’t going to be able to get there,” Bell said. “I just came over here with a ‘Let’s have fun’ attitude. To start in the back, we didn’t really make our way up front that fast. I kind of got stalled out once I got into the top 15.

“I knew this thing was really fast, because (on Friday) in practice, it was really good… I’m just thankful for my team. They brought probably the best car we’ve had all year here this weekend. It’s a pleasure to drive ’em, and a race car driver is only as good as his race car. This thing was unbelievably fast.”

Bell joined Texas winner Cole Custer in the Championship 4 Round, along with Saturday’s runner-up Daniel Hemric and sixth-place finisher Tyler Reddick, both of whom advanced on points.

Matt Tifft ran third but fell short in the playoffs, as did regular-season champion Justin Allgaier, who won the first and second stages but sustained heavy damage to the right front of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet when Nemechek slid sideways across the track on Lap 145 and clobbered Allgaier’s car.

Allgaier later lost his brakes before finishing 24th.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” said Allgaier, who lost seven spots on pit road after sliding into his stall under caution on Lap 139. “But we did everything we could in the first two stages. We had a really fast Brandt Camaro. We had a lot of trouble today, seeing our pit stall. It was really difficult to see where we were at and navigate that. I lost us some spots on pit road.

“Ultimately, that put ourselves in a bad position. Got some damage, and we lost the brakes there at the end. At that point it was just about survival, finishing the race and getting as many points as we could gain.”

Likewise, veteran Elliott Sadler left Phoenix disappointed after early contact with the No. 40 Toyota of Chad Finchum cost him track position he could never regain. Sadler finished 11th and failed to advance to Homestead in his final year as a full-time NASCAR driver.

“I made too many mistakes today to give my guys an opportunity,” Sadler said. “It’s all on me. My guys work too hard and deserve to be a part of this Championship 4 at Homestead, but I just didn’t pull my part through.

“It’s going to be an emotional week. I have one race left, and my wife and kids are coming to Homestead, and we’ll make the most of it, but it’s definitely going to be hard to look my guys in the eye, knowing we’re not part of the championship.”

Austin Cindric, whose only path to the Championship 4 was to win at ISM Raceway, finished fourth. Ryan Preece and Brandon Jones were fifth and seventh, respectively, with Custer finishing eighth. Nemechek and Spencer Gallagher completed the top 10.

Pit notes: Chevrolet claimed its 19th manufacturer championship in the Xfinity Series after the drop of the green flag. The title is the fourth in the last five years for the automaker. … Akinori Ogata, a 45-year-old native of Japan, crashed in the first lap of his Xfinity Series debut. He spun again on Lap 100 and limped to an 33rd-place finish, 21 laps down.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on November 10, 2018November 10, 2018 by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. — For Clint Bowyer, it’s all about getting better at a track and on a weekend when he has to be the absolute best.

Bowyer is still alive in the race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship — but just barely. After a 21st-place finish at Martinsville to start the Round of 8 and a problem-laden 26th-place result at Texas last Sunday, Bowyer has only one way to advance to the Championship 4 Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Quite simply, he must win Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The way the weekend started for Bowyer, that possibility seemed remote at best.

The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford struggled in Friday’s opening practice, posting the 19th-fastest lap. In knockout qualifying that afternoon, Bowyer nailed down the 16th starting spot for Sunday’s race.

MORE: Full qualifying results | Monster Energy Series standings

“I felt like we definitely improved from our practice,” Bowyer said. “Unfortunately, our result didn’t show much for it, but I think the car responded to some of the things that we changed going into qualifying for the better.

“Here, it’s all about the long runs and getting settled in and being good, having a good medium, middle-ground balance between these drastically different corners. (Turns) 1 and 2 are a lot different than 3 and 4, and you’ve got to have that balance. You’ve got to have a happy medium there.”

Bowyer’s approach to Sunday’s race will be as simple and straightforward as his mission — to get to the front and stay there. Bowyer concedes that an off-the-wall strategy isn’t likely to accomplish that objective.

“At the end of the day, stage points lead to good results,” Bowyer said. “Everybody wants stage points, because, if you’re getting stage points, you’re running up front, and you’ve got a shot at winning. That’s the way it is.

“If there’s some sort of opportunity that opens up, of course we’re going to take it at all costs, but at the end of the day, the reason people want stage points is because you’re running up front where you need to be running and in position to win the race.”

Posted on November 10, 2018November 10, 2018 by Chase Wilhelm

AVONDALE, Ariz. — The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs contender Christopher Bell failed pre-qualifying inspection three times Saturday morning at ISM Raceway.

As a result, the team will lose its car chief (Chris Sherwood) and start at the rear of the field for Saturday’s Whelen Trusted to Perform 200 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Bell currently sits seventh in the playoff standings, 34 points below the cutline heading into the final elimination race to set the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 17. Cole Custer is the only playoff driver locked in, leaving three spots up for grabs.

“Well the good thing is Homestead isn’t decided on where we start, it’s decided on where we finish,” Bell told NBCSN after the penalty was handed down. “We have 200 laps, which is an eternity, especially with what I grew up doing in sprint-car racing. We have a bunch of pit stops in there and a really fast race car to make it up. So, I think we’ll be fine.”

MORE: Who’s in bubble trouble in the Xfinity Series?

The No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford of Ty Majeski also failed pre-qualifying inspection three times. Majeski will start at the rear and his car chief (Zach Marquardt) has been ejected.

Posted on November 10, 2018November 10, 2018 by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick led the way to a Saturday sweep of Monster Energy Series practices, capping his show of speed with a chart-topping lap in final practice at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.

Harvick, who claimed the Busch Pole in Friday’s qualifying, secured a 135.125 mph lap in the final 50-minute session. Harvick will start first in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in search of his 10th career victory at the 1-mile Arizona oval.

Harvick is competing the next two weeks without crew chief Rodney Childers and car chief Cheddar Smith, both suspended as part of L1-level penalties against the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 team after last weekend’s win at Texas. Veteran crew chief Tony Gibson and interim car chief Nick DeFazio will fill in for the last two races of the season.

Brad Keselowski collected the second-fastest speed in the final session, clocking a 134.484 mph lap in the Team Penske No. 2 Ford. Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. went third through fifth, all in Toyotas.

Five of the eight remaining championship-eligible drivers were in the top 10 on the final practice leaderboard. The field of four title contenders for the Nov. 18 Homestead-Miami Speedway finale will be determined after Sunday’s 312-lapper.

Paul Menard crashed with less than one minute remaining in the practice session. His Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford spun and made heavy left-side contact with the outside retaining wall in Turn 3.

The first incident of final practice occurred 12 minutes in, when a small fire flashed under the hood of the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Three teams had time deducted at the end of final practice:

No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger (15 minutes for failing pre-qualifying inspection twice)
No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. (30 minutes for failing pre-qualifying inspection three times)
No .97 Obaika Racing Toyota of Tanner Berryhill (15 minutes for failing pre-qualifying inspection twice)

Harvick sets early pace at Phoenix

Pole winner Kevin Harvick set the pace in Saturday’s early Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.

Harvick pushed the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford to a best lap of 134.710 mph. He earned the first starting spot in Friday qualifying for Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the ninth of 10 races in the NASCAR Playoffs.

Kyle Larson turned in the second-fastest lap (134.680 mph) on the 1-mile track in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney filled out the rest of the top five in the 50-minute session.

Sunday’s 312-lap race is the final event in the three-race Round of 8. The championship-eligible field will be reduced to the four title-contending drivers who will vie for the Monster Energy Series crown Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Joey Logano, the only driver automatically locked into a Championship 4 spot, was 24th-fastest in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford — slowest among the eight title contenders.

MORE: See every car in the field | Full schedule for Phoenix

The final portion of practice was set aside for teams to practice restarts. The Arizona facility is preparing for its first Monster Energy Series race with the start-finish line moved into the west turn.

Six teams were docked 15 minutes of practice time for being late to pre-qualifying inspection:

No. 7 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet for DJ Kennington
No. 13 Germain Racing Chevrolet of Ty Dillon
No. 23 BK Racing Toyota of JJ Yeley
No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson
No. 66 Phoenix Air Racing Toyota of Timmy Hill
No .97 Obaika Racing Toyota of Tanner Berryhill

Posted on November 10, 2018November 10, 2018 by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will pit for Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).