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 →
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 →
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 12, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards are clinched in the Championship 4 for Homestead Miami Speedway next weekend. The next two drivers to secure their chance at racing for the Sprint Cup title is decided this weekend in the Can Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway and the six drivers and their clinch scenarios are listed below.
Joey Logano (0 Wins, 4074 Points) – Would clinch on points with a second-place finish and at least one lap led. With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.
Kyle Busch (0 Wins, 4074 Points) – Would clinch on points with a second-place finish and the most laps led. With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.
The following drivers can only guarantee a clinch with a win. The could also clinch on points with help:
With a Lazarus act that was delayed and then shortened by rain, Carl Edwards revived his moribund championship hopes the only way he could—with a victory in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Last in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings after a hard crash and a 36th-place finish last week at Martinsville, Edwards took the lead under caution on lap 257 when his crew dashed off an 11-second pit stop.
Edwards beat Martin Truex Jr. out of the pits, and that proved the difference, as the No. 19 Joe Gibbs racing Toyota held the top spot the rest of the way until a rain shower halted the proceedings after 293 of a planned 334 laps. Continue reading →
