Harvick wins at Phoenix, clinches spot in championship race

Posted on November 9, 2014 by

Harvick, Hamlin, Logano and Newman make up final four Chasers

RELATED: Race results | Updated series standings

AVONDALE, Ariz. — A victory at Phoenix—and a dominating one at that—was exactly what Kevin Harvick needed to keep his hopes for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship alive.

But a second-place finish in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 did Jeff Gordon no good, thanks to a final-lap banzai run by Ryan Newman, who passed rookie Kyle Larson for the 11th position on the final lap to eliminate Gordon from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by a single point.

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Polesitter Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, who shared the Chase lead entering the Eliminator Round’s final event, both recovered from bizarre errors on pit road to join Harvick and Newman in next Sunday’s championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The driver who finishes highest among those four will claim the 2015 series title.

“Wow, I guess that’s what it feels like to hit a walk-off in extra innings there,” said Harvick, who completed the season sweep at Phoenix with his fourth victory in the last five races there. “I could tell that we were probably going to have to win, because everybody was running up in the front of the pack that we were racing against. That was our goal coming in here and that’s really the goal every time you come to Phoenix.

“This place has just been phenomenal for me personally and for this team this year. To do that in front of all your almost hometown fans (Harvick is from Bakersfield, Calif.) and all these people who have been rooting for me since the mid-‘90s is pretty unbelievable. Man, I think this says a lot about our team. I think we have been through a lot this year. They put our backs against the wall. We put it in Victory Lane and get to go on.”

As such, Harvick goes from desperation mode — needing a victory at Phoenix to advance to the season finale — to the role of favorite at Homestead, given the speed his cars have shown all season long.

Asked to handicap the championship race, Gordon was emphatic, and for good reason. He chased Harvick to the finish line and fell 1.636 seconds behind in the final 12-lap run.

“I like Harvick,” Gordon asserted. “Yeah, I think Harvick looks really good… the guy has led the most laps all year long, guys. It’s not me that’s saying this. I do think that Denny won that race (at Homestead) last year, so he can be really, really strong there.

“But Kevin looked good there in the test (in late October), and, man, they’ve just been so strong lately, and it seems like they’ve gotten some of the bugs worked out in their team that they had early in the year. And I think if they do that next week, they’re going to be really tough to beat like they were today.”

In winning for the fourth time this season and the 27th time in his career, Harvick led 264 of 312 laps, 40 more circuits than he led in a dominating win at the one-mile track on Mar. 2.

In addition to Gordon, third-place finisher Matt Kenseth, fourth-place Brad Keselowski and 15th place Carl Edwards failed to advance to the final race with their title eligibility intact. Kenseth fell three points short of Newman in the final tally.

Conversely, Hamlin and Logano overcame potential Chase-ending mistakes to claim their positions in the final race.

On Hamlin’s first pit stop, under caution on Lap 30, the rear tire changer’s air gun inadvertently knocked the valve stem off and flattened the tire. Hamlin returned to the pits and restarted 36th. Twice during the race, he fell a lap down to Harvick but took advantage of two free passes as the highest-scored lapped car and ultimately finished fifth.

The crew gained three positions for Hamlin on his final stop, from 11th to eighth, even though five drivers stayed out on older tires. Hamlin parlayed his improved track position into a top five.

Logano was penalized when he dragged a fuel can that had not disengaged from the coupler out of his pit stall under caution on Lap 123. Like Hamlin, Logano lost a lap to Harvick but took advantage of a “lucky dog” before a restart on Lap 206 and rallied to finish sixth.

Those comebacks gave Logano and Hamlin more than enough margin to qualify for the championship race.

“I think Denny and I had the exact same day out there,” Logano observed. “Both of us had a little issue on pit road and got stuck back there, went down a lap, (and) we recovered and we finished fifth and sixth. We really kept our cool throughout the day. I think that was important. We were able to get the lucky dog, then had some damage avoiding the 18’s (Kyle Busch’s) crash, was able to fix that and recover again to get ourselves back in.

“Definitely a drama filled day for sure, not what we wanted. We were hoping for just a normal, uneventful day to just get a nice top 10 is all we needed—which we ended up doing, but it was definitely eventful along the way. Proud of my team, proud of everyone to get us to this point, and we’ll have some fun next week, go for a championship.”

Amidst all the uncertainty, one thing is guaranteed at Homestead: with Harvick, Hamlin, Logano and Newman competing for the title, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will have a first-time champion.

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Posted on November 9, 2014 by Staff Report

Miss Sprint Cup to chat with four championship contenders, Wednesday 7 p.m. ET

Excitement is building for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, and you can be part of the action.

Submit a question to Miss Sprint Cup via Twitter at the hashtag #AskMSC, and she could use it when she chats with all four Chase contenders: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman on Wednesday, starting at 7 p.m. ET in Miami.

Ask away and then come back on Wednesday to watch the live chat at 7 p.m. ET. It figures to be a fun way to get the final Chase weekend underway.

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Posted on November 9, 2014 by Staff Report

Moments that changed the course of the 35th race of the 2014 season

HARVICK WINS HIS WAY INTO CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION

A victory at Phoenix — and a dominating one at that — was exactly what Kevin Harvick needed to keep his hopes for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship alive.

"Wow, I guess that’s what it feels like to hit a walk-off in extra innings there," said Harvick, who completed the season sweep at Phoenix with his fourth victory in the last five races there. "I could tell that we were probably going to have to win, because everybody was running up in the front of the pack that we were racing against. That was our goal coming in here and that’s really the goal every time you come to Phoenix.

"This place has just been phenomenal for me personally and for this team this year. To do that in front of all your almost hometown fans (Harvick is from Bakersfield, California) and all these people who have been rooting for me since the mid-‘90s is pretty unbelievable. Man, I think this says a lot about our team. I think we have been through a lot this year. They put our backs against the wall. We put it in Victory Lane and get to go on."

NEWMAN BUMPS LARSON TO MAKE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE

A second-place finish in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 did Jeff Gordon no good, thanks to a final-lap banzai run by Ryan Newman, who passed rookie Kyle Larson for the 11th position on the final lap to eliminate Gordon from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by a single point.

"I did what I had to do as clean as I could do it," Newman said. "I’m not the kind of guy to turn somebody, so I just drifted as much as I could to get in there. My Cat Mining Chevy stuck on the apron and we made it.

"I just gave it my all. They paved that down there I guess for a reason. They didn’t make any rules that said we couldn’t use it. A great team effort today, we did not have the race car."

Amidst all the uncertainty, one thing is guaranteed at Homestead: with Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Newman competing for the title, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will have a first-time champion.

HAMLIN, LOGANO OVERCOME PIT MISCUES TO ADVANCE IN CHASE

Polesitter Hamlin and Logano, who shared the Chase lead entering the Eliminator Round’s final event, both recovered from bizarre errors on pit road to join Harvick and Newman in next Sunday’s championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The driver who finishes highest among those four will claim the 2015 series title.

Hamlin and Logano overcame potential Chase-ending mistakes to claim their positions in the final race.

The crew gained three positions for Hamlin on his final stop, from 11th to eighth, even though five drivers stayed out on older tires. Hamlin parlayed his improved track position into a top five.

Logano was penalized when he dragged a fuel can that had not disengaged from the coupler out of his pit stall under caution on Lap 123. Like Hamlin, Logano lost a lap to Harvick but took advantage of being a beneficiary before a restart on Lap 206 and rallied to finish sixth.

Those comebacks gave Logano and Hamlin more than enough margin to qualify for the championship race.

"I think Denny and I had the exact same day out there," Logano observed. "Both of us had a little issue on pit road and got stuck back there, went down a lap, (and) we recovered and we finished fifth and sixth. We really kept our cool throughout the day. I think that was important. We were able to get the lucky dog, then had some damage avoiding the 18’s (Kyle Busch’s) crash, was able to fix that and recover again to get ourselves back in.

"Definitely a drama filled day for sure, not what we wanted. We were hoping for just a normal, uneventful day to just get a nice top 10 is all we needed — which we ended up doing, but it was definitely eventful along the way. Proud of my team, proud of everyone to get us to this point, and we’ll have some fun next week, go for a championship."

The NASCAR Wire Service contributed to this report.

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Staff Report

Find out who advanced to NASCAR’s Championship Round

The final four in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is set for next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway after four of the eight drivers remaining in contention during Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway were eliminated.

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CHASE BUBBLE

Pos.	Driver	+/-
1	Denny Hamlin	+10
2	Joey Logano	+9
3	Ryan Newman	+1
4	Kevin Harvick	0*
5	Jeff Gordon	0
6	Matt Kenseth	-1
7	Brad Keselowski	-5
8	Carl Edwards	-6

* = Advances on tiebreaker because of win at Phoenix

Advancing to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship:

Denny Hamlin had to re-pit after he had a flat right-rear tire early in the race and fell back to 36th on the restart, but he rebounded for a fifth-place finish. With eighth-place and 10th-place finishes at Martinsville and Texas, respectively, it was enough for him to advance to the final round.

Joey Logano also experienced trouble on pit road at Phoenix when the gas can lodged in his car and led to a penalty. But Logano eventually got back into a good position and finished sixth. Logano finished fifth at Martinsville and 12th at Texas and his five wins this season are the most among the four championship contenders

Ryan Newman pushed Kyle Larson out of the way on the final lap at Phoenix to qualify for the championship. Newman has yet to win a race this year, but it hasn’t mattered. His 11th-place finish at Phoenix follows up runs of third place and 15th place at Martinsville and Texas.

Kevin Harvick did the equivalent of hitting a walk-off home run with his win at Phoenix. He increases his total of most Cup wins among active drivers at Phoenix to six. Harvick managed to rebound from a 33rd-place finish at Martinsville earlier in the Eliminator Round.

Eliminated from contention:

Jeff Gordon finished second at Phoenix and tied with Harvick for fourth place in points, but because of Harvick’s win at Phoenix, the No. 4 advanced to the championship round and the No. 24 did not. Gordon finished second at Martinsville and Phoenix, but his 29th-place finish at Texas ultimately did him in from attempting a run at a fifth Sprint Cup Series championship this season.

Matt Kenseth finished third at Phoenix but fell just one point shy of advancing. He finished sixth at Martinsville, but a 25th-place showing at Texas put him just a little too far behind.

Brad Keselowski finished fourth at Phoenix, but ultimately couldn’t make up for his 31st-place showing at Martinsville. And that was despite his third-place finish at Texas following the controversial move that cut down Gordon’s tire and led to a post-race melee.

Carl Edwards couldn’t make it to the championship round in his final run with Roush-Fenway Racing. His 15th-place finish at Phoenix followed a 20th place at Martinsville and a ninth place at Texas.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship:

Of the final four drivers still in contention, the highest finisher in next Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) will win the championship. There will be no bonus points awarded for laps led or most laps led to the contending drivers in the final race.

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Posted on November 9, 2014 by Staff Report

The 25th Troops to the Track program of 2014 welcomes Luke Air Force Base

This weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, NASCAR plays host to its 25th Troops to the Track program of 2014, presented by Bank of America in partnership with the Armed Forces Foundation, when it welcomes service members from Luke Air Force Base to the finale of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Eliminator Round, the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN).

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The Marine detachment at the base provides general and engineering support to the Marine Expeditionary Force. The group provides survivability, counter-mobility and mobility enhancements, as well as general supply support to the handling, storage and distribution of bulk class water and fuel.

NASCAR Troops to the Track is a season-long initiative that honors members of the military for their services and treats them to customized experiences at a NASCAR race. Celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2014, the year-round recreational group therapy program honors service men and women, veterans, and military families at races throughout the country.

Last November, NASCAR and the USO hosted the family of Technical Sgt. Chad Boley, who was stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he flew wounded soldiers from the Southwest Asia theater to either Germany or stateside. Separated from his family for two years, the USO and NASCAR brought Technical Sgt. Boley home to surprise his wife Stephanie, sons Austin and Cameron and daughters Gwendolyn and Noelle. You can watch the video of their reunion above.

NASCAR has a long-standing tradition of supporting the brave men and women who devote their lives to protecting our nation. In addition to the seasoning Troops to the Track effort, "NASCAR: An American Salute" has become an annual summer tradition. During this special time period from May 25-July 5 this year, the industry expressed its reverence, respect and gratitude to the millions of members of the United States Armed Forces for the sacrifices they have made in defending our nation.

"Honoring our nation’s military is a long-standing tradition in our sport," NASCAR President Mike Helton said. "The NASCAR: An American Salute platform truly enables us to collectively express our gratitude to the millions of members of the U.S. armed forces and their families for the sacrifices they have made in defending our nation."

During the seven-week span, teams, tracks, partners and fans showed their thanks through various activities on and off the track. The wider NASCAR community showed its gratitude by visiting www.NASCAR.com/Salute and using the hashtag #NASCARsalutes on Instagram and Twitter.

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Posted on November 9, 2014 by Staff Report

Get the on-track times for the final weekend of NASCAR action in 2014

All times ET

COMPLETE TV LISTINGS / BUY TICKETS FOR HOMESTEAD / WEEKEND TRACK EVENTS

This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series head to Homestead-Miami Speedway for a championship weekend tripleheader to wrap up their 2014 seasons.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12:

SPECIAL EVENTS
— 6 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Round Media Day (Watch live)
— 7:20 p.m.: Miss Sprint Cup live chat with Championship Round drivers (Watch live)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13:

ON TRACK
— 1-2 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice (Get results)
— 2:30-4 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 11 a.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series/NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Media Day

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14:

ON TRACK
— 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 12:30-2 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 2:45 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 4-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 6:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, ESPN2 (Get results)
— 8 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (134 laps, 201 miles), FOX Sports 1 (Get results)

GARAGECAM PRESENTED BY MOBIL 1 (Watch live)
— 11 a.m.: Nationwide Series
— noon: Sprint Cup Series

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 11 a.m.: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France
— 2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace talk Championship 4
— 7:15 p.m. (approx): NSCS Post Qualifying Press Conference with all Championship 4 drivers
— 10:15 p.m. (approx.): NCWTS Post Race Press Conference

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15:

ON TRACK
— noon-12:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 1:15 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 3-3:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford EcoBoost 300 (200 laps, 300 miles), ESPN2 (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 11 a.m.: Daytona Rising update with Joie Chitwood III
— 11:30 a.m.: FDOT announcement
— 1 p.m.: Jim Campbell (Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, Chevrolet), Jamie Allison (Director, Ford Racing) and David Wilson (President and General Manager, Toyota Racing Development)
— 7:30 p.m. (approx.): NNS Post Race Press Conference

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16:

ON TRACK
— 3 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles), ESPN (Get results)

DRIVER’S MEETING
— 1 p.m.: (Watch live)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Watch live)
— 6:45 p.m. (approx.): NSCS Post Race Press Conference

POST-CHASE LIVE SHOW (Watch live)
— 8 p.m. (approx): Charlotte and Homestead-Miami

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Posted on November 9, 2014 by Zack Albert

The four drivers eliminated from the Chase reflect on their final run at the title

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Last weekend, Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon were the central figures in a post-race rumble on pit road. Sunday, after a tense final stretch at Phoenix International Raceway, the former pugilists were interlocked not in a physical altercation but by heartbreak, both among the four drivers knocked out of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.

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Gordon and Keselowski joined Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards on the short end of the Eliminator Round finale, halting their title eligibility ahead of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship race next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. All four drivers led the Sprint Cup Series standings for multiple weeks during the season, but they will compete for fifth place at best next weekend.

Gordon’s fall from Chase grace came by the narrowest of margins on two counts. For one, he finished second to race winner Kevin Harvick by 1.636 seconds, missing out on the automatic berth to the championship round. That shortfall only amplified the hit Gordon took in the standings last weekend, when late-race contact with Keselowski sent him spiraling to a 29th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

"Kevin Harvick was in another zip code. I’m not going to wreck a guy that’s racing me clean all year long just to make it into the Chase," Gordon said after his second runner-up finish in the Eliminator Round, the other coming last month at Martinsville. "That’s not what it’s all about for me. You’re not going to go win the championship next week by doing that. So, it’s just unfortunate. It’s just unfortunate. We did everything so good this year. That one race, that one race is going to stick with me for a little while. I got over it this week, knowing that we could come here and compete like this. Now it makes it sting that much more."

The second factor contributing to Gordon’s demise came when Ryan Newman nudged rookie Kyle Larson out of the way on the final lap; his one-position gain snatched the last slot among the final four by a single point. Just 10 laps before the checkered flag, Harvick, Gordon and Ryan Newman were all tied for third place on the cut-off line for the final four, but Newman’s last-ditch move meant a virtual end to Gordon’s magical four-win season and his drive for a fifth title.

Gordon’s incident with Keselowski last weekend was treated as a postseason barometer for testing the code of what’s out of bounds and what’s not. Sunday, Gordon said Newman’s maneuver was within the limits of race-day decorum with what was at stake. With all the championship pressure, Gordon and Keselowski raced each other fair and square within the top five at Phoenix, a point he hoped resonated with his Texas rival.

"We have a lot to hold our heads up high about; the way that we raced this race and this whole Chase and the whole season," Gordon said. "We raced hard. We raced together as a team. But I hope we taught somebody that you can race clean and still go out there and give it your best. You don’t have to wreck people to make it in the Chase or win the championship. I’m afraid if it was that ugly these last couple of weeks it’s going to get really ugly next week."

Keselowski started second, but faded slightly after the drop of the green flag, grappling with the handling on his Team Penske No. 2 Ford. Though he had one of the faster cars, Keselowski was never quite able to dent Harvick’s Phoenix dominance or overcome the points deficit caused by his 31st-place performance in the Eliminator Round opener at Martinsville Speedway.

The fourth-place finish left him seventh in the standings, just seven points shy of keeping his bid for a second Sprint Cup title intact.

"We were a little bit short," Keselowski said. "I’m obviously a little disappointed. I’m not disappointed with the effort, just disappointed it didn’t work out. We just couldn’t overcome the Martinsville hurdle. We had a decent day, but we needed a win to overcome the week we had at Martinsville where we broke the gear. We just weren’t quite fast enough to pull that off the last two weeks and that’s what it was going to take."

Kenseth recorded his best finish in any of the three Eliminator Round races with a solid third-place run, but the sour taste of a sixth at Martinsville and a subpar 25th at Texas offset his progress at Phoenix, leaving him just two points out of the final transfer spot. He’ll have a chance to salvage a silver lining next weekend, looking for his first victory of the season.

"I was pleasantly surprised that we’ve been able to advance from round to round because we just haven’t been that fast and we’ve had a lot of bad things happen," said Kenseth, the 2003 series champion. "We got wrecked out of Loudon and had a lot of things happen here or there. Glad we were in and wish we were still in it."

Edwards won twice during the regular season, but his last title pursuit for Roush Fenway Racing ended with a 15th-place finish at Phoenix. Combined with his 20th-place finish at Martinsville and a ninth at Texas, Edwards wound up last among the eight drivers in the Eliminator Round standings, 14 points short of advancing to the championship race.

He’ll make his final drive for car owner Jack Roush next weekend at Homestead before joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015.

"We just didn’t have enough speed, so that’s how it goes," Edwards said. "These guys dug deep and worked hard. I’ve never been a part of something like this where everybody just doesn’t give up. This means the world."

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Posted on November 9, 2014 by Zack Albert

Car owner to let legal process play out in domestic assault investigation

RELATED: Busch under domestic assault investigation | NASCAR statement regarding Dover Police Department release

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Gene Haas said Sunday that he would not remove Kurt Busch from his No. 41 Chevrolet, saying he preferred to let the legal process play out in the wake of a domestic assault investigation involving the veteran driver.

"He’ll be in the car until someone else pulls him out," Haas said Sunday, about an hour before the start of the next-to-last race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. "I’m not pulling him out."

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Busch is in his first season with the team co-owned by Tony Stewart, and Haas was the main fulcrum behind signing the 2004 champion in NASCAR’s premier series. Haas’ machine tool company, Haas Automation, is the primary sponsor of the No. 41 entry and said it would remain so until further notice.

"We’re going to keep my name on the hood," Haas said. "I think we’re just going to let the police department do their job and try not to say anything to compromise that. We want an unbiased investigation and we’ll see how it all works out."

On Friday before opening Sprint Cup practice at Phoenix, the Dover (Del.) Police Department confirmed that it was investigating allegations against the 36-year-old driver. Busch participated in practice and qualified 10th ahead of Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN), the final race of the Contender Round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup postseason.

Busch declined comment at the Arizona track, and team representative Mike Arning referred reporters to a statement made Friday by Rusty Hardin, Busch’s attorney.

Busch qualified for the Chase this year by virtue of his regular-season victory in March at Martinsville Speedway, but he was among the first four drivers nixed from title contention after the Challenger Round, the first three-race segment in this year’s new playoff format. The elimination occurred at Dover International Speedway, where the incident was alleged to have taken place.

According to Haas, Busch will be in the car Sunday at Phoenix and next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the season finale. Haas said he was not troubled by reports or any specific details about the case.

"The facts I know, I’m not concerned about it," Haas said. "And it is out of my control."

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Posted on November 9, 2014 by Nascar

Harvick dominates in Phoenix, others overcome obstacles

AVONDALE, Ariz. — For three of the four, there was nothing easy about advancing to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

For the fourth, it was a real Sunday drive.

Kevin Harvick dominated Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, earning one of four berths in next week’s championship-determining race.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver led three times for 264 laps, earning a perfect driver rating of 150.0 in scoring his fourth win of the season. He is the only driver advancing into the final based on winning one of the three races in the Eliminator Round.

For three others — Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin — it was a stress-filled day that saw each battle back from adversity, their chances at advancing to Homestead-Miami Speedway as a Chase finalist changing on nearly every lap. With Harvick dominating, points positions determined their fate.

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Only a last-lap pass of Kyle Larson in the fourth turn gave Newman (Richard Childress Racing) the spot necessary to edge Jeff Gordon for the final spot in next week’s championship.

Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) had to battle back from a flat tire caused when a lug nut knocked the valve stem out of a tire early in this year’s 35th Sprint Cup Series race.

Joey Logano also was forced to make his way back through the field after going a lap down, his misfortune striking when a gas can became stuck during a pit stop.

"I’m whipped," Newman said as he sat down on the pit-road wall after finishing 11th. "I haven’t been that tired after 312 laps around here in a long time. … I didn’t want to do what I did at the end, but I did what I had to do. I kept it as clean, to me, as I possibly could."

Newman, needing one position to advance, was trailing Larson and Marcos Ambrose with two laps remaining. In the final turn on the final lap, he dove inside Larson’s Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, and contact sent Larson out of the racing groove, up the track and into the wall.

"He did the same thing to me in a truck race for about $9,000 to win," Newman said. "To me, there’s a Sprint Cup championship on the line. I kept it as clean as I could."

Chris Heroy, Larson’s crew chief, expressed no ill will toward Newman afterward.

"He’s got to do what he’s got to do," Heroy said. "It’s just racing. … We’re here to try to win races. We’d gotten on a different strategy to try to win and it didn’t work out. It’s just part of racing."

"That’s just what you do," said Newman’s team owner, Richard Childress. "I didn’t know (how it would play out)."

Hamlin, the pole winner, was the first to feel the sting of trouble. After leading the first 24 laps, he fell from third to 37th when a flat tire while pitting under caution sent him back to pit road.

By Lap 75 he was a lap down before a subsequent caution for debris allowed him to get back on the lead lap. Unable to advance through the field, he fell a lap off the pace again just shy of the halfway point of the race, and then gained it back during a caution at Lap 207.

"We definitely didn’t have that strong of a car today but we had a strong car on restarts, and that kind of allowed us to be aggressive and pick up a handful of spots; then a caution would come out, we’d pit, get a little bit better tires, then the guys that stayed out would make up a few more spots," Hamlin said of his fifth-place finish. "And next thing you know we ended up finishing in the top five somehow, some way."

"I need a new stomach lining after all that," said crew chief Darian Grubb, who won the 2011 title as crew chief for Tony Stewart. "It’s tough — being in, being out, having just a fluke flat tire when a lug nut got caught in the wheel. I’ve got the valve stem in my pocket. … Just stuff like that we fought all day long to get back."

Logano, sixth on the day, was penalized during a round of pit stops at Lap 124 when he pulled out of his pit stall with the fuel can still attached to the No. 22 Ford.

He also found it difficult to navigate his way back to the front after restarting the race in 27th. But, similar to Hamlin, the miscue occurred early enough to provide a window of opportunity.

"I don’t really know what got us behind but the same deal as last week, you get back there and you’re in the danger zone," he said. "The 18 (of Kyle Busch) spun out, (we) went down a lap, got our lap back. We’re in (the championship) though, one to go for all the money."

In the meantime, Harvick wheeled his way to his second consecutive win at Phoenix and career win No. 27 in the series.

While it might have been dominant, it was also necessary. Eighth in points entering Sunday’s race, Harvick would have not been one of the four drivers advancing to next week’s championship without the victory.

"I guess that is what it feel like to hit a walk-off (home run) in extra innings there," he said. "This (car) here has just been bad to the bone. I could tell we were probably going to have to win because everybody was running up front of the pack that we were racing against. …

"I think we have been through a lot this year. They put our backs against the wall; we put it in Victory Lane and get to go on."

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Posted on November 9, 2014 by Nascar

Driver, wife’s three dogs highlight Mars Inc. Banfield Pet Hospital

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AVONDALE, Ariz. — It’s a bit of a different look for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 entry with driver Kyle Busch today at Phoenix International Raceway.

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Busch’s No. 18 Toyota features what may be a first, a paint scheme that includes photos of the three pets he and wife Samantha own — West-Highland Terriers Suzie and Kelly, along with Lucy, a Pomeranian Yorkie.

The scheme is part of Busch’s Mars, Inc. sponsorship through its Banfield Pet Hospital group. The hospitals can be found in 880 Pet Smart stores across the U.S.

Busch said Sunday morning that he never thought he’d see a photo of his pets adorning the side of his race car.

"I’ve seen the Pedigree car over the years," he said. "Even when I came here for my first race back in — I want to say it was ’94. I think Terry Labonte won and Jack Sprague was in the 51 Pedigree car."

Actually, according to records it was Rich Bickle in the No. 51 entry, but Busch’s memory was otherwise spot-on.

"It was a Pontiac, just a plain Pedigree car with no pictures of dogs on it or anything, and you wonder ‘Well, why didn’t they have a picture of his pets on it’ or something like that," he said. "I think today is the first time a driver’s pet’s picture has been on a car, so that’s pretty cool."

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