Hamlin entered the event two points back of the cutoff zone. He and his No. 11 team qualified fifth and contended for a podium spot all day long. At a caution flew with 47 to go, Mike Wheeler elected to keep Hamlin out on track for the clean track position.
The 2010 championship runner-up tried to make the most of the situation, but the fresher tires of the other competitors became too much to handle and as a result, this year’s Daytona 500 winner missed yet another opportunity to add a championship trophy to his mantle at season’s end.
For Kurt Busch, the inaugural Chase champion (2004) has had historically one of the most consistent seasons in Cup Series history. After finishing the first 22 races of the year without a DNF and on the lead lap, the Pocono winner was consistent throughout the Chase, but not consistent enough in the Round of 8.
Martinsville was his Achilles heel, setting him back to almost 30 points outside the top four and meaning he faced a must-win situation coming into Phoenix. The elder Busch qualified 12th but worked his way well into the top 10 early, contending all race long. Busch’s team then gambled with 47 to go on a pit stop and elected to take two tires. The move paid off as he battled fiercely for the top spot, but in the end, the restarts bit him and he couldn’t find a way around the competition and saw his hopes of contending for a second title in Miami dashed.
Then there was Kevin Harvick, the historical Phoenix dominator. For the entire weekend, all eyes were glued to the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, whose driver had won eight of the last 10 races at Phoenix and had never been eliminated under the current format. Harvick entered Phoenix in a must win situation, because like his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch, Martinsville too plagued Harvick and his team.
It appeared as if there was no need to worry, but on this weekend, Harvick wasn’t his usual Phoenix self, as he struggled to find the speed that has made him so revered in the Arizona desert. He qualified sixth and had trouble working his way up into the top five. A slow pit stop early in the race set him back in the pack, but he finally broke into the top 10 and as the laps wound down, the speed revved up for the No. 4 as Harvick picked cars off one by one.
Alas, on the final restart, he was held up thanks to a bonzai move by Kyle Larson, with a fourth-place finish handing him his first elimination under the current Chase format.
As the lights turn on around the Phoenix track, and the spectators depart, the Championship 4 are now well set into motion as they begin preparing for the final week of the 2016 season.
Johnson, Logano, Edwards and ‘Rowdy’ are four unique drivers with four unique stories.
Redemption, a second chance, a title defense and tying history are the four threads that these gladiators hope to tie off when they embark on 400 miles in the South Florida sun.
I don’t know who will win it just yet, but I can tell you this much: next Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 will be quite the race once the green flag drops.
And whoever comes out hoisting the final Sprint Cup will certainly be a gladiator most deserving of the title.
The opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Race Chaser Online, the Performance Motorsports Network, Scorpion Radio Group, their sponsors or other contributors.
About the Writer
Rence Brown is Race Chaser Online’s West Coast-based correspondent, who currently resides in California and carries a deep passion for NASCAR, but is a follower of multiple forms of auto racing across multiple disciplines.
Brown, 23, is going back to school to pursue a journalism degree at Pierce College.
Email Rence at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @RenceTheFence
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