Joey Logano, Kyle Busch in NASCAR final 4 with 1-2 Phoenix finish
After more than three hours of racing, NASCAR’s championship field was decided over two frenzied overtime restarts.
Matt Kenseth probably should have won Sunday to earn an automatic berth into next week’s title-deciding race.
[...] the first attempt at a two-lap sprint to the finish went haywire and Kenseth collided with Alex Bowman.
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.
Eliminated from the playoffs 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.
Hamlin finished seventh after a bizarre decision not to pit with the rest of the field for track position.
Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway