News

THE RACE

Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile speedway, Speedway, Ind.
Saturday, July 26, 2014

THE RESULTS

The No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
Driver: Joey Logano
Starting Position: 6
Finish Position: 5
Owners' Points Position: 2

 
THE RACE REVIEW

· Joey Logano qualified sixth in the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang for Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

· At the drop of the green flag, it was evident that the No. 22 Ford would be one of the best cars all day long as Logano gained two spots on the first lap alone.  It also was evident early that track position would be key as Logano would find himself getting tight when running in “dirty air,” something he would complain of all day long.

· Logano took the lead for the first time on lap 18 when crew chief Jeremy Bullins took two tires on the first pit stop.  Logano held the lead until Bullins again called Logano to pit road for his second stop just a few laps later, playing the fuel strategy game early.

· As cars throughout the field began to utilize different fuel strategies, Logano appeared to be sitting in the best spot, working his way from 25th after the green flag stop back to the lead on lap 51.

· A caution on lap 56 threw all the strategy out the window.  With cars on different pit cycles scattered throughout the pack, Logano began to just try and work his way to the front.

· Once again, Logano pitted just a few laps after the restart on lap 66, giving him tires and enough fuel for the end.  With the cars in front of him having to save fuel to make it to the end, Logano and Bullins seemed to be sitting in a perfect spot.

· On lap 72, another caution for debris allowed the cars in front of Logano to save enough fuel to make it to the finish.  Restarting ninth, Logano was able to move all the way to fourth.

· With less than 15 laps to go, Logano radioed in that he was losing voltage in the Discount Tire Ford Mustang.  Bullins told Logano to shut off all fans, which resulted in the car getting extremely tight.  Logano eventually lost a position late in the race, coming home fifth as the checkers flew.

· The No. 22 Discount Tire team now sits just eight points behind the No. 54 from Joe Gibbs Racing in the race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owners’ Championship.
    

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

JOEY LOGANO, NO. 22 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD ONE OF THE BEST CARS OUT THERE.  WHAT HAPPENED?

“We didn’t have the best strategy there.  We were in good shape when that caution came out, we were leading the race, and some of those guys pitted before and then cycled themselves back up to the lead and had to save fuel to make it.  The car was good enough to win and we were better than the 3 car when we were out front, but it’s just so hard to pass.  Then we had an alternator go bad and got really tight at the end because I had to turn off all the blowers and fans.  That really hurt.  I couldn’t pass the 20 and couldn’t do anything.  That allowed the 5 to watch us and pass us because the car was so tight.  We were fast when we were up front like everybody else.  Whoever gets out front is going to win the race.  That’s how this place is and that’s why strategy and restarts are so important to make up as much time as you can because it’s just one lane around here. We’ll have to wait a whole year to come back and try again.”