Darlington-Banner

race review

• Joey Logano started 12th and finished 14th in Sunday afternoon’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, after running inside the top-10 for the majority of the event in the Mario Andretti-inspired throwback Shell-Pennzoil Mustang. Logano flashed speed inside the top-five at times but struggled with rear grip for the first two-thirds of the event. Unfortunately, on the final pit stop of the race, Logano was penalized for speeding, trapping the team a lap-down in the 13th position, derailing a would be top-five result.
• During the opening stage, Logano raced inside the top-10, reporting that the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was battling tight through compression and a loose condition on corner exit. Despite the handling woes, Logano maintained pace with the race leaders. On the first two stops of the race, crew chief Paul Wolfe adjusted with wedge and trackbar to work on the overall handling condition. Logano finished the opening stage in the sixth position.
• During the second stage, the team elected to adjust initially with air pressure, giving Logano some of the desired center turn he’d been looking for, but the team continued to fight the loose exit. At lap 141, the team pitted for a wedge adjustment and four tires to work on the exit security. Logano spent the majority of the second stage inside the top-five, but faded to the seventh position in the final three laps of the stage as the rear grip completely left.
• In the opening portion of the final stage, Logano spent time inside the top-five and never fell out of the top-10, reporting that he just needed the rear grip to maintain longer into the run. With 40 laps remaining, Logano made a pit stop for four tires. Unfortunately, the team was penalized for too fast entering on the stop, forcing a pass-through penalty, dropping Logano from the fourth position to a lap down. Logano ran in the lucky dog position, but the lack of a caution flag kept the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang trapped a lap down.
• Logano would finish the race in the 13th position as he was unable to regain his lost lap for the pit road speeding penalty, ending a potential top-five result.

 

quote

“Not really sure what happened on the final pit stop there. I felt like I’d done the same thing all race, but we’re pushing it to the absolute limit. Hate it for my guys, they had great pit stops all race and then we just didn’t have the results to show for it at the end of the day.”