Event: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Subway Fresh Fit 600 (Race No. 7 of 36)

Venue: Phoenix International Raceway; Avondale, Ariz.

Top-five finishers: Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya

Race recap: Ryan Newman used a late, four-tire pit stop and a strong restart to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix on Saturday night.

When a caution flag came out late in the event, causing the race to end in a two-lap shootout, tire strategy became crucial in deciding another race. Coming out of that last pit stop, the top six cars all decided to go with two tires, while race dominators Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson decided to go with four.

Facing a green-white-checkered flag finish, the lead cars had just enough cushion to hold off the cars with four fresh Goodyear Eagles. Jeff Gordon led the field to the green flag, but was passed in turn one by Newman, who then held off the field for the win.

The race featured a total of 20 lead changes with Busch and Johnson tying for the most laps led with 113 each. Juan Pablo Montoya also led for long stretches of the early and middle stages of the event, pacing the field for a total of 104 laps on the day.

In finishing the race in the third position, Johnson stretched his overall championship lead to 36 points over Matt Kenseth, who finished the race in sixth place. The series picks back up with race eight of 36 at Texas Motor Speedway next Sunday.

Companion event: Kyle Busch overcame a mid-race restart penalty and charged from the 10th position with eight laps to go to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Phoenix on Friday night. Busch led 126 of 200 laps in the race. Brad Keselowski currently holds the champiosnhip lead by four points over Carl Edwards and 15 points over Busch.