Larson, Hamlin, Truex and Elliott: The Championship 4 prepare for shot at glory
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
MARTINSVILLE, Va. –– The four drivers still alive in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship hunt can all claim the same thing: They're happy to head to Phoenix Raceway for the championship race.
None of the four can moan that the flat, one-mile track isn’t in his wheelhouse heading into the title scrap. In NASCAR’s championship format, the driver who finishes best among the four at Phoenix will be crowned the champion.
"You make it to Phoenix, it's anybody's game," defending Cup champion Chase Elliott said.
Kyle Larson’s nine wins this year? They don't matter. Martin Truex Jr. (four wins), Denny Hamlin (two wins) and Elliott (two wins) all start on equal footing with Larson. Also, the race will be one in which they have qualifying (one of only eight events this year), so they won’t know their starting positions until Saturday afternoon.
As far as laps led this year, Larson has 2,474 –– the most of any driver in a 36-race season. Hamlin has led 1,502 laps, more than the tallies of Elliott (858) and Truex (793).
"I've said for many, many weeks now that it would be a disservice if someone other than the two of us didn't win," Hamlin said of himself and Larson. "[Larson] is obviously probably the most deserving, over the course of the year that he's had from start to finish. ... It is the best four that you could possibly put in that race.
"I think all of them would be deserving champions. Obviously, Kyle would make the most sense."
But here’s the thing about Larson: He is the only driver among the four who has never won at Phoenix. He finished seventh there earlier this year in just his fourth race at Hendrick Motorsports.
In his years driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, Larson had a second, two thirds and two fourths at the track. Considering that his nine victories this year eclipsed his six career wins in six-plus years at Ganassi, it isn’t a stretch to think that the 29-year-old could go out there and dominate as he has for much of this year.
Elliott could also be looked at as the favorite, given that he is the defending champion. He went to Phoenix last year and led 153 laps on his way to winning the title. The Hendrick driver finished fifth there earlier this year and was seventh in the March 2020 race at the track.
But the question everyone will ask Elliott is if he can win on an oval. His two victories this year came on road courses. He has been in contention on ovals –– he led 289 of 501 laps at Martinsville –– but hasn’t been able to close the deal.
The 25-year-old could counter that before last year, he had never won a race in a major pressure situation, and he won back-to-back races at Martinsville and Phoenix to capture the title.
So history? Meh.
As for Truex, he slipped into the championship by just three points and heads to Phoenix as the winner of the most recent race there in March, in which he led 64 of 312 laps.
The 41-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver also won earlier in the playoffs at Richmond Raceway, the playoff track most similar to Phoenix and the one that uses the same tire compound as Phoenix.
"It’s an honor and pleasure to get to race for championships," said Truex, the 2017 Cup champion. "Only four of us get to do it. It's a fun week. It's definitely a lot less pressure than trying to go eight to four."
Every race is different, but there’s something to be said about having won at the track, where there is potential for similar conditions. NASCAR will put down a little different resin to help create a second groove than the traction compound it used in March, but that shouldn’t make a huge difference.
Truex’s victory at Phoenix was his first in 31 career starts at the track. He has only two top-5 finishes there in his past six.
Finally, there’s Hamlin. He led 33 laps in March and finished third. He was fourth in the championship race last year, with a disappointing end to another chance at a title that he couldn’t capitalize on in the finale.
The 40-year-old Hamlin has 46 career wins and 13 playoff appearances in the past 15 years, which would make one think he has a championship on his résumé. But the Joe Gibbs Racing driver doesn’t, and the question of whether he will ever win one will permeate this week.
Hamlin won at Phoenix in 2019, when Phoenix was the cutoff race of the semifinal round. He has four top-5 finishes in his past five starts at the track. Much like what Hamlin said, Larson agrees that they both are rightful players in the championship event.
"The way we both performed throughout all the season, I'm glad to see us both with the opportunity to race for a championship, as well as Chase and everything he's kind of had to go through throughout this playoffs," said Larson, referencing Elliott’s feud with Kevin Harvick.
"[Elliott] being the past champion, as Denny mentioned, I think the four most deserving teams are probably in the final four. I'm proud we were able to do it and look forward to battling everybody next week."
Thinking out loud
Pretty much any driver would be angry after getting taken out for the win. But does that mean the driver has the right to interrupt a victory celebration?
No.
Sure, it makes for some good highlights and whips the fans into a frenzy. Yes, the driver was wronged. But there are some things you just don’t do, and interrupting a victory burnout or initial celebration is one of them.
Want to get out of your car and walk to victory lane for a little confrontation? OK. But you’ve got to let the other savor his moment for winning a race within the rules.
Social spotlight
Stat of note
The No. 48 has won 10 times at Martinsville Speedway –– nine times by Jimmie Johnson and one time by Alex Bowman.
They said it
"It's just Chase Elliott fans, man. They don't think straightly." –– Denny Hamlin on being booed at Martinsville
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
