But that win would come at the expense of Keselowski, who dominated Texas last week but saw his berth into the finale snatched away by Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps of the race. He’s one of seven drivers vying for three available slots in next weekend’s title decider at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Advertisement
“There’s nothing better”, Johnson said.
“It’s really nice to have the swagger back that we’re used to having”, said Johnson, who got his first pole over the past 58 races.
By the time they reached the finish line, Busch’s margin of victory was a comfortable three seconds – the only glitch he encountered all afternoon was a result of being too aggressive on his celebratory burnouts which left the #54 stopping short of driving into victory lane.
“The ideal day for Stewart Haas Racing would be for [my] vehicle to win and for Kevin Harvick to finish second”, Busch said.
Busch isn’t in a true “must win” situation and there is a chance he could advance through the point system should those ahead of him in the standings experience trouble on Sunday.
(Logano) “I feel like we need to go into every race and win, so nothing changes for us, our mindsets always the same”.
Martin Truex Jr., of Denver-based Furniture Row Racing, qualified fifth after strong second and third rounds Friday.
Carl Edwards finished 12th, leaving him five points out of the final spot for the Chase finale.
“We had a fast auto and I’m excited to go race now”.
“We made great adjustments overnight and got that little bit of balance that we were looking for from practice, and just the way that the caution fell, I didn’t get all my distance back on the race track under green and Dale was able to beat us out”, Harvick said. Obviously, we’ve done a lot of good things.
I know Kevin Harvick has won the last four races at Phoenix and I’m well aware EVERYONE says he is the favorite this week. Most of the title contenders believe they are chasing Harvick on Sunday. There are mathematical possibilities that both drivers can make the final four, but it’s a longshot.
“Today, we were on the wrong side of it, but in the big picture, we’re racing for a championship next week, so I’m just really proud of everybody on our team”.
Asked where Penske was off in qualifying, Logano was practical: “In the speed department, somewhere”, he said. The rain began falling harder and NASCAR called the race at lap 219 declaring Earnhardt the victor. He was eliminated from the Chase in this race a year ago, and had the finale within his grasp until Johnson spoiled it for him last week.
“The cool thing is we are going there to celebrate regardless of that moment and that day and sharing that with the people that have supported me over the years and are closest to me”.
Advertisement
Local radar shows a band of rain moving through the area which will affect the amount of rubber on the track, similar to what drivers experienced last Sunday at Texas with showers the night before.
