Avondale, Arizona. It was time for the final race. You had four drivers who were vying for the Bill France Cup. One of them was the defending Cup champion Chase Elliott, who was trying to vie for the right to be back to back king. Chesterfield, Virginia’s Denny Hamlin and Mayetta New Jersey’s Martin Truex, Jr. were also in the running. Add in a crew chief that didn’t fall off the cliff this time, Cliff Daniels who previously chiefed seven time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, and you get the number 5 Hendrick Motor Sports dynamic new king, Kyle Larson. Larson is a native of Elk Grove, California, and he is a 29 year old phenom and newly crowned king. But not without a fight from Dawsonville Georgia’s Chase Elliott, who faded late in the going on Sunday afternoon. Elliott led the most laps, but in this championship battle, the number 5 duo of Larson and a crew chief named Cliff rose above the duo of Elliott and Gustafson.
The race was high drama, according to all the accounts from MRN Radio. The team on the radio was led by Jeff Striegle, Alex Hayden and Hall of Famer Rusty William Wallace. When you listen to MRN, or PRN, you feel like you’re at the track. Grand Rapids, Michigan native Striegle and Muncie, Indiana native Hayden were how I covered NASCAR and will continue to cover NASCAR next year.
