Some days, it’s better to be lucky than good.
Sunday, after rain delayed the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was a little of both.
In the midst of a pit stop when the caution came out, Earnhardt, Jr. had only to cross the finish line in front of his pit stall to claim the lead of the race. Then, after several laps under caution, the race was finally halted due to rain and called 93 laps early, handing Earnhardt, Jr. his third win of the season.
Kevin Harvick had dominated the day, leading 143 laps of the 219 run, but it was Earnhardt celebrating in victory lane.
He said afterwards that the road to the win started with qualifying on Friday. We also heard from winning crew chief Greg Ives, as well as three of the four drivers to make the Championship round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon.
Much to the surprise of no one, Kyle Busch dominated Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix. Busch led all but 10 of the 200 laps that made up the event, scoring his eighth victory in 19 starts at the track.
Busch started from the pole, and was never seriously challenged throughout the race. Afterwards, Busch was asked what makes him so good at Phoenix. We also heard from fourth place finisher Daniel Suarez and seventh place finisher Chase Elliott.
On Friday night, it looked like Erik Jones was on his way to a dominating win in the Camping World Truck Series at Phoenix International Raceway. But then came a restart with 30 laps to go.
Defending champion Matt Crafton had a shot to get past Jones, and was trying to hang tough on the inside when his truck got loose, making contact with Jones and sending both trucks out of control. Jones tagged the wall and came away with a little damage, while Crafton's truck spun to the inside and was hit hard by teammate Johnny Sauter, ending both drivers' nights.
That opened the door for Timothy Peters to take the lead. He went on to hold off John Hunter Nemechek to score his second win of the season. Peters’ talked afterwards about the win giving Toyota the manufacturer’s championship. We also heard from fifth place finisher Tyler Reddick.
And it all comes down to this weekend, as the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series wrap up their seasons at Homestead-Miami Speedway. WDUN will have live coverage of the weekend, beginning with Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Ford Ecoboost 300, where Chase Elliott will try to make up the 18 point deficit behind Chris Buescher for the series championship. Live MRN Radio coverage begins at 2:15 on 102.9 FM.
Then on Sunday, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. will battle 39 other competitors to see who will be the 2015 Sprint Cup Champion. Live MRN Radio coverage of the Ford Ecoboost 400 begins at 2 pm on 102.9 FM.
To keep up with the latest motorsports news anytime, visit our Around The Track page.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/11/350713/video-earnhardt-busch-peters-take-phoenix-victories