AVONDALE, Ariz. – Joey Logano raved all weekend about the new “Awesome Sauce” at Phoenix Raceway, which was the driver’s nickname for the substance that was put on the one-mile tri-oval to improve grip for tires and make for better racing.
The sauce did its job during an entertaining show Sunday, and so did Logano, who raced to his second NASCAR Cup Series win in three weeks by holding off fellow Ford driver Kevin Harvick during a two-lap overtime restart.
“That was a pretty intense last 30 minutes or hour of the race. A lot going on,” said Logano, the 2018 season champion. “Couldn’t be more proud of this team. Two wins already in the books. We got to keep this thing rocking.”
Also the winner two weeks ago in Las Vegas for Team Penske, the 29-year-old Logano now has 25 victories as a Cup Series driver. He overcame several tough moments, including a penalty on pit road for an uncontrolled tire and a broken jack during another stop.
A late caution triggered the two-lap overtime shootout with Logano, 2014 season champion Harvick and two-time and reigning series champ Kyle Busch all in a decent position to win. Logano had a good restart and was able to hold off Stewart-Haas Racing’s Harvick. Busch was third in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson finished fourth in a Chevrolet and SHR’s Clint Bowyer was fifth.
“Really cool to be able to race clean and hard; it’s a lot of fun,” Logano said. “Kevin is one of the best racers who has every strapped into a race car, and a stock car in particular. He’s a Hall of Famer, to say the least. When you line up against him at the end of the race, you know it’s going to be a heck of a battle.”
AP photo by Ralph Freso / NASCAR driver Joey Logano celebrates in victory lane after winning Sunday’s Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz.Pole-sitter Chase Elliott and Harvick dominated the first half of the race, but Elliott had to make a green-flag stop because of a loose front tire on the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevy and fell a lap behind the leaders. He eventually earned a free pass to get back on the lead lap and finished seventh.
On top of the improved track surface, the Phoenix race was the first under NASCAR’s new rules package for short tracks, which included a significantly smaller rear spoiler. The hope was all the changes would make for more passing and excitement during the race.
The tweaks seemed to have their desired effect. There were 20 lead changes and plenty of passing and contact back in the pack. Phoenix also is the new site of the Cup Series finale in November, when four drivers will contend for the season title.
“Hats off to NASCAR for collaborating with the teams, the track and putting on a way better race than what we saw here last year,” Logano said.
Harvick – who has won nine times in Phoenix – joined Elliott on the front row of the starting lineup. Elliott led the first 61 laps of the race before Harvick beat him off pit road after the first caution.
Harvick had his fourth top-10 finish in four races to start this season, but he was disappointed he couldn’t get past Logano at the end.
“Joey was just good enough to run a couple laps there and get where I needed to be on track position,” Harvick said.
SHR’s Cole Custer was the highest-finishing rookie in ninth place.
An early wreck involved three of the front-runners, including Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. Hamlin’s Toyota made contact with the left rear of Keselowski’s Ford as they were fighting for position after a restart. The collision left Blaney with nowhere to go, and all three ended up with at least minor damage to their cars after sliding up into the wall.
Keselowski and Hamlin were able to stay in the race, but Blaney’s car was too heavily damaged to continue. Keselowski eventually led 82 laps before settling for an 11th-place finish.
Hamlin won the Daytona 500 to open the season and also won at Phoenix last November, but he finished 20th on Sunday. It was a bit of bad luck for Blaney, who was the Cup Series points leader coming into the race and agreed to a multiyear extension with Penske on Friday. He finished 37th.
“It stinks we get taken out early like that,” Blaney said, “but that’s just part of it.”
Blaney fell to sixth in the overall points standings after the race. Harvick is the new leader, with Logano in second.
Martin Truex Jr. had to start from the back of the 38-car field because of an engine change before Sunday’s race. Teh JGR driver initially qualified 12th
John Hunter Nemechek also had to drop to the back row because of a radiator change. He had qualified 26th.
Truex was able to recover quickly and was among the leaders – even leading 11 laps – until he hit the wall while in heavy traffic on a restart late in the race. He finished 32nd.
The Cup Series heads cross-country this week to Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Keselowski has won two of the past three races.