Monday Racing Roundup: Harvick Wins in Phoenix
November 10, 2014 | By John Schwarb
Kevin Harvick had to win on Sunday to advance to the four-man finale in the new format of NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Fortunately, he was in Phoenix.
Harvick won for the third straight race and sixth time overall on the 1-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway, leading 264 of 312 laps to secure the only automatic transfer spot of the Eliminator round.
The other three spots in Sunday’s finale at Homestead were set on points, with Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano of Penske Racing and Ryan Newman of Richard Childress Racing joining Harvick. The highest finisher in the finale will take the title, of which none of the four have won before.
“I don’t think we ever talked about anything but trying to come here and win the race. You never know how the circumstances are going to play out,” said Harvick, of Stewart-Haas Racing. “To come here and have this moment and have these wins and be able to accomplish the things that we’ve been able to accomplish here is very cool.”
Hamlin and Logano came to Phoenix tied for first in Eliminator round points and advanced after fifth- and sixth-place finishes. Newman raced his way in with an 11th-place finish, moving Kyle Larson up the track off the final turn.
That move ended Jeff Gordon’s quest for a fifth championship, as he finished one point behind Newman.
“I think if Kyle Larson was in my shoes, he’d have done the exact same thing,” Newman said. “It’s hard to rationalize that, but I did what I had to do and tried to keep it as clean as I possibly could. I don't like racing that way, but there’s a lot on the line here.”
Gordon finished second to Harvick on Sunday, one week after a crippling 29th at Texas where Brad Keselowski squeezed through Gordon and Jimmie Johnson on the final restart, cutting Gordon’s tire and sending him into the wall. Gordon, Keselowski and their crews brawled afterward on pit road – and ultimately neither team advanced to the final round at Homestead.
“I hope we taught somebody that you can race clean and still go out there and give it your best. You don’t have to wreck people to make it in the Chase or win the championship,” said Gordon, a four-time winner on the season including his record-setting fifth NASCAR win at IMS.
Also eliminated with Gordon and Keselowski were Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth.
NASCAR Nationwide Series: 18-year-old Elliott clinches title
Earnhardt, Jarrett, Pearson, Petty … and now Elliott.
On Saturday in Phoenix, 18-year-old rookie Chase Elliott finished fifth to clinch the NASCAR Nationwide Series title, adding his family’s name to the list of those with father-son champions in national touring series. (Chase’s father Bill won the 1988 Sprint Cup title.)
Elliott, a winner during the season at Texas, Darlington and Chicagoland, finished ahead of JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith (10th at Phoenix) to clinch the title, the first in NASCAR for a rookie.
“I never would have even believed this was in my future,” said Elliott, whose NASCAR experience prior to this year was nine truck races in 2013. “I feel lot of this is just due to the group of guys I was able to work with. Those guys were bringing me super-fast cars every week.”
Brad Keselowski had the winning car at Phoenix, holding off Kyle Busch by .141 of a second. The two Sprint Cup regulars have combined to win the last five Nationwide Series races.
MotoGP: Marquez closes season with record 13th win
The season of Marquez ended with a flourish.
On Sunday in Valencia, Spain, 18-year-old Alex Marquez finished third in the season finale to win the Moto3 championship. Hours later, older brother Marc put a cap on a remarkable season with a record-breaking 13th win.
The Spaniard, riding for Repsol Honda in light rain, broke Mick Doohan’s record for wins in the top class in a single season. He had matched the record two weeks ago in Malaysia and clinched his second consecutive world title earlier in October in Japan.
“Yeah, today I am really really happy, maybe happier than Motegi because today I was really happy for my brother,” said Marc Marquez, who won 10 races to start the season culminating with the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. “Now we have to enjoy 2014, it will be difficult, if not impossible to repeat this next year.
Italy’s Valentino Rossi finished second in the race to clinch second in the standings in his Movistar Yamaha MotoGP. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo finished third for the season.