Joey Logano Victorious in Chicago
July 22, 2013
THE RACE
STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway (1.5 -mile speedway, Joliet, Ill.)
THE RESULTS
The No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang
Driven By: Joey Jogano
Start Position: 7
Finish Position: 1
Status: Running
Current Owner's Points Position: 2
THE RACE REVIEW
· Logano started the race in the seventh position after Sunday morning’s qualifying session. He made his way around the 1.5 mile track in 30.423 seconds at 177.497 miles per hour.
· Within the first 10 laps of the race, Logano radioed into crew chief Jeremy Bullins that his Hertz Ford Mustang was tight. The two discussed changes that they planned on making during the first pit stop. As the caution flag flew on Lap 49, Logano came to the pit for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. He restarted in the second position on Lap 54.
· Taking over the lead on Lap 55, Logano battled with the No. 11 of Elliot Sadler to maintain the position. Still fighting a tight handling Mustang, Logano continued to run in the top five.
· Crossing the half way mark of the 200 lap event, Logano was running lap times consistent with, if not better than, those of the leaders. During a caution on Lap 128, the Hertz crew was able to make adjustments to help Logano with the tight conditions of his car. With less than 70 laps remaining, Logano found himself the leader of the race with Sadler and his teammate, Sam Hornish Jr. closing in.
· On the final restart of the race on Lap 186, Logano took the green flag in the second position. Passing Hornish for the lead on Lap 187, Logano pulled away from the field over the remaining 13 laps and was able to cross the finish line as the winner. With teammate Hornish finishing second, the duo brought home Penske Racing’s first one-two finish of the 2013 season.
· The victory marks Logano’s 20th victory in 118 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Starts. He is now tied for 15th in NNS wins with Greg Biffle. After recording the fifth victory of the season for the No. 22 Ford Mustang, the team currently sits second in NNS Owner’s Points standings.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
ANOTHER WIN FOR YOU, TELL US ABOUT THE RACE
“I thought we were going to have a fourth place car but Jeremy (Bullins) made great changes throughout the race and continued to make the car better. After about 30-40 laps we were able to run really well at the top of the track. Jeremy made the adjustments to make the car better on the front side and I did my job of getting the Hertz Mustang Ford into the lead. It was great to bring home a one-two finish for Penske Racing. It is also huge in terms of Owner’s Point for this No. 22 car as well. I wasn’t planning on run this race during the Cup off weekend, but you can’t say no to Roger Penske. This was a huge momentum switch for us after two bad races in New Hampshire and Daytona. We’re looking forward to getting to Indianapolis next weekend, we’ll be running both races and hopefully we can get some momentum from this win.” - Joey Logano
STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway (1.5 -mile speedway, Joliet, Ill.)
THE RESULTS
The No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang
Driven By: Joey Jogano
Start Position: 7
Finish Position: 1
Status: Running
Current Owner's Points Position: 2
THE RACE REVIEW
· Logano started the race in the seventh position after Sunday morning’s qualifying session. He made his way around the 1.5 mile track in 30.423 seconds at 177.497 miles per hour.
· Within the first 10 laps of the race, Logano radioed into crew chief Jeremy Bullins that his Hertz Ford Mustang was tight. The two discussed changes that they planned on making during the first pit stop. As the caution flag flew on Lap 49, Logano came to the pit for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. He restarted in the second position on Lap 54.
· Taking over the lead on Lap 55, Logano battled with the No. 11 of Elliot Sadler to maintain the position. Still fighting a tight handling Mustang, Logano continued to run in the top five.
· Crossing the half way mark of the 200 lap event, Logano was running lap times consistent with, if not better than, those of the leaders. During a caution on Lap 128, the Hertz crew was able to make adjustments to help Logano with the tight conditions of his car. With less than 70 laps remaining, Logano found himself the leader of the race with Sadler and his teammate, Sam Hornish Jr. closing in.
· On the final restart of the race on Lap 186, Logano took the green flag in the second position. Passing Hornish for the lead on Lap 187, Logano pulled away from the field over the remaining 13 laps and was able to cross the finish line as the winner. With teammate Hornish finishing second, the duo brought home Penske Racing’s first one-two finish of the 2013 season.
· The victory marks Logano’s 20th victory in 118 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Starts. He is now tied for 15th in NNS wins with Greg Biffle. After recording the fifth victory of the season for the No. 22 Ford Mustang, the team currently sits second in NNS Owner’s Points standings.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
ANOTHER WIN FOR YOU, TELL US ABOUT THE RACE
“I thought we were going to have a fourth place car but Jeremy (Bullins) made great changes throughout the race and continued to make the car better. After about 30-40 laps we were able to run really well at the top of the track. Jeremy made the adjustments to make the car better on the front side and I did my job of getting the Hertz Mustang Ford into the lead. It was great to bring home a one-two finish for Penske Racing. It is also huge in terms of Owner’s Point for this No. 22 car as well. I wasn’t planning on run this race during the Cup off weekend, but you can’t say no to Roger Penske. This was a huge momentum switch for us after two bad races in New Hampshire and Daytona. We’re looking forward to getting to Indianapolis next weekend, we’ll be running both races and hopefully we can get some momentum from this win.” - Joey Logano