Brad Keselowski had one last shot to get around Kyle Busch for the win on a green-white-checkered finish.
And he did.
Busch appeared to have the DAV 200 Honoring American’s Heroes at Phoenix International Raceway in the bag, until the caution flew for the slowed car of Alex Bowman with three laps to go. Bowman ran out of fuel after staying out on the previous caution.
After the final restart, Keselowski cleared Busch out of Turn 1 on the final lap and held off the No. 54 Toyota.
“It was a drag race going into (Turn 1),” Keselowski said of the pass. “We were able to get out front and from there, we were able to bring her home.”
A similar situation happened at Bristol in August, with Ryan Blaney passing Busch late to win that night.
The 2012 Sprint Cup champ took the No. 22 car to five victories in his 10 races. It was also back-to-back victories for Keselowski, who last raced at Charlotte four weeks ago. The win also helped increase the No. 22 team’s lead in owner standings, which is now at 29 points going into Homestead.
“I congratulate Brad and the whole team for what they’ve accomplished so far this year,” team owner Roger Penske said. “We’re racing for the car owner’s championship in Nationwide and every point counts. We’re racing with Kyle every weekend, so, to me, this was a double-header to have Brad have a chance to run on the track on Saturday.”
Busch led 187 of the 206 laps in his No. 54 Monster Energy Camry and looked for a four straight win at the one-mile track. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver pitted on the second-to-last caution and restarted fifth, before working his way back to the lead and pulled away from everyone else. That commanding lead was wiped away after the final caution with three laps to go.
“Monster Energy Camry was fast and faster than everyone else,” Busch said. “Just not at the right time. Unfortunately, all the adjustments that we made throughout the day, which made the car really good in the long run, wasn’t good in the short run.”
Busch’s JGR teammate, Elliott Sadler, came home third, with rookies Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott finishing fourth and fifth respectively. For Chase Elliott, he had an enough points margin (+52) over second place leaving Phoenix to become the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion.
“This truly has been a dream come true for me to be able to be competing this season,” Elliott said. “We’ve had a great season here in the Nationwide Series with NAPA Auto Parts. They’re really the reason why we’re here.”
The 18-year-old driver becomes the youngest champion and also the first rookie to win a title in NASCAR’s top three series. The closest a rookie came to winning the NNS championship before was Kyle Busch, who finished runner-up to Martin Truex, Jr. in 2004. Like Elliott, Busch was also a Hendrick Motorsports development driver at the time.
Elliott’s first career NNS win came at Texas Motor Speedway in the spring and added two more leading up to Phoenix Saturday. The consistency of the No. 9 team helped the rookie get to NASCAR’s top honor.
“I never would of even believed this,” Elliott said of the championship. “Beginning of the season, I was new to it because I only ran a handful of Truck races last year and just a lot of new things this season I’ve haven’t seen before.”
Chase joins his father and 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Bill, as the fifth father-son combination to win a title in one of NASCAR’s top three series. With being the 2014 NNS champion, he also becomes the first in the series to clinch at Phoenix since Greg Biffle in 2002.
With only more race to go, it will be the last opportunity for a driver to snag a victory in the season finale at Homestead next weekend
- Newman’s magical night not meant to be - November 17, 2014
- Kenseth returns to victory lane, Penske wins owner’s title - November 16, 2014
- Penske powers to top spot, Keselowski on pole - November 15, 2014