Earnhardt Wins at Phoenix: Harvick, Busch, Truex Join Gordon in Champion 4

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A serendipitous sequence of pit stops and a drizzle that turned into a downpour made a winner of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Sunday night’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, with a delayed start moving the race from daytime to under the lights by rain in the afternoon.

But again, halting the race due to rain 93 laps short of its scheduled distance of 312 laps was hardly the satisfying conclusion Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch or Joey Logano had hoped for.

Eliminating those four drivers from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was disappointing, while defending champion Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. joined Jeff Gordon in next Sunday’s Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Next Race: Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500

The Place: Phoenix International Raceway

The Date: Sunday, Nov. 15

The Time: 2:30 p.m. (ET)

TV: NBC, 2 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 312 miles (312 laps)

 

Party of Five: Harvick Goes for Fifth Straight Win at Phoenix

Pretty much automatic at Phoenix International Raceway, Kevin Harvick will go for his fifth straight win at the one-mile track in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cutoff race. With a visit to Victory Lane on Sunday, Harvick would join NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty (Richmond, 7) and Darrell Waltrip (Bristol, 7; North Wilkesboro, 5) as the only drivers to win at least five consecutive races at a single track.

Currently third on the Chase Grid, ten points above the cutoff line, Harvick is trying to advance to the four-driver Championship Round race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to defend his 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title. Regardless of how the rest of the field performs at Phoenix, Harvick can clinch a Championship Round berth with a finish of second or better; third and at least one lap led; or fourth and the most laps led. Continue reading

Kevin Harvick advances to season finale with dominating win at Phoenix

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A victory at Phoenix—and a dominating one at that—was exactly what Kevin Harvick needed to keep his hopes for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship alive.

But a second-place finish in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 did Jeff Gordon no good, thanks to a final-lap banzai run by Ryan Newman, who passed rookie Kyle Parson for the 11th position on the final lap to eliminate Gordon from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by a single point. Continue reading