Joey Logano lined up directly behind Kevin Harvick and followed him nose-to-tail around the track and across the line for the final restart. Logano aggressively darted inside of Harvick and briefly flirted with making it a three-wide race before he ran out of real estate at Phoenix International Raceway. Under NASCAR's new emphasis on winning, there was little upside to Logano staying put those final nine laps. Last year, you may have taken a third place and the points, but this year it's like, 'Hey, go for it.''' NASCAR Chairman Brian France had grown to despise points racing - that practice of a driver taking few risks in the closing laps of a race, settling for a solid finish, thanking a long list of sponsors and the boys back at the shop, then exulting on live television about the great points finish.
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