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Chase Elliott wins 2020 NASCAR Cup Series title
Chase Elliott is a NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Elliott had the best car throughout Sunday’s title race at Phoenix Raceway and easily cruised to his first Cup Series title over Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.
Elliott, 24, passed Logano for the race win and the championship with 42 laps to go and set sail as the three drivers he was racing for the title couldn’t come close to mounting a challenge. Elliott led 153 laps, the most of any driver.
The championship is Elliott’s first and will likely make him the first driver since his father, Bill, in 1988 to win the Cup Series title in the same season where he was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver. Chase Elliott has been NASCAR’s most popular driver for the past two seasons and is a shoo-in for his third straight.
Elliott had to start at the back of the field on Sunday after his car failed inspection multiple times. But he moved his way to the front quickly and took the lead for the first time on lap 79 of the 312 lap race.
Keselowski finished second, while Logano was third and Hamlin was fourth. Elliott’s teammate and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson was fifth in his final NASCAR Cup Series start as a full-time driver.
Elliott’s number was fluorescent yellow in honor of Johnson on Sunday. And the young driver broke down in tears in his car as he realized that he had become a Cup Series champ.
The Elliott family is just the third to have a father-son combination to win Cup Series titles. The Pettys were the first with Lee and Richard, and Dale Jarrett joined his father, Ned, when he won the 1999 Cup Series title.
It was clear to Elliott that the reality of being a Cup Series champion was sinking in after he climbed from his car in front of the grandstands.
“To win and lock the championship, this is moments you can only dream of,” Elliott said. “This is a dream. I’m just hoping I don’t ever wake up.”
After he got out from his car, Elliott embraced his car owner Rick Hendrick and Johnson at the same time. Hendrick is the winningest owner in NASCAR history; he’s fielded championship cars for Terry Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Johnson and now Elliott.
No one was a match for Elliott
Logano was ahead of Elliott in the final stage of the race because he pitted a lap earlier to take advantage of fresh tires. But Elliott quickly ran him down and made the pass for the lead look easy.
It was all customary after that. Elliott’s margin of victory at the end was over three seconds as the other three title contenders were left wishing for a late caution flag for a chance at a restart. It wasn’t a crazy wish either. The Truck Series and Xfinity Series title races had come down to two-lap restarts on Friday and Saturday night. But there was no reason for NASCAR to throw a caution over the last 100-plus laps of Sunday’s Cup Series race.
The win was Elliott’s second straight and his fifth of the season. He won the final race of the third round at Martinsville to make it to the final four. That victory not only ensured that he would be a contending part of the title race but also knocked Kevin Harvick out of the playoffs. Harvick was the winningest driver in the series in 2020 with nine wins.
Final playoff standings
1. Chase Elliott
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Joey Logano
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Alex Bowman
7. Kyle Busch
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Kurt Busch
11. Austin Dillon
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Matt DiBenedetto
14. William Byron
15. Aric Almirola
16. Cole Custer
Race results
1. Chase Elliott
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Joey Logano
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Matt DiBenedetto
9. William Byron
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Kyle Busch
12. Kurt Busch
13. Aric Almirola
14. Clint Bowyer
15. Bubba Wallace
16. Alex Bowman
17. Christopher Bell
18. Austin Dillon
19. Tyler Reddick
20. Chris Buescher
21. Ty Dillon
22. Erik Jones
23. Michael McDowell
24. Ryan Newman
25. Matt Kenseth
26. John Hunter Nemechek
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28. Cole Custer
29. Brennan Poole
30. JJ Yeley
31. Daniel Suarez
32. Joey Gase
33. James Davison
34. Ryan Preece
35. Josh Bilicki
36. Timmy Hill
37. Garrett Smithley
38. Corey LaJoie
39. Quin Houff
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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