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  • Next Race: Season Finale 500
  • The Place: Phoenix Raceway
  • The Date: Sunday, November 8
  • The Time: 3 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 312 miles (312 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 75), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 190), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 312)

NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4

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.

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 full-time 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 full-time in the series, Elliott has put up 10 wins, 58 top fives, and 95 top 10s.

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.

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.

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.

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.

  • Next Race: Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200
  • The Place: Phoenix Raceway
  • The Date: Saturday, November 7
  • The Time: 5 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBCSN, 4:30 p.m. ET
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 200 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200)

NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 (In Alphabetical Order)

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.

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.

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.

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.

  • Next Race: Lucas Oil 150
  • The Place: Phoenix Raceway
  • The Date: Friday, November 6
  • The Time: 8 p.m. ET
  • TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 150 miles (150 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 150)

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 a 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.

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.

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).

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.

source – NASCAR communications

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