AVONDALE, Ariz. – Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott all had reasons to believe they’d leave with the NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy after Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Unfortunately the cards didn’t fall their way in the desert and their strong runs weren’t enough to stop Kyle Larson.
Truex finished second and had all the momentum on his side to win a second Cup Series title when he led with 30 laps to go. Hamlin placed third and had one of the stronger long run cars all day.
Elliott, meanwhile, finished fifth and led 94 laps. Larson’s 107 laps led were the most of the championship race, in large part thanks to a crucial late-race pit stop that allowed him to jump from fourth to first. That allowed him to lead the final 28 laps and win the title.
“I just needed the right set of circumstances,” said Elliott, whose words could also define the days of Hamlin and Truex. “I felt like our NAPA Chevrolet was really good. Our team did a really good job of preparing for this week. I was really proud of our group. We brought a really good car and they did a lot of things we were wanting [the car] to do today.
“Certainly it was unfortunate for us,” Elliott said. “Proud of our team. A lot to build on. Also congrats to Kyle and Cliff on an amazing season. Very, very deserving champion. Glad to see Kyle have success. When you’re a good driver and a good person and you surround yourself with good people, success is relative.”
Elliott couldn’t replicate his championship season from a year ago, only producing two wins in comparison to his five triumphs in 2020. Both of those wins came on road courses – Circuit of the Americas in Texas followed by Road America in the heart of Wisconsin.
Before the race-changing caution that waved when a brake rotor fell off the car of David Starr with 30 laps remaining, Truex and Hamlin had checked out from the Hendrick Motorsports tandem of Elliott and Larson.
The Joe Gibbs Racing duo couldn’t retain the top-two spots once the final pit stop of the day took place, and Truex fell from the lead to third before the decisive restart with 24 laps remaining.
Truex did everything he could to win from the 12th-starting spot, the deepest starting position amongst the four playoff drivers. The 2017 champion won the first stage and if it weren’t for the rogue brake rotor off Starr’s machine in turn three that brought out the final caution, things may have played out differently.
“I don’t know,” Truex said. “Clean air seemed to be a good bit of an advantage there. Whoever got out front was there for 20, 30, 40 laps and then the long run cars would start coming around.”
Truex put himself back in the Championship 4 after missing out on the opportunity last year. He upped his win count from one in 2020 to four this year, one being the spring race at Phoenix. Ultimately, it was the final pit stop that cost him the championship.
“Ultimately, we needed to beat them off pit road,” Truex said. “It’s unfortunate, but we win and lose as a team. I’m really proud of our efforts this year.”
As for Denny Hamlin, his pristine regular season was overshadowed by Larson’s relentless, 10-win campaign.
Hamlin had a shot to change the narrative, restarting alongside Larson on the front row with 24 laps left. But like it’s been all year, Hamlin’s consistency just wasn’t enough.
“I really liked where we were with 25 laps to go,” said Hamlin, who ended the year with two wins, 19 top fives and 25 top 10 finishes in 36 races. “We were just exceptional in the long run, which wasn’t too surprising.
“Obviously that debris caution changed a lot,” Hamlin said. “Special congrats to Larson and their team. Any time you win 10 races in a year, you’re absolutely a deserving champion.”