Joey Logano, Kyle Busch clinch final Chase spots at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Kyle Busch and Joey Logano claimed the final two spots in NASCAR's championship race with their finishes in Sunday's Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Logano won the race, which went to double overtime, and Busch was second.

With six drivers vying for only two positions in next week's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers rose to the occasion in the final 60 laps in a tense battle that stretched into overtime.

Kyle Busch will have chance to defend Sprint Cup title

On the first overtime restart, Matt Kenseth, who was leading the race, was nudged by Alex Bowman, who had dropped low on the track to block Busch. Kenseth spun out and into the outside wall, ruining his chances of advancing to the finale. Busch and Logano zoomed by.

Logano's win gave him an automatic berth to the title race -- joining Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards -- and Busch held off Denny Hamlin, whose daring pit call late in the race to stay out on older tires did not pan out, for the last spot on points.

"Man this feels so good!" Logano said from victory lane. "I never felt this good about a win before. So much on the line -- everyone brings their A-game when it comes to winning championships, and this team did it. Our team did exactly what we needed to do. Man, I feel like I won the Daytona 500 again."

Kevin Harvick, who had won six of eight Phoenix races and had never been eliminated from the current Chase format, failed to win and did not advance to the final. He will join Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch in missing the cut.

Johnson will be going for his seventh title, which would tie him with NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Edwards seeks his first title after losing on a tie-breaker to Tony Stewart in 2011.

Busch will try to become the first driver to successfully defend his title under this Chase format.

And Logano is going for his first title, but has advanced to his second finale.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

Can-Am 500

Sunday's results from the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway (starting position in parentheses):

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.

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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.

Lap Leaders: A.Bowman 1-92; J.Logano 93-119; J.Johnson 120-132; A.Bowman 133; J.Logano 134-156; A.Bowman 157-257; D.Hamlin 258-261; M.Kenseth 262-316; J.Logano 317-324

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): A.Bowman, 3 times for 191 laps; J.Logano, 3 times for 55 laps; M.Kenseth, 1 time for 54 laps; J.Johnson, 1 time for 12 laps; D.Hamlin, 1 time for 3 laps.

Wins: Ky.Busch, 4; K.Harvick, 4; J.Johnson, 4; B.Keselowski, 4; M.Truex, 4; C.Edwards, 3; D.Hamlin, 3; M.Kenseth, 2; J.Logano, 2; C.Buescher, 1; Ku.Busch, 1; K.Larson, 1; T.Stewart, 1.

Top 16 in Points: 1. J.Logano, 5000; 2. J.Johnson, 5000; 3. C.Edwards, 5000; 4. Ky.Busch, 5000; 5. M.Kenseth, 2296; 6. D.Hamlin, 2288; 7. Ku.Busch, 2268; 8. M.Truex, 2266; 9. B.Keselowski, 2261; 10. C.Elliott, 2255; 11. K.Harvick, 2250; 12. K.Larson, 2247; 13. J.McMurray, 2195; 14. A.Dillon, 2194; 15. T.Stewart, 2192; 16. C.Buescher, 2152.