Logano atones for Charlotte catastrophe

Joey Logano. (Getty Images)
Joey Logano. (Getty Images)
Joey Logano. (Getty Images)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. –Joey Logano got the absolute most from his No. 22 Team Penske Ford Sunday, and, as was the case with Austin Dillon, a strong run at Kansas put Logano in position to advance in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a solid performance next Sunday at Talladega.

Logano didn’t have a car to compete for the win on Sunday, but he ran third behind Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards to ameliorate the effects of a 36th-place finish at Charlotte a week earlier. Logano goes to Talladega tied for the last transfer spot with the Chase field to be cut there from 12 drivers to eight.

“Yeah, we came out swinging,” Logano said after the race. “It’s what we had to do. We did everything we were supposed to do today. Our team executed perfectly. So I’m proud of our pit stops, our adjustments, our restarts. Just needed a little bit more speed.

“That was probably the biggest thing. We were a little bit off on the short run. You know, after 15 laps or so, we were as good as anybody, but we weren’t better than them, so we couldn’t make up what we were losing on the restarts.

“We made up a lot of points, just not enough. It’s not comfortable. Austin and I are tied for next week, so that will be fun. So overall, I’m proud of the effort and the job we did today. We wanted to win, but we did everything we were supposed to do.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.