WINNERS
Youth — Check out the ages of this year’s champions: Cup champion Chase Elliott is the oldest at 24 years old. Xfinity champion Austin Cindric is 22 years old. Truck champion Sheldon Creed is 23 years old. Youth was served this weekend.
Chase Elliott — Thirty-two years after his father won a Cup title, Chase Elliott accomplished the feat. Said Elliott: “When I’m dead and gone and my dad is dead and gone, he and I will share a championship with the last name Elliott forever. I don’t think it gets any cooler than that, in my opinion.”
NASCAR — Who really thought that the sport would get through the season when it returned in May? Credit for NASCAR officials who were nimble and flexible in their decision making with the schedule to get through the season.
Phoenix Raceway — A year ago, there were concerns about what the racing would be like at this track in the finale but that wasn’t the case this weekend.
Jimmie Johnson — The seven-time champion finished fifth for his first top-10 in the last 11 races. It wasn’t the fairytale ending, but it was a memorable finish for how this team has run in the last couple of months.
LOSERS
Brett Moffitt — He was on the verge of winning his second Truck title in three years when a late caution for a crash reset the field. Moffitt didn’t pit for tires. Sheldon Creed got fresh tires and went from ninth to first in overtime to win the race and take the title from Moffitt.
Chase Briscoe — Great season with a series-high nine Xfinity wins. He admitted Phoenix wasn’t his best track and he struggled before spinning out late to send the Xfinity race into overtime Saturday.
Brad Keselowski’s pit crew — Two slow stops cost Keselowski a total of 10 spots in Sunday’s race. That was pivotal because the other three championship teams did not make a mistake. That kept Keselowski from having a chance to challenge Elliott late.