Ill-Handling Car Results in a 24th-Place Finish for Logano in Richmond

Post-Race Highlights:

  • Joey Logano and the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota qualified 18th for Saturday night’s Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
  • From the drop of the green flag, Logano reported that the Home Depot Toyota was “plowing” in the center of the corners and that he couldn’t get the car turning. Logano picked up several spots early but started to fade soon after because of the ill-handling condition.
  • Crew chief Jason Ratcliff made a number of adjustments early on, including track bar, wedge and adding a spring rubber to the No. 20 Toyota. Logano reported that the changes hardly helped and the car was still extremely tight.
  • Logano fell a lap down just after the lap 100 mark but stayed in the Lucky Dog position and got back on the lead lap just 30 laps later.
  • The Home Depot Toyota still was tight and once again fell a lap down but took the wave around on the next caution to get back on the lead lap once again.
  • The adjustments made my Ratcliff and the team never helped the handling and Logano once again rode in the Lucky Dog position for many laps. Unfortunately a caution during green-flag pit stops trapped the Home Depot Toyota down two laps to the leaders.
  • Logano was able to wave around and get one lap back and pick up a couple of positions late, coming home with a 24th-place finish at the end. Logano’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch won the event.
  • With the finish, Logano fell three spots in the point standings and now finds himself 15th.

Logano’s Post-Race Thoughts:

“Needless to say, this was not the kind of night we wanted with the Home Depot Toyota. I don’t know if there was something wrong with the car or what, but we kept freeing it up and freeing it up all night long and it really made no difference. With the adjustments that we made, I should have been spinning out every corner but the car was plowing tight all night long. It just never got better. We will take the car back to the shop and look it over real good and hopefully find out something that was wrong from the get go because nothing really made sense tonight. Just not the night we wanted or needed. We just have to put this behind us and head on to Talladega and try to claw our way back into the point standings.”

Capital City 400