{"id":6882,"date":"2016-11-13T23:28:34","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T05:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=6882"},"modified":"2016-11-16T18:34:13","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T00:34:13","slug":"joey-logano-advances-to-championship-4-with-hard-fought-win-at-phoenix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/11\/13\/joey-logano-advances-to-championship-4-with-hard-fought-win-at-phoenix\/","title":{"rendered":"Joey Logano advances to Championship 4 with hard-fought win at Phoenix"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Joey

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer<\/b><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

AVONDALE, Ariz. \u2013<\/span><\/span><\/strong> Joey Logano earned a return trip to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway after a year\u2019s absence.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle Busch will head to the South Florida track to try to defend his 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Joey

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

And Kevin Harvick won\u2019t be competing for the title for the first time since NASCAR debuted its elimination Chase format in 2014. Needing a victory to advance, as it turned out, Harvick finished fourth in Sunday\u2019s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In a race that featured spectacular side-by-side racing and a substitute driver who dominated the first 250 laps of the event after starting from the pole, Logano beat Busch to the finish line by .587 seconds in the second of two overtimes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Logano\u2019s first victory at the one-mile track couldn\u2019t have been timelier. The win \u2013 his third of the season and the 17th of his career \u2013 gave Logano an automatic berth in the Championship 4 race, set for next Sunday.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“This feels so good,” said Logano, who took the lead from the fourth position when a wreck involving race leader Matt Kenseth, Busch and polestitter Alex Bowman ended the first attempt at overtime. “I’ve never felt this good about a win before. There was so much on the line and everyone brings their A-game when it comes to winning championships, and this team did it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Joey

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, places the winner’s decal on his car in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“Man, this feels so good. I had a good restart there at the end (in the second overtime) and holding off Kyle to try to get this thing into Miami. We’re racing for a championship now. We did exactly what we had to do. We’ve got to go to Homestead and do the same thing\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I’m speechless right now. I feel like I just won the Daytona 500 again.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Busch earned the last available spot in the season finale with his runner-up finish, but it came at the expense of Kenseth, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. Kenseth led the field to the first overtime restart on Lap 317, with Bowman beside him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From the third spot, Busch had a strong run and dived to the inside of Bowman, who went low to block. Busch shoved Bowman forward, and when Kenseth turned down from the outside lane in Turn 1, thinking he was clear, contact from Bowman\u2019s Chevrolet sent Kenseth\u2019s Toyota spinning in an accident that knocked the 2003 series champion out of the Championship 4.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Alex

Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Trotman\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

For Busch, the incident made advancing to the finale bittersweet.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Well, right now it feels pretty (lousy), but tomorrow it might feel a lot better,” Busch said. “I’m not sure, depends on what Matt’s interpretation is, and whether or not he can forgive. You know, I just feel really bad about what happened there on that last restart. It just wasn’t what I anticipated having happen, and I just feel bad. The 20 (Kenseth) should have been the Gibbs car to go through, and I was just trying to make a position there on the 88, felt like I was to his inside and had the position\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“It translated into the 20 crashing. That’s not how at all I foresaw that going. I was hoping I could get the 88 underneath him and force him up and have him kind of block the 22 and check up the outside row and then I could have a position between me and the 22 and get myself and the 20 in. Math just didn’t quite work out that way today.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In a race that went 12 laps beyond its scheduled distance of 312 laps, Kyle Larson ran third, followed by Harvick, Kurt Busch, Bowman and Denny Hamlin. Like Kenseth, who finished 21st after the late wreck, Harvick, Hamlin and Kurt Busch all were eliminated from the Chase.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cars

Cars race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hamlin finished six points behind JGR teammate Kyle Busch in the race for the last Championship 4 berth.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Driving in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bowman led the first 92 laps and 194 overall in posting the best finish of his career. But his strong performance tinged with regret.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“We’re all here to win races and doing everything we can to win races,” said Bowman, who grew up in nearby Tucson. “I don’t think Kyle wrecked Matt. I don’t think I wrecked Matt. I think the situation, it just all, it all happened like that. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s unfortunate. But I don’t think you can really place the blame on one person. It just sucks for Matt. I don’t know Matt. He’s probably really mad at me right now, I’d imagine, but hopefully we can move past it and race clean at Homestead.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Can-Am 500<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Phoenix International Raceway<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Avondale, Arizona<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday, November 13, 2016<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

               1. (4) Joey Logano (C), Ford, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               2. (19) Kyle Busch (C), Toyota, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               3. (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               4. (6) Kevin Harvick (C), Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               5. (12) Kurt Busch (C), Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               6. (1) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               7. (5) Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               8. (8) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               9. (3) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               10. (20) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               11. (9) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               12. (15) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               13. (13) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               14. (14) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               15. (25) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               16. (24) Greg Biffle, Ford, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               17. (18) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               18. (22) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               19. (11) Carl Edwards (C), Toyota, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               20. (28) Landon Cassill, Ford, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               21. (10) Matt Kenseth (C), Toyota, 324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               22. (27) Aric Almirola, Ford, 322.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               23. (21) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 322.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               24. (34) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 322.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               25. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 322.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               26. (36) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 321.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               27. (29) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 321.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               28. (23) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 321.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               29. (16) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 320.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               30. (33) Brian Scott #, Ford, 319.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               31. (31) David Ragan, Toyota, 319.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               32. (30) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 318.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               33. (35) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Ford, 318.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               34. (26) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 318.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               35. (39) * DJ Kennington(i), Chevrolet, 316.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               36. (38) * Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 315.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               37. (37) * Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 296.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               38. (17) Jimmie Johnson (C), Chevrolet, 296.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               39. (7) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 289.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               40. (40) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Accident, 258.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  102.866 mph.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 08 Mins, 59 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.587 Seconds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  9 for 53 laps.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  8 among 5 drivers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   A. Bowman(i) 1-92; J. Logano (C) 93-119; J. Johnson (C) 120-132; A. Bowman(i) 133; J. Logano (C) 134-156; A. Bowman(i) 157-257; D. Hamlin (C) 258-261; M. Kenseth (C) 262-316; J. Logano (C) 317-324.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  A. Bowman(i) 3 times for 194 laps; J. Logano (C) 3 times for 58 laps; M. Kenseth (C) 1 time for 55 laps; J. Johnson (C) 1 time for 13 laps; D. Hamlin (C) 1 time for 4 laps.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Top 16 in Points: J. Logano (C) – 4,118; Kyle Busch (C) – 4,113; D. Hamlin (C) – 4,107; M. Kenseth (C) – 4,094; K. Harvick (C) – 4,093; J. Johnson (C) – 4,078; Kurt Busch (C) – 4,076; C. Edwards (C) – 4,071; M. Truex Jr. – 2,266; B. Keselowski – 2,261; C. Elliott # – 2,255; K. Larson – 2,247; J. Mcmurray – 2,195; A. Dillon – 2,194; T. Stewart – 2,192; C. Buescher # – 2,152.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz. \u2013 Joey Logano earned a return trip to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway after a year\u2019s absence. Kyle Busch will head to the South Florida track to try to defend his 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title. And Kevin Harvick won\u2019t be competing for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[154,16,94],"class_list":["post-6882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-joey-logano","tag-nascar","tag-phoenix-international-raceway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/PIR_NSCS_VL_111316-e1479342575270.jpg?fit=625%2C416&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-1N0","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6882"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6916,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6882\/revisions\/6916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}