Keselowski, Harvick split the stage wins at Phoenix

Brad Keselowski benefitted from a loose wheel for Chase Elliott to take the lead on Lap 156 and cruise to the Stage 2 win in the FanShield 500 on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. For Keselowski, it was his first stage win of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season and marked quite a comeback from a Stage 1 incident that also involved Denny Hamlin and knocked Ryan Blaney out of the race.

Kevin Harvick, the winner of Stage 1, continued to show speed in Stage 2 by finishing second. Harvick lost the lead on Lap 132 to Elliott because of a slow pit stop, dropping back to sixth place, but he rebounded nicely toward the end of the stage.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Speaking of comebacks and rebounding, Martin Truex Jr. finished third in Stage 2 after starting the race at the rear for an engine change earlier in the weekend. Truex briefly held the lead in Stage 2 (Laps 138-140) when he passed to the inside of Keselowski and Elliott, who came close to banging doors while battling on the outside for the lead.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Tyler Reddick continued to impress with a fourth-place showing in Stage 2, while Kyle Busch finished fifth. Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson and Cole Custer rounded out the top 10.

Stage 1

Kevin Harvick took the lead from Chase Elliott on pit road and held on to win Stage 1 in Sunday’s FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway. The “Cactus King” was back in the lead at a track at which he already has nine NASCAR Cup Series victories.

Harvick jumped in front of Elliott with a fast pit stop after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brought out the race’s first caution flag on Lap 58 when he spun in Turn 2 and damaged the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Harvick won the stage, his first at Phoenix, despite Elliott leading 60 of the first 75 laps.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Elliott came in second in the stage with Joey Logano third, Matt DiBenedetto fourth and Kyle Busch fifth. Last week’s winner, Alex Bowman, was sixth, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones to round out the top 10. Truex dropped to the rear at the start because of an engine change earlier in the weekend.

Points leader Ryan Blaney saw his day come to an early end after he collided with Denny Hamlin, who hit Brad Keselowski, coming out of Turn 3 on Lap 64. Blaney, the points leader, was in line to finish 37th while Keselowski and Hamlin remained on the track despite the damage.