NASCAR – Rain benefits Dale Earnhardt Jr in Phoenix

The rain played a determining role yesterday in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The start of the decisive meeting for the allocation of the last three places for the final of Miami-Homestead (Florida) next week was initially postponed due to weather conditions, before the rain returned in race, sealing a result that smiled on Dale Earnhardt Jr (Hendrick Motorsports? Chevrolet).

The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet took advantage of a pit stop made on lap 196 before a collision between Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Joey Gase, resulting in a yellow flag. The Hendrick driver took the lead while his rivals returned to the pit lane a few moments later, under yellow flag conditions. It was then that rain fell again on the Arizona track, forcing officials to permanently interrupt the event.

Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing? Chevrolet) who had led 143 laps before this unexpected end, finished second and secured his place to defend his title in a week in Florida. The defending champion will face Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports), already qualified, Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing? Toyota) and Martin Truex Jr. driving the #78 Chevrolet from Furniture Row.

Le Team Penske remains the big loser of the Phoenix event, since neither Joey Logano, nor Brad Keselowski did not obtain their ticket for the final confrontation, leaving Ford without a representative for the final. Note that Chevrolet won its 13th consecutive Manufacturers' title, the 39th in total.

Discover the report of the Phoenix Sprint Cup Series event, in issue 2038 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version, and this Wednesday on newsstands.