The Home Depot Team rallied late in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night to finish the extended race in the third position. Logano lost his drafting partner, teammate Kyle Busch after he pitted for a flat tire, but Logano found fellow Toyota driver Kasey Kahne in the closing laps to draft with to the checkered flag. It is the first top-five finish at the 2.5-mile track for Logano in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The finish also moved Logano up three positions and into the top 20 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings.

“The Home Depot Team and I needed something to turn around this season,” said Logano. “Recently, it seems like everything’s been going the wrong way. Ever since we got that pole last week, won the West race and had a good run in Sonoma things started turning around. Coming to Daytona and getting a first in the Nationwide race and a third today helps get us out of the hole we were in. Me, personally I needed the last few weeks for self-confidence, but it definitely helps out a lot with the team too. It was crazy race, and we came out with a top-five finish. We finally finished one here.”

Logano had a ton of momentum and confidence heading into the Coke Zero 400. After his pole position and top-10 run at Infineon Raceway the weekend before, Logano also captured the NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at Daytona on Friday evening. So despite his 37th-place starting spot, Logano and The Home Depot Team were cautiously optimistic heading into the race and had already decided to draft with teammate Busch throughout the race.

The Coke Zero 400 started off according to plan when Logano found teammate Busch early on in the event. The duo drafted into the top 10 before the caution flag waved on lap 24. A team miscommunication caused Logano to miss his pit stall, so he went around the track and back down pit road for four tires and fuel. Despite the miscue and restarting from the 20th position on lap 26, the Logano-Busch drafting tandem was back into the top 10 just two laps later.

Logano was still running in the top 10 at the midpoint of the scheduled 160-lap race. He pushed Busch to the top spot on lap 100 and the two would continue to run with the front runners. As the laps began to wind down the racing got a bit dicey. Logano had a close call when the No. 24 car was pushed up into the high line where Busch and he were drafting. The Home Depot Toyota had minor left front fender damage, but not enough for crew chief Greg Zipadelli to bring him down pit road. Unfortunately teammate Busch did not fare as well and was forced to pit with a flat tire.

Logano and his spotter now needed to find a new drafting partner toward the front of the field. With Gordon now at the rear of the field for the restart, it left his drafting partner Mark Martin up front alone as well. When the green flag waved, Martin and Logano attempted to get nose-to-tail. Martin however came down the track into Logano and started a chain-reaction melee. The No. 20 Toyota again only received minor damage, but Logano once again lost someone to team up with for the green-white-checker finish.

Logano and his spotter didn’t have to look too far out of the family to Toyota driver Kahne. The two quickly hooked up and pulled away from the rest of the field with the two-car tandem of Matt Kenseth and David Ragan. Time ran out when another huge wreck broke out behind the front four coming off the final turn after the white flag was displayed. Logano and Kahne never had the opportunity to attempt to get around the No.s 17 and 6 cars to take a shot at the win. Logano crossed the stripe in third with Kahne in tow. Logano’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Busch and Denny Hamlin finished fifth and 13th respectively.

Logano now sits 20thin the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship standings following the Coke Zero 400. He moved up three positions and is just 13 points out of 19th.

Logano and The Home Depot Team head to Kentucky Speedway next weekend for the track’s first Sprint Cup Series race. Logano has three consecutive victories at the track in the Nationwide Series and recently participated in a Goodyear Tire test at the track. The race airs on TNT television and MRN radio with live racing coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night.

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