Logano Finishes Eighth at Nashville SuperspeedwayGameStop Toyota Leads 122 Laps, Wins Second Pole of 2010
Joey Logano and the No. 20 GameStop/Legends of Zork Toyota team started Saturday’s Nashville 300 from the pole position and led four times for 122 laps. After falling victim to an ill-timed caution flag, Logano was forced to fight his way through the field in the final 30 laps to finish in eighth-place. In four starts this season, Logano has scored three top-10s and two pole positions with the GameStop team. This is also the second time this season that Logano and the No. 20 crew have led the most laps. Kevin Harvick won the race, followed by Reed Sorenson in second and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch in third.
Joey Logano Quotes: “It was very frustrating. We had a winning racecar and a car that could run up front. The GameStop car led a lot of laps, but we gave it away. We should have pitted (while leading the race under a caution flag on lap 142)… It all backfired right in our face when we had to make that green flag stop (on lap 182) and then the caution came out six or seven laps later… It’s embarrassing, but at least we have fast cars and can win a pole. We need to figure out how to finish these things up front.”
Why the team chose not to pit: “We weren’t in our fuel window to make it to the end of the race, so we stayed out. We would have still needed to make one more stop no matter what. As the leader, you’re trapped because whatever you do, the other guys are going to do the opposite. We would have been fine if it would have stayed green (to the finish), but it didn’t.”
Race Recap: Logano and the GameStop team won their second pole position of the season and led the race easily in the early laps. The GameStop car, dubbed “the Purple People Eater” because of its hue featuring the game “Legends of Zork,” was the quickest in the field on short runs, but would struggle under long green-flag segments of the race. The key moment fell on lap 142. Under caution, the team opted not to pit while many other cars did come to the pits for fuel and tires. Logano then streaked away from the field again until he pitted to refuel on lap 182. Had the race gone green the remainder of the laps, Logano and Brad Keselowski would have battled for the victory, but a caution flag fell for debris on lap 191, which pinned the No. 20 one lap down in 20th place. In the final 30 laps, Logano sliced forward past a dozen cars to finish in the eighth position.
What’s Next: Joey and the No. 20 team will be on-track again next week at Phoenix International Raceway with another sponsor while the GameStop colors will fly again at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, April 17 for the O’Reilly 300.
Race Notes
Pit Stops: Pit stop number three of three, lap 182. Four tires and fuel, 14.22 seconds
Season Notes: Logano’s pole position is his ninth career Nationwide Series pole, and his second in four races this season… This is his second pole position at Nashville… Logano has started on the front row in three of his four starts… He has led the most laps in two races this season… The GameStop team has led 273 laps this year and sits in sixth place in the owner’s point standings.
Contact:
Jade Gurss
704-236-1994
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