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NASCAR: Winners and losers from the TicketGuardian 500 at Phoenix

By Mike Knapp

VONDALE, AZ - MARCH 11: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 11, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
VONDALE, AZ - MARCH 11: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 11, 2018 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images) /
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Kevin Harvick captured his third straight NASCAR Cup Series win Sunday at Phoenix. Who are the other winners and losers from the weekend?

Right now in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s Kevin Harvick’s world, and everyone else is just living in it. Who were the winners and losers from Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 race at ISM Raceway in Phoenix?

Winners

Kevin Harvick: With his win Sunday, Harvick became the first driver since Joey Logano in 2015 to win three straight races. He also becomes the first driver over 40 to accomplish that feat since Harry Gant in 1991 when he won four races in a row. This win wasn’t as dominant as his wins at Atlanta and Las Vegas, as he only led 38 laps, but it’s now nine wins at Phoenix for Harvick in his Cup Series career. It was also his 40th career win.

Kyle Busch: Busch led a race-high 128 laps on Sunday, but a mistake on his final pit stop was his undoing. Still, he picked up his first stage win of the season and his second top five finish. He’s putting together one of the better starts to the season by a driver not named Kevin Harvick.

Martin Truex, Jr.: Don’t look now, but the defending Cup Series champion is starting to heat up. After winning the pole on Friday, his fifth place finish marked his third straight top five finish. He’s also tied with Kyle Busch for second in points with 156.

Matt DiBenedetto: Forget his 30th starting position and 25th place finish; DiBenedetto makes the winners list anyway after his Twitter plea for sponsorship money for his Go Fas Racing team raised enough awareness and money for the team to field the car at Phoenix. At the end of the day, that’s what the racing community is all about.

Losers

Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s name in this column is becoming almost as much a broken record as Harvick is on the winner’s side. Right now, the Hendrick Motorsports #48 team are struggling to find consistency. Their last three weekends have featured some fast practice sessions, but transferring that to qualifying and racing has been a challenge. Johnson’s 14th place finish represented the first time he has finished on the lead lap this season.

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Kyle Larson: Larson started second and led 54 of the first 57 laps. His day went south, however, when he spun on lap 121. The #42 team’s yo-yo season continues with two top six finishes and two other finishes of 18th and 19th place. Larson’s yo-yo might bounce up this weekend, as he won last year’s race at Fontana and finished second in 2014.

Paul Menard: Menard’s first season with Wood Brothers Racing has had its ups and downs. He has two top 10 finishes at Daytona (6th) and Las Vegas (9th), but he came home in 36th at Phoenix after blowing the right rear tire and hitting the turn 2 wall.

Kasey Kahne: No doubt a move to the smaller Leavine Family Racing team has tempered expectations, but Kahne is struggling to find results. He has yet to finish a race on the lead lap, and he has a best finish on the season of 19th place at Las Vegas. His 24th place effort Sunday nearly matches his average finish for the season (24.5), and he is now 29th in points.

Next: NASCAR Playoffs: Pros and Cons

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