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Joey Logano fends off Harvick for Phoenix Cup win in OT

Joey Logano held off a determined Kevin Harvick in a two-lap overtime shootout to become the first two-time winner of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Race Winner: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang

Race Winner: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang

John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images

Race Winner: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang
Race Winner: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang
Race Winner: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang
Race Winner: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Mustang Shell Pennzoil

A late-race caution set up the two-lap overtime and Harvick appeared determined to get to Logano’s bumper before the finish. Harvick got close on the final lap but couldn’t quite make the attempt before the checkered flag.

The win in Sunday’s Fan Shield 500 at Phoenix Raceway is the second this season for Logano (he also won at Las Vegas), 25th of his career and second at Phoenix.

"Man, we had a really good car," Logano said. "We had more things go wrong today. Unfortunate situation with the jack brake. No one's fault. Had some good restarts, get ourselves back up there, being aggressive, having some tires there towards the end.  

"I knew racing Kevin was going to be hard. I was figuring I was going to get hit, so I throttled up in the corner so much, I thought he was going to give me the bump‑n‑run, which I expected, wouldn't blame him for. That was a pretty intense last 30 minutes or hour of the race. A lot going on. Couldn't be more proud of this team.  

"Two wins already in the books. We got to keep this thing rocking."

 

Logano’s win Sunday was never a given – he overcame a pair of problems on pit road during the race, an uncontrolled tire penalty and a broken jack.

Kyle Busch ended up third, Kyle Larson fourth and Clint Bowyer completed the top-five.

Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Cole Custer and William Byron.

Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, all the lead-lap cars pit with Keselowski the first off pit road. On the restart on Lap 200, he was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch and Harvick.

By Lap 210, Elliott was back running in the top-10 and Keselowski remained in the lead with Harvick about 2 seconds behind in second.

On Lap 214, Quin Houff’s car appeared to blow up and he hit the Turn 2 wall, which brought out a caution. The lead-lap cars pit with Truex the first off pit road, taking just two new tires.

On the restart on Lap 222, he was followed by Reddick and Erik Jones, who also took two new tires. Logano, who restarted fourth, was the first car that took four tires.

Logano, on four new tires, got around Truex on Lap 225 to take the lead.

With 85 laps to go, Harvick had moved into the second spot while Elliott had re-entered the top-five in fifth.

After an intense several laps of stalking Logano, Harvick was able to get around him for the lead with 62 laps remaining.

On Lap 254, Jones, who was running 15th, wrecked off Turn 2 to bring out a caution. All the lead-lap cars pit with Harvick the first off pit road. On the restart on Lap 259, Harvick was followed by Logano and Brad Keselowski.

Logano went to the inside and moved back into the lead shortly after the restart.

On Lap 265, Reddick drifted up high in Turn 2 and pounded the wall to bring out a caution. Most lead-lap cars pit but Keselowski and eight others stayed out and he took over the lead on the restart on Lap 272. Harvick restarted 10th, the first car off pit road with new tires.

Larson passed Keselowski and Elliott on the restart to take the lead for the first time in the race on the restart. Two laps later, Keselowski was able to get back around Larson for the lead.

Another caution came out when Chris Buescher hit the Turn 1 wall on Lap 277 after he developed a tire rub following contact with Christopher Bell. Some drivers pit but Keselowski remained on the track and in the lead on the restart on Lap 282.

Shortly after the restart, Almirola got into the back of Truex, who then hit Johnson but it was Truex’s No. 19 Toyota ended up with the most extensive damage and he went directly to the garage.

 

When the race restarted on Lap 289, Keselowski continued to lead followed by Bowyer, Logano, Alex Bowman and Harvick.

With 21 to go, Harvick moved into third as Keselowski tried to hold off his teammate, Logano.

With 19 to go, Logano got around Keselowski to retake the lead. Harvick continued moved in behind Keselowski to challenge for second.

On Lap 297, Harvick moved into second after making contact with Keselowski.

Ross Chastain spun between Turns 3 and 4 to bring out a caution with nine laps remaining. A handful of cars elected to pit, but Logano remained on the track and in the lead on the restart with four laps remaining. He was followed by Harvick, Kyle Busch and Larson.

With three laps left, John Hunter Nemechek and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact while racing four-wide for position to bring out the caution and send the race into overtime. Logano led the way followed by Harvick and Larson.

Stage 2

Keselowski’s Stage 2 victory was clinched when a caution was displayed on the final lap when Garrett Smithley had an engine blow in his No. 51 Chevrolet.

Elliott, who was forced to pit under green for a loose wheel, received the free pass during the caution and returned to the lead lap.

Harvick ended up second in the stage, Truex third, Reddick fourth and Kyle Busch completed the top-five.

Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, some lead-lap cars elected to pit but Harvick stayed out and remained the leader when the race returned to green on Lap 85.

On Lap 92, Elliott went to the inside of Harvick and reclaimed the lead in the race.

Austin Dillon was forced to pit under green on Lap 99 to fix a loose wheel.

Harvick was able to get back around Elliott on Lap 104 to reclaim the lead as Logano run third.

On Lap 115, Keselowski – involved in an accident in Stage 1 – moved into the runner-up position behind leader Harvick.

On Lap 130, Austin Dillon got into the wall after it appeared he had a tire go down, which brought out a caution. The lead-lap cars elected to pit with Elliott the first off pit road.

 

On the restart on Lap 138, Elliott was followed by Keselowski, Truex, Kyle Busch and Logano. Logano, however, received a penalty for an uncontrolled tire during his pit stop and had to restart from the rear of the field.

Truex powered past Elliott on the restart to take the lead for the first time in the race. On Lap 141, Elliott got back around Truex for the top spot.

With 40 laps remaining in the second stage, Elliot had moved out to a 1-second lead over Keselowski.

On Lap 156, Elliott was forced to drop down to pit road under green because of a loose wheel, which handed the lead over to Keselowski. Elliott ended up one lap down and running 28th after his stop.

With 15 laps to go in the stage, Keselowski maintained about a 1.3-second lead over Harvick with Truex in third.

Stage 1

Harvick held off Elliott on a restart with four laps remaining to claim the Stage 1 victory.

Logano was third, Matt DiBenedetto was fourth and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five.

Elliott started on the pole and after 15 laps he continued to maintain a small but steady lead over Harvick with Larson running third.

With 50 laps remaining in the first stage, the top three remained unchanged.

On Lap 35, Denny Hamlin went to the inside of Larson to claim the third position.

With 35 laps remaining in the stage, Harvick closed to challenge Elliott for the lead as DiBenedetto moved around Hamlin for the third position.

On Lap 57, Stenhouse spun and wrecked off Turn 2 to bring out the first caution of the race. He was running 18th at the time.

All of the lead-lap cars pit with Harvick the first off pit road. On the restart on Lap 64, Harvick was followed by Elliott and Hamlin. Bell was penalized for speeding on pit road and had to restart from the rear of the field.

Shortly after the restart, Hamlin got loose in Turn 3 and got into both Keselowski and Ryan Blaney. All three drivers received sizable damage to their respective cars, with Blaney immediately knocked out of the race.

 

The race returned to green on Lap 72 with Elliott still in the lead followed by Harvick and Logano. Both Hamlin and Keselowski made multiple trips to pit road for repairs.

Truex and Nemechek both had to start the race from the rear of the field – Truex for an engine change, Nemechek for a radiator change.

Read Also:

No. # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Laps Led
1 22 United States Joey Logano Ford 316   60
2 4 United States Kevin Harvick Ford 316 0.276 67
3 18 United States Kyle Busch Toyota 316 0.617  
4 42 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 316 0.891 2
5 14 United States Clint Bowyer Ford 316 1.051  
6 1 United States Kurt Busch Chevrolet 316 1.282  
7 9 United States Chase Elliott Chevrolet 316 1.400 93
8 10 United States Aric Almirola Ford 316 1.648  
9 41 United States Cole Custer Ford 316 1.954  
10 24 United States William Byron Chevrolet 316 2.182  
11 2 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 316 2.463 82
12 48 United States Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 316 2.577  
13 21 United States Matt DiBenedetto Ford 316 2.802  
14 88 United States Alex Bowman Chevrolet 316 2.804  
15 13 United States Ty Dillon Chevrolet 316 2.851  
16 34 United States Michael McDowell Ford 316 3.023  
17 17 United States Chris Buescher Ford 316 3.042 1
18 37 United States Ryan Preece Chevrolet 316 3.220  
19 43 United States Darrell Wallace Jr. Chevrolet 316 3.367  
20 11 United States Denny Hamlin Toyota 316 3.500  
21 96 Mexico Daniel Suarez Toyota 316 3.635  
22 47 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 316 3.764  
23 6 United States Ross Chastain Ford 316 3.823  
24 95 United States Christopher Bell Toyota 316 3.890  
25 38 United States John Hunter Nemechek Ford 316 4.160  
26 52 United States J.J. Yeley Ford 316 4.990  
27 32 United States Corey Lajoie Ford 316 5.597  
28 20 United States Erik Jones Toyota 313 3 laps  
29 53 United States Joey Gase Chevrolet 313 3 laps  
30 77 United States Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 312 4 laps  
31 15 United States Brennan Poole Chevrolet 292 24 laps  
32 19 United States Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 282 34 laps 11
33 8 United States Tyler Reddick Chevrolet 264 52 laps  
34 00 United States Quin Houff Chevrolet 208 108 laps  
35 51 United States Garrett Smithley Chevrolet 181 135 laps  
36 3 United States Austin Dillon Chevrolet 129 187 laps  
37 12 United States Ryan Blaney Ford 65 251 laps  
38 66 United States Timmy Hill Toyota 51 265 laps  

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