Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):
● Jones started 11th and finished 10th, earning one stage point.
● On lap 24, Jones reported the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Camry had no front or rear grip, and he slipped from the 11th to 13th position.
● By lap 50, the No. 20 Toyota Camry was handling better in the higher groove, and Jones began to work his way back toward the top-10.
● The first caution of the race occurred on lap 58 with Jones running in the 11th position. He reported the Interstate Batteries Toyota was loose in turn three and tight center. He pitted on lap 60 for four tires, fuel and adjustments.
● The Interstate Batteries driver restarted in the 12th position on lap 63, but the second caution of the day occurred on the same lap bringing the field back under yellow.
● Jones lined up ninth for the lap-70 restart and remained in the top-10 for the final five laps of the first stage to finish 10th.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-190):
● Jones started 11th, finished 14th.
● The Interstate Batteries driver pitted for right-side tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment at the stage break and lined up 11th for the restart on lap 84 after most of the top-10 drivers did not pit.
● On lap 100, Jones reported his No. 20 Toyota Camry didn’t fire off well at the beginning go of the run, but just three laps later he made his way back into the top-10.
● Jones told the crew chief Chris Gayle on lap 129 that his Interstate Batteries car wasn’t falling off as much as it did in the first stage.
● He was running ninth when the field was slowed for the fourth caution of the day on lap 131. The Interstate Batteries crew gave Jones four tires, fuel and adjustments on lap 132.
● The 23-year-old driver lined up 10th for the restart on lap 136 but fell back to 16th in the chaos that ensued. By lap 43, Jones had worked his way back up to the 13th position.
● With five laps remaining in Stage 2 and running in the 14th position, Jones told the team his balance had leveled out after starting the run too loose.
● Stage 2 ended under yellow after the No. 51 lost an engine with two laps remaining. Jones pitted at the break for four tires, fuel and adjustments to the Interstate Batteries Camry.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 191-316):
● Jones started 12th, finished 28th.
● The Interstate Batteries driver restarted 12th for the final 112 laps at Phoenix.
● When caution came out on lap 213, Jones told Gayle that he was loose off of turn four, but he fired off much better on the restart.
● The No. 20 team elected to pit from the 12th position for right-sides tires, fuel and adjustments on lap 215 and line up third for the restart on lap 220.
● The two-tire call resulted in Jones being overtaken on the restart by drivers that had made four-tire stops. He eventually fell back to the 10th position on lap 229.
● On lap 235 while running 13th, Jones got loose coming off turn two but was able to regain control of the Interstate Batteries Camry. He only lost two spots on track and changed his line to better suit the handling of his Toyota.
● On lap 252, Jones spun off of turn two, damaging the right side of his Interstate Batteries Camry. He pitted twice for damage repair and fresh Goodyear tires, and returned to the track in the 28th position, one lap down.
● As the field was set to return to green on lap 258, the No. 20 was called to pit road to serve a two-lap penalty for improper fueling. Jones returned to the track in the 30th position, three laps down, on lap 259.
● Under caution on lap 268 and again on lap 279, Jones pitted for adjustments and more work to the damage from his earlier spin.
Notes:
● Joey Logano won the FanShield 500k to score his 25th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his second at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Kevin Harvick was .276 of a second.
● There were 12 caution periods for a total of 73 laps.
● Twenty-seven of the 38 drivers in the FanShield 500k finished on the lead lap.
Team Interstate Results:
● Kyle Busch finished 3rd.
● Denny Hamlin finished 20th.
● Erik Jones finished 28th.
● Martin Truex Jr. finished 32nd.
Team Interstate Points:
Denny Hamlin (11th with 111 points, 53 behind leader)
Kyle Busch (12th with 111 points, 53 behind leader)
Martin Truex Jr. (15th with 96 points, 68 behind leader)
Erik Jones (21st with 77 points, 87 behind leader)
Next Up: The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on Sunday, March 15, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.
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