By John Schutt
NASCAR Monster Energy Series championship, Ford EcoBoost 400, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 17.
Kyle Busch won the final race and won the Nascar Championship. Following were Martin Truex, Jr. in second place, Eric Jones in third, Kevin Harvick in fourth, and Joe Logano in fifth.
As of last week the final four contenders for the overall Nascar championship were Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Truex, Jr., and Kyle Busch.
Denny Hamlin had pole position based on points because there was no qualifying race because of weather. There were few cautions in the race.
Truex, Jr. won the first stage over Kyle Larson. The second stage ended with Kyle Busch ahead of Harvick.
In the final stage Hamlin, in an effort to go faster had too much tape put on his grill during a pit stop and his car overheated in the middle of the final stage. Hamlin, who was one of the favorites to win both this race and the championship, went down a lap to cool the engine before he could proceed at race speed. Hamlin finished 10th in the race.
Busch had a five second lead with 10 laps to go. He pulled through for Gibbs Racing team and won his second overall championship victory by beating teammate Truex, Jr. to the finish line.
It has been 21 races since Kyle Busch’s last victory, but this was his fifth victory of the season.
NASCAR Monster Energy Series, Bluegreen Vacations 500, Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 10.
Hamlin and Kyle Busch ran the show, but Hamlin won the race and had a seat in the final four for the championship. Kyle Busch was in second place, Ryan Blaney in third, Kyle Larson in fourth, and Harvick in fifth.
With nine laps to go in stage one, something broke under Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.’s car and sparks came from the rear of his car and he spun into the wall .
Stage one and stage two ended with Hamlin taking the victory over Chase Elliott.
In the final stage, Elliott destroyed his car with a spin into the outside wall.
Logano was a factor in this final stage, but his car started to slow down and continued to go slower every lap until a pit stop. Logano, in 12th place didn’t have enough time to catch up to the leaders.
The race at the end was a three-lap shootout between Kyle Busch and Hamlin, with Hamlin taking the victory.