Logano Leads Most Laps and Finishes Second at Atlanta
September 2, 2013
THE RACE
Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval, Hampton, GA)
Sunday, September 1, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion
Driven By Joey Logano
Start Position: 11
Finish Position: 2
Status: Running
Current Driver's Points Position: 8
THE RACE REVIEW
· Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford qualified 11th for Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
· As the race began, it was evident that Logano had one of the fastest cars on the track. Logano drove from 11th to the lead in just 25 laps before the first caution flag of the night – a competition caution called by NASCAR due to a rain shower earlier in the day.
· The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team experienced some issues on pit stops early on in the evening, as Logano fell out of the race lead. However each time, Logano was able to drive back through the field and keep himself in position near the front of the lead pack.
· Logano never had an issue with the car’s handling until about lap 100, when he reported a bad vibration. He came to pit road for an unscheduled pit stop, and the team determined the vibration was caused by a loose wheel on the left rear.
· Off pit sequence with everyone else in the field, Logano fell to 36th, but he was able to drive back to the lead as the cars in front of him pitted. For the next 100 laps, Logano was off sequence but was able to race his way back onto the lead lap.
· Once back on the lead lap and on regular pit sequence, Logano ran in first or second place for the remainder of the race.
· With a car that was much stronger on the long run, Logano dropped from third to seventh after several late-race restarts.
· During an impressive final 20-lap run, Logano was able to drive from seventh all the way up to second place before the checkered flags waved.
· Logano led the most laps on the night, as he paced the field seven times for 78 circuits in all.
· With the second-place finish – Logano’s third-straight top-five result – he moved up two spots in the point standings and now sits in the eighth position.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
JOEY LOGANO
THE TEAM OVERCAME A LOT FOR ANOTHER STRONG FINISH. TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN.
“Man, have a lot of conflicting feelings tonight. I mean, I guess it’s good to come out of here with a second-place finish. That really helps us in the points and that really means a lot for our Chase hopes. But we are really frustrated about finishing second because we felt like we had the best car out there tonight. The Shell-Pennzoil Ford was super fast out there. We led the most laps and we had a great car. We just needed a longer run there at the end of the race. We were reeling in the No. 18 (car of race winner Kyle Busch) there at the end. With five more laps, I think we could have had a shot at the win. But that’s a good thing when you can come out of a track finishing second and not being totally happy about it.”
DOES THIS CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT NEXT WEEK?
“Well like I’ve said from the beginning, we aren’t going to do anything different. (It) would be lying if you said you weren’t going to really be paying attention to the guys we are racing for a Chase spot. But we aren’t going to just focus on them. We are going to focus on what we have been doing the last few races. If we do that and get a good finish out of next week, then the Chase and things will take care of themselves. We just need to keep going at it.”
Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval, Hampton, GA)
Sunday, September 1, 2013
THE RESULTS
The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion
Driven By Joey Logano
Start Position: 11
Finish Position: 2
Status: Running
Current Driver's Points Position: 8
THE RACE REVIEW
· Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford qualified 11th for Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
· As the race began, it was evident that Logano had one of the fastest cars on the track. Logano drove from 11th to the lead in just 25 laps before the first caution flag of the night – a competition caution called by NASCAR due to a rain shower earlier in the day.
· The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team experienced some issues on pit stops early on in the evening, as Logano fell out of the race lead. However each time, Logano was able to drive back through the field and keep himself in position near the front of the lead pack.
· Logano never had an issue with the car’s handling until about lap 100, when he reported a bad vibration. He came to pit road for an unscheduled pit stop, and the team determined the vibration was caused by a loose wheel on the left rear.
· Off pit sequence with everyone else in the field, Logano fell to 36th, but he was able to drive back to the lead as the cars in front of him pitted. For the next 100 laps, Logano was off sequence but was able to race his way back onto the lead lap.
· Once back on the lead lap and on regular pit sequence, Logano ran in first or second place for the remainder of the race.
· With a car that was much stronger on the long run, Logano dropped from third to seventh after several late-race restarts.
· During an impressive final 20-lap run, Logano was able to drive from seventh all the way up to second place before the checkered flags waved.
· Logano led the most laps on the night, as he paced the field seven times for 78 circuits in all.
· With the second-place finish – Logano’s third-straight top-five result – he moved up two spots in the point standings and now sits in the eighth position.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
JOEY LOGANO
THE TEAM OVERCAME A LOT FOR ANOTHER STRONG FINISH. TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN.
“Man, have a lot of conflicting feelings tonight. I mean, I guess it’s good to come out of here with a second-place finish. That really helps us in the points and that really means a lot for our Chase hopes. But we are really frustrated about finishing second because we felt like we had the best car out there tonight. The Shell-Pennzoil Ford was super fast out there. We led the most laps and we had a great car. We just needed a longer run there at the end of the race. We were reeling in the No. 18 (car of race winner Kyle Busch) there at the end. With five more laps, I think we could have had a shot at the win. But that’s a good thing when you can come out of a track finishing second and not being totally happy about it.”
DOES THIS CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT NEXT WEEK?
“Well like I’ve said from the beginning, we aren’t going to do anything different. (It) would be lying if you said you weren’t going to really be paying attention to the guys we are racing for a Chase spot. But we aren’t going to just focus on them. We are going to focus on what we have been doing the last few races. If we do that and get a good finish out of next week, then the Chase and things will take care of themselves. We just need to keep going at it.”