Special Edition Championship 4 News and Notes – Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Drivers

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: Ford EcoBoost 400

The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway

The Date: Sunday, November 17

The Time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: NBC, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: Ford EcoBoost 300

The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway

The Date: Saturday, Nov. 16

The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio                   

Distance: 300 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200)

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series

Next Race: Ford EcoBoost 200

The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway

The Date: Friday, Nov. 15

The Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio                   

Distance: 201 miles (134 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 30),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on lap 134)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 (In Alphabetical Order)

The stage is set and it can be argued that the cream has risen to the top this season as the four winningest drivers will be contending for the championship this Sunday in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and  SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). 

That foursome, comprised of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., as well as Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, account for 21 victories in the 35 races leading up to Sunday’s finale.

Of note, last year’s Championship 4 (Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Truex and Logano) combined for 22 wins through the opening 35 events.

Truex leads the pack with seven wins this season – the same number he had tallied heading into Miami the year he won the championship (2017). Hamlin trails slightly with six wins and Harvick and Busch have four victories apiece.

Three of the four drivers are former champions – Truex (2017), Busch (2015) and Harvick (2014) – with Hamlin looking for his first Cup title.

Here’s an in-depth look at the championship contenders in 2019: 

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

By The Numbers:

1 – Number of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series titles Kyle Busch has won (2015).

1 – Number of wins Kyle Busch has posted at Homestead-Miami Speedway – 2015 (tied with Championship 4 drivers Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.)

4 – Number of top-five finishes Kyle Busch has posted at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

5 – Number of times Kyle Busch has made it to the Championship 4 in the current Playoff format (tied with Kevin Harvick for the most Championship 4 appearances).

4 – Number of Monster Energy Cup Series wins Kyle Busch posted in 2019 (Phoenix-1, Fontana, Bristol-1, Pocono-1)

7 – Number of top-10 finishes Kyle Busch has posted at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

9.2 – Busch’s average finish during the entire 2019 season.

11 – Stage wins in 2019 – tied with Joey Logano for most in series.

12.11 – Busch’s average finish during the first nine races of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs

12.5 – Busch’s average starting position during the 2019 season

16 – Number of top-five finishes Kyle Busch has posted this season.

17.4 – Busch’s average finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway

26 – Number of top-10 finishes Kyle Busch has posted during the 2019 season

99.8 – Kyle Busch’s career driver rating at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

107.5 – Season-to-date driver rating, tops in the series.

343 – Total number of laps led at Homestead-Miami Speedway by Kyle Busch (second best among the Championship 4)

1462 – Total number of laps led in 2019 season

Busch eyeing multi-Cup championships club

After winning the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship in dramatic come-from-behind fashion, Kyle Busch is looking to become just the 16th driver in series history to win two or more championships when he races in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

Busch would be joining prestigious company:

Drivers with Multiple Championships (1949-2018)
RankNo. of TitlesDriversYears
17Jimmie Johnson2016, ‘13, ’10, ‘09, ‘08, ‘07, ‘06


Dale Earnhardt1994, ’93, ‘91, ‘90, ‘87, ‘86, ‘80


Richard Petty1979, ‘75, ‘74, ‘72, ‘71, ‘67, ‘64
44Jeff Gordon2001, ‘98, ‘97, ‘95
53Darrell Waltrip1985, ‘82, ‘81


Cale Yarborough1978, ‘77, ‘76


David Pearson1969, ‘68, ‘66


Lee Petty1959, ‘58, ‘54


Tony Stewart2011, ‘05, ‘02
102Terry Labonte1996, ‘84


Ned Jarrett1965, ‘61


Joe Weatherly1963, ‘62


Buck Baker1957, ‘56


Tim Flock1955, ‘52


Herb Thomas1953, ‘51
* 15 total multiple Monster Energy Series champions

Kyle Busch will have to battle two other Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers also looking for their second series championship in Martin Truex Jr. (2017) and Kevin Harvick (2014).

Regular season champion looking to reign in the end

Kyle Busch earned the 2019 Monster Energy Series regular season championship with four wins, 13 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes through the opening 26 races. He tied a series all-time record with 11 consecutive top-10 finishes to start the season.

This marks the fifth consecutive year Busch has won at least four races and he’s won multiple races in 11 of his 15 fulltime seasons. His pole-winning lap at Phoenix’s ISM Raceway last week marked the first pole position of the season – extending his run of seasons with a pole win to 12 straight years (and 14 of his 15 full-time seasons overall).

Certainly, Busch established himself as championship-ready from the drop of the first green flag this season – reeling off that streak of top-10 finishes and becoming the first driver to hoist four trophies this year. He’d now like to become the first active driver since Jimmie Johnson won his record-tying seventh season title in 2016 to repeat as Monster Energy Series champion.

This is Busch’s fifth consecutive Championship 4 appearance at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway. His lone win at the track came in 2015 resulting in his first series championship. He was runner-up to Martin Truex Jr. in 2017 and finished fourth last year.

Busch has momentum at Miami

For years it appeared the Homestead-Miami Speedway was a thorn in Kyle Busch’s side – a rare venue on the schedule where the certain future NASCAR Hall of Famer struggled to find Victory Lane. He found it when it mattered most, however, winning the 2015 race and his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Since hoisting the champion’s trophy, Busch has three top-10 finishes, including a championship near-miss of runner-up to Martin Truex Jr. in 2017. He finished fourth last year.

Although Busch won the 2019 regular season championship, he hasn’t hoisted a race trophy since June 2 at Pocono. But that might not be of concern for Busch. Of the five Playoff seasons in which Busch has qualified for the Championship 4 (2015-present), twice (2015 and 2016) he did not win during the nine-race Playoff stretch that set the final quartet of championship contenders. In 2015, however, he still went on to claim the championship.

Busch has seven top-10 finishes in 14 starts at the South Florida 1.5-miler, including six in the last seven seasons. His one win came in 2015 when he led only 41 laps and held off Kevin Harvick by 1.552-seconds for the race victory that secured that Cup title.

Adam Stevens: The man atop the pit box 

Since pairing up in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with Kyle Busch in 2015, crew chief Adam Stevens has shown that he is one of the best crew chiefs in the sport.

The Busch-Stevens pair has combined for the following achievements in 126 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races together since 2015:

·         26 wins

·         80 top fives

·         114 top 10s

·         6,925 laps led

·         15 Busch Pole awards

·         One Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship (2015)

·         Five consecutive Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 appearances

·         Six consecutive Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs appearances

The two will look to capture their second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship together this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. If they accomplish the feat, Stevens will become just the 15th different crew chief in the series with multiple titles. 

Coach Gibbs pursuing fifth championship

How do you follow-up a hall of fame football coaching career that included three championships at the highest level of your sport?

With four – and counting – championships at the highest level of motorsports.

Coach Joe Gibbs led the Washington Redskins to Super Bowl titles in 1983, ’88 and ’92. His Joe Gibbs Racing stable has won Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships with Bobby Labonte (2000), Tony Stewart (2002, 2005) and Kyle Busch (2015). Toss in two NASCAR Xfinity Series crowns in 2009 with Kyle Busch and 2016 with Daniel Suarez, and easy to understand why Gibbs was chosen this year for the NASCAR Hall of Fame – the second professional sports hall of fame for the former football coach.

The odds certainly seem stacked in his favor this year to add to that legacy. Three of the four Cup Series championship eligible drivers are Joe Gibbs Racing competitors – Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. All four of his Monster Energy Series team drivers – also including Erik Jones – qualified for the 2019 Playoffs. And his NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell won a series-best eight races and will contend for that series championship at Homestead as well.

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

By The Numbers:

0 – Number of career DNFs at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 14 career starts. He is the only Playoff driver without a DNF at the track.

2 – Number of wins Denny Hamlin has posted at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2009 and 2013) – most among Championship 4 drivers 

2 – Number of times Denny Hamlin has made it to the Championship 4 in the new Playoff format (2014 and 2019)

3 – Pole positions Denny Hamlin has won at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2015, 2017-18)

4 – Number of top-five finishes Denny Hamlin has posted at Homestead-Miami Speedway 

6 – Number of wins Denny Hamlin has during the 2019 season, including two during the Playoffs (Daytona-1, Texas-1, Pocono-2, Bristol-2, Kansas-2, Phoenix-2)

6 – Number of stage wins Denny Hamlin has posted during the 2019 season.

8.78 – Denny Hamlin’s average finish in first nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff races of 2019

9 – Number of top-10 finishes Denny Hamlin has recorded at Homestead-Miami Speedway

9.5 – Hamlin’s average finish during the 2019 season

10.6 – Denny Hamlin’s average finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway 

11.3 – Denny Hamlin’s average starting position during the 2019 season

19 – Number of top-five finishes Denny Hamlin has logged during the 2019 season.

23 – Number of top-10 finishes Denny Hamlin has tallied this season

96.7 – Denny Hamlin’s career driver rating at Homestead-MiamiSpeedway

97.7 – Denny Hamlin’s 2019 season-to-date driver rating

254 – Total number of laps led at Homestead-Miami Speedway by Denny Hamlin

920 – Total number of laps led in 2019