Championship 4 Set in NASCAR

At Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race in Phoenix, five drivers where battling for the final spot in the championship race. Two of them needed a win to get in, and I expected one of them to achieve it.

But it didn't happen. One was Jimmie Johnson, but his hopes went away with a flat tire. The other was Chase Elliott, and he was leading with only ten laps to go.

But Elliott was denied the Championship 4 spot when Matt Kenseth made the pass and went on to victory, his first in a long time. And it could be one of Kenseth's last races as he has no ride in 2018.

Another second place finish for Elliott, his fifth time doing so this season in his quest for his first victory. But this one was most painful missing the chance at the championship. He did manage to do some payback from a previous incident putting Denny Hamlin into the wall.

Kenseth's victory was a gift to Brad Keselowski. The end result put Keselowski into the Championship 4 by points.

As the grand finale is set to happen Sunday at Homestead-Miami, four drivers are challenging for the title. They are Martin Truex, Jr., Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Keselowski. See complete results from Phoenix.

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