News

THE RACE

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250 at Michigan International Speedway (2-mile speedway, Brooklyn, Mich.)
Saturday, June 14, 2014

THE RESULTS

The No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
Driver: Joey Logano
Starting Position: 9
Finish Position: 16
Owner's Points Position: 2

THE RACE REVIEW

· Joey Logano qualified the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford in the ninth position for Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

· It was obvious after the first lap that Logano would be a force to be reckoned with all afternoon long as he drove from ninth to third at the end of the first circuit.

· Following a quick caution, Logano was able to race his way to the lead for the first time on lap eight.  However, racing side-by-side with Paul Menard down into turn one, Logano got loose and slid up into Menard.  Both drivers made amazing saves, but Logano slipped back to seventh.

· It took little time for Logano to race is way back toward the front, getting back to the lead by lap 41 right before the first round of green-flag pit stops.

· The Discount Tire Ford Mustang handled well for Logano all afternoon long.  Crew chief Jeremy Bullins made minimal changes on the first four-tire stop and kept the car the same each stop after with just tires and fuel.

· Bullins and Logano played race strategy perfectly during the event, taking two tires and fuel on the second stop and fuel only on the final stop.  That allowed Logano to get out at the front of the field on lap 81.

· Logano would lead the next 40 laps as the Discount Tire Ford set the pace, holding off all challengers.

· As the laps wore down, Logano once again had to hold off Menard.  With nearly a two-second lead and just five laps to go, bad luck struck the 24-year-old.

· Logano radioed in that he had a flat tire and had to come to pit road.

· The unscheduled stop dropped Logano from the lead to the 16th position, where he would finish after leading 43 laps during the race.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING    

JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE ON YOUR WAY TO WINNING THE RACE.  WHAT HAPPENED?

“I ran over something. That was it.  Ran over something and it cut the tire.  We had a really good Discount Tire Ford Mustang the whole race. We kept fighting through the field and came up to the front and were having a lot of fun. Once I finally got clean air, we were able to pull away. The 33 (Menard) was quick and had a fast racecar also. We were going to have a race because he was catching me a little bit. I could tell something was wrong on the back straightaway and then it made us go up the race track. I hate to give them away like that. You look at the silver lining I guess, which is we had a fast race car and should have won the race. You win some this way and lose some this way.”

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR SPIRITS UP AFTER LOSING ONE LIKE THAT?

“Yeah, it is a team sport, so it sucks for everyone. We had a fast race car. We have next year to give it another shot again. I had a lot of fun. That is just racing for you. Sometimes you are the bug, sometimes you are the windshield. It is never over until it is over. You think you are in good shape and you are worried about a caution more than anything else and then the next thing you know you hear the tire starting to come apart on the back straight away. Things happen. Oh well, we move on.”