The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway saw varying strategies play out at the end of the 160-lap event. The Home Depot Team worked hard throughout the race on the handling of the No. 20 Toyota Camry and had Joey Logano running in the top 10. Ultimately fuel mileage was the deciding factor of the race and Logano and the team crossed the finish line in the 25th position. Logano slipped one spot in the standings and now sits 19th.

“We started off terrible, but that wasn’t unexpected,” said Logano. “I hate that we finished 25th. The team got The Home Depot Toyota handling well, the guys just kept getting the car better. The team got the car to the point that at we had decent speed in it. We just knew couldn’t make it on fuel there, had to pit and ended up finishing 25th. We did a good job getting the car better, but it’s frustrating – when you work that hard and the car is handling well then it turns into a fuel mileage race. The good news is we were able to make improvements throughout the race and can continue to build off that.”

Logano qualified The Home Depot Toyota in the 20th position for The Brickyard 400. Once again, the sun was out the temperatures were blazing at the Indiana track when the green flag waved. Logano quickly told Zipadelli the car was extremely loose, which he proved when the car did a four-wheel slide after contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. early on in the event. Logano made an incredible save and was able to continue on but lost a few spots on the track. When he brought the No. 20 Toyota down pit road for a green-flag stop on lap 26 he was running in the 27th position.

The team’s adjustments to the car throughout the race, coupled with race strategy had Logano into the top 15 on lap 54. He told the team the car still lacked grip and it was difficult to pass with the aero-sensitive nature of the car and track. With 60 laps remaining in the event he was sitting 20th and told Zipadelli the car had much better overall grip. The caution waved for debris on lap 113 of the 160-lap race and Logano came down pit road for right-side tires and fuel. Racing resumed on lap 117 with The Home Depot Toyota in the 10th position and in the outside lane, which was not the preferred racing groove. He slipped back to 13th trying to get to the bottom groove when the caution flag waved on lap 121 with 39 to go.

Zipadelli knew the team would not be able to make it to the end on fuel, so he told Logano to remain on the track. Several other teams either believed they could make it to the end on fuel, or anticipated another caution and brought their cars down pit road. The green flag waved on lap 126 with Logano in the top 10. Once the team was within its fuel window on lap 132, Zipadelli called Logano into the pits for two tires and fuel. Several teams were on the same strategy, and didn’t believe anyone could make it to the end on fuel. The anticipated caution flag never waved, and the front runners made incredible fuel mileage. Some of the drivers on the fuel strategy were shutting off their cars as they crossed the start-finish line and coasted through the corners until they would fire it back up in an effort to save ethanol. A couple of cars eventually did run out, but when the checkered flag waved Logano was scored in the 25th position.

Logano slipped one spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings to 19th but sits just seven points out of 18th behind Mark Martin and 22 points out of the top 15. Logano’s teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin finished 10th and 27th in The Brickyard respectively.

Logano and The Home Depot Team return to Pocono Raceway next weekend for the Pocono 500. The race airs on ESPN television and MRN radio with live racing coverage beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Joey Logano Brickyard 400 Photos

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