Joey Logano 2011 Bank of America 500 Results

Posted on October 15th, 2011 by Jean

Racing at Charlotte It appeared an ill-timed caution would cost Joey Logano and The Home Depot Team a good finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. However their luck turned around with 50 laps to go and Logano took the checkered flag in the 12th position. The top-15 finishing spot also moved Logano up one position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings to 22nd.

Logano and the team worked tirelessly on the car during the practice sessions on Thursday and Friday in preparation for the Bank of America 500. Logano started the 334-lap race from the 16th position and was dealing with a tight handling No. 20 car in traffic. As the field spread out, The Home Depot Toyota became loose off the corners. The team pitted on lap 43 for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help the car turn better. When the caution flag was displayed for debris on lap 76, Logano was sitting in the 17th position. The team pitted again for a chassis adjustment, tires and fuel.

The Home Depot car was too tight again early in the run for Logano, but when the yellow flag waved on lap 146 he told crew chief Greg Zipadelli it was the most consistent the car had been. Zipadelli decided to try a two-tire stop to see how the car would handle in case there was an opportunity later in the race to try it and gain track position. Logano restarted 12th but slipped to 19th at the halfway mark.

A round of green-flag stops occurred between laps 192 and 195 with The Home Depot Team coming down pit road on lap 193. Logano was able to stay on the lead lap in 18th, but told the team the car was the tightest it had been all night on lap 220. A second round of green-flag stops began on lap 233, and Logano came down pit road on lap 236. Unfortunately, Trevor Bayne ran out of fuel on lap 238 bringing out the caution before pit stops were completed. Logano was now two laps down in the 19th position. He took the wave around when the leaders pitted and was 19th, one lap down to the leader for the restart on lap 242.

Logano’s luck changed when teams began pitting under green on lap 285. The caution flag waved again on lap 287, except this time Logano had not pitted. He asked Zipadelli to free the car up in the center when they pitted, and when racing resumed on lap 292 he was 15th and in position to receive the free pass back onto the lead lap if the caution flag waved. The team didn’t have to wait long as the yellow flag was displayed after one lap of green-flag racing. Logano was now back on the lead lap and in the 13th position for the restart. Over the final 34 laps Logano was able to gain one position to claim the 12th spot. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin finished second and ninth respectively.

Logano sits 22nd in the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver point standings with five races remaining on the schedule. He is just 11 points behind Paul Menard in the 21st position. Logano and the team head to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend after a fuel injection test on Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Sprint Cup race will be broadcast on Sunday on ESPN at 2 p.m. EDT and on MRN Radio.

Driver	Car #	Start	Finish	Sponsor	Make	Laps Led	Laps run
Matt Kenseth	17	2	1	Fluidmaster	Ford	46	334
Joey Logano	20	16	12	The Home Depot	Toyota	0	334