NASCAR Cup Series

"Homestead-Miami Speedway has really turned into one of the best tracks on the circuit. It's aged well, and the different levels of banking just give you a lot of options. You can run right up by the wall, but on restarts you can really make up some ground on the bottom.

"The progressive banking at Homestead is a lot of fun. I remember the first time I went there, it reminded me a lot of Irwindale Speedway, where I raced in California, but obviously bigger. You definitely have options there. You can run all over. And it's another track that each and every year loses grip. That Florida sunshine takes its toll on it.

Ford Racing has won eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships with the last coming in 2004 when Kurt Busch and Jimmy Fennig captured the debut Chase format crown.

The new playoff style Chase format was designed to put the emphasis on winning. Win and you’re in. Depending upon who you ask, it has brought out the best or the worst in the drivers.

There are drivers you like and there are drivers you do not. If a driver should be a whiney revisionist weasel who does his best to avoid cashing the checks his mouth keeps on writing, I am not a fan. This is how I once viewed Kurt Busch, and it is how I presently see Brad Keselowski. For him to not make the Chase finale came as a welcome conclusion to the activities at Phoenix.

In the final race of the Eliminator Chase round, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 27th annual Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Kevin Harvick continued his mastery of the Phoenix International Raceway today, winning the Quicken Loans 500 for Heroes. The win also secured him a spot for the championship race next Sunday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was the only way Harvick could have made the finale since he was tied in points with the runner up in the race, Jeff Gordon.

Camry driver Denny Hamlin advanced to the four-driver final round of this year's championship playoff at Homestead Miami Speedway next weekend after finishing fifth in today's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Phoenix International Raceway.

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AXALTA CHEVROLET SS – Finished 2nd: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON NOT MOVING ON TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND IN HOMESTEAD, YOU ONLY MISSED IT BY ONE POINT: 
“Yeah, it’s disappointing. We have a lot to hold our heads up high about; the way that we raced this race and this whole Chase and the whole season. We raced hard. We raced together as a team."

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion, finished sixth and clinched a spot in the Championship Four next weekend at Ford Championship Weekend. Brad Keselowski finished fourth in the race, but fell five points short of making the transfer cut while Carl Edwards ended up seven points out of the final round with a 15th –place finish.