For the third time in six weeks, Mother Nature postponed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from racing on its scheduled day. Joey Logano and The Home Depot Team were set to compete on Sunday in the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, but rain postponed the event until Monday. Logano battled the handling through the midpoint of the race, and the final results came down to fuel mileage. Several cars ran out of gas over the closing laps, but Logano crossed the stripe with the engine running in the 16th position.

“We were surprised at the start of the race with the handling of the car,” said Logano. “After the final practice we really felt like we had a good handling car, but with all the rain washing the tire rubber off the track it changed quite a bit. As the race went on the conditions changed and I felt like Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) and the team got the balance really close on The Home Depot Toyota. I was trying to save fuel at the end and was lifting really early. We lost a few spots because I had to slow down so much but got them back as cars ran out of gas over the last lap or two.”

For the 12th time this season, Logano qualified The Home Depot Toyota in the top 10. The green flag waved under grey skies, but without a threat of rain on Monday. The track conditions had changed dramatically with the tire rubber washed off the pavement, and Logano was battling an ill-handling car under the new circumstances. NASCAR waved a competition caution on lap 30 so teams could check tire wear. Logano came down pit road so the crew could adjust on the car which was loose on entry and exit. Racing resumed on lap 35 with Logano in the 16th position.

Logano had trouble with The Home Depot Toyota on restarts as the car was extremely tight in traffic. He slipped back to the 21st position on lap 55, and was 25th by lap 100. Crew chief Greg Zipadelli called for a right-side chassis adjustment under a green-flag stop to help Logano turn through the corners better on lap 114. Logano told the team the car’s balance was much better and he drove from 25th up to 20th by lap 144.

The Home Depot Toyota’s handling was much better over the last 100 laps, so the team was able to make smaller adjustments to help Logano. He pitted for tires for the final time on lap 205 following the caution flag brought out by the 34 car. Zipadelli knew the team would be unable to make it to the end on fuel, so when the yellow waved on lap 212 he called Logano down pit road for a final adjustment and to top off the fuel cell. Racing resumed on lap 217 with the No. 20 Toyota Camry in the 16th position. Throughout the run, Zipadelli reminded Logano to “save fuel.” He gave up several spots over the final 20 laps trying to save ethanol, but with two laps to go several cars has slowed on the track without gas. Logano was able take the checkered flag in the 16th position. Logano’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch ran out of fuel to finish 22nd while Denny Hamlin had several issues during the race and was scored in 31st.

Logano moved up one position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver standings to 21st, just six points from being back inside the top 20. Logano and The Home Depot Team head to the northeast next weekend to compete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The race will be broadcast on ESPN television and PRN Radio on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. ET.

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