Overcoming adversity was the name of the game for The Home Depot Team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. Logano started from the 23rd position, worked his way up as far as 12th, but an ill-timed caution and a difficult final restart resulted in a 21st-place finish. Logano slipped two positions in the Sprint Cup Series driver point standings to 19th.

“That was a really frustrating day,” said Logano. “We didn’t have a great car but we probably had a 12th-place car today. For some reason we just couldn’t get anything to go our way. Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) made a great pit call midway for four tires while a lot of cars got two. The four fresh tires made a huge difference and I was finally able pass cars and get running up in the top 15. Then we had the caution that caught us on pit road but we battled back up there just to have a really annoying finish to the race. The Home Depot Team fought hard but man it’s frustrating, now we are headed to Milwaukee to test then off to Bristol.”

Logano started the Pure Michigan 400 from the 23rd position on Sunday. The Home Depot Toyota was extremely loose for Logano in to and off the corners. He was able to maintain his position running 22nd, despite what he called a “four-wheel slide through the corners.” On lap 21 he reported the temperatures in the car were reading over 240 degrees. The No. 20 Toyota had a piece of trash on the grill that was restricting the air flow. Just as Zipadelli was about to call Logano down pit road so the high temperatures didn’t harm the engine, Logano shut off his fans and got close enough to the car in front of him to blow the debris from the car.

The yellow flag waved for debris on lap 29 and Logano brought the car down pit road to the attention of The Home Depot crew. Unfortunately during the stop, a lugnut lodged itself between the right-front tire and the brakes resulting in an extremely slow stop. Racing resumed on lap 33 with Logano now back in the 31st position. The Sprint Cup cars being so aero sensitive made it difficult to pass cars, but Logano was able to work his way up to 24th again before the yellow flag waved on lap 52. Logano made a green-flag stop for routine adjustments on lap 87 and by the midpoint of the race was running in the 21st spot.

The yellow flag was displayed on lap 102 and several teams elected to take right-side tires only to gain track position. Zipadelli wanted to continue to work on the handling of the car and believed four fresh tires were important. Logano only lost one spot despite getting four fresh Goodyear’s and restarted from the 22nd position on lap 107. He quickly maneuvered through traffic and was in the top 15 on lap 112. Logano took over the 12th position on lap 129 before green-flag stops began. He pitted on lap 137, but The Home Depot Toyota was extremely loose again when he returned to the track.

Logano was struggling with the handling of the No. 20 Toyota and losing track position. He slipped back to 16th on lap 165 when Zipadelli called Logano down pit road for a green-flag stop. The caution flag waved just as Logano slowed to pit road speed. With the leaders just a corner away, Zipadelli told Logano to drive straight down pit road and back onto the track so the team didn’t go down a lap. Logano caught back up to the field was but now back in the 22nd position again. Logano pitted with the field and racing resumed on lap 172.

The restarts were wild with three and four-wide racing. With five laps to go, Logano took over the 14th position and was poised for a top-15 finish. One last yellow flag waved with four laps to go and Zipadelli brought Logano down pit road for right-side tires and a final adjustment to tighten up the car. The green flag waved on lap 201 with The Home Depot car in 16th, but the No. 31 car blocked Logano, caused left-front fender damage and forced him up the track to avoid causing a wreck. Logano lost five spots and finished in the 21st position. Logano’s teammate Kyle Busch took the checkered flag while Denny Hamlin finished 35th. Logano now sits 19th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings, 22 points out of the top 15. The series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend for racing under the lights. The race will be broadcast on Saturday night on ABC beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT and on PRN Radio.

Joey Logano Pure Michigan 400 Photos

Related Articles

• Joey Logano Pure Michigan 400 Preview
• Joey Logano Pure Michigan 400 Friday Results
• Logano Pure Michigan 400 Final Practice Results

Joey Logano Pure Michigan 400 Videos