• Joey Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe rolled the dice and hit the jackpot, winning the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon in the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Logano won for the second time in 14 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and claimed his first victory of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. The driver of the Pennzoil Ford Mustang started fifth and ran inside the top-five for most of the afternoon, leading five times for 54 laps. The eighth caution with five laps to go provided an opportunity for the Pennzoil team to remain on the track and cycle to the lead. Logano survived the final restart, holding off cars with fresher tires, and was leading Matt DiBenedetto when a caution waved on the final lap, ending the race and giving Logano his 24th career victory and second consecutive win in the Pennzoil 400.
• Logano started third in the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang, powering to second position before the field reached Turn 3 and was slowed by the first yellow flag. On the restart, Logano grabbed the lead powered to the lead as the field completed the fifth lap of the race. He relinquished the lead on lap 12 and reported that the Pennzoil Mustang was loose during the opening run. He dropped to the third position before the competition caution on lap 25. The Pennzoil crew made track bar and air pressure adjustments on the stop, sending Logano back out in the fourth position.
• He moved back to third position before losing rear grip in the No. 22 Pennzoil Mustang. Logano was passed by teammate Ryan Blaney before falling in line in fifth position. The No. 22 Ford Mustang remained loose through the entire second run of the race with Logano finishing fifth in Stage 1. He pitted during the stage caution on lap 83 for air pressure and wedge adjustments, also adding tape to the nose of the Pennzoil Ford. Logano restarted fourth on lap 87 and ran there during the opening laps of Stage 2.
• As Logano began closing in on the third pit stop of the race, he was running in fifth position behind teammate Ryan Blaney and still searching for rear grip around the 1.5-mile Nevada speedway. Wolfe made the call to adjust the handling on the Pennzoil Mustang with air pressure. Logano pitted on lap 123 for four tires plus fuel and air pressure changes. Late in the run Logano reported that the Pennzoil Mustang had improved, with the Mustang only building slightly loose towards the end of the run. A caution with two laps remaining in the second stage locked Logano into a second fifth-place stage result of the afternoon. The team elected to make additional air pressure adjustments during the stage caution on lap 163.
• Logano restarted third when Stage 3 began on lap 166, pushing Blaney to the race lead on lap 173 then battling to take the lead down the backstretch. A quick caution on lap 177 setup another restart with Logano getting a push to the lead from Ford Performance teammate Kevin Harvick and setup an opportunity for teams to invoke alternate strategies. The No. 22 Pennzoil team elected not to pit, opting to not surrender track position with only five green flag laps on the Goodyear Racing Eagles.
• On the ensuing restart, Logano got shuffled to the middle lane, dropping to the sixth position and being forced to go on the offensive to regain lost track position. He rallied back to the third position in three laps, setting his sights on teammate Ryan Blaney and race leader Kevin Harvick. Logano slipped to the fourth position, reporting that the handling had progressed to the loose side again. Logano passed Harvick for third on lap 212 at the start of a cycle of green flag pit stops. Logano pitted on lap 216 for four tires and an air pressure adjustment.
• As the pit cycle continued, Logano found himself side-by-side with Chase Elliott just before Elliott cut a tire entering Turn 1. Logano was trapped a lap down as other cars had remained on the track. He would take the wave around and be the third car in line for the restart on lap 226. On the drop of the flag, Logano powered the Pennzoil Ford to the lead off Turn 2, holding off Kevin Harvick.
• The next challenge for Logano was facing a late charge from Blaney, who had the advantage of fresher tires. With 12 laps remaining, Blaney took the lead from Logano at the entrance to Turn 1 on lap 255 and was pulling away when the eighth caution slowed the pace on lap 263. Several lead lap cars pitted but half the others, including Logano, remaining on the track.
• The decision to remain on the track put Logano in position to win the race and the driver took full advantage. Logano pulled away at the drop of the green flag and was leading when a four-car accident caused the ninth and final caution to wave on the final lap, ending the race and sealing the win for Logano.

 

“Winning the Pennzoil 400 with our Pennzoil Ford is so huge. It means a lot to be able to do it two years in a row winning this race. I’m proud of the effort everybody here behind me did today. They prepared a great Ford Mustang and executed the race perfectly and that’s what we wanted. We fought hard and tried to keep every spot we possibly could and then ultimately, oh man, being able to pull it into Victory Lane here.”