This is the fourth installment in a series where NASCAR.com looks back at each race this season and gets you caught up for Sunday’s return at Darlington Raceway. The FanShield 500 took place on March 8, 2020 at Phoenix Raceway.
WINNER: Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, held off blue oval stablemate Kevin Harvick in NASCAR Overtime to pick up his second win of the season. Logano led 60 of 316 laps for his 25th career NASCAR Cup Series win.
KEY MOMENTS: Logano expected a bump from Harvick in the two-lap overtime, but it never came. Instead, Harvick pulled up beside Logano in the center of Turns 1 and 2 on the final lap, but Logano sped away with a hard charge off Turn 2 and cruised to the finish line with a margin of .276 seconds. The 2018 champ rebounded from a few snafus earlier in the race and used a bold pit strategy to regain the lead late.
RELATED: Full results from race
KEY DRIVERS: Though Harvick was disappointed to come up short at his best track, the runner-up finish was his fourth in the top 10 in four 2020 races — the only driver to do that. Rookie Cole Custer, Harvick’s teammate, landed in the top 10 as well, placing ninth for his best-ever Cup Series finish. Chase Elliott led a race-high 93 laps, but a loose wheel sunk his race on Lap 156. Kyle Busch finished third, for just his second top 10 of the season and his second straight top-three finish. Rookie Tyler Reddick battled with the leaders at times, as well, before mechanical issues ended his day early.
KEY TAKEAWAYS: The biggest takeaway was how clearly, at that time, things were pointing toward 2020 being the year of Logano, and really Team Penske as a whole. This likely will still be the case when NASCAR resumes racing, but it’ll be interesting to see if any of the momentum has been lost after the layover. Busch also seems to have regained some footing after a rocky start to the season, by his standards. The Phoenix race also was the first to deploy the new rules package designed for short tracks and road courses, which wound up putting on an exceptionally competitive race and drew positive feedback from industry voices and drivers.
2020 SEASON REFRESHERS
- Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway (Feb. 17, 2020)
- Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Feb. 23, 2020)
- Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway (March 1, 2020)
- FanShield 500 at Phoenix Raceway (March 8, 2020)