Logano wins at Phoenix, makes final four for championship at Homestead

AVONDALE, Ariz. – After more than three hours of racing, NASCAR's championship field was decided over two frenzied overtime restarts.

Matt Kenseth probably should have won the Can-Am 500 on Sunday to earn an automatic berth into next week's title-deciding race. But the first attempt at a two-lap sprint to the finish went haywire and Kenseth collided with Alex Bowman.

Just like that, Joey Logano was the new leader, and defending NASCAR champion Kyle Busch was second. The two started the day tied in the standings, and any 1-2 finish would put them both in the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Logano won the race — the second time in this Chase he used a victory in an elimination race to advance — and will race for his first Sprint Cup title next Sunday. He'll be trying to give Roger Penske a season sweep during its 50th anniversary season. Simon Pagenaud won the IndyCar title in September.

"I've never felt this good about a win before," Logano said. "There was so much on the line and everyone brings their A-game when it comes to winning championships and this team did it."

Busch finished second and earned a chance to defend last year's title. He'll meet Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson, who is seeking a record-tying seventh championship, in Homestead.

JGR wound up with only two of its four Toyotas in the final, and Busch wasn't feeling celebratory. He believed his contact with Bowman triggered the accident that wrecked Kenseth's season.

Eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday were Kevin Harvick, an eight-time winner at Phoenix who had raced in the past two finales, as well as his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch. Gibbs drivers Kenseth and Denny Hamlin were also knocked out of the field.

"Disappointing would be the way to put it lightly," Kenseth said. "Finish that race five minutes before that, looked like we had a chance to go race for a championship. It was a big swing in 10 or 15 minutes."

Hamlin finished seventh after a bizarre decision not to pit with the rest of the field for track position. Although it gave him a brief lead, he was no match for drivers with fresh tires.

"I knew it was going to be an uphill climb," Hamlin said.

• NASCAR picked Sunday to enforce a rule against passing the pace car when a driver dips onto pit road for a stop. Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. were both penalized for the infraction, and the punishment was holding the car for a lap on pit road.