Chase Elliott Wins 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Makes History
The son of 1988 NASCAR champion Bill Elliott is the youngest Cup champ in 25 years.
Second-generation NASCAR driver Chase Elliott on Sunday won the biggest race of his life—rallying from having to drop to the rear of the field during the initial pace laps to cross the Phoenix Raceway finish line first in the Series Finale 500—earning his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship at the age of 24. The result made Hendrick Motorsports driver Elliott the youngest champion in NASCAR's premier series in 25 years.
Ultimately, Elliott won by 2.74 seconds over fellow title contender Brad Keselowski from Team Penske. Team Penske's Joey Logano was third and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin finished fourth.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, 45, was fifth in his final race as a full-time Cup Series driver, and he congratulated his young Hendrick Motorsports teammate Elliott on-track and later on pit lane—a fitting symbol of the sport's "changing of the guard."
"Awesome, awesome, awesome," Elliott screamed into his team radio after taking the checkered flag. "We are the champions!"
Three of the four title contenders led laps at the 1-mile desert oval. Logano led 125 laps and Keselowski led 16 laps, but Elliott's 153 laps in the lead were indicative of his motivation, talent, and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team's preparedness for this race. He only earned his place in the four-driver championship field with a clutch victory last week at Martinsville Speedway, and he made the most of that work on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Elliott wrestled the lead away from Logano for good with 43 laps remaining in the 312-lap affair. It was the result of a determined driver and team after the car failed pre-race inspection multiple times Sunday morning and had to start last in the 39-car field.
Elliott's focus was evident, however, from the drop of the green flag. His Chevrolet was 15th by Lap 15. He took the lead for the first time at Lap 79 and led eight different times on the afternoon.
Once Elliott rallied to the front, the four title contenders were predominantly the top four drivers on track the remainder of the race—truly settling the championship among themselves.
"Obviously, when you don't win it hurts, it definitely stings," Logano said. "I told the guys before the race, you can't lose. You either win or you get stronger. Unfortunately, we got stronger today."
