Another Top-10 Finish for Logano at Pocono Raceway
June 10, 2013
THE RACE
The Party in the Poconos 400 at Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile speedway, Pocono, Penn.) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Sunday, June 9, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion
Start Position: 21
Finish Position: 10
Status: Running
Championship Points Position: 16
THE RACE REVIEW
· Qualifying for the Party in the Poconos 400 was rained out on Friday, which meant Logano started Sunday’s race from the 21st position based on owner points.
· As the race began, Logano reported a loose-handling condition in two of the three turns at the uniquely-shaped track.
· With just one caution flag over the first 125 laps of the race, Logano struggled to get the track position he needed after starting back in the pack.
· As the No. 22 team worked its pit strategies, Logano found himself running 13th by lap 100. He told the Shell-Pennzoil team that he might have a loose wheel, but he fought through the vibration at the midway portion of the event.
· Once the team secured good track position, Logano was able to race his way from 13th into the top 10 for the first time on lap 133.
· Logano narrowly avoided two separate accidents, one of which cost him several positions in the running order.
· In the closing stage of the event, Logano was able to race from 12th to 10th before taking the checkered flag.
· With the top-10 finish – Logano’s fourth-straight top 10 (including the All-Star race) – he moved up two spots in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. He is now ranked 16th in the standings, just 26 points outside of 10th-place.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO CLIMB SO MANY SPOTS FROM THE START TO THE FINISH?
“I’m really kind of frustrated. Not because of our finish, but more because of how long I felt like it took to get there. You would think 400 miles would be plenty of time to try and get to the front of the field, but it really wasn’t. It was really hard to pass out there today. It was our first time here with these new Gen6 cars, so we didn’t really know what to expect. But this place is really all about track position. I really wish we could have qualified the car instead of starting by points, because I feel like if we would have started up front, we could have been in contention all day. It took us over half of the race to get into the top 10. Once we got there, I felt like we were a solid top-10 car. Just wish we could have started up there.”
YOU HAVE FOUR-STRAIGHT TOP 10s. IS THE TEAM HITTING ITS STRIDE?
“I think we are finally just getting all of the bad luck out of the way and showing what we are able to do. We have been strong all year long, we just have had some issues along the way. Now, we need to turn these top 10s into top fives and then turn those top-fives into wins. I think we still have a really good shot at making the Chase on points but we need to get a few wins as well. I’m excited about how it’s going right now. We just need to keep it going.”
The Party in the Poconos 400 at Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile speedway, Pocono, Penn.) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Sunday, June 9, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion
Start Position: 21
Finish Position: 10
Status: Running
Championship Points Position: 16
THE RACE REVIEW
· Qualifying for the Party in the Poconos 400 was rained out on Friday, which meant Logano started Sunday’s race from the 21st position based on owner points.
· As the race began, Logano reported a loose-handling condition in two of the three turns at the uniquely-shaped track.
· With just one caution flag over the first 125 laps of the race, Logano struggled to get the track position he needed after starting back in the pack.
· As the No. 22 team worked its pit strategies, Logano found himself running 13th by lap 100. He told the Shell-Pennzoil team that he might have a loose wheel, but he fought through the vibration at the midway portion of the event.
· Once the team secured good track position, Logano was able to race his way from 13th into the top 10 for the first time on lap 133.
· Logano narrowly avoided two separate accidents, one of which cost him several positions in the running order.
· In the closing stage of the event, Logano was able to race from 12th to 10th before taking the checkered flag.
· With the top-10 finish – Logano’s fourth-straight top 10 (including the All-Star race) – he moved up two spots in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. He is now ranked 16th in the standings, just 26 points outside of 10th-place.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO CLIMB SO MANY SPOTS FROM THE START TO THE FINISH?
“I’m really kind of frustrated. Not because of our finish, but more because of how long I felt like it took to get there. You would think 400 miles would be plenty of time to try and get to the front of the field, but it really wasn’t. It was really hard to pass out there today. It was our first time here with these new Gen6 cars, so we didn’t really know what to expect. But this place is really all about track position. I really wish we could have qualified the car instead of starting by points, because I feel like if we would have started up front, we could have been in contention all day. It took us over half of the race to get into the top 10. Once we got there, I felt like we were a solid top-10 car. Just wish we could have started up there.”
YOU HAVE FOUR-STRAIGHT TOP 10s. IS THE TEAM HITTING ITS STRIDE?
“I think we are finally just getting all of the bad luck out of the way and showing what we are able to do. We have been strong all year long, we just have had some issues along the way. Now, we need to turn these top 10s into top fives and then turn those top-fives into wins. I think we still have a really good shot at making the Chase on points but we need to get a few wins as well. I’m excited about how it’s going right now. We just need to keep it going.”