Joey Logano started the Aaron’s 499 from the 36th position, directly behind teammate Kyle Busch. It didn’t take long for the duo to continue the magic they had worked in the Aaron’s 312 which led to a 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Logano and Kyle began working their way forward since the drop of the green flag and by lap 21 Logano had finally pushed Kyle Busch to the lead.

Logano would get the chance to lead a total of two laps in the 188 lap event, giving Logano a critical bonus point for the laps led. Just like the Daytona 500, the two-car tandems were the key to success in the Aaron’s 499. Late in the race Logano hooked up with teammate Denny Hamlin to attempt a charge to the front. This time, Logano was the one who was going to get the push. With four to go the machine of Dave Blaney got loose in turn 3 after a bad bump from Kurt Busch. Dave Blaney was able to save his car on the apron, however Denny Hamlin and Logano had to check up for the incident and the two got separated.

With three laps to go, Logano was in the 18th position and needed to find a new drafting partner. It was then that Logano began to work with David Gilliland. Logano pushed Gilliland until the finish, and would finish in the 10th position. Teammate Denny Hamlin finished in the 23rd position.

The 10th place finish is Logano’s first top ten finish of the 2011 season. With the 10th place finish, Logano moves up four spots in the driver standings and slots into the 24th position. Logano is currently 12 points out of the top 20, and 66 points out of the top 10.

“Finally! We ran in the top 10 all day and finally finished in the top 10,” said Logano. “It was an interesting Talladega — we were just pushing each other out there like crazy. At the end I was trying to work with the 11 (Denny Hamlin) but there were cars wrecking in front of us, we all checked up and they kept it green. We lost a lot of time there and I lost Denny. I had to go with the 34 (David Gilliland) and we drafted into the top 10. Either way, it’s a good run for The Home Depot Toyota. We finally got a top 10 this year. The weekend is something we can build off of for sure. We just need to keep backing these things up.”

Next stop for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be at the Richmond International Raceway. A track where Logano has a total of four starts, and has completed all of the race laps. Logano has an average starting position of 17.2 and an average finish of 13.2. Coverage of the race can be seen April 30th at 7:30 pm eastern time on FOX.

Joey Logano Aaron’s 499 Photos

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Joey Logano Aaron’s 499 Qualifying Video