NASCAR Phoenix: Ryan Newman takes first Childress win since 2013
Ryan Newman won the NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix, taking advantage of a late caution to pull off a strategic gamble
After winning the first stage of the race, polesitter Joey Logano was fighting back through the pack after being caught speeding on pit road.
He managed to make it as high as eighth, before his tyre blew heading into the first corner late on.
That stoppage put the race into overtime which prompted leaders Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson to pit, however Newman was told to stay out, along with Ricky Stenhouse and Martin Truex.
Newman managed to have a good restart to get clear of Stenhouse, holding on to take his and Richard Childress Racing's first win since 2013.
Stenhouse was unable to hang on in the same fashion, falling victim to Larson and Busch on the fresher rubber when the white flag came out.
While Busch was leading before the caution, Larson jumped him at their final stops after Busch had initially got ahead during the previous round of visits to the pits.
Rookies Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones picked up seventh and eighth place, the latter impressing after a decent qualifying and a nice battle with Chase Elliott midway through the race for fifth.
Elliott grabbed a first stage win for Chevrolet in the second phase, although he was the biggest loser in the final restart dropping outside of the top 10 behind Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Truex.
RESULT - 314 LAPS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3h00m41.s |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 0.312s |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0.768s |
| 4 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1.271s |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 1.286s |
| 6 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1.534s |
| 7 | Daniel Suarez | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1.906s |
| 8 | Erik Jones | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 2.019s |
| 9 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2.100s |
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2.201s |
| 11 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 2.477s |
| 12 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2.488s |
| 13 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2.703s |
| 14 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2.728s |
| 15 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2.802s |
| 16 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 2.843s |
| 17 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 3.004s |
| 18 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3.109s |
| 19 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 3.183s |
| 20 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3.201s |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3.282s |
| 22 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3.594s |
| 23 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 3.873s |
| 24 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 3.899s |
| 25 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3.985s |
| 26 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 4.004s |
| 27 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 9.699s |
| 28 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1 Lap |
| 29 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 1 Lap |
| 30 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 Laps |
| 31 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | Accident |
| 32 | Timmy Hill | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 7 Laps |
| 33 | Derrike Cope | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 Laps |
| 34 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | Accident |
| 35 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | Accident |
| 36 | Gray Gaulding | BK Racing | Toyota | Accident |
| 37 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Accident |
| 38 | Corey LaJoie | BK Racing | Toyota | Accident |
| 39 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport / TMG | Chevrolet | Transmission |
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