And therein lies the beauty of road course racing -- absolutely anything can happen.

It’s become cliché at this point but the Sprint Cup Series could stand to add a third road course event to its tired and familiar schedule -- wrought with intermediates and repeat stops. The Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen on Sunday afternoon produced everything a NASCAR fan could want to see in close racing, multiple strategies and a fantastic finish.


This time, it was Joey Logano who used the momentum gained from a XFINITY Series victory the day before to sweep the weekend alongside crew chief Todd Gordon and score their first Sprint Cup victory since the Daytona 500 in February.

Everything you need to know about the 2015 race at Watkins Glen can be found below.

How it happened:Kevin Harvick was always going to be short on fuel and he knew it.

Having last pitted on Lap 51, Harvick knew he was likely 2-to-3 laps short but he kept saving and took the white flag as the leader. Meanwhile, Logano last took fuel on Lap 58 and was good to go – working all over the back bumper of Harvick over the final couple of laps.

Ultimately, Harvick ran out with two corners to go and tried to block Logano into giving him a push downhill and to the finish line but just couldn’t hold the Daytona 500 winner off.

"I thought he was running out of gas out of the carousel there," Logano said. "You could tell his car was slowing down a little bit and then it really slowed down.

I was like, ‘Alright, I’ve got something here.  Don’t screw this up.’

"I was able to get by him into 11 and then he gave me a good shot in the center of 11 and then we were able to get back off the corner. It’s pretty cool to get a road course win. It means so much to me and sweeping the weekend, I’ve never swept a weekend before so this is a really, really special weekend."

The fact that Harvick even made it as close as he did is a testament to his ability to save and maintain the lead up until the final mile of the event.

For his part, Logano won for the first time since the biggest race of the year and scored vital bonus points heading into Chase for the Championship next month. Kyle Busch just edged Harvick to the line for second place, moving into the top-30 in the championship standings and the provisional playoff spot that comes with it.

Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Sam Hornish Jr. and Jimmie Johnson completed the top-10.

Expected Favorites Falter:On Saturday night, I predicted that Sunday would come down to defending winner and pole sitter AJ Allmendinger versus Tony Stewart in a duel that would determine who made the Chase for the Championship.wha

As it turned out, neither driver made it to the end. Allmendinger stalled his Chevrolet on Lap 50 with some sort of power issue and spent much of the remainder of the event trying to play catch-up. He ultimately ran out of fuel with five laps to go and finished 24th.

Stewart also stalled on the track, on Lap 57, with some sort of mechanical issue and finished dead last on the field.

Jeff Gordon entered the event as the all-time Sprint Cup Series road course wins leader -- with nine -- but was also a non-actor as he cut a brake line 20 laps into the race. He started fifth but could only muster a 41st place finish.

Stewart and Allmendinger realistically need a win to make the Chase and this was their best shot. Despite the issue, Gordon still holds the 14th spot on the provisional Chase Grid and should make the playoff on points should he not win a race before the end of the regular season.

Chase Grid Comes Together: Kasey Kahne has had a rough six-race stretch.

Entering the July race at Daytona, Kahne was eighth in the standings and safely in the Chase for the Championship despite having not won a race this season. He hasn’t finished better than 19th since then, posting results of 27th, 19th, 24th, 43rd and 42nd.

He has fallen to 17th in points and 51 points out of the Chase Grid. After getting caught up in a Lap 49 incident on Sunday at Watkins Glen, Kahne will once again need a late season win to make the Chase – something he did last season with a Labor Day weekend victory at Atlanta.

Race Results:

1. Joey Logano
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Kurt Busch
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Carl Edwards
9. Sam Hornish Jr
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr
12. Kyle Larson
13. Paul Menard
14. Greg Biffle
15. Ryan Newman
16. Aric Almirola
17. Danica Patrick
18. Casey Mears
19. Justin Allgaier
20. Michael McDowell
21. Cole Whitt
22. Trevor Bayne
23. David Ragan
24. AJ Allmendinger
25. Martin Truex Jr
26. Matt DiBenedetto
27. Denny Hamlin
28. Alex Kennedy
29. Alex Bowman
30. J.J. Yeley
31. Michael Annett
32. Boris Said
33. David Gilliland
34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
35. Landon Cassill
36. Austin Dillon
37. Chris Buescher
38. Timmy Hill
39. Jeb Burton
40. Jamie McMurray
41. Jeff Gordon
42. Kasey Kahne
43. Tony Stewart

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