Harvick wins as Chase places set at Phoenix

Kevin Harvick locked himself into the Chase for the Sprint Cup decider with a dominant victory at Phoenix International Raceway.

The Stewart-Haas Chevrolet driver automatically transferred into the final four for the finale with victory, while Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman secured their spots on points.

Hamlin and Logano survived fraught days in order to advance, both rallying from back in the pack after early dramas.

Hamlin’s Gibbs Toyota dropped to the rear with a flat tyre, while Logano endured a drive-through penalty after a fuel can remained lodged in his Penske Ford after an early pitstop.

Newman’s result was however the most dramatic as the Childress Chevrolet driver shouldered Kyle Larson out of the way on the final corner in order to gain the final point he needed to advance.

“It was a great team effort,” said Newman post-race.

“We didn’t have the race car, we had horrible restarts and didn’t have track position when we needed it.

“But in the end we fought back and did what we had to as clean as we possibly could. I wasn’t proud of it but I did what I had to to make it to the next round.”

Second-place finisher Jeff Gordon was the loser out of that exchange as he dropped from third in the standings to fifth courtesy of Newman’s move and Harvick’s win.

Gordon had led the Chase heading into last week’s race at Texas, where he looked on course for victory before a late scuffle with Brad Keselowski that triggered a flat tyre and a post-race brawl.

“This makes last week hurt that much more, but we did everything we could at Martinsville and here,” reflected Gordon.

“Second just wasn’t good enough, (but) Harvick was in another ZIP code, there was no way anyone was going to get him today.”

Matt Kenseth and Keselowski were also eliminated from the Chase despite strong runs to third and fourth place respectively.

The final Chase contender, Carl Edwards, also failed to progress after coming home in 15th.

Australian Marcos Ambrose scored a strong 10th in his penultimate race as a full-time NASCAR driver.

Ambrose had found himself amongst the late Chase battle, passing Newman in the closing stages to temporarily demote the former Daytona 500 winner from the decider.

“The track changed a lot, but Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) did a great job of making adjustments,” said Ambrose of his race.

“We really made the car a lot better all race. It was super-tight in the middle, but we made the right calls.

“It’s nice to get a good finish. The last few weeks have been a struggle and it’s nice to get back on track. It was a good day for our team.”

Under the new-for-2014 Chase format, the Sprint Cup will be awarded to the driver who finishes highest out of Hamlin, Logano, Harvick and Newman at Homestead next weekend.

VIDEO: Newman races in as Harvick wins

VIDEO: Newman, Gordon reflect on Chase cut-off

VIDEO: Harvick celebrates in Victory Lane

VIDEO: Keselowski and Logano reflect on mixed day for Penske

Result: NASCAR Sprint Cup, Phoenix

Updated championship standings

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