Penske Racing’s Joey Logano capitalized on Matt Kenseth’s misfortune and drove on to victory in the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Speedway on Sunday. In a contest that involved competitive racing throughout, and seen a fill-in driver dominate the first 250 laps of the event after starting from the pole. Logano out-sprinted Kyle Busch to the checkered flag by .587 seconds in the second of two re-starts in overtime.
Overall, it was Joey Logano’s first win at the one-mile oval and couldn’t have came at a better time. The victory was the speedsters third of 2016 and the 17th of his racing career. More importantly, it gave the youngster an automatic berth into the Championship 4 race, set for next Sunday.
“This feels so good,” said Joey Logano, who took the lead from the fourth position when a wreck involving race leader Matt Kenseth, Busch and pole-sitter Alex Bowman ended the first attempt at overtime. I’ve also never felt this good about a win before. There was also so much on the line and everyone brings their A-game when it comes to winning championships, and this team did it. I’m speechless right now. I also feel like I just won the Daytona 500 again.”
Kyle Busch championed the last available position in the season finale with his second-place finish. It was bitter-sweet because it came at the expense of Matt Kenseth. Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth, led the pack to the first overtime restart on Lap 317, with Hendrick Motorsport’s Alex Bowman beside him.
From the third position, “Rowdy” Busch had gathered plenty of momentum and dived to the inside of Alex Bowman. Bowman, who tried to salvage his spot, dove down low to block. Last season’s champion shoved Bowman forward, and Matt Kenseth turned down from the outside thinking he was clear.
The melee resulted in contact from Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet, that sent Kenseth’s Toyota spinning out of control. Unfortunately, that was all she wrote for the 2003 series champion. Kenseth was officially eliminated from the championship 4 for the race in Miami next week.
“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.”
The Can-Am 500 went 12 revolutions past its scheduled distance of 312 laps. Rousch Racing’s Kyle Larson crossed the finish line in third. The youngster was followed by veteran Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin.
Like Matt Kenseth, who finished 21st after the debacle, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch all were wiped clean from Chase. Hamlin ended up six points behind teammate Kyle Busch in the race for the last Championship 4 spot.
Filling in for fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., Alex Bowman led the first 92 laps and 194 circuits overall. His final result, was his best career finish in his Sprint Cup career. Regretfully, his impressive effort was also bitter-sweet.
“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. He also don’t think I wrecked Matt. I think the situation, it just all, it all happened like that. It’s unfortunate. But I don’t think you can really place the blame on one person. It also 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.”
Final Results for the Can-am 500 from Phoenix International Speedway:
1. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 324 laps, 44 points.
2. (19) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 324, 39.
3. (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 324, 38.
4. (6) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 324, 37.
5. (12) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 324, 36.
6. (1) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 324, 0.
7. (5) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 324, 35.
8. (8) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 324, 33.
9. (3) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 324, 32.
10. (20) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 324, 31.
11. (9) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 324, 30.
12. (15) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 324, 29.
13. (13) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 324, 28.
14. (14) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 324, 27.
15. (25) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 324, 26.
16. (24) Greg Biffle, Ford, 324, 25.
17. (18) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 324, 24.
18. (22) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 324, 23.
19. (11) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 324, 22.
20. (28) Landon Cassill, Ford, 324, 21.
21. (10) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 324, 21.
22. (27) Aric Almirola, Ford, 322, 19.
23. (21) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 322, 18.
24. (34) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 322, 17.
25. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 322, 16.
26. (36) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 321, 15.
27. (29) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 321, 14.
28. (23) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 321, 13.
29. (16) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 3212.
30. (33) Brian Scott, Ford, 319, 11.
31. (31) David Ragan, Toyota, 319, 10.
32. (30) Chris Buescher, Ford, 318, 9.
33. (35) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ford, 318, 8.
34. (26) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 318, 7.
35. (39) D.J. Kennington, Chevrolet, 316, 0.
36. (38) Reed Sorenson, Ford, 315, 5.
37. (37) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, fuelpump, 296, 4.
38. (17) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 296, 4.
39. (7) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 289, 2.
40. (40) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, accident, 258, 1.
Race Statistics:
Average Speed of Race Winner: 102.865 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 22 minutes, 25 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.500 seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 53 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 5 drivers.
