NASCAR Phoenix 2016 results: Joey Logano wins Can-Am 500

Joey Logano and Kyle Busch raced their way into the title round of NASCAR’s playoffs Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. The wild and drama-filled final laps saw Matt Kenseth crash and lose a chance at a championship, with Logano and Busch getting the final two spots.

Kenseth was leading a double-overtime restart with two laps remaining and positioned in the outside groove when not realizing second-place Alex Bowman was alongside entering Turn 1, he came down the track and made contact with Bowman. That sent Kenseth spinning into the outside wall and out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, moving Logano out front into a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.

Busch finished second, followed by Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch.

“I’ve never felt this good about a win before,” Logano said. “There was so much on the line and everyone brings their A-game when it comes to winning championships and this team did it.

“Man, this feels so good. We’re racing for a championship now.”

Logano and Kyle Busch join Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards in the four-driver championship race next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson and Edwards secured their advancement by winning the preceding two races in the Chase’s three-race semifinal round. Busch transfers by virtue of being the highest in points among the eight Chase drivers without a victory.

Along with Kenseth failing to advance, Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Denny Hamlin also missed the cut.

“Just came down to a mistake there at the end that got us,” Kenseth said. “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.”

For much of the afternoon, Bowman seemed well on his way to a career-first win. He led a race-high 194 laps before losing position late after pit stops jumbled the running order. The 23-year-old, who’s been the primary substitute for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., then rallied back to second, which setup the restart collision with Kenseth.

Bowman apologized for the incident, saying though he was aggressively pursuing the win he maintained his position and it was Kenseth who initiated contact.

“I feel bad, but there was really nothing I could do,” Bowman said. “You get defensive there into Turn 1 and [Kenseth’s] spotter cleared him because he just drove across the nose like he thought he was clear. It’s unfortunate and I hate that. Maybe I just got in there too deep but I was against the inside wall when we made contact.

“It’s just hard racing at the end and you know that happens because you are racing for the win in a Cup race.”

Bowman finished sixth, a career-best result. Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Paul Menard rounded out the top 10.