Likely Top-Five Finish for Logano Derailed by Mid-Race Accident.

Post-Race Highlights:

• Joey Logano qualified ninth for Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway. Logano’s top-10 start was the top qualifying effort of all the Joe Gibbs Racing machines.
• When the race started, Logano quickly proved he had one of the fastest cars in the field. After starting ninth, it took Logano just six laps to gain six positions on the track, where he settled into third for the next several laps.
• Logano ran in the top-five for the first 50 laps of the event. After the second round of pit stops on lap 51, it was quickly clear that there would be a number of different pit strategies on the afternoon. Logano came out of the pits 15th after taking four tires when many of the cars in front of him took just two.
• Logano held strong around 15th before the next round of stops in which crew chief Jason Ratcliff called for a two-tire change. This time, Logano got back out near the front and restarted eighth.
• The 22-year-old ran seventh until radioing in that he had a very bad vibration on lap 81. He brought his Home Depot Toyota into the pits the very next lap for four fresh tires and minor adjustments. Logano’s hunch was right as his right front tire was severely blistered.
• Logano was running 10th following a restart when he jumped to the inside of a much slower car coming out of turn two. The move got Logano’s Home Depot Toyota loose. Logano tried to correct the car but it was too late. His No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing machine slammed into the outside wall and was then hit by several other cars. The resulting damage was too much to continue and Logano retired from the event in the 35th position.
• Unofficially, Logano remained 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings and is still firmly in the hunt for one of the Wild Card spots for the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

Logano’s Post-Race Thoughts:

“That was just an unfortunate end to what was really looking to be a good day for our Home Depot Toyota. I am not exactly sure what happened there. We were in a pretty good position following that restart. There was a slower car in front of us who was starting up front and he started dropping back right away. He got up out of the groove and maybe even into the outside wall there and I just dove underneath him and when I did, the car got really loose. After that, I was just along for the ride. I tried to save it but at that point there wasn’t much I could do. I just held on and waited for it to be done with.

“It’s really too bad for my guys because we had a car that was easily capable of a top-10 and even a top-five finish. The car was great and we were making it better and better with every adjustment. It was just all about track position out there. I think if we had the track position late, we would have been a top-five car for sure. And that would have been a really good points day for us. But I’m not letting this get me down at all. We still have a lot of momentum going. We are still running strong and bringing very fast cars to the track. We will just put this behind us and go on to Sonoma and keep moving forward. There is still plenty of time and we are still in a great position to get ourselves into the Chase and that is what we are focused on doing.”

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