The NASCAR season is winding down, as drivers prepare for the last race of the Eliminator Round this weekend in Phoenix.
Advertisement
The bubble could burst on Joey Logano, who must win to advance to the final four. “Obviously, the Daytona 500 is a big win, but winning here at Phoenix, what it would do to set us up for racing for a championship at Homestead would be the biggest one of the year”.
Since NASCAR began keeping its Loop data in 2005, there have been only four flawless 150.0 driver ratings recorded at 21 races at Phoenix: Kurt Busch in 2005 (his lone Phoenix win), and Harvick in the other three (Nov. 2006, November 2014, March 2015). He led 19 laps and finished fifth at New Hampshire last month, a good sign for bettors looking to take a shot one someone other than Harvick. A finish in the top five, with conditions, will advance Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick while Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano control their own destiny with a victory. Then he’ll race another two times. He will return to action at Homestead…. This will be the 39th Sprint Cup race held at PIR.
Another 15-year-old, Harrison Burton, will also debut in the series. Dillon was fifth in the race, Smith sixth, and Elliott seventh. Logano has six wins this year.
His win last week at Texas denied Brad Keselowski a spot in the finale, and now he is on the pole for the final elimination race.
Busch led for all but 10 laps of the DAV 200 Presented by Great Clips to pick up a record eighth series win at the one mile oval.
– Final Practice: 12:30 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.
Erik Jones has a chance to remain flawless at Phoenix global Raceway when he attempts to move closer to the Truck Series title. “I dominated all but the last 5 percent of Texas, so that shows the weekend is not over ’til it’s over”, he said. He leads two-time defending champ Matt Crafton by 17 points. Tyler Reddick is ranked third, 21 points behind Jones, while Johnny Sauter is a distant 71 points back…. NASCAR Next development drivers Rico Abreu and William Byron will make their first NASCAR national series starts Friday at Phoenix. Regardless of how the rest of the field performs at Phoenix, Harvick can advance to the Championship Round with a finish of second; third and at least one lap led; or fourth and the most laps led. “I grew up in racing the past 25 years”.
Site: Avondale, Arizona. Schedule: Friday, practice (NBC Sports Channel, 2-3:30 p.m.), qualifying (NBC Sports Channel, 6:30-8 p.m.); Saturday, practice (NBC Sports Channel, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 2:30-3:30 p.m.); Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (NBC, 2-6 p.m.).
Advertisement
THEN AND NOW: Sunday marks the final race of the 24-race 2015 season. Johnson had already been eliminated from the playoffs, and in blocking Keselowski’s path to Homestead, he potentially helped Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon by keeping a strong contender from the final four. If Worsham is successful, he would become only the third driver in NHRA history to win championships in both Top Fuel and amusing vehicle in his career…. Doug Kalitta won in Top Fuel, Robert Hight in amusing auto, and Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Hines tops the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings, 46 points ahead of Gerald Savoie…. Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1 will televise all 23 NHRA races in 2016.
