NASCAR Cup Series Season Finale 500
Phoenix Raceway Distance: 312 miles (312 Laps)
November 8 3 p.m. ET TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 190), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 312)
NASCAR Xfinity Series Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200
Phoenix Raceway Distance: 200 miles (200 laps)
Saturday, November 7 5 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 4:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/ Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200)
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150
Phoenix Raceway Distance: 150 miles (150 laps)
Friday, November 6 8 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 150)
NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 (In Alphabetical Order)
The 2020 season comes down to this. The stage is set, and four drivers will contend for the championship and prestigious Bill France Cup this Sunday in the Season Finale 500 for the first time at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
That foursome, comprised of Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, have accounted for 18 victories in the 35 races leading up to Sunday’s finale.
Two of the four drivers are former champions – Keselowski (2012) and Logano (2018) – with Hamlin and Elliott looking for their first Cup titles.
Here’s an in-depth look at the championship contenders in 2020:
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
Elliott By The Numbers:
1 – Number of career appearances in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 (2020).
2 – Number of top-five finishes at Phoenix Raceway.
4 – Number of NASCAR Cup Series race wins in 2020.
5 – Number of top-10 finishes at Phoenix Raceway.
9.2 – Average starting position during the first 35 races of 2020 season.
9.6 – Average finishing position during the first nine races of the 2020 Playoffs.
10 – Number of stage wins during the 2020 season.
12.0 – Average finishing position during the 2020 season.
13.0 – Average finishing position at Phoenix Raceway.
14 – Number of top-five finishes in the first 35 races of 2020 season.
21 – Number of top-10 finishes during the 2020 season.
27 – Total number of Playoff points accumulated in 2020.
102.3 – Season-to-date driver rating – second-best among active drivers.
105.3 – Career driver rating at Phoenix Raceway – second-best among active drivers.
249 – Total number of laps led at Phoenix Raceway.
1,094 – Total number of laps led in the 2020 season.
9,229 – Total number of laps completed in the 2020 season (96.1%).
Elliott has chance to join his father as a NASCAR Cup Series champion
NASCAR has been built by hard working and dedicated families like the Frances, Pettys, Jarretts, Earnhardts and this weekend Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Chase Elliott has the chance to add to his family’s legacy and join his NASCAR Hall of Fame father Bill Elliott (1988) as a champion in the highest form of stock car racing – the NASCAR Cup Series.
If Elliott accomplishes the feat the Elliotts (Bill: 1988) would join the Pettys (Lee: 1954, 1958, 1959 and Richard: 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979), and the Jarretts (Ned: 1961, 1965 and Dale: 1999) as just the third father-son combo to win the NASCAR Cup Series title.
Elliott’s talent was apparent early in his career. The Georgia native jumped in the national NASCAR scene in 2013 in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series on a part-time basis, making nine starts and winning at Canadian Tire in just his sixth start. He then climbed up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsport and became the first rookie in series history to win the series championship in 2014. He ran one more season in Xfinity, finishing runner-up in the points in 2015 before moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series fulltime in 2016. Elliott has qualified for the Playoffs all five seasons he has competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, but this is the first one in which he has a clear shot at the title. Since running fulltime in the series, Elliott has put up 10 wins, 58 top fives and 95 top 10s.
Mr. ‘Most Popular’ is looking to cap off a career season
Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott is having a career year and not only because he made the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff’s Championship 4 round for the first time, but also because he has racked up four wins on the season – also a career first.
The reigning series Most Popular Driver, Elliott had a slow start to the 2020 season with three finishes outside the top-15 in the first six races, but all that changed when he got to Charlotte.
Elliott was strong in both Charlotte oval races, leading 38 laps in the first event and finishing runner-up, but followed that up in the next race by leading 28 laps and winning his first event of the season. The 24-year old then rallied off 10 top-10 finishes and another win at the Charlotte ROVAL to finish out the regular season.
Elliott entered the 2020 Playoffs as the fifth seed with 20 Playoff points to his credit.
Unfortunately, an incident with Martin Truex Jr. for the lead at Darlington relegated him to a 20th-place finish to open the postseason, but Elliott was quick to rebound, finishing fifth at Richmond and seventh at Bristol to advance to the Round of 12. Again, Elliott struggled at the start of the next round, finishing 22nd at Las Vegas but found his momentum at Talladega with a fifth-place finish and secured his spot in the Round of 8 with a win at the Charlotte ROVAL.
Elliott then finished sixth at Kansas and slipped to a 20th-place finish at Texas in the Round of 8. As a result, Elliott was in a precarious position 25 points behind the Championship 4 cutoff heading into the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville Speedway. But the rising star answered the call and won at Martinsville Speedway, becoming the third driver since the inception of the elimination-style format in 2014 to win his way into the Championship 4 round; joining Kevin Harvick in 2014 and Denny Hamlin in 2019. His previous best finish in the final championship standings was fifth in 2017.
Through 35 races this season Chase Elliott has put up four wins, 14 top fives and 21 top 10s. He has led 1,094 laps and has an average finish of 12.0. He also has the second-best season-to-date driver rating (105.3) on the year.
Elliott’s prowess in the Valley of the Sun
For the first time in series history Phoenix Raceway will host the season finale race and set the stage for the Championship 4 to battle it out for the NASCAR Cup Series title. And the recent change could not have come at a better time for Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott, who has performed much better at Phoenix than the previous season finale venue Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Elliott has made nine starts at Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series, posting two top fives, five top 10s and a pole. His average finish at Phoenix is a strong 13.0, sixth-best in the series and second-best in the Championship 4 behind Denny Hamlin’s 11.3. Elliott is also near the top of the charts in several pre-race Loop Data categories at Phoenix with an Average Running Position of 8.930, second-best in the series, a Driver Rating of 105.3, second-best, 243 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best and 2,418 Laps in the Top 15 (85.5%), 13th-most. He started from the pole and finished seventh at Phoenix earlier this season.
Crew Chief Corner: Adam Gustafson
Since making his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series as a Hendrick Motorsport’s crew chief in 2005, Adam Gustafson has shown that he is one of the best in the sport. During his 16 seasons of full-time competition, Gustafson has worked with five different drivers: Kyle Busch (2005-2007), Casey Mears (2008), Mark Martin (2009, 2010), Jeff Gordon (2011-2015) and Chase Elliott (2016-Present). And during those 16 seasons he led his drivers to 13 Playoff appearances and to wins in 12 of the seasons. This weekend at Phoenix will mark his second appearance in the Championship 4, his first appearance was with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in 2015, they finished the season third in points.
The Elliott-Gustafson pair has combined for the following achievements in 176 NASCAR Cup Series races together since 2016:
10 wins
57 top fives
94 top 10s
2,938 laps led
9 poles
One NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 appearance (2020)
Five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs appearances (2016-2020)
The two will look to capture their first NASCAR Cup Series championship together this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. If they accomplish the feat, Gustafson will become the 41st different crew chief in the series with a championship.
Adding to the historic legacy of Hendrick Motorsports
When it comes to winning titles in the NASCAR Cup Series, no organization does it better than Hendrick Motorsports with their series leading 12 championships among three drivers – Jimmie Johnson (2016, ’13, ’10, ’09, ’08, ’07, ’06), NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (2001, ’98, ’97, ’95) and Terry Labonte (1996).
Overall Hendrick Motorsports has 15 NASCAR national series owner championships, the all-time record in NASCAR.
And to boot, Hendrick Motorsports was the first organization in the series history to win four straight, from 1995-98 (Jeff Gordon in 1995 and 1997-98; Terry Labonte 1996). And then upped their record in the series with five straight, from 2006-2010 (Jimmie Johnson). Hendrick Motorsports has won 12 of the last 25 NASCAR Cup Series championships (1995-2019), putting the team’s title-winning percentage during that span at 48% – series-best.
Chase Elliott can add to the legacy of Hendrick Motorsports this weekend by winning the title and extending the organization’s record in series championships. In total, 13 different organizations have won at Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by Hendrick Motorsports with 10 victories.
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
Hamlin By The Numbers:
2 – Number of NASCAR Cup Series career wins at Phoenix Raceway (2012, 2019).
3 – Number of appearances in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff’s Championship 4 (2014, ’19 ‘20)
7 – Number of NASCAR Cup Series race wins during the 2020 season.
11 – Number of stage wins during the 2020 season.
9.0 – Average starting position for the first 35 races of the 2020 season.
9.5 – Average finishing position for the first 35 races of the 2020 season.
10.2 – Average starting position at Phoenix Raceway.
11.1 – Average finishing position during the first nine races of the 2020 Playoffs.
11.3 – Average finishing position at Phoenix Raceway.
13 – Number of career top-five finishes at Phoenix Raceway.
17 – Number of career top-10 finishes at Phoenix Raceway.
17 – Number of top-five finishes during the 2020 season.
20 – Number of top-10 finishes during the 2020 season.
54 – Total number of Playoff points accumulated in 2020, most among Champ 4.
97.7 – Career driver rating at Phoenix Raceway, fifth-best among active drivers.
100.3 – Season-to-date driver rating, fourth-best among active drivers.
821 – Total number of laps led at Phoenix Raceway.
1,083 – Total number of laps led in the 2020 season.
9,301 – Total number of laps completed in the 2020 season (99.3%).
Third time might be the charm for Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin burst on the NASCAR Cup Series scene fulltime in 2006, and ever since he has been a force in the series, year-in and year-out. The 39-year old has competed in the series for 15 full-time seasons, qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 14 of them. This season will mark the third time the Virginian has made the Championship 4 round (2014, 2019, 2020) and Hamlin is hoping this time is the year he gets his first title. If Hamlin were to accomplish the feat this weekend, he would also become the first NASCAR Cup Series driver from Virginia to win a championship.
In 2014 he qualified for the final round in the Playoffs, but finished seventh in the season finale at Homestead-Miami and ultimately third in the championship standings. Last season he advanced to Championship 4 for second time in his career, but a tough call on pit road in the season finale was costly for Hamlin and he finished the race in 10th and ultimately fourth in the final championship standings.
Hamlin’s best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings came in 2010 when he finished runner-up in the points behind Jimmie Johnson.
Hamlin kicked off 2020 with his third victory in the Daytona 500, locking himself into the Playoffs in the opening week of the schedule. Since then, Hamlin has been one of the best in the series this year. In 35 starts, he has posted seven wins, 17 top fives and 20 top 10s. His average finish this season is a stout 9.5.
The path to Phoenix was a rocky one for Hamlin
The Joe Gibbs Racing standout, Denny Hamlin, had to bank on his series leading 54 Playoff points a few times this postseason, but despite the slow start he has advanced to the Championship 4.
Hamlin stumbled out of the gate this Playoffs finishing 13th (Darlington), 12th (Richmond) and 31st (Bristol) in the Round of 16. It wasn’t until the Round of 12 did he start to step it up, when he finished third at Las Vegas and won at Talladega to guarantee his spot in the Round of 8. He finished the Round of 12 with a 15th-place finish at the Charlotte ROVAL. In the Round of 8, Hamlin was methodical with his strategy and pointed his way into the Championship 4 by finishing 15th (Kansas), ninth (Texas) and 11th (Martinsville).
Denny Hamlin is the only driver from last season’s Championship 4 (Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick) to make it back to the final round in 2020. Hamlin and Joey Logano are the only two remaining title contenders with previous Championship 4 experience. Brad Keselowski won his series title in 2012 prior to the inception of the elimination-style Playoff format in 2014 and Elliott will be making his Championship 4 debut this weekend.
Hamlin’s previous performance in cactus country
For the first time in series history Phoenix Raceway will host the season finale race and set the stage for the Championship 4 to compete for the NASCAR Cup Series title. And the change in venue is a welcome one for Denny Hamlin.
The one-mile Phoenix Raceway is one of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s best tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series, having made 30 series starts collecting two wins (2012, 2019), 13 top fives, 17 top 10s and two poles. His average finish at Phoenix is 11.267, fifth-best in the series and best among the Championship 4. He also ranks in the top 10 in several key pre-race Loop Data categories at Phoenix with an Average Running Position of 11.487, sixth-best in the series, a Driver Rating of 97.7, fifth-best, 453 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best and 6,759 Laps in the Top 15 (72.2), fifth-most.
He started third and finished 20th in the Phoenix Cup race earlier this season.
Crew Chief Corner: Chris Gabehart
The powerful duo of driver Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart are the only team from last season’s Championship 4 to make it in this season’s, proving they are a force to be reckoned with.
Since joining forces with Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team, Gabehart has led the crew to 13 wins, including two Daytona 500 victories (2019, 2020), two Playoff appearances and two Championship 4 appearances (2019, 2020).
The Hamlin-Gabehart pair has combined for the following achievements in 68 NASCAR Cup Series races together since 2017:
13 wins
35 top fives
43 top 10s
1,874 laps led
3 poles
Two consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 appearances (2019, 2020)
Two consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs appearances (2019, 2020)
Under Gabehart’s leadership this season, Hamlin has earned 15 top fives, 18 top 10s and has hoisted the most trophies (seven) since a career best eight-win year in 2010.
If Hamlin and Gabehart win the championship this season, Gabehart will become the 41st different crew chief in the series to win a championship.
Continuing Joe Gibbs Racing’s excellence
Denny Hamlin earned his first NASCAR Cup Series pole position at Phoenix in 2005 in only his sixth career start. The following year he marked his fulltime debut with Joe Gibbs Racing and he immediately started things on the right foot, winning the 2006 Daytona Speedweeks season-opening exhibition event, the Budweiser Shootout, in his first try. Since then Hamlin has earned 44 Cup points-race victories – picking up his third Daytona 500 win this February. Now the 39-year old is looking to bring the Joe Gibbs Racing organization it’s sixth NASCAR Cup Series championship; joining Bobby Labonte (2000), Tony Stewart (2002 and 2005) and Kyle Busch (2015 and 2019).
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Ford)
Keselowski By The Numbers:
2 – Number of career appearances in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 (2017, 2020).
6 – Number of top-five finishes at Phoenix Raceway.
4 – Number of NASCAR Cup Series wins in 2020
7 – Number of stage wins during the 2020 season.
7.7 – Average starting position during the first 35 races of 2020 season.
10 – Number of top-10 finishes at Phoenix Raceway.
10.3 – Average finishing position during the 2020 season.
12 – Number of top-five finishes in the first 35 races of 2020 season.
12.1 – Average finishing position during the first nine races of the 2020 Playoffs.
13.5 – Average finishing position at Phoenix Raceway.
23 – Number of top-10 finishes during the 2020 season.
35 – Total number of Playoff points accumulated in 2020.
93.8 – Career driver rating at Phoenix Raceway – seventh-best among active drivers.
99.4 – Season-to-date driver rating – sixth-best among active drivers.
248 – Total number of laps led at Phoenix Raceway.
936 – Total number of laps led in the 2020 season.
9,427 – Total number of laps completed in the 2020 season (98.2%).
Keselowski looks to become third active multi-time Cup champion
Over the last two decades, winning multiple NASCAR Cup Series championships has been rare, only three drivers have accomplished the feat from 2000 to 2019 – seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson (2006-2010, 2013, 2016), three-time champ and NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart (2002, 2005, 2011) and two-time champ Kyle Busch (2015, 2019). This season, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski has the chance to add his name to the list and become just the third active driver with multiple titles.
Keselowski brought Team Penske their first NASCAR Cup Series championship back in 2012 and then Joey Logano secured the organization’s second Cup title in 2018.
One thing that has been consistent through the years at Team Penske is that Keselowski has been impressive in his career. He is currently riding a 10-year streak of at least one win each season in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has made the Playoffs nine times in his career and this weekend marks the second time he has advanced to the Championship 4 round (2017, 2020). In total, the 36-year old has put up 34 NASCAR Cup Series victories.
Looking back at the 2020 season, Keselowski slipped in the season-opener at Daytona finishing 36th due to an incident, but quickly recovered to ramble off three wins (Charlotte-1, Bristol and New Hampshire) and 19 top 10s to secure his spot in the postseason. He entered the Playoffs seeded third with 29 Playoffs points.
A late surge lifts Keselowski to Championship 4
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have been a roller coaster ride for Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski. The 2012 series champ jumped into the postseason with an 11th-place finish at Darlington and then followed that up with a win at Richmond Raceway to secure his spot in the Round of 12.
Following his win at Richmond, Keselowski went on a skid laying down a 34th-place finish at Bristol, a 13th at Las Vegas and then 18th at both Talladega and the Charlotte ROVAL. Buoyed by his Playoff points, Keselowski barely made the Round of 8, but the opportunity gave him the chance to turn his postseason around and he did so by finishing fourth at Kansas and sixth at Texas. Heading into Martinsville last week Keselowski, held the fourth and final transfer spot into the Championship 4 and his fourth-place result at 0.526-mile track was enough to land his No. 2 team into the Championship 4.
Keselowski’s career performances in the Arizona desert
Though he has yet to win at Phoenix Raceway, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski enters this weekend with a lot of optimism he can grab his second title.
The Michigan native driver has made 22 series starts at Phoenix Raceway posting six top fives and 10 top 10s. His average finish at Phoenix is 13.5, seventh-best in series and third-best among the Championship 4. Keselowski is also ranked in the top 10 in several key pre-race Loop Data categories with an Average Running Position of 12.179, seventh-best in the series, a Driver Rating of 93.8, seventh-best, 366 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best and 4,898 Laps in the Top 15 (71.3%), 10th-most. Keselowski started 14th and finished 11th in the Cup race at Phoenix early this season.
Crew Chief Corner: Jeremy Bullins
During the 2019 offseason Team Penske made headlines with a crew chief shake-up amongst its three teams and for the first time in in the Cup Series, Brad Keselowski and Jeremy Bullins were paired together for the 2020 season.
Jeremy Bullins began his NASCAR career with the Wood Brothers in 2000 as race engineer on the famous No. 21 team; a position he held until June 2002. From 2003 to 2011, Bullins worked with three different teams as race engineer in the NASCAR Cup Series – ST Motorsports, Robert Yates Racing and Richard Childress Racing.
In 2012, he accepted a position as crew chief for Team Penske’s No. 22 NASCAR Xfinity Series team. He led five drivers in 2012 and posted three wins with former champion Brad Keselowski – including the inaugural Indy 250 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bullins served as crew chief for four drivers in 2013 at Team Penske, leading the crew to 12 wins and Roger Penske’s first NASCAR Xfinity Series owner title. Bullins led the No. 22 team and five drivers in 2014 to Team Penske’s second NASCAR Xfinity Series owner title after posting six wins.
In 2015, Bullins returned to the Wood Brothers organization to lead the No. 21 team with Ryan Blaney in the NASCAR Cup Series. The pair worked together for three years at the Wood Brothers Racing organization before making the transition back to Team Penske in 2018 where he led Ryan Blaney to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs. Blaney eventually finished 10th in the final Cup Series point standings as he scored then career bests in top fives (eight), top 10s (16), poles (three) and laps led (660). Last season the duo closed out 2019 by finishing a career-best seventh in the final NASCAR Cup Series standings.
This season, Keselowski and Bullins have both been pulling in the same direction and it shows. The No. 2 team has not only qualified for the Championship 4 but has also put up some pretty decent numbers in the first 35 races together
4 wins
12 top fives
23 top 10s
936 laps led
NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 appearance in inaugural season together (2020)
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs appearances in inaugural season together (2020)
If Keselowski and Bullins win the championship this season, Bullins will become the 41st different crew chief in the series to win a championship.
Delivering Team Penske its third title
He has done it once, he can do it again. At least that is what Team Penske is hoping this weekend at Phoenix Raceway as Brad Keselowski will attempt to bring the organization its third NASCAR Cup Series championship. Keselowski secured Roger Penske his first Cup title back in 2012 and Joey Logano grabbed the second in 2018.
In the Modern Era (1972-Present), only eight organizations have won multiple NASCAR Cup Series championships. Currently Team Penske (2012, 2018) is tied with Roush Fenway Racing (2003, 2004), and Stewart-Haas Racing (2011, 2014) with two titles each and looks to break the tie this weekend at Phoenix.
NASCAR Cup Series (1972-Present) Multiple Champions
Rank
Multiple Championship Winning Organizations
Titles
1
Hendrick Motorsports
12
2
Richard Childress Racing
6
3
Junior Johnson & Associates
6
4
Joe Gibbs Racing
5
5
Petty Enterprises
4
6
Roush Fenway Racing
2
7
Stewart-Haas Racing
2
8
Team Penske
2
Team Penske has won three times at Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series – the first was in 1998 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, and the next two were by Joey Logano in the Playoff race
of 2016 and earlier this season.
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)
Logano By The Numbers:
2 – Number of NASCAR Cup Series race wins at Phoenix Raceway.
3 – Number of NASCAR Cup Series wins in 2020.
4 – Number of career appearances in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 (2020).
5 – Number of top-five finishes at Phoenix Raceway.
6 – Number of stage wins during the 2020 season.
6.5 – Average starting position during the first 35 races of 2020 season.
8.1 – Average finishing position during the first nine races of the 2020 Playoffs.
11 – Number of top-five finishes in the first 35 races of 2020 season.
12 – Number of top-10 finishes at Phoenix Raceway.
12.1 – Average finishing position during the 2020 season.
14.3 – Average finishing position at Phoenix Raceway.
20 – Number of top-10 finishes in the first 35 races of 2020 season.
22 – Total number of Playoff points accumulated in 2020.
98.4 – Career driver rating at Phoenix Raceway – eighth-best among active drivers.
101.0 – Season-to-date driver rating – third-best among active drivers.
449 – Total number of laps led at Phoenix Raceway.
814 – Total number of laps led in the 2020 season.
9,473 – Total number of laps completed in the 2020 season (98.7%).
Logano has a shot at second Cup title in three years
Team Penske’s Joey Logano has a chance to become just the 11th different driver to win two or more titles within three seasons and the 17th to win multiple NASCAR Cup Series championships.
Herb Thomas, Buck Baker, Joe Weatherly, Lee Petty, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson all won two or more of their multiple NASCAR Cup Series titles within a three-year period.
Drivers with Multiple Championships (1949-2019)
Rank
No. of Titles
Driver
Years
1
7
Jimmie Johnson
2016, ‘13, ’10, ‘09, ‘08, ‘07, ‘06
Dale Earnhardt
1994, ’93, ‘91, ‘90, ‘87, ‘86, ‘80
Richard Petty
1979, ‘75, ‘74, ‘72, ‘71, ‘67, ‘64
4
4
Jeff Gordon
2001, ‘98, ‘97, ‘95
5
3
Darrell Waltrip
1985, ‘82, ‘81
Cale Yarborough
1978, ‘77, ‘76
David Pearson
1969, ‘68, ‘66
Lee Petty
1959, ‘58, ‘54
Tony Stewart
2011, ‘05, ‘02
10
2
Kyle Busch
2019, ’15
Terry Labonte
1996, ‘84
Ned Jarrett
1965, ‘61
Joe Weatherly
1963, ‘62
Buck Baker
1957, ‘56
Tim Flock
1955, ‘52
Herb Thomas
1953, ‘51
- 16 total multiple NASCAR Cup Series champions
Joey Logano started the 2020 season with high hopes in landing new crew chief Paul Wolfe. But they had a rough start in the season-opening Daytona 500 following an incident that relegated him to a 26th-place finish. But the 30-year old didn’t take any time to wallow, bouncing back the following week at Las Vegas with a win and an automatic berth to the Playoffs. He then collected another win at Phoenix Raceway just before the pandemic swept the nation. Once the series returned to action, Logano’s success slowed, and the 2018 series champ put up 12 top 10s to round out the regular season. He entered the 2020 Playoffs as the fourth seed with 22 Playoffs points.
No. 22 team’s path to the season finale at Phoenix
Team Penske’s Joey Logano has been a staple in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. He has qualified for the Playoffs in seven of 12 seasons he has competed fulltime NASCAR Cup Series, and since the inception of the elimination-style format in 2014, Logano has made the Championship 4 round a total of four times (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020).
Besides the wild card that is Talladega, Joey Logano’s 2020 Playoff campaign has been the most consistent among the Championship 4. Logano not touts the best average finish (8.1) among the four title contenders through the first nine races of the postseason, but he also grabbed the first win of the Round of 8 to guarantee his spot in the season finale.
In the Round of 16, No. 22 team and driver Joey Logano put up back-to-back third-place finishes at Darlington and Richmond and then closed out the round with an 11th at Bristol. The Round of 12 was the most treacherous for Logano throughout the postseason. He finished 14th at Las Vegas, 26th at Talladega due to an incident, but managed pullout a runner-up finish at the Charlotte ROVAL to advance to the Round of 8. Logano took the victory in Kansas locking himself into the Championship 4 and has been on cruise control ever since, finishing 10th at Texas and third last week at
Martinsville.
Logano’s time to shine in the Valley of the Sun
Of the four drivers vying for the NASCAR Cup Series title this weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Team Penske Joey Logano has to be the most thrilled it will be decided on the one-mile oval in the Valley of the Sun, as he is the most recent winner.
Back in March, Joey Logano started 13th at Phoenix and raced his way to the win leading 60 of the scheduled 316 laps. Logano actually passed his teammate Brad Keselowski for the lead in the closing laps for the victory. In total, Logano has made 23 series starts at Phoenix posting two wins (2016, 2020), five top fives and 12 top 10s. His average finish is 14.348, ninth-best in the series, but fourth among the Championship 4. Expect Logano to be in the mix this weekend at Phoenix, he ranked in the top 10 in several key pre-race Loop Data categories with an Average Running Position of 12.205, eighth-best, a Driver Rating of 91.4, eighth-best, 215 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best and 5,001 Laps in the Top 15 (69.7%), ninth-most.
The Wolfe in the room
Of the four crew chiefs contending this weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series title, none have been as successful as Paul Wolfe, and now the veteran crew chief has another chance at becoming the 16th different crew chief with multiple Cup championships.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4
Below is an in-depth look at the four drivers who have qualified for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 and will race for the title at Phoenix Raceway in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 on Saturday, Nov. 7 (at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Justin Allgaier (No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro)
Following a three-win season and a second-place finish last weekend at Martinsville Speedway, JR Motorsports’ driver Justin Allgaier punched his ticket to the Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday. Allgaier’s season started out as a struggle and it wasn’t until his first win of the season at the first race of the Dover International Speedway doubleheader that things started to turn around. Up until that point, Allgaier had five DNF’s and was involved in various on-track incidents that put him out of races early. However, aside from those issues, his other finishes were consistent, and he was always running up front, having led 932 laps so far this season. Now for the fourth time in five years the veteran driver has a shot at the Xfinity championship in Phoenix – he finished third is his first two Championship 4 appearances (2016, 2017) and fourth in last season’s appearance.
Allgaier has made 32 series starts in 2020 gathering three wins (Dover-1 and both Richmond races), 10 top fives, and 18 top 10s. He has also led 932 laps this season and has managed an average start of 9.5 and an average finish of 13.6. In addition, Allgaier has posted solid season-to-date loop data stats, including a driver rating of 104.0 (fifth-best), an average running position of 8.490 (fifth-best), a total of 449 fastest laps run (third-most), and completed 89.4% of his laps (4,909) in the top 15 (second-best).
Playoff Recap: Allgaier has had an up-and-down Playoff run this season. The first round started off with a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The following week at Talladega, Allgaier finished 29th and the Round of 12 ended at the Charlotte ROVAL, where he finished 23rd. In the next round, he kicked off with a 10th-place finish at Kansas Speedway but went on to Texas Motor Speedway and finished 26th. Martinsville Speedway last weekend was a nail-biter, as he needed every point he could get to solidify his Championship 4 spot but with a second-place finish and a win in Stage 2, Allgaier pulled it off.
Phoenix Outlook: Expect Allgaier to run well this weekend for the title, as he has the most NASCAR Xfinity Series starts (20) at Phoenix Raceway among the Championship 4. Allgaier has two wins (2017, 2019) and seven top fives and 12 top 10s. He has an average start of 10.2 and an average finish of 8.8 and has led 385 laps. With this being the first time the season finale is at Phoenix Raceway, and with Allgaier having won the second race at the track last season, expect the momentum from the No. 7 team to be strong on Saturday.
Crew Chief Corner: Jason Burdett, crew chief for the JR Motorsport’s No. 7 Chevrolet team, began his racing career with several local teams around the Watkins Glen area. In 1998, he transitioned to North Carolina and joined Robert Yates Racing. A year later, he helped Jarrett’s team to the title as a tire specialist. He then moved to Hendrick Motorsports, and in 2001 Burdett earned a second championship with driver Jeff Gordon. In 2007, Burdett joined Michael Waltrip Racing, reuniting with Jarrett, and serving as crew chief of the No. 44 team in the latter half of the season. It was there he honed his skills at the top level of NASCAR competition and leveraged the experience into a return to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. In the five years since, Burdett excelled as car chief on the No. 24 team from 2008-10 before moving over to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 team from 2011-14. In 2015, he joined JR Motorsports as crew chief of the No. 7 car with driver Regan Smith; the pair finished fourth in series standings that season. Allgaier replaced Smith in the No. 7 car in 2016 and duo has worked together ever since producing 11 wins and four Championship 4 appearances.
Team Talk: JR Motorsports has won three NASCAR Xfinity Series driver championships, all with Sunoco rookies – Chase Elliott in 2014, William Byron (2017) and Tyler Reddick (2018). JR Motorsports began its NASCAR Xfinity Series program in 2005 with driver Mark McFarland and since has won 51 series races; including five this season. JR Motorsports has 1,317 starts in the Xfinity Series with 357 top fives and 744 top 10s.
Chase Briscoe (No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang)
Following a career-best season, Chase Briscoe punched his ticket to Phoenix in the first race of the Round of 8 at Kansas Speedway. Briscoe was unstoppable this season, racking up nine wins in 32 races. In only his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series, the Mitchell, Indiana driver heads to Phoenix Raceway as one of the favorites to win the championship. It was also announced a few weeks ago that Briscoe will make the jump to the NASCAR Cup Series next season, taking over the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford for Clint Bowyer. In 82 Xfinity Series career starts, he has 11 wins.
Briscoe, the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year, has made 32 series starts in 2020 gathering nine wins (Las Vegas-1, Darlington-1, Homestead-Miami-2, Pocono, Indianapolis Road Course, Dover-2, Bristol-2, Las Vegas-2, Kansas-2), 16 top fives, and 21 top 10s. He has also led 991 laps this season and has managed an average start of 6.4 and an average finish of 8.4. In addition,
Briscoe’s season-to-date loop data statistics have been some for the books, too, including a driver rating of 110.2 (second-best), an average running position of 7.722 (third-best), a total of 557 fastest laps run (second-most), and completed 86.6% of his laps (4,561) in the top 15 (sixth-best).
Playoff Recap: With the uncertainty that some of the tracks in the Playoffs brought, Briscoe’s wins in both opening races of the Round of 12 and Round of 8, made his run to the Championship 4 a little bit less stressful. Winning at Las Vegas-2 punched his ticket to the Round of 8 so his 19th-place finish and 18th-place finish at Talladega and the Charlotte ROVAL didn’t completely count him out. He then went on to win at Kansas-2, the opening race of the Round of 8 and has less pressure heading to Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished 24th, and Martinsville Speedway last weekend, where he finished seventh.
Phoenix Outlook: Briscoe has three starts at Phoenix Raceway. He made his debut at the track last season and finished sixth. In the second race at the track in 2019, he finished eighth and earlier this season, he finished sixth. Like every other weekend, expect Briscoe to start at the front and be a race-winning contender during the duration of the race. With more time to prepare for Phoenix than other teams, Briscoe will head into Saturday’s race with momentum on his side.
Crew Chief Corner: As a former child, Richard Boswell can appreciate and understand the needs of his driver and team. Boswell’s motorsports career started by helping his father, Dickie Boswell, working on his late model stock car. His father competed in 57 Xfinity Series races spread over six seasons in the 1980’s. Boswell followed in his father’s footsteps and went on to win multiple World Karting Association national titles in 1998. He graduated to late model racing in 2001 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. noticed Boswell’s talent and brought him over to JR Motorsports in 2006. He piloted the team’s entry in the Hooters Pro Cup Series and made 19 starts with three top fives while also working on the Xfinity Series program for the team. It was then then that Boswell decided to focus on becoming a top crew chief in NASCAR. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, all while racing on his own. In 2014, Boswell worked on Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson and returned to JR Motorsports in 2015. Two years later, Boswell transitioned to Stewart-Haas Racing to lead the team’s part-time effort. Boswell worked with veterans Kevin Harvick and Arica Almirola. After back-to-back part-time schedules with various drivers at SHR, Boswell joined Chase Briscoe full-time in 2019. Together, they have 10 wins, 29 top fives and 47 top 10s.
Team Talk: Stewart-Haas Racing hasn’t won a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver championship yet. The team began its NASCAR Xfinity Series program in 2017 and has since won 18 races, nine of them in this season. Stewart-Haas Racing finished runner-up last season with Cole Custer in the Championship 4. Briscoe made the Playoffs but was eliminated in the Round of 8 in 2019. By virtue of Custer’s second-place finish in the 2018 finale, the team won their first Xfinity Series owners’ championship by one point over Chip Ganassi Racing.
Austin Cindric (No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang)
It was a career season for Austin Cindric, who grabbed five wins with three of them coming back-to-back. Cindric swept the Kentucky Speedway doubleheader weekend and then went on to win at the first Texas Motor Speedway. Cindric, who announced that he would return to the Team Penske No. 22 in 2021, also announced that he would be promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022, taking over the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Cindric’s first win at Kentucky automatically put him in the Playoffs.
Cindric has made 32 series starts in 2020 gathering five wins (Kentucky-1 & 2, Texas-1, Road America and Daytona Road Course), 18 top fives, and 25 top 10s. He has also led 875 laps this season and has managed an average start of 6.6 and an average finish of 8.9. In addition, Cindric has posted great numbers in season-to-date loop data stats, including a driver rating of 111.0 (series-best), an average running position of 7.530 (second-best), a total of 571 fastest laps run (series-best), and completed 86.2% of his laps (4,544) in the top 15 (seventh-best).
Playoff Recap: In the Round of 12, Cindric finished in sixth place in the Playoffs opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The following week at Talladega Superspeedway, Cindric finished 34th and looked to the following week at the Charlotte ROVAL to clinch his spot in the next round. At the ROVAL, he finished with another sixth-place finish. In the Round of 8, Cindric struggled after being involved in a couple on-track incidents and opened the round at Kansas Speedway with a 28th-place result. But a fourth-place finish at Texas-2 and a 10th-place finish last weekend at Martinsville were good enough to punch his ticket to the Championship 4.
Phoenix Outlook: Cindric has had pretty good results at Phoenix Raceway in the past and you can expect him to be running up front on Saturday. This weekend will mark his sixth start at the track.
He has two top fives and four top 10s in those starts. He’s led 25 laps and has an average start of 6.6 and an average finish of 7.8. Cindric was eliminated from the Playoffs last season and in 2018 in the Round of 8. This will be Cindric’s first Championship 4 appearance.
Crew Chief Corner: Brian Wilson, crew chief or the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, joined Team Penske in 2004. He first served as a shock specialist with the team. Since then, he has served as a race engineer on the No. 22 NASCAR Xfinity Series team as well as the No. 2 NASCAR Cup Series team. Wilson played a role in the first two championships. He was the race engineer on the No. 22 team that won the Xfinity Series title in 2010 and was also the race engineer in 2012 on the No. 2 Cup Series team. In 2016, Team Penske announced that Wilson would be the crew chief for the No. 22 Xfinity Series Ford. Since he was named crew chief in 2016, he has 129 starts, 17 wins, 66 top fives and 99 top 10s.
Team Talk: Team Penske won three consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series owner championships from 2013-15, tying Roger Penske with William Baumgardner and Joe Gibbs for the longest consecutive streak in series history. Team Penske added a fourth owner championship in 2017. This year marks Team Penske’s 18th year competing in the Xfinity Series. The team has 630 starts, 75 victories, 295 top fives and 436 top 10s.
Justin Haley (No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro)
Justin Haley is also having a career-best season in 2020. In only his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series, Haley captured his first career victory at Talladega Superspeedway. He then went on to win at Daytona International Speedway and the second race at Talladega Superspeedway. Haley’s third win of his career and third of the season at Talladega marked his third straight victory in a superspeedway event, a streak matched only by Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Haley has made 32 series starts in 2020 gathering three wins (Talladega-1 & 2, Daytona-2), 10 top fives, and 20 top 10s. He has led 113 laps this season and has managed an average start of 7.3 and an average finish of 10.4. In addition, Haley has posted solid season-to-date loop data stats, including a driver rating of 96.6 (seventh-best), an average running position of 9.225 (seventh-best), a total of 185 fastest laps run (eighth-most), and completed 87.9% of his laps (4,629) in the top 15 (fifth-best).
Playoff Recap: Haley has been extremely consistent during the duration of the Playoffs. At the opener in Las Vegas, Haley finished 10th and then he went on to win at Talladega, securing his spot in the Round of 8. At the Charlotte ROVAL, he finished 35th but didn’t have to worry since he won the week prior. In the Round of 8 opener at Kansas Speedway, Haley finished fourth and the following week at Texas, he finished seventh. Last weekend, Haley’s 12th-place finish was just enough to get him into the Championship 4.
Phoenix Outlook: Saturday will be Haley’s fourth start at Phoenix Raceway in his Xfinity Series career. He has one top five and two top 10s, his best finish coming most recently earlier this season in fifth. He completed all laps attempted at the track and has an average start of 12.7 and average finish of 8.0.
Crew Chief Corner: Alex Yontz, crew chief for the No. 11 Chevrolet of Justin Haley, has been crew chief since July 2019. Yontz is in his 18th year in racing after getting his start in go-karts at a young age. He went on to race in various series including Legends cars, Late Models, ASA National Series, ARCA and the Gander Trucks. Yontz has 55 starts as a crew chief for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series. He has for wins, 14 top fives and 30 top 10s. This is his first Championship 4 appearance.
Team Talk: This weekend will mark Kaulig Racing’s first Championship 4 appearance. In 2019, Haley made it to the Playoffs but was eliminated in the Round of 12. In 2018, Ryan Truex made the Xfinity Series Playoffs but was also eliminated in the Round of 12. In 2017, Blake Koch made the Playoffs for the second season in a row but only made it to the first round. Kaulig Racing’s first start in the Xfinity Series was in 2016. In the team’s five years, the have 224 starts, seven wins, 41 top fives and 105 top 10s.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year finale – It will be hard for Harrison Burton to not win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award for the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series. Burton has 2,211 points and leads Riley Herbst in second by 32 points. Burton has won 21 awards and Herbst has won nine.
Xfinity Owner championship update – The four cars and drivers that made it to the driver Playoff standings Championship 4 are the same in the owner Playoff standings this season; guaranteeing a unified driver and owner championship this year.
Manufacturers championship – Chevrolet is currently leading the OEM championship standings with 10 wins and 1,155 points. Ford is in second with 14 wins and 1,126 points. Toyota is sitting in thir d with eight wins and 1,069 points.
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Championship 4 (In Alphabetical Order)
Below is an in-depth look at the four drivers who have qualified for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Championship 4 and will race for the title at Phoenix Raceway in the Lucas Oil 150 on Friday night, Nov. 6 (at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Sheldon Creed (No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado)
Known for his diversity to drive anything with four wheels, Sheldon Creed, has been successful in just about every racing series he has competed in. Not only is the California native, Creed, an X-Games Gold-Medalist and two-time Stadium Super Trucks Series champion, but he also captured the 2018 ARCA Menards Series championship. Now the 23-year old has chance to add a NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series title to his resume this weekend at Phoenix Raceway in just his second full season.
Despite all the abnormalities to this 2020 season brought on by the pandemic, Sheldon Creed is having a career-year in the Gander Trucks. He kicked off the season posting five top 10s in the first seven races including his first series career victory at Kentucky Speedway to lock himself into the Playoffs for the first time in his career.
Then at the series debut of the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, he flexed his muscles and again reminded his competitors how talented he is grabbing his second victory of the season. He then followed that up with another win at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and in the process earned enough Playoff points to qualify for the No. 1 seed heading into the postseason. In total Creed ended the Trucks regular season with three wins, six top fives and eight top 10s.
Playoffs Recap: Creed danced his way into the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs with momentum as the No. 1 seed but stumbled out of the gate finishing 13th in the Playoff opener at Richmond Raceway. Creed began to rebound in the next race at Bristol finishing 11th and turned it up at Las Vegas finishing runner-up behind fellow Playoff contender Austin Hill. He then survived the wild card that is Talladega with a 12th-place finish and continued his ascension towards the Championship 4 with a runner-up finish at Kansas the following week. But it wasn’t until two weeks ago when he lassoed his fourth victory of the season at Texas Motor Speedway to secure his chance at a title in the Championship 4 round at Phoenix. Creed concluded the Round of 8 with an eighth-place finish last weekend at Martinsville.
Phoenix Raceway Outlook: The GMS Racing driver Sheldon Creed has made two NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series starts at Phoenix Raceway posting a 10th-place finish in 2018 and in last season’s Playoff race he started third and led 16 laps but finished 12th.
Crew Chief Corner: Veteran crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz took the reins of the No. 2 GMS Racing team fulltime in 2019 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with five races to go. Since then Creed and No. 2 team have won four times and put up 15 top 10s in 27 series starts and have qualified for not only the Playoffs but the Championship 4. Stankiewicz began his Gander Trucks crew chief career in 2011 with Brad Keselowski Racing and driver Parker Kligerman; the duo finished the year 11th in points. Since then Stankiewicz has worked with 17 different drivers in the Gander Trucks and joined GMS
Racing in 2014 leading driver Joey Coulter to a top-10 (seventh) finish in the championship standings that year. The 2020 season marks the first time Stankiewicz has made the Playoffs and has advanced to the Championship 4. Stankiewicz has sat atop the pit box for seven series starts at Phoenix with seven different drivers. Of the seven, Spencer Gallagher in 2015 posted the best finish
at Phoenix with a sixth. Stankiewicz also led Creed to his 12th-place finish in last season’s Phoenix event.
Team Talk: GMS Racing won the 2016 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series title with Johnny Sauter behind the wheel of the No. 21 Chevrolet. It was the organization’s first, and to date only, NASCAR national series title. GMS Racing has 36 Gander Trucks wins to their credit since joining the series in 2013. They are the only team to have fielded a Gander Trucks Championship 4 driver (Johnny Sauter, 2016-2018; Justin Haley in 2018, Brett Moffitt in 2019 and Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt and Zane Smith in 2020) in all five years of the current elimination-style Playoff format.
Grant Enfinger (No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150)
When ThorSport Racing driver Grant Enfinger looks back on the 2020 season there is no doubt he will smile. The 35-year old, Enfinger, is having best season of his career this year and it all started with kicking off the season opener with a massive win at Daytona International Speedway. Now the talented driver from Fairhope, Alabama is looking to etch his name in the record books with a championship in the Gander Trucks.
Enfinger made a name for himself as an early driver in go karts before moving up to Legends cars and winning over 50 events in the Legends Series all across the Southeast including two Alabama state championships. He then moved up to Super Late Models before trying his hand at the ARCA Menard Series in 2008. In 93 ARCA starts he won the 2015 championship and put up 15 wins, 46 top five and 65 top 10s. Enfinger then made the jump to the Trucks, making just eight series starts for GMS Racing in 2016 but he won at Talladega Superspeedway in just his seventh start that season. The win helped propel Enfinger’s career, in 2017, Enfinger signed a fulltime deal with ThorSport Racing and has been challenging for wins with the team ever since.
This season, Enfinger has carried the ThorSport Racing banner winning a career-best three races in the regular season (Daytona, Atlanta and Richmond) and one more during the Playoffs (Martinsville) to lock himself in the Championship 4 for the first time in his career.
In total, Enfinger finished the regular season with three wins, six top five and 11 top 10s and was ranked as the fourth seed entering the Playoffs.
Playoffs Recap: Enfinger’s postseason started off strong with consecutive top 10s in the first two events at Bristol and Las Vegas. He then managed a 13th-place finish in a wild Talladega race and rebounded at Kansas with a fourth-place finish. But Enfinger’s Championship 4 hopes took a turn for the worst at Texas when he suffered engine issues relegating him to a 32nd-place finish. As a result, Enfinger dropped to sixth in the Playoff standings 35 points behind the Championship 4 cutoff heading into a must-win situation at Martinsville. And win he did, Enfinger put on a masterful display of short track skill and strategy to grab the checker flag at the 0.526-mile short track and guarantee his spot in the Championship 4 for the first time in his career. His previous best finish in the final championship standings was fifth in 2018.
Phoenix Raceway Outlook: Enfinger has made three NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series starts at Phoenix Raceway posting two top-five finishes (fourth in 2018 and fifth in 2019). He also led 10 laps at Phoenix in 2018.
Crew Chief Corner: Veteran crew chief Jeff Hensley began his crew chief career in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for his family-owned team Hensley Racing. From 1987 to 2001, Jeff Hensley worked as crew chief for the team and in 1990, Hensley led driver Chuck Bown to the series title. In 2004, Hensley joined with Bill Davis Racing in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series back and driver Bill Lester. Since then Hensley has worked with 17 different drivers through the years in the series but has been full time with Grant Enfinger since 2017. Prior to working with Enfinger, Hensley’s best season was with Mike Skinner in 2007, the pair finished the season runner-up in the points to NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. after posting five wins and 17 top fives. This season Hensley has an opportunity to become the third different crew chief to win a Xfinity and Gander Trucks titles joining Danny Stockman Jr. (Xfinity 2013, Truck 2011) and Randy Goss (Xfinity 2002, Truck 2000).
Team Talk: ThorSport Racing is the longest tenured team in the Gander Trucks and does it all from their Sandusky, Ohio, headquarters. The organization has a pair of Gander Truck titles to their credit – with driver Matt Crafton in 2013 and 2014. With over 1,000 entries in the series dating back to 1995, ThorSport Racing has won 36 times in the Gander Trucks. If ThorSport Racing were to win the title this season they would break the tie with Hendrick Motorsports for the most NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series driver titles with three each. ThorSport would become the first organization in the Gander Trucks with four driver championships.
Brett Moffitt (No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado)
Brett Moffitt is looking to become just the fifth driver in series history to win multiple NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championships; joining NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. (four titles: 1996, 1998, 2007, 2009), Matt Crafton (three titles: 2014, 2013, 2019), Jack Sprague (three title: 1997, 1999, 2001) and Todd Bodine (2006, 2010).
Moffitt won the 2018 Gander Trucks championship with the “little team that could,” Hattori Racing Enterprises, in a Toyota with Scott Zipadelli as his crew chief. This year he’s in a Chevrolet with the multi-truck GMS Racing outfit and has Chad Norris atop his pit box.
Moffitt’s road to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs in 2020 was not an easy one. He didn’t win a race in the regular season and had to point his way into the Playoffs posting seven top fives in the first 16 races of the year. He finished the regular season second in the standings and his five stage wins garnered enough Playoff points to seed him fifth entering the postseason.
In addition to his Gander Trucks accomplishments, the 28-year old was the 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Cup Series. Playoffs Recap: Much like his regular season effort, Brett Moffitt had to point his way through the first round of the Playoffs posting a runner-up finish at Bristol, a 15th at Las Vegas and a seventh at Talladega. It wasn’t until the 20th race in the season and fourth race in the Playoffs that Moffitt finally found Victory Lane and did so at Kansas Speedway. The win catapulted Moffitt into the Championship 4 round for the third time in career (2018-2020).
Phoenix Raceway Outlook: Moffitt has made two series starts at Phoenix Raceway posting a win in series debut at the Track in 2018 en route to his first career title and he also finished 10th in last season’s Phoenix Playoff race. He led just 19 laps in his 2018 victory at one-mile track.
Crew Chief Corner: Chad Norris began his crew chief career in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Roush Fenway Racing with driver Matt Kenseth on a part-time schedule in 2005. From 2005 to 2012 Norris would crew chief on a part-time basis but in 2013 he named crew chief for Travis Pastrana at RFR and then worked with Trevor Bayne in 2014, Ryan Reed and Bubba Wallace in 2015. Then he made the move to Chip Ganassi Racing and worked with driver Brennan Poole for the 2016, 2017 seasons. Last season he moved to lone GMS Racing Xfinity entry with driver John Hunter Nemechek. The 2020 season marks his first full season of competition in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Working with Moffitt this season the duo have produced one win, 10 top fives and 15 top 10s.
Team Talk: GMS Racing won the 2016 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series title with Johnny Sauter behind the wheel of the No. 21 Chevrolet. It was the organization’s first, and to date only, NASCAR national series title. GMS Racing has 36 Gander Trucks wins to their credit since joining the series in 2013. They are the only team to have fielded a Gander Trucks Championship 4 drivers in all five years of the current elimination-style Playoff format (Johnny Sauter, 2016-2018; Justin Haley in 2018, Brett Moffitt in 2019 and Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt and Zane Smith in 2020).
Zane Smith (No. 21 GMS Racing Silverado)
The rising star from Huntington Beach, California, Zane Smith, has the chance to become just the second rookie in series history to win the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series title; joining Erik Jones (2015).
Smith is just the third different Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate to make the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs Championship 4 round; joining Christopher Bell (2016), and Austin Cindric (2017). Both Cindric and Bell are tied for the best championship finish by a Gander Trucks rookie in the Playoff Era (2016-Present) – they both finished third in points.
Smith’s 2020 season has been a self-proclaimed dream fulfiller. The 21-year old GMS Racing driver has been lights out this season putting up two wins (Michigan, Dover) six top fives and 12 top 10s.
He ultimately ended the regular season fourth in the standings, but his five stage wins were enough to seed him second in the points heading into the postseason.
Also, with his advancement into the Championship 4, Smith has clinched the 2020 Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
Playoffs Recap: Smith’s path in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs to the Championship 4 has been a rocky one. His first round of the Playoffs saw a 16th-place finish at Bristol, a seventh at Las Vegas and a 33rd at Talladega barely making it through to the next round. In the Round of 8 everything turned around for Smith, he finished 11th at Kansas and then followed it up with consecutive third-place finishes at Texas and Martinsville to point his way into the Championship 4.
Phoenix Raceway Outlook: Smith will be making his series track debut this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
Crew Chief Corner: Veteran crew chief Kevin Manion made his crew chief debut on a part-time basis in the NASCAR Cup Series with John Andretti and in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Manion biggest success as crew chief came in the NASCAR Xfinity Series when he led Martin Truex Jr. to back-to-back titles 2004 and 2005. He then made the jump with Truex fulltime to the NASCAR Cup Series at Dale Earnhardt Inc. where the pair worked together from 2006-2010. He then worked with Jamie McMurray at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing from 2010-2013. In 2016 he joined Kyle Busch Motorsports and started crew chief for multiple drivers. Manion has begun to build a reputation for cultivating young talent. Last season, he led rookie Tyler Ankrum to his first win and first Playoff berth, and this season he has done the same with Zane Smith. Manion best finish in the final championship standings in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series is eighth, with Ankrum last season. Manion has worked with three different drivers at Phoenix in the Truck Series and led Daniel Suarez to a victory at the track in 2016.
Team Talk: GMS Racing won the 2016 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series title with Johnny Sauter behind the wheel of the No. 21 Chevrolet. It was the organization’s first, and to date only, NASCAR national series title. GMS Racing has 36 Gander Truck wins to their credit since joining the series in 2013. They are the only team to have fielded a Gander Trucks Championship 4 driver in all five years of the current elimination-style Playoff format (Johnny Sauter, 2016-2018; Justin Haley in 2018, Brett Moffitt in 2019 and Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt and Zane Smith in 2020). This is the first time since the inception of the elimination-style format in the Playoffs in 2016 that an organization has fielded three out of the four Championship 4 contenders in one season (Moffitt, Smith, Creed).
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Etc.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year finale – With his advancement to the Championship 4, GMS Racing’s Zane Smith has clinched the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. Smith enters this weekend’s event at Phoenix having put up two wins, six top fives and 12 top 10s. Smith has a chance this weekend to become just the second rookie in series history to win the title joining Erik Jones, who accomplished the feat in 2015.
Gander Trucks Owner championship update – The four trucks and drivers that made it to the driver Playoff standings Championship 4 are the same in the owner Playoff standings this season; guaranteeing a unified driver and owner championship this year.
Manufacturers championship – The Gander Trucks manufacturers championship is very close and will be decided this weekend in Phoenix. Chevrolet is currently leading the OEM championship standings with nine wins and 787 points. Toyota is in second with seven wins and 780 points. Ford is sitting in third with six wins and 770 points.
NASCAR
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