NASCAR Championship: Ford EcoBoost 400 highlights, stage results

Follow along as the Championship 4 drivers go for the title in Miami with live highlights, stage results and more.

While some fans grumble about the way the NASCAR Cup Series decides its season champion, at least it’s easy to understand when the final race arrives at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Championship 4 of Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick all have their points equalized for the Ford EcoBoost 400, and whoever finishes the highest wins.

In the NASCAR Playoffs era, that has meant winning the race at Homestead, and considering this particular foursome combined to win 22 of the 35 races prior to this weekend, it likely will this year as well. Three of the four started the race in the top five spots, so they will be close to the lead right from the get-go.

After everything that goes into a successful season, it’s all come down to 400 miles in Miami to crown a champ.

Stage 1

Pole-winner Denny Hamlin got off to a good start at the drop of the green flag, with teammate and title contender Kyle Busch falling in behind him in second.

Logano got past his teammate Brad Keselowski to claim third, with Truex in fifth and Harvick sneaking quickly into the top 10.

Kyle Larson, perhaps the favorite among non-championship contenders, headed for his green flag pit stop first, going for new tires on lap 36. A series of drivers followed on the next lap, including all of the Championship 4 except for Truex.

After pit stops, the 4 of Harvick came to life, and it wasn’t long before he was passing Hamlin for the race lead, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. noting that he was running much faster than the other contenders.

Non-championship contender Kyle Larson was coming on fast in the final part of the stage, running right out near the fall as he is wont to do. Larson moved to second and was closing in on the leader, running the fastest laps of anyone in the field, but he was the only car preventing the Championship 4 from all being in consecutive spots.

Harvick had a big enough lead to not need to worry about Larson, winning the stage and setting the stage for important pit stops.

Stage 1 results

(c) – Championship contender

1. Kevin Harvick (c)
2. Kyle Larson
3. Kyle Busch (c)
4. Joey Logano (c)
5. Martin Truex Jr. (c)
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Aric Almirola
8. Erik Jones
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Kurt Busch

Stage 2

Harvick did not get off to a great restart, allowing Larson to shoot out to the lead and Logano to pass him and settle right behind the 42 in second place.

Not for long, though, because Logano made it to the lead, going underneath Larson, and Harvick closed right in as well.

Larson used the high line to slice through lapped traffic and close in on Logano, then went low to get past him. Harvick followed suit, becoming the top car among the contenders in short order.

Larson was the first car to pit road again, with about 42 laps left in the stage. His Chevy showed some very light damage from contact with the outside wall, but nothing significant. Once again, the other leaders decided to follow behind him on the next lap, including Logano and Kyle Busch.

With just over 20 laps remaining in the stage, the first caution flag came out for an on-track incident, with the 20 of Erik Jones getting into the wall and leaving some debris on the track.

Larson remained in the lead upon the restart, but the Championship 4 assumed the next four spots: Harvick, Logano, Busch, Truex. Harvick, however, seemed to be heating up as the sun went down, retaking the lead, though with Larson less than a second behind and trying more lines that no one else would attempt.

On the final lap of stage 2, Larson swung up to his familiar high line again, and he managed to ride the momentum coming off turn 4 to squeak by Harvick to take the stage victory.

Stage 2 results

(c) – Championship contender

1. Kyle Larson
2. Kevin Harvick (c)
3. Joey Logano (c)
4. Martin Truex Jr. (c)
5. Aric Almirola
6. Kyle Busch (c)
7. Kurt Busch
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Jimmie Johnson
10. Clint Bowyer

Final stage

At the beginning of the final stage of 2018, three of the Championship 4 got out in front with Logano leading and Truex and Harvick right behind him. Larson fell into fourth with Kyle Busch in fifth.

As Harvick continued to have a hard time gaining ground and Larson made his way back toward the front, the driver of the 4 made it clear he wasn’t super happy with his car.

But then, trouble for the 42. Larson made contact with the wall, then tried to move down to show his spotter how much damage he suffered, but his right-rear tire went down in the process. Running the high line apparently brought an end to his spoiler bid, putting the Championship 4 in the top four spots.

One interesting subplot: Kyle Busch was told under caution that this stop would still not be enough for him to make it to the end of the race. His crew also had an issue on pit road, losing him four spots and sending him back out in eighth.

Logano chose the outside on the restart, and while Truex got the best of him early on, the 22 was able to fight back and take the lead. Harvick had to deal with Hamlin and was able to make the pass for third.

And did Logano and Truex touch while battling for the lead? They sure did.

Truex battled back to catch up to Logano with 50 laps to go, and on the next lap, he passed the 22 clean by going underneath his recent rival.

Green flag pit stops loomed as the big factor to decide the championship. Harvick came to pit road first, a lap before Logano and Truex. Harvick won that battle, but Logano was quick on slightly newer tires, while Truex had a slower stop and fell back.

Meanwhile, Kyle Busch and his team decided to keep him out on the track on old tires. That meant their hopes now rested on a late caution falling his way.

Truex also was far from finished, catching both Logano and Harvick quickly. With 23 to go, he caught Logano, though it took him another lap to make the pass.

With 20 to go, the Hail Mary paid off for Kyle Busch as the caution came out for trouble on Daniel Suarez’s No. 19 Toyota.

That left the most important pit stops of the entire 2018 season to help decide things. great stops for both Kyle Busch and Truex put the Toyotas out front, but with the other two contenders in the row behind them.

Despite Kyle Busch getting lane choice on the restart, it was Truex who got the best jump and shot out to a four-car-length lead. But it was Logano who caught and passed him, and the defending Cup Series champ ended up the hunter instead of the hunted with 10 laps to go.

Truex couldn’t run him down, and none of the other contenders were anywhere close. The shirt run speed in Logano’s car was enough to secure both the race win and his first ever Cup Series championship.

With three victories, Logano had the fewest among the Championship 4, which undoubtedly will raise more debate about NASCAR’s current playoff structure. Yet he won when it mattered most, first at Martinsville to get to Homestead and then at Miami as well.