Sprint Cup Chase Standings 2014: NASCAR Grid, Schedule After Phoenix 500
One lap can change everything for a NASCAR driver. For Jeff Gordon, it was enough to knock him out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and propel Ryan Newman.
Newman's controversial spin-out of Kyle Larson propelled his No. 31 car to 11th place in the final lap of Sunday's Phoenix 500, sending him to the fourth and final spot for next week's finale at Homestead. Gordon, who finished second behind winner Kevin Harvick, will be left in the cold, despite having as many points as Harvick, who advances because of the tiebreaker.
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 5000 | 4 |
| 2 | Ryan Newman | 5000 | 0 |
| 3 | Joey Logano | 5000 | 5 |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | 5000 | 1 |
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Harvick was sensational Sunday, leading 264 of the 312 laps and at times holding seconds-long advantages over his competition. The No. 4 Chevrolet started in the third position but quickly moved ahead of pole-sitter Joey Logano and led most of the way.
Leading the charge for Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick has become a Phoenix monolith. He's taken three straight races at the track and four of the last five. Sunday was his sixth overall victory at Phoenix, representing more than a fifth of his career wins.
"He were come, Homestead," Harvick said on the ESPN broadcast, per Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times. "I guess that's what it feels like to hit a walk-off [home run] in extra innings."
Joining Harvick at Homestead will be Newman, Logano and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin and Logano finished fifth and sixth, respectively, and have been the two most consistent racers during the Eliminator Round. Logano did not finish worse than 12th in the four-race sampler, while Hamlin never dropped below 18th.
The real controversy, though, will come from Gordon, who rightly feels unscrupulous behavior has him sitting on the outside looking in. Last week Brad Keselowski spun out the No. 24 car on a green-white-checkered finish, taking Gordon from an easy top-five to a 29th-place finish. The opposing crews exchanged blows after the race, with Keselowski leaving the track bloodied in the melee.
Newman pulled a similar move at Phoenix, spinning out Larson to put himself in position for an extra championship point. While Gordon was willing to give Newman a pass, he still seemed quite perturbed by last week costing him a shot at the title, per ESPN's NASCAR Twitter feed:
""I hope we taught somebody that you can race clean and do your best," says Jeff Gordon, undoubtedly passing along a message to Keselowski.
— NASCAR on ESPN (@ESPNNASCAR) November 9, 2014"
""I'm not happy about it. But at the same time I'm really proud of what we've done this year," says Jeff Gordon.
— NASCAR on ESPN (@ESPNNASCAR) November 9, 2014"
The result of Sunday's race also ensures we'll have a first-time champion for the second time in three years. Keselowski won the Chase in 2012, while Jimmie Johnson won it last season. It will be interesting to see how high the aggression is ratcheted up at Homestead under the new winner-take-all Chase format.
The four drivers remaining in the Chase again have their points reset to a 5,000-point base. The driver who finishes highest at Homestead—whether that's first, second or 40th—will come away with NASCAR's top prize.
If history is any indication, Harvick should have a leg up on his competitors. The veteran has raced 13 times at Homestead and has the second-best average finish of any regular driver, according to Racing-Reference.Info. Hamlin's two wins at the 1.5-mile track also portends well. The No. 11 driver is the defending champion at Homestead and does well at these lengths.
On the flip side, the season-ender has largely been a nightmare for Logano. His average finish of 20.8 is the worst of any remaining Chase driver, and he's yet to lead a single lap in his five tries. Should Logano buck history and win, he'll become one of the youngest champions in series history.
With only three other drivers to beat, anything can happen. That's the beauty and the horror of this new Chase format. One race, everything on the line. If these last four races are any indication, we'll be looking at perhaps the tensest final race in recent NASCAR history.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter
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