The NASCAR season is done.
From a terrifying finish at the Daytona 500 to weeknight racing as the sport led the return of all sports to racial tension sparking cultural progress to yesterday’s simple, quiet finale at Phoenix, the season made it. It’s done. And now we wait until Valentine’s Day for the next Cup Series race.
In the end, it was Chase Elliott crossing the finish line first, becoming at the young age of 24 something NASCAR certainly wants him to be: a champion. After failing inspection twice, Elliott started from the back of the field, but it took little time for him to find the leaders, and little more time for him to become the leader as a near-total absence of cautions allowed the best car on the track to leave little in doubt. By the final lap, it wasn’t close.
It’s a big happening for NASCAR. Elliott’s well-liked by the fanbase. He’s marketable to new fans. He’s not brash, but he’s not a pushover, occupying something of the Jeff Gordon mold in that regard. And while he isn’t Jeff Gordon right now in terms of persona, he could still lead something of a strong new wave for the sport, alongside Bubba Wallace and drivers like Ryan Blaney.
If NASCAR’s smart, they’re going to pump every marketing dollar they can afford into commercials with pictures of Elliott as a kid hanging out at the track with his dad, hall of famer Bill Elliott. But whether they can afford that Super Bowl minute-long spot or not, they’ve at least got a championship for their torchbearer. And he’s sure to be among the favorites next year as well.
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Other notes:
- Brad Keselowski finished second, and while it didn’t look like he had enough to run down Elliott, he did have some rough pit stops, the absence of which could’ve made it interesting.
- Joey Logano was the last man Elliott passed, but it happened with plenty of laps to spare, which may have cost us some fireworks.
- Denny Hamlin’s car didn’t seem to have what it needed, as despite finishing fourth, he was never much of a factor.
- Jimmie Johnson finished his final race in fifth place, with a lot of emotional congratulations from the field. I don’t think we’ll see him at the Indy 500 next year (he’s only running the road and street courses?), but he’ll be running IndyCar.
- Clint Bowyer also wrapped up his career, finishing in 14th. He’ll be in the booth next season.
- It was the final run for Bubba Wallace in the 43, as he’ll move to 23XI next year and race for NASCAR’s newest owner, Michael Jordan.
