NASCAR officials declared the race over 219 laps in due to rain, with Earnhardt claiming victory at Phoenix worldwide Raceway.
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What I like to do is try and capture a Polaroid moment in my head from the final race that carries over into the next season. “We’d been going to Homestead with a chance to race for the championship under the circumstances”. “But, hey, you lose a few and you win a few like that”. And sometimes you’re on the right side of it and sometimes you’re on the wrong side of it. “But, in the end, the big picture is what it’s all about”.
“I’ve got (no titles)”, Busch said. Upon return, Busch was granted a waiver by NASCAR that would allow him to be in the Chase for the Sprint Cup provided he met all the qualification criteria and finish in the Top 30 in the drivers standings. Busch did more than that.
Instead of racing for a long-awaited championship next week in Miami, Edwards will be playing out the string on a solid-just-not-great season. And while I’ll root for Kyle Busch to bring a banner home, I think Harvick will be dialed in once again, and he’ll likely get his 13th runner-up finish of the season.
Traditionally, this hasn’t been the best time of the year for Busch and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team. As he walked out of his indoor habitat at Zoo Miami, Koda touched Harvick’s vehicle first, signaling his prediction to win the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Fellow Team Chevy driver Kevin Harvick led the most laps with 143 and he finished the race in second. After missing the first eleven races of the season, he caught fire in the summer to win four races in five weekends and quickly remind the racing world of his position as a contender, but in the time since, he has cooled down considerably.
Gordon may not be the favorite heading into Homestead (even with the strength of HMS, that’s still Harvick), but he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with.
“There’s only one lap I want to lead”, he said, “and that’s the last one”.
In another interview with Fox Sports reporter Kaitlyn Vincie, Earnhardt said, “We had a good vehicle”.
Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon has an historic opportunity to go out on top.
Locked into this coming weekend’s title race in Homestead-Miami thanks to his victory at Martinsville two weekends ago, Gordon – who announced before the season that this would be his final Sprint Cup campaign – was ready to go from the outset at Phoenix. However, rain had already moved into the area, forcing NASCAR to postpone the race well into the evening. And, he said, it helps continue one of his best Chase runs ever.
As a result, defending series champion Kevin Harvick (second), Kyle Busch (fourth) and Martin Truex Jr. 6, Dale Earnhardt Jr., $6,017,480. “I didn’t know if we could work any harder, but when Rick tells you to get to work, you find something else to do every minute of the day”. My crew chief Cole Pearn and everybody there – I’m just really proud of them and really excited to have this opportunity.
Jeff Gordon, the only driver to transfer to the final round of the Chase by winning a race (Martinsville Speedway) in the Eliminator Round, led four laps at Phoenix on Sunday but didn’t have a vehicle as competitive as Harvick or his Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Earnhardt, who led 66 laps between them.
When the Chase field is decided by things like restart violations, debris cautions, the definition of an overtime “attempt” at a restrictor-plate race, intentional crashes or weather (added to the list Sunday), it becomes tougher to view as a fair competition.
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More rain forced NASCAR to called it after 218 laps, with Harvick second behind victor Dale Earnhardt Jr., Busch fourth and Truex 14th.
