NASCAR EcoBoost 400

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In Championship 4, Joe Gibbs Racing Must Deal with Unprecedented Success

Photo - Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images

The crowning achievement of Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2016 season may also be its biggest problem.

But it’s a problem the organization is happy to have.

When defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch earned a return trip to the Championship 4 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a second-place finish at Phoenix, JGR became the first organization in the three-year history of the Chase’s elimination format to put more than one driver in the final race with a chance to win the title. Continue reading

The Bottom Line in the Championship 4? There’s No Clear Favorite

Photos - Getty Images
Photos – Getty Images

A week before they were to race for the NASCAR Sprint Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch sat side-by-side at the daïs in the Phoenix International Raceway media center and began the bickering that invariably accompanies the battle for the series title.

“I think my stats at Homestead show that I’m the favorite, right?” Johnson said facetiously.

“I think my results from last year show that I’m the favorite, right?” Busch retorted.

Busch goes to Homestead as the defending champion, having overcome a broken leg and foot that caused him to miss the first 11 races of the 2015 season. With the elimination of Kevin Harvick in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix, Busch is the only Championship 4 contender who has won a title under the 16-driver Chase format introduced by NASCAR in 2014. Continue reading