Logano hangs tough for hard-fought Talladega victory

Joey Logano hangs tough for hard-fought Talladega victory

Story By: Reid Spencer/NASCAR 

Photos By: Getty Images/Getty Images

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Joey Logano led a Ford feast on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, beating Kurt Busch to the checkered flag by .127 seconds to win the GEICO 500, the 10th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season.

Logano led the final 42-of-188 laps, a race-high 70 overall, and controlled the action after a 14-car wreck on Lap 166 thinned the field. Logano led the field to the green flag for the final restart on Lap 172 and stayed out front the rest of the way.

The victory was Logano’s third at Talladega and the 19th of his career, and it broke a dry spell of 36 races dating to the No. 22 team’s penalty-tainted victory at Richmond last year.

“I’m so proud to get this team back in Victory Lane – it’s been a year!” Logano exulted in Victory Lane. “It feels so good to be back in Victory Lane. There is no feeling like this. It feels so good.

“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been getting consistent. We’ve been scoring points, and we knew a win was just around the corner. I don’t have to worry about the whole playoff thing anymore.”

Logano extended Ford’s winning streak at Talladega to six races. Ford drivers claimed six of the top seven positions, the only exception being third-place finisher Chase Elliott in a Chevrolet.

“What a fast Ford,” Logano said of his No. 22 Team Penske ride. “Teamwork is what did it today. And not just the Team Penske Fords but all of the Fords out there – Kevin (Harvick), Kurt (Busch). We worked really well together. We got a blue oval back in Victory Lane, so proud of that.”

Harvick, the pole winner, came home fourth, followed by defending race winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., David Ragan and Aric Almirola.

Busch intended to pair with Harvick, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, for a final-lap charge at Logano, but Busch changed tactics when he saw that Stenhouse had a strong run on the next-to-last lap.

“We just needed the assistance from behind,” Busch said. “The 17 car (Stenhouse) was strong. All the Fords were great today. I was hoping he would get to us on the back straightaway so we could go on offense on the front to go win it, but it just didn’t materialize.

“I wanted to stay with Harvick, my teammate, and navigate around the 22, but everyone behind kind of broke off and was racing too hard, and nobody got that big head of steam to try to push through and break apart the 22’s lead.

“It was one of the best Fords I have ever had here, and it was fun to race it and lead some laps and be right there, but I just didn’t get the job done. The 22 outfoxed us, and we didn’t get the push from behind to go on offense at the end – but a top-five day, so I can’t really complain.”

Logano finished second in each of the first two stages – behind teammate Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard, respectively – but in the final stage of the race he took control. Logano had the lead when the second major wreck of the race started in Turn 3 on Lap 166.

Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson spun in Turn 3 and turned sideways across the nose of Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron’s car, collecting Menard’s Ford in the process. The accident also knocked Keselowski out of the race.

Kyle Busch saw his three-race winning streak end with a 13th-place finish at Talladega. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota was hit with a pit road speeding penalty under caution after the end of the second stage and recovered to run in the top five during the third stage, but he could make little progress after coming to pit road and restarting 18th on Lap 172.

Notes: Byron led 14 laps in his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Talladega… Menard picked up his first stage victory, holding off Logano on Lap 110… Seventh-place finisher Alex Bowman led 26 laps and Keselowski 21… NASCAR Camping World Truck Series veteran Timothy Peters finished 23rd in his Cup debut… Reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. suffered damage in a Lap 72 wreck and finished 26th. The cars of Erik Jones, Trevor Bayne and Kyle Larson were eliminated in the same incident.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race – GEICO 500

Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega, Alabama

Sunday, April 29, 2018

1. (9) Joey Logano, Ford, 188.

2. (2) Kurt Busch, Ford, 188.

3. (5) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 188.

4. (1) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 188.

5. (7) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 188.

6. (12) David Ragan, Ford, 188.

7. (40) Aric Almirola, Ford, 188.

8. (11) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 188.

9. (18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 188.

10. (14) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 188.

11. (25) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 188.

12. (16) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 188.

13. (19) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 188.

14. (4) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 188.

15. (29) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 188.

16. (15) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Chevrolet, 188.

17. (26) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 188.

18. (23) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 188.

19. (33) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 188.

20. (31) * DJ Kennington, Toyota, 188.

21. (36) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 188.

22. (30) * Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 188.

23. (32) * Timothy Peters(i), Ford, 187.

24. (37) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, 187.

25. (35) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 186.

26. (3) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Accident, 184.

27. (34) Joey Gase(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 178.

28. (27) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 174.

29. (17) William Byron #, Chevrolet, Accident, 165.

30. (13) Paul Menard, Ford, Accident, 165.

31. (8) Clint Bowyer, Ford, Accident, 165.

32. (20) Michael McDowell, Ford, Accident, 165.

33. (10) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 165.

34. (28) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 165.

35. (24) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 165.

36. (39) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, Engine, 151.

37. (38) * Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Suspension, 79.

38. (21) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Accident, 71.

39. (6) Erik Jones, Toyota, Accident, 71.

40. (22) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 71.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 152.489 mph.

Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 16 Mins, 46 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.127 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 6 for 29 laps.

Lead Changes: 25 among 16 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K. Harvick 1-12; A. Bowman 13-38; D. Wallace Jr. # 39-43; B. Keselowski 44-57; A. Allmendinger 58; B. Keselowski 59-61; W. Byron # 62-63; B. Keselowski 64-66; W. Byron # 67; C. Buescher 68; M. DiBenedetto 69-74; J. Logano 75-96; D. Hamlin 97-104; P. Menard 105-112; B. Gaughan 113; W. Byron # 114-124; Kurt Busch 125-129; A. Allmendinger 130; R. Stenhouse Jr. 131-134; D. Hamlin 135-137; J. Logano 138-140; B. Keselowski 141; J. Logano 142-144; D. Suarez 145; K. Kahne 146; J. Logano 147-188.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): J. Logano 4 times for 70 laps; A. Bowman 1 time for 26 laps; B. Keselowski 4 times for 21 laps; W. Byron # 3 times for 14 laps; K. Harvick 1 time for 12 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 11 laps; P. Menard 1 time for 8 laps; M. DiBenedetto 1 time for 6 laps; Kurt Busch 1 time for 5 laps; D. Wallace Jr. # 1 time for 5 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 4 laps; A. Allmendinger 2 times for 2 laps; B. Gaughan 1 time for 1 lap; K. Kahne 1 time for 1 lap; D. Suarez 1 time for 1 lap; C. Buescher 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 2,22,78,18,21,11,12,17,4,48

Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,22,12,4,17,38,48,41,24,18