After Starting from the Pole at Pocono, Cut Tire Drops Home Depot Team to 26th

The 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway was filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for The Home Depot Team. Joey Logano started from the pole for the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 on Sunday, was leading when rain halted the race after the halfway mark and was running sixth with 15 laps to go. Unfortunately, he ran over something in the closing laps that cut the right-rear tire and he was forced to pit under green-flag conditions. The late-race issue dropped him from a likely top-10 finish back to 26th place when the checkered flag waved.

“We did all we could,” said crew chief Greg Zipadelli. “We sat on the pole, we led a bunch of laps and had a very respectful top-five Home Depot car. I think this was one of our better performances in the last two and a half years so I’m not going to hang my head and over something that we can’t control. If it was something that we did and made a bad call it would be different than that. We had a solid weekend and I want to walk out of here with a good attitude and keep that momentum that we’ve had in the last six to eight weeks going.”

The 2.5-mile track has never been one of Logano’s best tracks, but on Saturday he posted a lap that earned him the pole position as he became the youngest pole winner at the Pennsylvania track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. That record was previously held by Kasey Kahne whom Logano narrowly beat out for the pole on Saturday as well.

Logano led the first 16 of 200 laps at Pocono Raceway when the green flag waved on Sunday. The skies and radar looked threatening, but rain appeared to stay away from the track. Logano continued to run in the top five while Zipadelli and The Home Depot Team adjusted on the car during green-flag stops. At the midpoint of the race, the caution flag waved while Logano was running in the sixth position. Zipadelli called for right-side tires and fuel boosting The Home Depot Toyota back into the top spot for the restart on lap 103.

A rain shower now appeared on the radar and heading in the direction of the track. Logano was still leading on lap 115, but a hard-charging No. 48 car was in his mirror. He was able to hold off the challenger when the yellow flag was displayed for rain on lap 122. NASCAR eventually red flagged the race which was now past the halfway point. Had the rain not stopped, Logano and the team would have been declared the race winner but after one hour and 40 minutes drivers were called back to their cars to restart the race with 75 laps remaining.

Logano was able to remain in the top five as another round of green flag stops began on lap 151. He pitted on lap 152 for tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. The car was turning well for Logano, but he couldn’t get back to the gas as quickly as he wanted to and was losing time to his competitors off the corners. He made his final stop for adjustments on lap 172 before the yellow flag was displayed on lap 179 when Kahne and the No. 42 car tangled on the track.

Racing resumed on lap 184 with Logano in the sixth position. He started to drop back in the field and reported to The Home Depot Team he thought he may have a tire going down. He pitted with 11 to go when the car became too difficult to drive and worried he would wreck. The team found a cut in the tire likely caused by a piece of metal on the track and it was down several pounds of air. Unfortunately the caution didn’t fall over the last 10 laps and the team had to settle for a 26th-place finish and slipped one spot to 20th in the standings. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin finished second and 15th respectively.

Logano and the team head to Watkins Glen International next weekend for the final road course race of the season. The NASCAR Sprint Cup race will be broadcast on Sunday on ESPN beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT and on MRN Radio.

Joey Logano Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Photos

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