Tag: Joey Logano

Hailie Deegan replaced by AM Racing for Xfinity Series race in Chicago

Hailie Deegan has been replaced by AM Racing for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course.

[autotag]AM Racing[/autotag] has made a shocking change ahead of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course. On Monday afternoon, AM Racing announced that [autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag] will not drive the No. 15 Xfinity car at the Chicago Street Course. Instead, [autotag]Joey Logano[/autotag] will pilot the entry as the organization looks to increase its performance in 2024.

In 2024, Deegan has a best finish of 12th place at Talladega Superspeedway with five straight finishes of 25th place or worse. The 22-year-old driver sits 27th in the point standings, the worst of any driver who has made every start throughout the 2024 NASCAR season. This is a major difference for AM Racing compared to the 2023 season.

Brett Moffitt drove the No. 15 car and finished 15th in the point standings last year. As of now, Deegan sits 27th in the point standings. AM Racing never said when Deegan will return to the entry, but the next Xfinity Series race is at Pocono Raceway on July 13. Logano will look to provide feedback to AM Racing in its efforts to increase performance in 2024.

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Wolfe felt fuel gamble was ‘worth the risk’ in Nashville

Paul Wolfe came close to calling Joey Logano down pit road for fuel before the final overtime attempt at Nashville Superspeedway but figured the team had gone that far, and it was worth the gamble to stick it out. Logano made it work and drove a …

Paul Wolfe came close to calling Joey Logano down pit road for fuel before the final overtime attempt at Nashville Superspeedway but figured the team had gone that far, and it was worth the gamble to stick it out.

Logano made it work and drove a stumbling fuel tank across the finish line for the No. 22 team’s first win. A win that cliches the Team Penske group a spot in the postseason instead of bouncing around the bubble spot.

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Wolfe and Logano went 110 laps on their final tank of fuel. A rash of cautions in the final stage, including five overtime attempts, helped make the risk pay off.

“It was (a hard decision to stay on track), and I was so close to calling him down that last one because, at that point, you’re only so accurate,” Wolfe said. “My engineers are figuring the fuel mileage manually, and then we have simulations tools and things predicting how many laps we can run, which is based … you can tell when the engine’s running how much Joey’s saving. And they weren’t totally lining up. But I went with the one that told us we could run the longest. But that last one, that one said we were running out, so at that point, it was very tough.

“I thought it was worth the risk. It’s hard … I know we’re on the points cuff, but you have to figure over the next few weeks someone else is going to win a race, and then it’s all about winning, I feel like. So, I think that made the decision a little easier knowing someone else behind us in points is pretty likely to win a race with all the different style tracks coming up as we lead into the playoffs.”

The fuel window for Nashville Superspeedway is approximately 80 laps. But with Logano running in the middle of the field as opposed to in clean air as the leader, plus the caution periods, the variables fell his way.

Logano was running 15th with 15 laps to go (lap 285) in the race’s scheduled distance. His final pit stop was on lap 221, when the team also elected to take two tires. When the caution came out with two laps to go, setting up the first overtime, Logano restarted seventh, having moved up in the running order because of those who pitted in front of him and through the choose rule.

For the second and third overtime attempts, Logano restarted fifth. He moved into third position at the time of the caution that set up the fourth overtime restart, and he was the leader for that attempt because Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. had to pit for fuel in front of him.

Logano held serve on the fourth and fifth overtime restarts. But as he crossed the finish line, he told his team he was out of fuel. And yet, somehow, Logano returned to do a burnout before going to victory lane.

“We felt good it was full when we made that last stop, and at that point, I think we said we were 10 laps to the good,” Wolfe said. “If it ran regular distance, we felt we could run to (lap) 310. The first overtime, my guys were like, ‘We’re all right. We can maybe do one more.’ Then another one came, and it was like, we’re pushing it, but I think we can do it.

“Then after the second one, yeah, it was nerve-wracking for sure. By the last one, I was kind of numb to it at that point. I’m like, ‘It is what it is.’ I said, ‘If you feel it stumble, bring it to us.’ It was a big roller coaster of emotions there going through all those late-race overtime cautions.”

Joey Logano discusses season-altering win at Nashville in 2024

Joey Logano discusses his season-altering win at Nashville Superspeedway in 2024. Find out what Logano said about the victory!

[autotag]Joey Logano[/autotag] didn’t think he was in a position to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday evening. Logano wasn’t running in the top 10 spots at the caution with two laps to go, but after five NASCAR overtimes and drivers pitting, he found himself in the lead. The Team Penske driver stretched it 30 laps over the fuel window to clinch a playoff spot.

Following the event, Logano talked about the pressure of trying to make the 2024 NASCAR playoffs and the end of the Ally 300. The two-time Cup Series champion gave a lot of credit to Roush Yates for somehow stretching it on fuel.

“It’s been a stressful few weeks trying to get into the playoffs, and being able to win here is huge for our season,” Logano said. “Felt great to get that. Boy, it feels good. I’m out of breath. We had it won off of [Turn 4], and then the caution came out, and I was like, oh, my God, but you can’t pit. You’ve kind of got to go for it. Boy, it was close. But we’ve got to give a lot of credit to Roush Yates, not only building horsepower but building fuel mileage. That’s what won today.”

“Trying to make the playoffs is not easy these days with these NextGen cars, and everyone is so equally matched. I made a lot of mistakes, even some tonight, and it’s nice to be able to overcome. I’ve just got to thank Shell-Pennzoil, Hunt Brothers Pizza, AAA, Ford, everyone that helps support us all the way through, Coca-Cola. This is a much-needed win for sure.”

Logano’s win now means that all three Team Penske drivers will be in the 2024 playoffs. It looked as if Logano wouldn’t win a race during the regular season, but the craziness at Nashville proved otherwise. The driver of the No. 22 car can now focus on winning a third Cup Series championship, but he must find more speed to be a serious threat.

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Joey Logano wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville, full results

Joey Logano wins the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. Check out the full results and race recap from Nashville!

The NASCAR Cup Series never could’ve expected a race like Sunday evening. NASCAR arrived at Nashville Superspeedway, and after a subpar weekend of racing, the Cup Series gave it a shot. It was pure chaos. Five NASCAR overtimes, insane strategy, drivers running out of fuel, and more. At the end of the night, a Team Penske driver shocked the NASCAR world.

[autotag]Joey Logano[/autotag] won the Ally 400 at Nashville, earning his first Cup Series victory of the 2024 NASCAR season. Logano somehow stretched it 110 laps on fuel and clinched a spot in the playoffs. The driver of the No. 22 car held off Tyler Reddick on way fresher tires but ended up beating Zane Smith at the line. It was a shocking victory as Logano significantly altered the playoff bubble.

Throughout Sunday’s race, no one could have thought Logano would end up in victory lane. Christopher Bell swept the first two stages, and Toyota looked incredibly fast. In the end, Logano found a way and now has a spot in the playoffs. It was one of NASCAR’s most insane races yet and one that is season-altering for many drivers.

Ally 400 results:

  1. No. 22 Joey Logano
  2. No. 71 Zane Smith
  3. No. 45 Tyler Reddick
  4. No. 41 Ryan Preece
  5. No. 17 Chris Buescher
  6. No. 12 Ryan Blaney
  7. No. 23 Bubba Wallace
  8. No. 5 Kyle Larson
  9. No. 31 Daniel Hemric
  10. No. 10 Noah Gragson
  11. No. 16 A.J. Allmendinger
  12. No. 11 Denny Hamlin
  13. No. 51 Justin Haley
  14. No. 48 Alex Bowman
  15. No. 2 Austin Cindric
  16. No. 77 Carson Hocevar
  17. No. 38 Todd Gilliland
  18. No. 9 Chase Elliott
  19. No. 24 William Byron
  20. No. 7 Corey LaJoie
  21. No. 14 Chase Briscoe
  22. No. 99 Daniel Suarez
  23. No. 54 Ty Gibbs
  24. No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
  25. No. 6 Brad Keselowski
  26. No. 4 Josh Berry
  27. No. 8 Kyle Busch
  28. No. 21 Harrison Burton
  29. No. 50 Corey Heim
  30. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  31. No. 42 John Hunter Nemechek
  32. No. 3 Austin Dillon
  33. No. 1 Ross Chastain
  34. No. 43 Erik Jones
  35. No. 34 Michael McDowell
  36. No. 20 Christopher Bell
  37. No. 15 Riley Herbst
  38. No. 66 Chad Finchum

Logano stumbles his way to victory in extended Nashville wreckfest

Joey Logano was the last man standing through five overtime attempts at Nashville Superspeedway and drove a stumbling, fuel-starved engine across the finish line for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season. Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford …

Joey Logano was the last man standing through five overtime attempts at Nashville Superspeedway and drove a stumbling, fuel-starved engine across the finish line for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season.

Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang was in seventh position for the first overtime attempt and was the leader by the time the race hit its fourth. He inherited the race lead when Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. had to pit for fuel. Logano then held serve on the fourth and fifth attempts to score the victory in the Ally 400 over Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick.

“That’s a good question for Paul (Wolfe, crew chief),” Logano said of how much fuel he had to make it to the finish. “I know into [Turn] 3, my fuel light came on, and it stumbled across the line, so that was definitely all of it. But I’m so proud of this Shell/Pennzoil Mustang team. It’s been a stressful few weeks trying to get into the playoffs, and being able to win here is huge for our season. It felt great to get that.”

 

The much-needed victory clinches Logano a spot in the postseason. The two-time series champion has been bouncing around the playoff bubble recently and entered Sunday’s race the first driver above the cutline by 13 points.

Hamlin was in control of the race when Austin Cindric spun on the backstretch after contact with two laps to go. On the first overtime attempt, Kyle Larson washed up the track and collided with Ross Chastain, who restarted outside the front row. The second attempt went as far as the backstretch before a multi-car crash brought the caution back out.

On the third attempt, Larson didn’t launch in the outside lane and stacked up those behind him. The accordion effect ended with Kyle Busch getting turned by Chase Elliott.

The fourth attempt was interrupted when Josh Berry spun. Logano cleared Chase Briscoe coming off Turn 4 and was moments away from the white flag when the caution was displayed instead.

On the final attempt, Logano got a clean restart and air-blocked his way to his 33rd career victory. He went 110 laps on his final tank, having pitted for the last time on lap 221, and the race went 331 laps. The fuel window was approximately 80 laps for the 1.33-mile racetrack.

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Smith beat Reddick to the finish line on the heels of Logano. Ryan Preece finished fourth and Chris Buescher finished fifth.

Ryan Blaney finished sixth; Bubba Wallace, seventh; Larson, eighth; Daniel Hemric, ninth and Noah Gragson completed the top 10. Hamlin finished 12th after leading 70 laps.

The late-race carnage followed a 1h20m red flag for severe weather. NASCAR called the caution on lap 136 for lightning, which was quickly followed by heavy rain.

Christopher Bell was leading at the time and claimed both stage wins. Bell led a race-high 130 laps but crashed out of the event with 73 laps to go. At the time, Bell was running mid-pack after taking four tires on a pit stop and got loose in Turn 2 and backed into the outside wall.

The first stage went caution-free, and there were two natural cautions in the second stage before the weather delay. Riley Herbst exited the race in the third stage after contact from Corey LaJoie sent his Rick Ware Racing Ford into the Turn 2 wall.

Chase Elliott spun off Turn 4 to bring the race’s sixth caution. Bell’s incident followed a few laps later. The next caution would be for Cindric, which set up a chaotic ending.

The five overtime attempts are the most in Cup Series history.

RESULTS

Logano surges to Sonoma Cup pole

Joey Logano will start from the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Logano earned the top spot with a lap of 97.771mph (73.273s). It is the third pole of the year for Logano, his second at the California road course and the 31st …

Joey Logano will start from the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Logano earned the top spot with a lap of 97.771mph (73.273s). It is the third pole of the year for Logano, his second at the California road course and the 31st of his career.

Tyler Reddick, a California native, will join Logano on the front row. Reddick qualified second at 97.661mph.

Ryan Blaney qualified third at 97.566mph and Chase Elliott qualified fourth at 97.562mph. Kyle Larson completed the top five qualifiers at 97.542mph.

Larson “clipped” the tire barrier, by his description, in Turn 4 during the final round of qualifying. Larson, the 2021 winner at Sonoma Raceway, damaged the left side of his Chevrolet but said his steering wheel was still straight. On his second qualifying attempt, Larson went from the slowest driver of the group to earn a fifth-place starting position.

William Byron qualified sixth at 97.518mph, Daniel Suarez qualified seventh at 97.513mph, and Alex Bowman qualified eighth at 97.420 mph. Ross Chastain qualified ninth at 97.390mph, and Ty Gibbs qualified 10th at 97.113mph.

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Quite a few heavy hitters did not make the final round of qualifying. AJ Allmendinger was the first driver outside the top 10, qualifying 11th.

Michael McDowell qualified 12th and Christopher Bell qualified 15th. Bubba Wallace qualified 18th and Martin Truex Jr. qualified 21st. It’s the third time in the last six races that Truex has qualified 19th or worse. However, Truex has won three of the last five races at Sonoma.

Supercars racer Will Brown qualified 24th for his Cup Series debut. Brown, in a third Richard Childress Racing entry, was third fastest in Friday’s practice session.

Cup Series championship point leader Denny Hamlin qualified 25th. Chris Buescher qualified 26th, Austin Cindric qualified 28th and Kyle Busch qualified 29th.

Cam Waters qualified 31st with RFK Racing. Brad Keselowski, the team co-owner, qualified 35th.

There are 38 drivers who will take the green flag in Sunday’s race. The last driver on the grid will be Erik Jones, who qualified last.

RESULTS

UP NEXT: The Toyota / Save Mart 350 at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX).

Logano fastest in rain-affected Cup practice at WWT Raceway

Joey Logano led the way in a rare full-field practice for the NASCAR Cup series at World Wide Technology Raceway. The inaugural Cup winner at the facility laid down a 138.024mph (32.603s) lap on the fourth of his 19 laps to lead the session. It was …

Joey Logano led the way in a rare full-field practice for the NASCAR Cup series at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The inaugural Cup winner at the facility laid down a 138.024mph (32.603s) lap on the fourth of his 19 laps to lead the session.

It was held with the full field to ensure all teams equal track time with encroaching storms lingering just east of the track. Light rain briefly halted the session after 18 minutes of the scheduled 30 minutes, but NASCAR deemed the track dry and practice resumed minutes later.

Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney (138.020mph) followed Logano in second, the defending champ’s quickest lap falling just .001s shy of quick time. Ty Gibbs (137.923mph) was the quickest Toyota in third, with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick (137.640mph) and Bubba Wallace (137.438mph) completing the top-five.

Austin Cindric (137.400mph) was last among the Team Penske drivers in sixth. Seventh-place Ross Chastain (137.400mph) was the lone Chevrolet driver in the top-10. He was followed by Christopher Bell (137.270 mph), Michael McDowell (137.141 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (137.124mph).

Kyle Larson returned to Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolet after missing the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 to contest the Indianapolis 500. The 2021 champion slotted 24th on the charts with a best lap of 136.265mph. He’s still waiting to learn whether NASCAR will issue him a playoff eligibility waiver.

There were no accidents during the session, though Chase Briscoe did slide out into the infield grass while practicing pit entry.. All 36 teams present took to the track, with 31st-place Noah Gragson completing a session-high 37 laps and 35th-place Erik Jones running the fewest (15).

Which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Gateway?

Which NASCAR driver has the most wins at World Wide Technology Raceway? Check out who tops the list at Gateway!

NASCAR has a short history with the World Wide Technology Raceway, dating back to the 2022 season. Since that point, the NASCAR Cup Series has competed in only two races. However, which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Gateway? With limited races at the track, the answer is straightforward.

[autotag]Joey Logano[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyle Busch[/autotag] each have one victory at Gateway, making them the most successful drivers at the track in NASCAR history. The Cup Series doesn’t have as many races at Gateway compared to the NASCAR Xfinity Series; however, they each have won races in their own ways, with Logano leading 22 laps and Busch leading 121 laps.

Any driver can add their names to the list this weekend and make it a three-way tie for the top spot. If not, one of Logano or Busch can take a firm grasp on the lead spot. It will be fun to see who manages the race track the best on Sunday afternoon.

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Joey Logano talks about winning the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race

Joey Logano talks about winning the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Check out what Logano had to say!

[autotag]Joey Logano[/autotag] won the pole for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race, which represented a shot in the arm after a rough start to the year. However, it got much better for Logano. The Team Penske driver dominated at North Wilkesboro Speedway, leading 199 of the 200 laps to earn his second career All-Star Race victory.

Following the event, Logano climbed out of his race car and discussed his dominating race win. While it won’t count toward the playoffs or point standings, it’s still a significant momentum boost for Logano, who has been struggling in 2024.

“Oh, man. How about that, Wilkesboro? That was awesome,” Logano said. “What an incredible Shell-Pennzoil Mustang. It was so fast. We came here and tested, we ran over 800 laps at the tire test. [Crew chief Paul Wolfe] really put me to work. Really figured out what it was going to take to win the race.”

 

“The boys executed a fantastic stop, fantastic weekend. Great execution. It’s been a while since we’ve won a race. I wish this one counted for points, but a million bucks will work, as well.”

As Logano said, he wishes this was a points race, but the $1 million should help erase any disappointing thoughts. The No. 22 car has lacked speed in 2024 and this is exactly what the team needed. Logano currently sits outside of the playoff picture and hopes to use this momentum to propel himself to victory lane in a points race sooner rather than later.

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Penske sweeps Sunday with Logano’s NASCAR All-Star win

It was a study in domination and impeccable strategy. Leading a NASCAR All-Star Race record 199 of 200 laps, pole winner Joey Logano kept Denny Hamlin and peripatetic Kyle Larson at bay on Sunday night in winning the 40th running of the event and …

It was a study in domination and impeccable strategy.

Leading a NASCAR All-Star Race record 199 of 200 laps, pole winner Joey Logano kept Denny Hamlin and peripatetic Kyle Larson at bay on Sunday night in winning the 40th running of the event and collecting the $1-million top prize.

Running the entire race on softer option tires—and eschewing the more durable prime tires at repaved and revitalized North Wilkesboro Speedway—Logano beat runner-up Hamlin to the finish line by 0.636s, with Chris Buescher passing Larson for third place on the next-to-last lap.

The All-Star Race victory was the second for Logano and the fifth for Team Penske, which also won with Kurt Busch (2010), Ryan Newman (2002) and Ryan Blaney (2022).

“A lot of fun when you’ve got a car this fast,” said Logano, who is winless in 13 NASCAR Cup Series points events this season. “The Shell/Pennzoil Mustang, it’s just so great to get in Victory Lane.

“All of our sponsors and everyone who stuck with us to get a win, it feels nice. It’s been a while. I wish it was for points, but a million bucks is still a lot of money, and I feel great about that.”

Though Logano spent the race at the front of the field, Larson drew his share of attention, too, as he shuttled between 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the historic 0.625-mile short track.

After qualifying fifth for next Sunday’s Indianapolis 500—the first leg of a planned double with the Coca-Cola 600 next Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway—Larson left Indy on a helicopter at 5:44 p.m.

After transferring to a private jet registered to HMS Holdings and arriving at Wilkes County Airport, Larson took a helicopter to nearby North Wilkesboro Speedway and landed on the track property at 7:15 p.m.—to loud applause from fans in the grandstands.

Larson started from the rear of the field because of a driver change, given that Kevin Harvick had qualified the No. 5 Chevrolet while Larson was at Indy.

During a planned caution at lap 151, Larson pitted for option tires that had spent only one green-flag lap on his car and charged through the field from 10th at the restart to challenge Hamlin for the runner-up spot before fading in the closing laps.

Larson ran out of steam, and Hamlin was frustrated by his inability to make a move on the race winner.

“I needed more of an advantage to pass, for sure,” Hamlin said. “I would run to him, and then you couldn’t pass. I would lose a little bit of air there, and I would try to give my car a break and then run to him again—just have to be so much faster to get around.

“Hats off to the track, NASCAR and Goodyear for giving [two tire choices] a try. Hopefully, we learned something here for future short tracks.”

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The fireworks started early on Sunday. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. went up the middle to create a three-wide scenario mid-pack and angered Kyle Busch on the outside when the cars collided. Busch retaliated on Lap 2 and turned Stenhouse’s Chevrolet into the outside wall, eliminating Stenhouse from the race.

Stenhouse drove his damaged car to pit road, parked it in Busch’s stall and expressed his displeasure to Busch’s crew chief, Randall Burnett. After the race, Stenhouse vented his pent-up rage in a brief fistfight with Busch, which also involved crews from the two teams.

 

“At least we had an exciting fight in the end—something to talk about,” said Hamlin, always the curmudgeon.

Under the caution for Stenhouse’s wreck, five drivers—Logano, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Buescher and Blaney—stayed on the track on the softer option tires, while the rest of the field came to pit road and switched to the prime tires.

Preserving track position proved to be the winning move for the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. When crew chief Paul Wolfe saw the car’s performance on the option tires, he chose not to change to primes at the 100-lap halfway break.

“Well, we did the first 100, so why wouldn’t it last the second 100?” agreed Logano. “That was our thought, so it was definitely an aggressive strategy, but it worked out good.”

Blaney came home fifth, followed by Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell and Busch.

Toyota drivers Ty Gibbs and Wallace transferred into the main event by finishing first and second, respectively, in the 100-lap NASCAR All-Star Open.

For Gibbs, the victory was a cakewalk. Starting from the pole, the driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry led every lap and crossed the finish line 1.572s ahead of Wallace, who had to hold off charging Josh Berry and Justin Haley to secure his spot in the show.

Berry was third in the Open, less than a half-second behind Wallace, with Haley trailing in fourth. Berry’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Noah Gragson, finished fifth but transferred into the All-Star Race by winning the Fan Vote.

“I can’t say enough about the fans,” Gragson said after learning he had been voted into the race. “They’re bad-ass. They keep us motivated each and every weekend to come out and do our jobs.

“When times aren’t great, the fans always pump us up and we feed off their energy. I appreciate everybody’s support and we’ve got 200 laps to go chase a million bucks.”

The chase came up short. Gragson started at the back of the 20-car field and finished 11th.

RESULTS