Start: 17th
Finish: 18th
Laps Led: 0

Stage 1 Finish: 10th
Stage 2 Finish: 9th
Point Standings: 1st (+5)

Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang faded late and finished 18th on Sunday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Logano started 17th and, despite struggling in practice and qualifying on Saturday afternoon, raced his way into the top-10 just 10 laps into the race. Logano slipped back outside the top-10 after the first round of pit stops, but again used a super-fast Shell-Pennzoil Mustang to finish 10th in Stage 1. With most of the field fighting a lack of grip on the abrasive track, Logano struggled to maintain the same pace as the leaders during the second stage. Despite coming to pit road a couple of laps before everyone else, Logano’s Mustang didn’t come in until late, but he could muster no more than a ninth-place finish in Stage 2. Restarting the final stage in 13th, Logano quickly drove to sixth. Bad luck struck however when a caution flag flew during a round of green flag pit stops, trapping the No. 22 a lap down. The former champion was able to get the free pass, and restarted the race in the 13th position, eventually driving back to 10th. A late-race caution brought the entire field to pit road. Unfortunately, the short run to the end didn’t suit the No. 22, and Logano would finish 18th.

“We had a good car. It was a bit of a wasted car, unfortunately. We had a really fast Shell Pennzoil Mustang. Probably not good enough to beat the 5 but good enough for second or third. We just lost too much track position anytime the caution came out or we went to pit road. We just kept losing spot after spot after spot and couldn’t settle into the top five like we needed to. It was a fast car and that is important. We just need to get a little faster on pit road.”