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Joey Logano wins Nationwide race at Phoenix, Elliott Sadler crashes

Joey Logano won the Great Clips 200 at the Phoenix International Raceway, but the big story was an accident by Elliott Sadler on lap 198 that dealt a huge blow to his championship bid.

Christian Petersen

Joey Logano won the Nationwide Series Great Clips 200 at the Phoenix International Raceway for his ninth win of the season. The dominant day for Logano - he led 169 of 204 laps - however, was overshadowed by what extended the race that extra four laps.

Elliott Sadler, who entered the day in a tie with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., got together with Cole Whitt, sending both of their Chevrolets backing into the third-turn wall. He was then hit by Brendan Gaughan, doing further damage to his No. 2 Chevy. He limped the battered Chevrolet to a 22nd-place finish.

That heartbreak capped off a terrible day for the Virginian and his Richard Childress Racing team. Sadler wrecked their primary car in practice, and the team could not get the backup car into contention. Worse, pit stops were a disaster for the team all race, leaving them in a position for Sadler to end up crashing.

Worst of all for Sadler, it was Stenhouse Jr. who finished third. The defending Nationwide Series champ now holds a 20-point edge and needs only a 16th-place or better result to claim his second-consecutive title.

Brian Vickers had a tremendous run in Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20 car, which he will race full time in 2013. The 2003 Nationwide champ dueled late with Logano before recording a second-place finish.

Kyle Busch took fourth, and Kasey Kahne completed the top-five. Nationwide regulars Austin Dillon, Michael Annett, and Brian Scott took positions six through eight, Sprint Cup championship hopeful Brad Keselowski finished ninth after leading 32 laps, and Danica Patrick rounded out the top-10.

There were 10 cautions on the day - three each caused by John Blankenship and Noel Dowler (in his series debut - for 40 of the 204 laps.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.