Pete Pistone distributes this week’s checkered and black flags following the weekend of racing at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.
Checkered Flags
Kyle Busch
Eight wins is impressive in this competitive age of NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing. Busch notched his eighth of the campaign in style to put an exclamation point on the Joe Gibbs Racing driver earning a berth in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Aric Almirola
He came up short of advancing to the Championship 4 but it wasn’t from a lack of trying. Almirola had a shot on the day’s final restart when he lined up outside Busch on the front row. Busch go the jump and Almirola eventually faded back to a fourth-place finish finishing the storybook ending.
Kevin Harvick
He said before the race he embraces having his back against the wall situations. Harvick had another one Sunday needing to finish well or win to advance in the playoffs after his Texas L1 penalty. He started out strong winning the pole and leading early but was forced to battle back from a flat tire to finish fifth and just good enough to run for the title next week in Homestead.
Matt Kenseth
Remember the guy that won the Can-Am 500 last year? Yep that’s right it was Kenseth in his second to last start for Joe Gibbs Racing. He came home with a seventh-place run Sunday for Roush Fenway Racing, which may be his next to last career Cup start.
ISM Raceway
In an age when fans are lobbying for something different, including new tracks, ISM Raceway delivered. In addition to the upgraded fan experience throughout the renovated facility, slipping the start-finish line to the former backstretch ahead of the dog leg completely changed the dynamic of the on track product and created an entertaining weekend of racing.
Black Flags
Kurt Busch
He was in and out of the playoff picture nearly every lap on Sunday. Busch had a fast car but was penalized for passing the pace car while pitting early. He was able to recover from that challenge to get back to the front before an accident with Denny Hamlin eliminated him from the race and finally the championship.
Chase Elliott
A by-product of the Busch-Hamlin incident was Elliott, who was a victim with nowhere to go. He got caught in the accident and that was the end of Elliott’s playoff hopes.
Clint Bowyer
Early in the playoffs Bowyer appeared to be someone that might have a chance to upset the “Big 3” apple cart. But those aspirations faded quickly especially in the Round of 8 with trouble at Martinsville and eventually ISM Raceway eliminating Bowyer from the championship.
Conspiracy Theorists
Really? Kyle Busch should have let Almirola win so he wouldn’t have to face Harvick in the Championship 4 race? The last thing this sport needs is anything remotely close to such a scandal that would have rivaled what Michael Waltrip Racing orchestrated in 2013 at Richmond. Thankfully Busch’s response to the idea was sensible. “That would have been dumb,” he said.
Justin Allgaier
Tough turn of events for the regular season Xfinity Series champion who won’t have a shot at the title this year thanks to a 24th-place finish on Saturday in the aftermath of contact with John Hunter Nemechek. There is simply not margin for error in the playoff environment.
The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Motor Racing Network.
