· Joey Logano started eighth in Sunday’s 500-mile race at Texas Motor Speedway, but quickly moved up to third before the first caution on lap 14. Logano liked the changes crew chief Todd Gordon and the team made to the No. 22 Ford Mustang after final practice, specifically the improved balance. On the restart, Logano moved up to second, just behind race leader Jimmie Johnson.

· Throughout the opening 50 laps, Logano said the balance on the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was good, but started to swing tight. Gordon called for an air pressure adjustment on the right-rear for the first stop. Logano made up time on the race leader, ultimately cycling into the lead on lap 83 during a sequence of green flag pit stops and holding on for his second stage win of the season when the segment ended on lap 85.

· Logano continued the top-five run in Stage 2, working to the second position before pitting at lap 145. The third caution of the race on lap 150 was ill timed for Logano, putting him a lap down, but he was the recipient of the free pass back to the lead lap. He pitted during the yellow with Gordon calling for track bar change and a four-tire stop. Unfortunately, NASCAR ruled the team had an uncontrolled right-rear tire on the stop, which dropped Logano to the back of the field.

· More misfortune struck when Logano returned to the track and the hood began collapsing at speed in clean air. The crew made multiple attempts to repair it under the Stage 2 caution using adhesive patches to hold it in place. Despite their sour luck, Logano was able to keep the Shell-Pennzoil Ford in contention for the free pass back onto the lead lap.

· The team continued to make repairs during the fifth and final caution on lap 256. The work and adjustments worked, as the handling of the No. 22 Ford Mustang greatly improved as the race roared to conclusion. Logano maintained free pass position but never got a caution to cash in and make up the lost distance. He was credited with a 17th-place finish.

 

“We had race winning speed early in the race with the Shell-Pennzoil Ford and that’s the positive that you take from today. We’ve continued to show up with fast cars at every type of race track and that’s a really good thing. Unfortunately, we just had something break up under the hood and had to spend time fixing that and really hurt the aerodynamics of our Ford Mustang.”