Logano Sees Top-Five Run Foiled in Final Turn
Leads First 21 laps of Nationwide Series Race at Bristol
Joey Logano and the No. 20 GameStop Toyota led the first 21 laps of Saturday’s Scott’s Turf Builder 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. They were also poised to bring home the dramatic God of War III paint scheme with a fifth-place finish. However, on the final turn of the 300-lap race, Kevin Harvick rammed Logano from behind, sending him spinning into the turn four wall. The battered Toyota was able to limp across the finish line to a 14th-place finish. Justin Allgaier grabbed his first Nationwide Series victory, holding off his Penske teammate Brad Keselowski in the frantic final 20 laps. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch finished third.
Joey Logano Quotes: Regarding the heavy contact from Harvick, which heavily damaged the GameStop Toyota: “I don't know. I don't understand that at all. It was for fifth place, so I don't know what he was doing. It wasn’t for the win! We ran together clean for almost the whole race and then he dumps me on the last lap. I don't understand what he was thinking."
About the previous 299 laps: “We started off with a car that got tighter and tighter, so we made a huge swing at it with a lot of changes to the car. But, we went too far and then it was as loose as it had been tight before. On the last stop (on lap 191), we undid some of the changes. The car was finicky. By the end of the day, we were talking about changes that were really small. We were pretty quick the last 100 laps. We were able to make some passes and put ourselves in a good position.”
Race Recap: Logano and the GameStop qualified second quickest Saturday morning, which is their second front-row starting spot in three races thus far this year. At the drop of the green flag, Logano sliced into the lead and held that spot for 21 laps. Logano held a top-ten position until the first pit stop of the day on lap 91. The adjustments were dramatic, as the handling of the car went from tight to loose. By the time the team made their final pit stop on lap 191, Logano and crew chief Kevin Kidd had managed to fine-tune the car for the final 100 laps. After dropping to 11th-place on the final stop. Logano and Harvick ran nose-to-tail for nearly all of the remaining laps, picking-off one position at a time until Logano earned the fifth position on lap 273, with Harvick in sixth. The two remained in that order until the heavy contact in the final corner. Logano and the No. 20 car stumbled across the finish line in 14th-place.
What’s Next: Joey and the GameStop car will be on-track again at Nashville Superspeedway for the Nashville 300. Logano is the defending champion of the race. The Nationwide Series race can be seen Saturday, April 3 at 2:00 pm ET on ESPN.
Race Notes
Pit Stops: Quickest stop was the third of three pit stops, lap 191 / 15.21 seconds for fuel, four tires and a wedge adjustment.
Season Notes: In three starts, Logano has an average start of 3, with two front-row starts… Logano has now led two races for 151 laps… The No. 20 team is now fourth in the owner’s point standings.
Contact:
Jade Gurss
704-236-1994
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