Stage 2 recap: Logano sweeps the first two segments
Joey Logano swept the stages in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Phoenix Raceway, earning max points in the first two frames (live on USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The race is the seventh of 10 postseason events in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
Chase Briscoe finished second, followed by Christopher Bell, Josh Berry and Bubba Wallace. Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Todd Gilliland and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10 and points earners.
RELATED: Live leaderboard | At-track photos: Phoenix
Logano held serve after pit stops during the Stage 1 break, restarting from the top spot after taking right-side tires.
But that advantage didn’t last long as Bell snuck past the three-time champion in Turn 2 to take his first lead of the afternoon on Lap 69.
Bell jolted ahead to a multi-second advantage, but as the stint progressed and tires began to wear out, Logano reeled the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Bell darted for pit road on Lap 123, taking four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel and handing the lead to Logano.
Hamlin pitted moments later from just outside the top 10, executing a clean four-tire stop after a hang-up on the left-rear last time down.
MORE: Full Stage 2 results
Midway through service, Brad Keselowski spun entering pit road, nudging the rear of Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. The race stayed green.
Blaney pitted on Lap 127, along with Larson — who continued plummeting through the field. Logano surrendered the lead for service a lap later, and Bell cycled back to the lead with the No. 22 Team Penske Ford seven seconds behind him – but with a tire advantage.
Larson, who entered Sunday’s race with the series lead, cycled to 27th, a lap down and multiple spots behind the free-pass position.
On Lap 157, Austin Dillon suffered a flat tire entering Turn 3, bringing out the second caution for incident of the afternoon.
The leaders came down pit road for service, with most drivers electing to take four tires. Logano eked past Bell as the first car off, setting him up for the lead on the restart.
Because all lead-lap cars pitted, that allowed for Larson to take the wave around and return to the lead lap — a key development for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet near the race’s midpoint.
Logano held serve on the restart as Briscoe jumped into second, the highest the No. 19 driver has run in his quest for three straight wins.
With 15 laps left in the stage, John Hunter Nemechek suffered a tire issue, but nursed his No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota to pit road, and the race stayed green the rest of the frame.
Stage 1 recap: Logano wins opening frame
Joey Logano won Stage 1 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Phoenix Raceway, leading the final nine laps of the opening frame in the desert. It’s the seventh of 10 postseason events in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
Denny Hamlin finished second by a hair over Christopher Bell, followed by Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe. William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick and Josh Berry rounded out the top 10 and points earners.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results | Watch Logano win Stage 1
Blaney, the polesitter, jumped out to the lead on the initial start and paced the first 44 laps until the first caution of the afternoon. Michael McDowell and Riley Herbst crashed in Turn 4 while battling for 20th, Herbst contacting the No. 71 Chevrolet from behind after close-quarters racing down the backstretch.
That resulted in the first batch of pit stops. Hamlin, Byron and Elliott each took two tires and were the first three drivers off pit road. Larson, who started 22nd and gained only a minuscule position during the first stint, also took two and lined up fifth. Blaney had a slow four-tire stop and dropped to eighth in the running order.
But it was Logano, who elected for four tires, who passed Hamlin on Lap 51 to win the stage. Larson struggled on two tires and plummeted back to 22nd, where he started the 312-lap event and did not earn points.
This story will be updated.