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theracereview

· Joey Logano started from the pole in Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International, his fourth consecutive pole position at the 2.450-mile road course. Logano maintained the lead throughout the first stage, claiming a valuable playoff point for the No. 22 Snap-on Tools Mustang team.

· During the stage break, Logano reported he needed additional turn in the No. 22 Ford, noting that he could sacrifice a little of the left turn security to help his right turns. Crew chief Brian Wilson made an air pressure change as the teams maintained a watchful eye toward the threatening sky.

· Logano restarted outside the top-10 for the start of Stage 2, but within two laps he was back inside the top-five before his progress was halted by a caution flag on lap 26. Under caution he reported that he was slightly free in Turn 3, but overall the Snap-on Tools Mustang was good everywhere else. At lap 35, NASCAR deemed the track wet, opening pit road for teams to install Goodyear wet weather tires.

· The heavy rain lasted only a few minutes, but the race halted on lap 37 for track repair following a single car incident in Turn 1. The track began to dry during the delay. Logano reported to his team that the surface would be dry in only a few laps of racing.

· During the final stage, Logano worked his way forward as other leaders began cycling through green flag pit stops. Crew chief Brian Wilson elected to run long, not pitting until 25 laps remaining in the race. As other leaders chose to take fuel-only, the No. 22 Snap-on Tools crew opted for four fresh tires for their run to the finish.

· The complexity of the race changed thanks to the sixth caution on lap 68. Logano was closed in on the leaders, lining up in the fifth position for the restart. He was up to third position before the seventh and final caution waved on lap 73.

· On the final restart, Logano moved inside of teammate Brad Keselowski in Turn 1, grabbing the lead at the exit of the corner and never looking back. He officially scored his third NASCAR XFINITY Series victory at Watkins Glen International by 3.362 seconds ahead of AJ Allmendinger. The victory was also Logano’s 30th in 173 career starts.

 

quote

“I thought that was going to be my best shot, but I really honestly thought I would have a shot afterwards, so I wasn’t going to go all-or-nothing. I was able to have a good restart and dropped to the inside. He (Keselowski) and I was able to get all the way door-to-door with him and we barely touched each other about the two-thirds of the exit point of the corner. It was just a small, little touch that didn’t even upset our cars. It’s hard racing at the end and I would expect him to do the same thing to me when he’s trying to win a race. We were going for it.”

 


Zippo 200 The Glen