Arizona at center of historic event NASCAR Cup Championship
Sunday is the most important day in Arizona motorsports history.
For the first time, NASCAR’s Cup Series championship — America’s most popular type of racing which likes to think of itself as being near the pointy end of the country’s sports pyramid — will be decided at Phoenix Raceway. 1 p.m., Ch. 12
That much we know for sure. Still unknown: Will it be Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin or Joey Logano whose name will forever complete those first two paragraphs?
Their task is as easy as it is difficult.
The highest finisher among those four after 312 laps and miles (excluding overtime) will be champion. It’s as straightforward as that.
They will take the green flag without any practice or qualifying, equal in the standings, and won’t be eligible for the usual top-10 bonus points after Stages 1 (75 laps) and 2 (190 laps) the other 35 drivers will chase.
But this Big Day in Arizona sports almost didn’t happen.
COVID-19 crashed our party. That will limit on-site attendance to about 11,000, the maximum given government restrictions and social distancing guidelines. It’s a nice but dispiriting number in that the event was certain to be a sell-out, and that sun-splashed crowd exceeding 50,000 would have provided a positive and valuable image for the Valley on NBC’s national telecast.
“Hosting the championship for the first time is a proud moment for us,” says track President Julie Giese. “Is it bitter-sweet? I’m sure it is for all of us.”
New rule
The most significant of many storylines: How will the race, and the championship, be won? Or lost? Keselowski has no doubt.
“The race is going to come down to pit strategy (and) restarts, all to establish track position,” said the 2012 champion who will wheel the Roger Penske-owned No. 2 Ford Mustang sponsored by Scottsdale-based Discount Tire.
There’s something new to ponder. About 150 feet beyond the track’s unusual start/finish line location, which is just before the signature dogleg bend, is an arrow painted on the asphalt. This is for the “choose rule,” in effect for the first time at Phoenix Raceway, an inseason move by NASCAR allowing drivers to decide if they want to restart on the inside or outside line.
It’s a system used at countless short tracks across the country. Drivers must go left or right at the arrow on the lap before a restart, picking the low or high groove.
Their decision creates options. The bottom line is the shortest way around the 1-mile Avondale oval and it’s easier to steer down onto the apron as another avenue to make passes. The upper lane and turns have been treated
with a traction compound known as PJ-1, which increases grip, and encourages more side-by-side competition.
Crucial decision
The four finalists are unanimous: The choose rule will be a Big Deal.
“That changed the dynamics of the Phoenix race,” said Elliott, making his championship race debut in the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet.
That crucial decision may vary during the race.
“A lot of times it’s such a circumstantial decision because that stuff (PJ-1) might not be worked in in the beginning of the race or get used up by the end,” added Elliott. “That’s an ever-changing dynamic that you have to make decisions upon in the moment.”
Hamlin, in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11
FedEx Toyota, noted teammates might work together on picking a lane.
“There’s probably an opportunity for some games to be played there,” admitted last November’s Phoenix winner.
Logano, who won at Phoenix last March in Penske’s No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Mustang, said he will factor in if he’s on new or worn tires as well as the drivers around him.
“I love it,” he said of the rule. “It takes the luck piece out. If you don’t have a good restart, you have no one to blame but yourself, for choosing that lane.”
Traction compound isn’t the only returning showbiz-enhancing element.
NASCAR has again mandated it’s socalled “high horsepower, low downforce” car rules. That’s 750 horsepower engines with a rear spoiler only 2.75 inches tall. Goodyear is bringing back the same softer tire it successfully debuted at the Raceway in March. It’s designed to wear, making the cars more difficult to drive as handling deteriorates. Crew chiefs will have to consider that in ordering 4, 2, or 0 changed tires during pit stops, another strategy element.
No mistakes
Self-inflicted mistakes — slow pit stops, not securing all the lug nuts, or exceeding the 45 mph pit road speed limit (5 mph tolerance) — is what most worries Gibbs.
“I love the fact we can get to the last pit stop, get it over with, don’t have anything interfering with the race itself,” said the Super Bowl-winning coach, “and either win it or lose it on the race
track.”
Keselowski was penalized for speeding on pit road last weekend at Martinsville, Va.
“That’s absolutely something we can’t have,” said Penske, known for his teams’ attention to every detail. “It’s got to be zero defects.”
Former champion Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Steve Letarte, now an NBC commentator, thinks Logano’s crew is best.
“(They seem) to be the one that’s ready for the moment,” he said. “That’s what makes these Game 7 moments so fascinating to me: Who can do it when it matters? There’s a difference between a good kicker and a game-winning kicker. It’s the same way for pit crews.”
Round 3 of the playoffs began with Logano’s crew getting him the lead ahead of Kevin Harvick on the final pit stop. Logano stayed in front of Harvick and the season’s dominant driver, with nine victories, didn’t qualify for the championship race.
Goodbye, hello
Although the focus will be on first, it also will be a race of notable lasts.
Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson ends his 20-year career as a full-season driver. Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief for all seven titles, will oversee all the Hendrick teams as competition vice president.
Popular Clint Bowyer, with 10 career wins, is leaving the No. 14 to join Gordon in the Fox TV booth. Matt Kenseth, called out of retirement to drive the No. 42 Chevy when Kyle Larson was fired for
using a racial slur, will return to the sidelines. Larson will be in Hendrick’s flagship No. 5 in 2021.
Bubba Wallace concludes his tenure in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 to drive for a new team owned by Michael Jordan and Hamlin. Erik Jones, not offered a contract renewal by Toyota and Gibbs for the No. 20, will go into the Petty Chevy. Cost concerns mean this is the end for the No. 95 Leavine Family and No. 13 Germain Racing teams.
Show stopper
Since NASCAR adopted this winnertakes-all format in 2014, the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway has been won by a Final 4 driver. The multigroove 1.5-mile Florida oval, the championship venue for 18 years, often produced compelling racing.
NASCAR has already announced Championship Weekend will return to Phoenix in 2021. Nevertheless, it’s essential the track have an entertaining race Sunday.
In truth, NASCAR’s glad to have simply survived this season unlike any other, as COVID-19 made the ride as bumpy as a Sedona Pink Jeep tour minus two wheels.
With 98 days before the Daytona 500 starts the 2021 season, NASCAR is finally allowing drivers and owners to host some family, friends and sponsors. Access restrictions on the media remain onerous and not conducive to quality storytelling.
So, this is it: The start of the most important day for four drivers, and for all Arizona motorsports.