FIVE for ONE
Final spot for title race on line today
AVONDALE, Ariz. — There’s no denying the rapid changing of the guard in NASCAR, and this year’s Cup Series playoffs have shown how quickly the young new drivers can make an impact.
Ryan Blaney (23 years old), Austin Dillon (27), Chase Elliott (21) and Kyle Larson (25) earned four of the 16 playoff positions, providing a glimpse of the future of NASCAR.
Blaney and Elliott are the only two drivers still in the eight-driver field, and both are among five drivers competing today at Phoenix International Raceway for one spot in next Sunday’s championship-deciding finale. Blaney will start from the pole today, while Elliott will start fourth.
Their competition? Jimmie Johnson, who won a record-tying seventh title last season, 2012 champion Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin, probably the most successful active driver without a title.
A win today by any of the five earns them an automatic berth among the championship-eligible four at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Already qualified for title contention are 2015 champion Kyle Busch, 2014 champion Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr., the most dominant driver this season.
Blaney is ready to roll.
“I don’t really feel a lot of pressure in any situation,” he said Friday after winning the pole.
He also noted that by points, he’s not currently eligible for the fourth spot. Should none of the contenders win today, the final spot will go to the highest-ranked driver. Currently, that’s Keselowski.
“We’re really not under any pressure right now. We’re out,” Blaney said. “If we were in right now, if we were like in a spot where we could get bumped out, that would be pressure. We really don’t have much to lose just because we’re not in a position to where we’re already locked in.
“I just think we’re up for the challenge. I think this team rises to those occasions, and that’s what I like.”
Elliott likened his situation to the closing laps of the Daytona 500 in February, when he ran out of gas while leading. Opportunities come and go, and he’s learning he must grab them when he has the chance. He had been eliminated from the playoffs before this round last year, so he embraced still having a shot at all.
“This is my second time in the playoffs, we are still a part of it right now, and that is more than I could say a year ago,” said Elliott. “I have learned a lot, and I have learned that I don’t want to miss out on those opportunities moving forward. I am obviously going to try to do everything that I can if you ever have the chances down the road.”
If Blaney and Elliott fail to advance to the championship, it will be a victory for the old guard in NASCAR. The three already in at Homestead are veteran drivers, which is no longer the best thing to be in NASCAR. As older racers are being moved around for young, new faces, many have also gone overlooked.
Elliott has a laser focus on his goals for today.
“For us, it’s pretty simple: You either win, or we are not a part of the four next week,” Elliott said. “The points calculations this week are really irrelevant to us. It sounds simple — just a matter of going to do it.”
Xfinity finale set
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Justin Allgaier, William Byron, Daniel Hemric and Elliott Sadler will race for the Xfinity Series championship next Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
All four title-eligible spots for the final were on the line Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, where Byron raced to his fourth victory of the season. The other three drivers advanced on points.
It made for an enjoyable race for the final spot between Hemric and Cole Custer as they battled for position in the closing laps. Custer was fourth and Hemric fifth, and if they had stayed that way, Hemric had the spot. But Christopher Bell chased Hemric, who couldn’t afford to give up a position between Custer.
Bell used a three-wide pass on the outside to get by both drivers, and Hemric eventually passed Custer and finished fifth.
The finale will be all Chevrolet drivers, and three from JR Motorsports. The team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister Kelley and Rick Hendrick had a rollercoaster day when a mechanical problem forced a plane carrying its pit crews to make an emergency landed on its way from North Carolina.
Allgaier, Byron and Sadler had to use makeshift crews as a result.