Start: 1st | Stage One: 11th | Stage Two: 21st | Finish: 32nd | Points: 30th

After claiming Team Penske’s first-ever DAYTONA 500 pole award Wednesday night, Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang led the field to green in Monday afternoon’s 66th running of The Great American Race. Logano led his first of a race-high – and DAYTONA 500 career-best – 45 laps prior to a green flag pit stop for fuel only on lap 40 that saw the No. 22 battle back through the field for an 11th-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four-tire stop and a round of adjustments at the stage break, Logano lined up to restart 11th before forming a third lane on the outside that worked its way to the front of the field. Logano was one of several cars to hit pit road under green on lap 111 for fuel only and led the group off pit road from the first pit stall. After cycling back to seventh in the running order after green flag stops were complete, Logano was shuffled out of the lead pack and ultimately settled for a 21st-place finish in Stage 2. Logano lined up 13th to begin the final stage and worked all three lanes as momentum shifted constantly, allowing him to move back into the top-10 with 50 laps to go. The Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was back out front with 38 to go before the Fords hit pit road for their final fuel stops of the night as Logano found himself battling for the lead in the outside lane with under 20 laps remaining. With teammate Ryan Blaney pushing Logano to the front with eight laps to go, contact in the lane below the pair of teammates sent the No. 6 up the track and into the left rear of Logano, setting off a multi-car incident in turn three that brought an end to Logano’s bid for a second DAYTONA 500 title.

“That’s very much how speedway racing is. It’s part of it. You’re pushing and shoving there at the end. We had the cars that could take it and were doing really well. I had Blaney behind me. I thought, ‘Man, if I could pick one, that’s the one I want. I’m in a great position here’ and just had to find the right opportunity to slip the 1 again because the 6 wasn’t working with us, so I felt if I could keep the 12 with me I’m going to be in a decent spot, but it just didn’t work out. The car was so fast. The car was the fastest car on the track. I could lead a line. Whenever we weren’t saving fuel she was a rocket ship. It’s just how this game works. The wreck always starts in the front and you hope you’re in front of it. Second place isn’t far enough ahead.”

 

WHAT’S NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday, February 25. Coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.