Championship 4 Clinch Scenarios for Phoenix International Raceway
Jeff Gordon has already clinched a spot in the Championship 4.
Regardless of the finish of any other driver…
Kyle Busch will clinch with a finish of 3rd or better; 4th and at least one lap led; or 5th and most laps led.
Kevin Harvick will clinch with a finish of 2nd or better; 3rd and at least one lap led; or 4th and most laps led.
Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano only control their own destiny with a victory. Logano can ONLY make it to the Championship Round with a win at Phoenix.
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Photo – Tim Bradbury/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 Photo – Tim Bradbury/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
For Jimmie Johnson, it was business as usual in Cowtown.
On Sunday, the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion completed a sweep of this year’s Texas Motor Speedway races, powering past hapless Brad Keselowski with three laps left to win the AAA Texas 500 for the fourth straight year.
Johnson kept his record perfect, winning a race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the 12th consecutive season. His fifth victory of the year was also his record sixth at Texas—including the last three in a row—and the 75th of his career, leaving him one win behind Dale Earnhardt, who is seventh on the all-time list. Continue reading →
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, passes Austin Dillon, driver of the #33 Rheem Chevrolet, for the lead during the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2015 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2015 Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 7, 2015 Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski’s love affair with the Lone Star State continued in full force on Saturday with a hard-fought NASCAR XFINITY Series victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.
Keselowski grabbed the lead from Coors Light Polesitter Austin Dillon on lap 189 of 200 after a restart with 16 laps left in the race. The No. 22 Team Penske Ford finished 1.137 seconds ahead of the No. 88 JR Motorsports entry driven by Kevin Harvick, who passed Dillon for the runner-up spot with four laps left. Continue reading →
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, lead Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 1, 2015 Photo – Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
Yes, Jeff Gordon celebrated his 93rd career victory in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Yes, Gordon will compete for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Yes, there were tears of joy in Victory Lane for Gordon, who’s at the tail end of his last season in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
But Sunday’s race at Martinsville had so much more — most notably, ‘Matt Kenseth’s Revenge.’ Continue reading →
