In a day of wild restarts Joey Logano proved to be the restart king. Logano started from the pole and won the NASCAR Sprint Cup FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It was his first win of 2016 and is first since October of last year and the 15th of his career.
“What a great race car,” Logano said. “To win here in Roger’s back yard and Ford’s back yard, this is always a big win for us here. We appreciate the great car. What a crazy race with the low downforce and with more cautions and more opportunity to screw up pretty much.”
The race featured a new tire compound and a new low downforce package and it was Logano who adapted the best, not only leading from the pole, but leading a race high 139 laps. With track position important, the restarts were chaotic but it was Logano who was able to survive a total of 9 to secure his first win of 2016. Rookie Chase Elliott led 35 laps but a pit road miscue on the final round of pit stops left him short of fuel and with a second place finish. Kyle Larson was third, Logano’s Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski was fourth, and Kevin Harvick was fifth.
“I just did something dumb,” Elliott said.
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.
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