One week removed from letting out his frustrations on Joey Logano’s face, Kyle Busch looked liked like he was well on his way to channeling his aggression toward a victory on Sunday.
Then Logano blew a tire and cost Busch the win, clearing the way for Ryan Newman to take the checkers at the Camping World 500 in Phoenix.
MORE: Busch, Logano not penalized for post-race fight
With Busch leading, Logano blew a tire with five laps to go that forced a caution. Busch then lost his lead to Kyle Larson off pit road, and Newman ended up taking the lead on the subsequent restart to win it in overtime.
If Logano’s tire didn’t burst, Busch most likely would have been in victory lane. He was leading by nearly four seconds before the caution.
Larson finished second, followed by Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski.
Newman gambled by choosing not to go to pit road during the caution, deciding to stay out late with worn tires. It paid off as he earned his first victory since 2013, snapping a 127-race winless streak.
MORE: Squelching heat forces Dale Earnhardt Jr. to cool down any way he can
Below are the complete results.
Ryan Newman Kyle Larson Kyle Busch Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Brad Keselowski Kevin Harvick Daniel Suarez Erik Jones Jimmie Johnson Denny Hamlin Martin Truex Jr. Chase Elliott Clint Bowyer Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jamie McMurray Ty Dillon Aric Almirola Austin Dillon Trevor Bayne Kasey Kahne Paul Menard Danica Patrick Ryan Blaney Michael McDowell Kurt Busch AJ Allmendinger Chris Buescher Landon Cassill Matt DiBenedetto Reed Sorenson Joey Logano Timmy Hill Derrike Cope Cole Whitt David Ragan Gray Gaulding Matt Kenseth Corey LaJoie Jeffrey Earnhardt
The 312-lap, 500-kilometers race was divided into three stages. Stage 1 ended on Lap 75; Stage 2 on Lap 150; Stage 3 on Lap 162.
Logano started from the pole and led all but one of the first 75 laps to win Stage 1. The top ten finishers in Stage 1, and their points earned, are below.
- Joey Logano 10 2. Kyle Larson 9 3. Brad Keselowski 8 4. Chase Elliott 7 5. Jamie McMurray 6 6. Kyle Busch 5 7. Ryan Blaney 4 8. Jimmie Johnson 3 9. Ryan Newman 2 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1
Chase Elliott made a three-wide pass on Lap 85 to unseat Logano, and any chance of Logano coming back and winning another stage went bye-bye he was called for speeding on pit road.
Logano sped on pit road while the race was under caution caused by Corey LaJoie’s second accident. Logano was sent to the rear.
Elliott ended up holding on to the lead and win Stage 2. Stage 2’s top 10 finishers are below.
Chase Elliott 10 Kyle Larson 9 Kyle Busch 8 Jimmie Johnson 7 Brad Keselowski 6 Jamie McMurray 5 Erik Jones 4 Ryan Blaney 3 Denny Hamlin 2 Kevin Harvick. 1
Highlights
It was extremely hot in Phoenix. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did all he could to stay cool, including stuffing a giant bag of ice in his fire suit.
Logano won Stage 1 by leading all but one of the 75 laps. He held off a late push by Kyle Larson to earn 10 race points and one playoff point.
10 laps into Stage 2, Chase Elliott made a three-wide pass on Lap 85 to unseat Logano.
Later in Stage 2 we almost had some drama between Busch and Logano, but Joey calmly let Busch pass him on Lap 106.
Elliott held onto his lead to win Stage 2. He earned 10 race points and one playoff point as the winner.
Matt Kenseth went hard into the wall on Lap 192 to bring out the caution flag.
Here’s what Kenseth had to say about the wreck.
Earnhardt had a tough day.
Follow along for live updates and observations from Phoenix
A Twitter List by sn_nascar
Here’s how things started:
Joey Logano Ryan Blaney Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kyle Larson Jamie McMurray Brad Keselowski Chase Elliott Erik Jones Kyle Busch Kasey Kahne Kurt Busch Matt Kenseth Clint Bowyer Jimmie Johnson Ty Dillon Martin Truex Jr. Austin Dillon Paul Menard Denny Hamlin AJ Allmendinger Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ryan Newman Kevin Harvick Trevor Bayne Michael McDowell Danica Patrick Daniel Suarez Aric Almirola Landon Cassill Matt DiBenedetto Corey LaJoie Cole Whitt Chris Buescher David Ragan Reed Sorenson Gray Gaulding Derrike Cope Jeffrey Earnhardt Timmy Hill
NOTE: Hamlin will start at the rear of the field after a puncture in one of his qualifying tires forced a tire change.
