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AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Matt Kenseth wasn't involved in the crash that forced Sunday's Can-Am 500 into overtime.
Unfortunately for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, he was involved in the one that took place during the extended period.
From potential race winner and championship finalist to a 21st-place finish and no opportunity to win the big one for a second time in his career.
All within the span of a single restart.
One of six drivers vying for the remaining two positions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' title-determining event next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kenseth held the upper hand in the closing laps. He led the surprisingly quick Alex Bowman with less than two laps remaining when Michael McDowell crashed in Turn 3 to bring out the caution flag.
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On the ensuing overtime restart, JGR teammate Kyle Busch, running third, tried to shoot inside Bowman, who dropped low to block; Bowman wiggled but corrected and tucked low going into Turn 1 to get beneath Kenseth. Kenseth wasn't aware of Bowman's position, and the No. 20 Toyota slid up the track and backed into the outside wall.
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Kenseth said he didn't know what happened to cause the accident. His spotter Chris Osborne "said I was clear," he said, "and I came to the bottom in Turn 1 because I certainly wanted to be at the bottom and be in front of (Bowman) going into Turn 2 and then I was in the wall.
"Obviously it's more than disappointing; we still had the race in control even on that last restart and I ended up giving it away."
The incident allowed Joey Logano to streak past for the lead, and the Team Penske driver held on for the win on the ensuing restart. Busch finished second to secure the final Championship berth.
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There's no way to digest what happened, Jason Ratcliff, Kenseth's crew chief, said afterward.
"You don't," he said. "You're half a lap away from getting the white flag and I don't know what happened to the 95 (of McDowell) but … really?
"It's disappointing. I thought we did everything we needed to do execution-wise It's a shame to come up short like that."
Besides Kenseth, who led 55 laps, teammate Denny Hamlin and both Stewart-Haas Racing drivers Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, failed to advance.
Harvick had won six of the last eight races at the 1-mile track located 30 minutes outside of Phoenix.
Noted for his and his team's ability to score the win when most needed, the magic wasn't there this time.
WATCH: Harvick talks about team's three tough races
Harvick, who finished fourth, said the team never "got a handle" on the No. 4 Chevrolet in Phoenix, although adjustments during the race enabled him to race his way into contention in the latter stages of the event.
Kurt Busch finished fifth while Hamlin was seventh.
A decision to not pit for tires under caution with a little more than 50 laps remaining gave Hamlin the lead, but it was short-lived as Kenseth moved back in front following the restart with fresh tires.
"I knew we had an uphill climb," Hamlin said, "And I still thought we were OK."
But a subsequent caution put him on the inside for the restart "and I just got shuffled from there," he said. "We performed well this round, but not great and you need to be great to advance."