NASCAR race updates: Chase Elliott wins Phoenix to take 2020 championship

Follow along here for lap-by-lap updates for the NASCAR Cup championship from Phoenix Raceway. Refresh this page for the latest updates and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex. All times listed are Eastern.

Chase Elliott wins 2020 NASCAR championship

Chase Elliott is this year’s NASCAR Cup Series champion. It’s the first Cup championship of his career. The 24-year-old is the son of Hall of Fame driver Bill Elliott. He’s the third youngest driver ever to win the title. He finished ahead of Final Four drivers Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.

Dawonsville Pool Room

The Dawsonville Pool Room is a restaurant/bar in the North Georgia hometown (Dawsonville) of NASCAR driver Chase Elliott. It’s there that still stands the loud siren that has sounded every time an Elliott has won a race.

NASCAR champions by year

2010: Jimmie Johnson

2011: Tony Stewart

2012: Brad Keselowski

2013: Jimmie Johnson

2014: Kevin Harvick

2015: Kyle Busch

2016: Jimmie Johnson

2017: Martin Truex Jr.

2018: Joey Logano

2019: Kyle Busch

2020: Chase Elliott

NASCAR championship race results

Lap 302: 10 to go. Chase Elliott leads

6 p.m.: Elliott has a big lead on Logano as the championship race winds down. Logano is 3 seconds back, Keselowski is 4 seconds back and Hamlin is 7 seconds back. Elliott is 11 years younger than the average age of the other Championship 4 drivers.

Lap 262: 50 to go. Who is winning?

5:45 p.m.: All of the final four drivers made pit stops. Logano leads Elliott (P2). Slow stop puts Keselowski (P4) over a second behind Hamlin (P3).

Lap 242: 70 to go

5:30 p.m.: Elliott’s speedy. Logano, Keselowski holding strong. Hamlin’s car needs some inspiration. Will there be a caution?

Lap 212: A hundred to go

5:18 p.m.: The running order in the top-four is the same with a hundred laps left in the season. Logano trails Elliott by half a second. Blaney is in fifth, then it’s the the Chevrolets of Byron and Johnson. Then Harvick, Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto.

What channel is the NASCAR race on?

The final race of the NASCAR season happening now at Phoenix Raceway. The Cup Series championship, the Season Finale 500, started at 3 p.m. on NBC. The race at the 1-mile tri-oval is 312 miles (312 laps) with stage breaks on laps 75, 190 and 312.

The final four drivers are Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin.

Lap 197: Elliott in first

5:12 p.m.: Elliott leads restart into the final stage. And Keselowski drops to fifth place on the restart with another slow pit stop. Elliott takes the outside lane with Blaney behind him. Logano, Hamlin and Keselowski take the inside lane. The order falls into Elliott, Logano, Hamlin and Keselowski.

Lap 190: Keselowski edges Elliott for Stage 2 win

5 p.m.: Keselowski challenged Elliott in the final laps of the stage down to the front stretch, when the No. 2 edged just ahead of Elliott for the green-and-white checkered flag. Logano and Hamlin follow in third and fourth, respectively. Blaney, Johnson, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Byron in the top-10.

Lap 187: Battle continues

4:56 p.m.: Elliott and Keselowski race side-by-side as the stage winds to a close, but Elliott keeps his position. Keselowski doesn’t relent, however.

Lap 173: Elliott leads, but Keselowski passes

4:53 p.m.: Elliott takes the lead on the restart, driving the outside lane. Hamlin takes the inside behind Kurt Busch, but isn’t able to pass him quickly enough. Instead, the field goes three-wide on the restart and the order settles into Elliott, Keselowski, Logano and Hamlin.

Lap 160: Caution out, who pits?

4:43 p.m.: All leaders pit for fresh tires after the yellow comes out for Davison and Bilicki getting tagged in Turn 2. Kurt Busch only takes two tires and comes off pit road in first.

Lap 156: Fresher tires out front

4:40 p.m.: Elliott and Hamlin pass Logano and Keselowski as they all race back to the top spots. Elliott leads after green flag pit stops cycle through, followed by Hamlin, proving that the fresh tires make a difference. Kyle Busch is still stuck in the bottom-20, while Harvick, another strong Phoenix contender sits out of the top-10, in 11th.

Lap 139: Johnson leading during green flag pit stops

4:30 p.m.: Keselowski comes to pit road first, followed shortly by Logano. Hamlin and Elliott pit from the lead a few laps later. Johnson inherits the race lead in his final full-time season.

Lap 120: Elliott up to first

4:24 p.m.: Elliott takes the lead on Lap 119, dipping low to pass Logano, who doesn’t challenge him to keep first. Logano continues to report tightness, and Hamlin passes him for second on the next lap. Kyle Busch earlier comes to pit road for damage from the wall scrape, potentially a tire issue, on Lap 116. He is a lap down.

Lap 113: Elliott takes second

4:20 p.m.: Elliott rounds Hamlin on the outside for second place. Hamlin challenges for two laps to hold the position, racing side-by-side, by Elliott holds the lead.

Lap 107: Vibration for Logano, might need to pit

4:16 p.m.: Kyle Busch potentially scraped the wall running in fourth and drops back to sixth, Keselowski takes fourth place. Hamlin team’s says he’s got debris on his left front brake opening, but it doesn’t pan out to be a major problem. Logano, however, reports he’s got vibration and is getting tighter. He might need to come to pit road for adjustments if that continues, his team tells him.

Lap 90: Logano looks strong

4:09 p.m.: Logano takes the inside lane again after the stage and gets a strong launch on the restart. Elliott follows Logano in the inside lane and challenges Hamlin on the outside for second, but Hamlin takes the clear lead on Lap 86. He gains on Logano, but the No. 22 is still leading. Kyle Busch passes Keselowski for fourth, while Keselowski stays in fifth.

Lap 75: Joey Logano leads early, wins Stage 1

3:57 p.m.: Hamlin gains on Logano in the final laps before the green-and-white checkered flag, but Logano stays out front for the stage victory. Elliott and Keselowski follow, then the finishing order is Blaney, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto in the top-10. After pit stops, the top four emerge in the same order, with Logano out front followed by Hamlin, Elliott and Keselowski.

Lap 65: Championship 4 take top spots

3:50 p.m.: Keselowski has also made up positions. He’s in fourth, but can’t quite catch up with Elliott in third. Logano still leads the field with Hamlin half a second behind him. Non-playoff drivers Blaney, Bowman, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto round out the top-10. Johnson is in 11th and Harvick is in 13th. “The PJ1 will be gone by the end of the race so keep that in mind,” Keselowski says on his radio.

Lap 41: Elliott flying, Keselowski drops

3:43 p.m.: Logano chooses the inside lane for the restart, Hamlin goes outside. They’re starting in the front row after Keselowski has a slow pit stop that puts him back six positions. The field goes four-wide for the restart, then the order settles into Logano, Hamlin, Bowman, Elliott and Keselowski. Elliott then passes Bowman for third on Lap 46. He’s got a fast car, zooming from last to third within the first 50 laps.

Lap 30: Competition caution, adjustments

3:30 p.m.: The running order at the first caution continues to be Logano, Keselowski, Hamlin, Blaney and Kurt Busch. By Lap 27, Elliott gets inside Bowyer for 10th place and completes his pass. Hamlin and Logano have both reported loose cars and the team makes necessary adjustment

Lap 20: Elliott making moves

3:26 p.m.: Elliott is up to 13th place as Logano, the race leader starts lapping cars at the back of the field. Preece makes contact with the wall and has to pit. He goes two laps down. The running order is Logano, Keselowski, Hamlin, Blaney and Kurt Busch in the top-five. Logano reports he’s loose around the turns.

Lap 10: Logano up front

3:22 p.m.: Logano takes the high lane on the start and leads the field early. Keselowski is in second and also racing high. He is racing next to Hamlin on the inside, but attempts to make a high pass and Keselowski slides inside to get a clear positonal advantage on him. Elliott, starting last, is up to 20th place 10 laps in.

Pre-race ceremonies

3:08 p.m.: The invocation, national anthem and jet flyover is complete at Phoenix ahead of the Season Finale 500. The command to start engines comes and drivers get ready to roll off the grid for pace laps. Jimmie Johnson will lead one of th pace laps.

Championship driver intros

2:45 p.m.: The Championship 4 drivers are introduced on stage at Phoenix in front of limited fans. Around 8,400 fans (20 percent capacity) are allowed to attend today’s race. Each driver wears a “One Final Time” hat to honor Johnson.

Jimmie Johnson honored

The retiring Cup Series drivers is set to enter his final race of his final full-time NASCAR season. Johnson won seven championships with Hendrick Motorsports and earned 83 race wins in his Cup career. He is 45 years old and has raced full-time in NASCAR’s top series since 2002. In addition to Johnson, this will be Clint Bowyer’s final NASCAR race before the No. 14 SHR driver heads to the broadcast booth for FOX Sports next season. Matt Kenseth is also expected to exit the series after the season.

Johnson does an intro lap around the track, standing in the back of a Toyota truck, ahead of his final race. He will race a part-time schedule in IndyCar next season for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Who has the most NASCAR championships?

Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson are all tied for the most championships at NASCAR’s top level with seven. Petty has the most career wins at 200.

What time and channel is the NASCAR race on today?

Today’s NASCAR race at Phoenix is on NBC at 3 p.m. (1 p.m. local). The command will come at 3:05 p.m. and the green flag is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. The weather is bright, with some white clouds overhead and a very low chance of rain.

NASCAR points standing

How will today’s race determine a NASCAR champion?

The first championship driver (Elliott, Logano, Keselowski or Hamlin) to cross the finish line wins the title, even if another non-championship driver wins the race.

Elliott hit with pre-race penalty

2:15 p.m.: Championship 4 driver and pole-sitter Chase Elliott will start at the rear for today’s race after his No. 9 Chevrolet twice failed pre-race inspection. The car passed inspection on the third time through, so no other penalties were issued to the team. Elliott will drop to the back of the field before the green flag, but he’ll have 312 laps to make up the position.

Elliott said on NBC he has all the confidence in his team and crew chief Alan Gustafson. He noted that “if you’re not pushing, you’re in the wrong business.”

NASCAR Cup championship race at Phoenix starting lineup

*Championship 4 driver

This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 2:15 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription