Elliott races into NASCAR championship; Harvick eliminated

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Kevin Harvick’s nearly perfect season came to a spinning and sudden halt Sunday when he was bounced from the playoffs in a stunning upset at Martinsville Speedway. Chase Elliott won the high-stakes final race to earn his first berth in the championship four. It knocked Harvick, a nine-race winner and the regular season champion, from the title round after a stunning collapse. Elliott will race next week at Phoenix for the championship against Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin. Harvick fell eight points short of advancing.