When his third-place finish in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway left him three points shy of the total he would have needed to advance to the final four-driver championship shootout next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kenseth was philosophical about the result.

"We were no match for the 4 (race winner Kevin Harvick)," Kenseth said. "He’s been lights-out here the last couple years or the last few years — whatever. But other than that, we were pretty good, so we had good short run speed, good restarts. I thought we did everything right, good strategy, good pit stops, all that stuff.

"Best we’ve ran here in a while. So overall, it was a great day for us. It wasn’t good enough to get us to the next round, but after last week (a 25th-place finish at Texas), I knew that that was going to be tough. We were probably going to have to come here and win, and we just didn’t have enough speed to do that."

In reality that was the story of Kenseth’s season, one where his entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization spent much of the year searching for speed.

"From my side of it, I feel like we haven’t necessarily performed at a championship level," Kenseth said. "I think my team has, in the pit stops and the strategy and the car prep and the morale — all that has been there, but we haven’t had the speed in our race cars.

"To still be in it all the way to the second to last race was a good feeling, to keep getting another shot. I wish we had one more."

Hamlin’s pit crew has redeeming stop

Denny Hamlin’s championship hopes were in dire jeopardy early in Sunday’s race, when the rear tire changer’s air gun knocked off the valve stem and flattened the tire, forcing Hamlin to return to the pits.

Hamlin twice went a lap down to race winner Kevin Harvick, only to get the laps back as the “lucky dog,” the highest-scored lapped car.

But when Hamlin needed a strong performance from his crew late in the race, the over-the-wall gang was up to the challenge.

On Hamlin’s final pit stop, Hamlin’s pit crew gained three positions for the driver of the No. 11 Toyota, boosting him from 11th to eighth in the running order and giving Hamlin the working margin he needed to advance to the season finale at Homestead with championship eligibility.

Ultimately, Hamlin came home fifth and had nothing but praise for his crew in the aftermath of a stressful race.

"They’re probably the reason that we’re in this position anyway,” Hamlin said. "I’ve been riding their coattails for most of the year. What they do for me on pit road, and obviously law of averages, every now and then, that stone is going to hit you, and it hit you that first pit stop, and luckily it was the first one. If it was later in the day, we were not going to overcome it.

"But you know, yeah, it’s crazy that that mistake is what put us back there, but they made up for it tenfold throughout the entire day with great stops. It’s great to have them on your side, knowing that you’ve got the fastest pit crew on pit lane going into a one race shootout. I like my chances."

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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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