NASCAR at Phoenix results: Chase Elliott, 24, wins first championship in runaway fashion

Dan Bernstein

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NASCAR at Phoenix results: Chase Elliott, 24, wins first championship in runaway fashion image

Chase Elliott is a NASCAR champion at 24 years old.

He won Sunday’s Championship 4 race at Phoenix over Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin. Keselowski came in second place but was far off Elliott’s runaway pace over the final 30 laps, finishing 2.74 seconds behind the breakout 24-year-old prodigy of Hendrick Motorsports.

Elliott was tagged with an inspection penalty that sent him to the back to start the race, but it took him less than a stage to vault into the top 10. He couldn't be caught from there.

Sporting News tracked live updates and lap-by-lap highlights from NASCAR's 2020 championship race at Phoenix. Follow below for complete results from the Season Finale 500.

Championship 4 finishing order

Pos. Driver
1 Chase Elliott
2 Brad Keselowski
3 Joey Logano
4 Denny Hamlin

NASCAR at Phoenix results, highlights from 2020 championship

6:03 p.m.: CHASE ELLIOTT IS THE 2020 NASCAR CHAMPION.

6:01 p.m.: Five laps remaining.

6:01 p.m.: Elliott's lead is 3.4 seconds and growing.

6 p.m.: Johnson is in fifth place in his last race.

5:59 p.m.: Keselowski moves up to second.

5:58 p.m.: 12 to go. Elliott is cruising.

5:56 p.m.: Elliott leads by three seconds. It's his race to lose.

5:54 p.m.: 20 laps remaining. Elliott is still up.

5:50 p.m.: 30 laps to go.

5:49 p.m.: Keselowski to third. He's been swapping with Hamlin for a while.

5:47 p.m.: This is a cool father-son stat. Elliott is the reigning most popular driver.

5:44 p.m.: Elliott passes Logano! 40 laps to go.

5:42 p.m.: Logano takes the lead after pitting.

5:40 p.m.: Keselowski has another horrid pit stop. Lost at least three seconds.

5:38 p.m.: Logano is unhappy with how his car feels and will pit first.

5:37 p.m.: With 57 laps left, top cars are considering pitting.

5:29 p.m.: Logano is within one second of Elliott for the lead.

5:24 p.m.: Keselowski scoots past Hamlin for third.

5:18 p.m.: Kevin Harvick had something to prove this afternoon, but so far he hasn't made his point. He's in eighth place after his elimination last weekend.

5:17 p.m.: 100 laps to go. Elliott-Logano-Hamlin-Keselowski at the front.

5:09 p.m.: Keselowski hasn't been helped by his crew today.

5:05 p.m.: Keselowski!

4:59 p.m.: Elliott is the leader.

4:53 p.m.: We're nearing the end of Stage 2.

4:52 p.m.: Keselowski passes Elliott.

4:50 p.m.: Elliott is back in the lead following the restart.

4:41 p.m.: Caution on Lap 161. First caution for a crash. This one was relatively minor, but still enough to bring out the yellow flag.

4:31 p.m.: In his final race, Johnson takes a momentary lead as others pit. That's cool to see.

4:29 p.m.: Mass green-flag pit stops are just ahead.

4:22 p.m.: Elliott takes the lead.

4:21 p.m.: Elliott passes Hamlin. He's in second place now.

4:11 p.m.: Logano manages to shed the debris.

4:10 p.m.: Logano has some debris stuck to the front of his car. He still leads.

4:02 p.m.: Update: Logano technically led every lap but one in Stage 1. He was momentarily behind during pit stops because of his stall position.

3:55 p.m.: Joey Logano holds the lead through Stage 1. He's led every lap.

3:48 p.m.: 15 laps left in Stage 1. Remember, stage points don't matter in the championship.

3:40 p.m.: Elliott to fourth.

3:39 p.m.: Elliott passes Keselowski to move into fifth place.

3:35 p.m.: Keselowski is slow off pit road following the first competition caution.

3:30 p.m.: It's Logano-Keselowski-Hamlin at the front.

3:29 p.m.: No time wasted.

3:23 p.m.: Now Elliott is inside the top 15. He's zooming after the pre-race penalty.

3:22 p.m.: Elliott is already up to 18th place after 12 laps.

3:20 p.m.: Logano has the early lead.

3:16 p.m.: Green flag! The Cup Series championship is underway.

3:06 p.m.: Engines are fired.

3:04 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson got some nice acknowledgment before his last NASCAR race. Read more about that here.

3:01 p.m.: Pre-race ceremonies are underway.

NASCAR race start time today

The NASCAR Cup Series championship race begins at Phoenix at 3 p.m. ET. That means it will be on at 1 p.m. local time. Despite the region's reputation for always being unbearably hot, the temperature should be in the 60s.

Most of NASCAR's recent playoff races have taken place around the same time, but several have been delayed or postponed because of inclement weather. There is not expected to be any rain for the title race.

The race is 312 laps spread over three stages. The distance of the race is 312 miles.

NASCAR starting lineup for championship race

Here is the complete starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR race at Phoenix:

Pos. Driver Car Team
1 Chase Elliott (P)*** 9 Hendrick Motorsports
2 Joey Logano (P) 22 Team Penske
3 Brad Keselowski (P) 2 Team Penske
4 Denny Hamlin (P) 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
6 Alex Bowman 88 Hendrick Motorsports
7 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
8 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
9 Clint Bowyer 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
10 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
11 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
12 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Woods Brothers Racing
13 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
14 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
15 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
16 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
17 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
18 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
19 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
20 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
21 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
22 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
23 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
24 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
25 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
26 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
27 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
28 Corey LaJoie 32 Go Fas Racing
29 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
30 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
31 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
32 JJ Yeley 27 Rick Ware Racing
33 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
34 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
35 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
36 James Davison 53 Rick Ware Racing
37 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing
38 Josh Bilicki 77 Spire Motorsports
39 Garrett Smithley 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing

(P) Playoff driver.

***Elliott sent to the back for failed inspection.

Dan Bernstein