Sprint Cup Can-Am 500 at Phoenix: Takeaways and observations
Here are five things that stood out after the Can-Am 500, the next to last Sprint Cup race before a champion is crowned for 2016.
5. A Championship Cheetah
Homestead-Miami Speedway is the scene of the final Sprint Cup race of the where a new (or repeat) champion will be crowned. Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson are looking to unseat Kyle Busch who came home with the title a year ago, but before that happens there will be thousands of predictions as to who will take the crown.
One of those prognosticators is based in Miami and is just four-years old and he will be the star seer on Tuesday now that the field has been set following Sunday’s race in Phoenix.
In partnership with Homestead-Miami Speedway, Zoo Miami will be hosting an event that features a South African cheetah named “Koda” as he make his pick.
Koda will be presented with replicas of cars of the four title hopefuls and will pick the winner by touching one of them. With the ability to go from 0-60 in four seconds, the world’s fastest land animal is perfect for the task.
Cheetahs are highly endangered cats with only an estimated 12,000 found in isolated pockets of Eastern and Southern Africa.
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
4. Close, but no cigar for Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch made the Chase because of a win in the first Pocono race and managed to make it through to the Round of 8, unfortunately, a 22nd at Martinsville and 20th last week at Texas put him in a must-win situation at Phoenix.
He gave himself a chance by qualifying 12th and as the Can-Am 500 was winding down he was positioned to make a run at the checkered flag.
“We got up to the front as high as third and sniffed the front to try to win because we had to win to advance,” he said. “We didn’t get the job done. The long run speed is where our Achilles Heel was these last few Chase races. It’s a little disappointing, maybe we can pinpoint that as our exact problem and figure out how to fix that, but really proud of Tony Gibson (crew chief) and everybody that worked on these cars all year long from Stewart-Haas Racing. You’ve got to have it all if you want to be in that championship four.”
In three years with Stewart-Haas Racing, Busch has four wins, 25 top-5 and 53 top-10 finishes, an impressive tally, however, getting that second championship is proving to be difficult.
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
3. Could Wood Brothers Racing benefit with two cars instead of one?
When it comes to one car teams, they are generally fighting an uphill battle against powerhouses like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and others. For years Front Row Racing fielded just one entry until they forged an alliance with JGR after switching from Chevrolet to Toyota and they will now spread their wings and run two in 2017.
For the Wood Brothers, one of the most storied teams in NASCAR history, this year is the first time they have run a full schedule since 2006 when Ken Schrader piloted the famed No. 21 Ford. Like everything in the sport, sponsorship is a key to keeping cars on the track. They got it and with rookie hotshoe Ryan Blaney behind the wheel, it is arguably their best season since 2003 with Ricky Rudd when he had four top-5 and five top-10 finishes.
Blaney has posted three top-5s and nine top-10s this year and is fresh off an eighth at Phoenix.
“It was a great day all around, and we’re really happy to finish in the top 10 in a tough race,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said, in a release. “Ryan drove a great race. [Crew chief] Jeremy [Bullins] made some great calls, and the crew did an outstanding job.”
The Wood Brothers have never run anything but the No. 21 since their humble beginnings in 1953 and maybe that is the way they like it. Oddly, after 35 races, WBR is 21st in owner points.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
2. Is Joe Gibbs Racing the dominant Cup team?
An argument can be made which Cup team is the best, but stock car racing is a results driven sport and no one has done more in 2016 than Joe Gibbs Racing.
Landing four cars in the Chase is a feat in itself, however, when the Round of 8 rolled around JGR had half of the field and threatened to land the entire stable of cars in the Championship Four.
While that did not happen, they still have two of the four cars that will run for the title next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. But there is a side note to all of this.
Entering the final elimination race of the season at Phoenix International Raceway, JGR was still in a position to get three of their cars in. Matt Kenseth was the race leader and was on his way to winning his way in when a late caution came out forcing overtime.
Starting from the outside lane, the No. 20 came down the track going into turn one and was not clear of Alex Bowman in the No. 88 which spun him into the outside wall. He would finish 21st, but more importantly, it ended his championship hopes.
“Such mixed emotions,” said team owner Joe Gibbs. “With Matt (Kenseth), I felt so bad for him. He drove his heart out all day long and it’s just one of those things that happens. You feel so bad for him, Dollar General, DeWALT is on that car and it’s just a sad day for him. I hate it when something like that happens.”
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Erik Jones. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
1. NASCAR is in good hands for years to come
No one knows who the title sponsor will be for NASCAR’s top series in 2017 and beyond, but there is one thing that is guaranteed, the sport has a plethora of young stars that are ready to carry it for many years to come.
While Jeff Gordon came back for a few races to help out his old boss Rick Hendrick when Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined, Chase Elliott stepped into his old No. 24 and made the Chase in his first season. So did Chris Buescher, the first time two rookies have done that since the Chase format was put into place.
While Gordon, Tony Stewart and Brian Scott will not be back in 2017, the next generation of stars has already hit the track in the form of Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Trevor Bayne, and the latest to make a case to stay in Cup, Alex Bowman.
Bowman was an unknown commodity when Hendrick hand-picked him to split seat time with Gordon when it was announced that Earnhardt would miss the rest of the season and the 23-year old simply grew into the job. In nine events he has four top-10 starts including the pole at Phoenix with three top-10 finishes, his best, a sixth, coming this past Sunday. Prior to the Can-Am 500, he had led just eight laps and flipped it to a race best 194 at PIR.
As if NASCAR isn’t blessed enough in Cup, there is another hotshoe on his way. Erik Jones will make the leap from XFINITY into the No. 77 Front Row Racing Toyota full time next year. In two full time seasons he has racked up six wins and 28 top-5s in 55 starts with a dozen poles.
The future of stock car racing is truly bright.
More from FanSided
This article originally appeared on 
