NASCAR at Phoenix 2015
The race was delayed almost seven hours as a series of storms passed through the area, forcing the penultimate race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship under the lights at the mile oval.
NASCAR’s final race before the championship finale began around 9:30 p.m. Sunday after a rain delay at Phoenix global Raceway. The final four drivers to advance to the last round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup are Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and defending champion Kevin Harvick.
NASCAR officials declared the race over 219 laps in due to rain, with Earnhardt claiming victory at Phoenix global Raceway.
Of the eight Chase drivers, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, and Brad Keslowski needed a win to advance to the Championship round.
Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five. With no eligible Chase driver winning at Phoenix, he claimed the final of the four spots at Homestead based on points.
Kyle Busch is in second place, two points back.
The Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 on Sunday will determine who will compete for the title a week later at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
There was a brief scare for Busch when he reported a vibration on lap 88 which allowed Keselowski to reel him in, but the issue resolved itself and Busch quickly stretched the lead again and was still far out in front when Jeremy Clements (Jeremy Clements Racing) spun in turn 3 on lap 112 but managed to keep the #51 from incurring damage against the wall. “We did everything possible to put polish on a season like this and get out there with elbow grease and work hard it, and you know, when there’s a few tarnish that’s sitting there, polish and polish and polish, that’s all I kept doing all year”. If I had 4 or 6 inches at Talladega, we would be going there to Homestead to race for a championship, too.
Gordon – In 16 career races at Homestead, Gordon has only finished worse than 11th three times.
“I don’t even think it was a penalty”, Kurt Busch said after the race ended. Johnson had rallied back to 8th by lap 171; Kurt Busch was 10th as Harvick’s lead was just under 2 seconds with 13 cars on the lead lap. But Phoenix is a flat, short track and can be unpredictable.
Gordon was the only Chase driver to win during the Eliminator Round, taking the checkered flag at Martinsville.