Joey Logano Steals NASCAR Cup Series Win At Texas In OT

It was a long way to the top in Texas for Joey Logano.

The Team Penske driver had a fifth place finish at Talladega disqualified due to a technical violation and his weekend at Texas Motor Speedway started off poorly when he qualified 27th for the Würth 400 Cup Series race.

A master class in working through the field at a notoriously difficult track to pass on followed and Logano survived 12 caution periods to be near the front at the end.

Logano took the lead from Michael McDowell and was running away with the race with four laps to go, but then McDowell got passed by Logano’s teammate Ryan Blaney and spun himself trying to get the spot back.

Read Also: NASCAR WANTED TO THROW OUT THE RULE BOOK FOR THE ALL-STAR RACE BUT THE TEAMS SAID ‘NO’ — HERE’S WHY

That set up an overtime finish with Logano and Blaney starting on the front row, but Logano immediate took the lead and went unchallenged to the checkered flag.

“Slowly, methodically, a couple at a time. We had a really tough pit stall situation,” Logano said during his post-race interview on FS1.

“The pit crew did a good job of managing that and just grabbed a couple here and there. The car was fast. I knew that yesterday. We just did a poor job qualifying. Just grinded it. Just keep grinding a couple here and a couple there and eventually get a win here. It’s nice to get one. Real nice.”

Logano’s day almost ended with 96 laps to go when he was running behind Bubba Wallace, who tapped the wall and slowed enough to cause Logano to run into the back of him. Wallace went into a spin and collected several cars, but Logano made it through the melee.

But the most dramatic moment of the race came when Denny Hamlin slowed on lap 74 with smoke coming out of his car. He was trying to get back to the pits when it burst into flames on the next lap and sent him into a slide. He caught it without crashing and safely drove the car onto the apron where it finally gave up.

Logano’s win secured him a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs and moved him from 13th to 9th in the season standings heading into the Kansas race on May 11.

Full Results:

1. (27)  Joey Logano, Ford, 271.
2. (31)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 271.
3. (24)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 271.
4. (4)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 271.
5. (14)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 271.
6. (34)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 271.
7. (19)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 271.
8. (28)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 271.
9. (16)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 271.
10. (25)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 271.
11. (32)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 271.
12. (23)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 271.
13. (2)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 271.
14. (21)  Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 271.
15. (15)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 271.
16. (29)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 271.
17. (13)  Zane Smith, Ford, 271.
18. (12)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 271.
19. (20)  Cole Custer, Ford, 271.
20. (26)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 271.
21. (17)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 271.
22. (37)  Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 271.
23. (6)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 271.
24. (1)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 270.
25. (3)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 268.
26. (5)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Accident, 265.
27. (22)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, Suspension, 254.
28. (30)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 246.
29. (33)  Ryan Preece, Ford, Accident, 237.
30. (36)  Cody Ware, Ford, Accident, 237.
31. (35)  Jesse Love(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 217.
32. (7)  Josh Berry, Ford, 187.
33. (9)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 179.
34. (18)  Noah Gragson, Ford, Accident, 172.
35. (11)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 172.
36. (10)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 172.
37. (38)  Chad Finchum, Ford, Accident, 167.
38. (8)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Engine, 73.