Joey Logano Dominates Michigan Cup Race for Second Win of 2019

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BROOKLYN, MI – RIS – Joey Logano led all but 40 laps of a 203-lap race at Michigan International Speedway in Monday’s rain-delayed Firekeepers Casino 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race.  The opposition spent most the day looking at the red decal taillights of the No. 22 Mustang in what was, despite the domination, a close race.  His margin of victory was only two car lengths over runner-up Kurt Busch.

It was an impressive display, but all that could have gone for naught if he hadn’t been sharp on one final restart.

Logano won his second NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, holding off Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. in overtime Monday at Michigan International Speedway. Logano was trying to hold on to a dwindling lead over Truex and Busch with five laps remaining, but around that time, Erik Jones went onto the grass, bringing out the caution flag that forced overtime.

“As the leader, you’re like, ‘Ohhhh.’ Right?” Logano said. “But the race fan part of me is like, ‘Heck yeah, this is going to be a great race for everyone to watch.’”

Logano and Truex were up front on the restart, along with Kurt and Kyle Busch, and Logano pulled ahead in his No. 22 Ford.

“He jumped the restart by over a car length,” Truex said. “I don’t know. I guess they don’t enforce those rules anymore. We’ll have to remember that for next time.”

Logano, not surprisingly, had a different view.

“I was able to see it right in front of me. I hit it when I got there,” Logano said. “I had a good start though, wasn’t it? That was a good one. That one felt good.”

It was the third win in a row for Ford at MIS. This was the 100th race at Michigan for NASCAR’s top series. Logano won the first stage but had to pit toward the end of the second. Austin Dillon won that stage.

“I really wanted it to go green at the end with Truex,” Busch said. “I was going to push him straight through the 22.”

Logano won for the 23rd time in his career and took over the points lead from Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch finished second Monday, followed by Truex, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Busch.

“You don’t have days like that, that are so close to perfect. That doesn’t happen very often in our sport,” said Logano, the defending series champion. “I’m very proud of the effort that we’ve had really the last few weeks, from the execution side. But this time we had the speed and had the execution going along with it.”

The win means that Ford Motor Company gets to keep the trophy awarded to the manufacturer that wins the race, a point driven home by Ford board of directors member Edsel Ford at a private dinner for all Ford drivers on Friday.

Logano summed up the message as being, “you better lot lose.”  Mission accomplished.

A full rundown of the finishing order can be found below.  Despite dominating qualifying, Toyota and Chevrolet drivers found a way to round out the top the with Kurt Busch in a Chevrolet Camaro and Truex in a Toyota Camry.

Monster Energy Cup Series Race Number 15
Race Results for the 51st Annual FireKeepers Casino 400 - Monday, June 10, 2019
Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI - 2. - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 203 Laps - 406. Miles

Stage 2 Pos
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 203 1 50 Running 7 163 6
2 7 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet 203 5 4 48 Running
3 16 19 Martin Truex Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 203 6 3 47 Running
4 9 41 Daniel Suarez Haas Automation Demo Day Ford 203 33 Running 1 1
5 15 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Hazelnut Toyota 203 6 37 Running
6 8 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 203 10 32 Running 1 6
7 3 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Ford 203 2 39 Running 3 15
8 18 6 Ryan Newman Coca-Cola Ford 203 29 Running
9 13 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Wrangler Riggs Ford 203 28 Running 1 1
10 20 88 Alex Bowman Nationwide Chevrolet 203 2 9 38 Running
11 4 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 203 26 Running 2 5
12 11 8 Daniel Hemric # Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet 203 7 29 Running
13 6 21 Paul Menard Menards/NIBCO Ford 203 9 26 Running
14 22 42 Kyle Larson Credit One Bank Chevrolet 203 7 27 Running
15 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Ally Chevrolet 203 22 Running
16 31 37 Chris Buescher Kroger Thrill of the Grill Chevrolet 203 10 22 Running
17 2 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield/Meijer Ford 203 4 5 33 Running 1 1
18 21 24 William Byron Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet 203 8 22 Running 1 2
19 10 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. NOS Energy Ford 203 18 Running
20 17 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 203 8 20 Running 1 1
21 29 95 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota 203 16 Running
22 25 13 Ty Dillon Twisted Tea Chevrolet 203 15 Running
23 32 32 Corey LaJoie Harvest Investments Ford 203 14 Running
24 26 36 Matt Tifft # Surface Sunscreen Ford 203 13 Running
25 28 47 Ryan Preece # Kroger Chevrolet 203 12 Running
26 12 3 Austin Dillon Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet 202 1 21 Running 1 7 1
27 23 34 Michael McDowell Melling Engine Parts Ford 202 10 Running
28 27 43 Bubba Wallace Victory Junction Chevrolet 201 9 Running
29 30 00 Landon Cassill(i) Superior Essex Chevrolet 201 0 Running
30 36 15 Garrett Smithley Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chevrolet 200 0 Running
31 14 20 Erik Jones Craftsman/Sport Clips Toyota 199 3 14 Running
32 35 77 Quin Houff Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 198 5 Running
33 34 52 Josh Bilicki(i) Chevrolet 197 0 Running
34 24 38 David Ragan Citgard Heavy Duty Engine Oil Ford 195 3 Running
35 5 14 Clint Bowyer Haas Automation/ITsavvy Ford 130 2 Accident 1 1
36 33 51 Kyle Weatherman(i) Jacob Companies Ford 69 0 Accident
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 52 Mins, 50 Secs. Average Speed: 140.945 MPH Margin of Victory: .147 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 22, 88, 20, 10, 1, 19, 42, 9, 21, 2
Stage 2 Top 10: 3, 4, 19, 1, 10, 18, 8, 24, 88, 37
Race Comments: Joey Logano won the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, his 23rd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. No cars dropped to the rear prior to the start of the race.
Failed to Qualify: None.
Caution Flags: 7 for 35 laps; Laps: 22-25 (Competition Caution [None]); 62-67 (Stage 1 Conclusion [00]); 71-75 (#51 Incident Turn 2 [4]); 122-127 (Stage 2 Conclusion [00]); 131-134 (#14, 20, 37 Incident Turn 2 [2]); 137-141 (#3, 24 Incident Turn 2 [15]); 197-201 (#20 Spin Turn 2 [32]).
Lead Changes: 20 among 11 drivers; J. Logano 0; D. Hamlin 1-3; J. Logano 4-53; A. Almirola 54; J. Logano 55-113; R. Blaney 114; C. Elliott 115; C. Bowyer 116; A. Dillon 117-123; J. Logano 124-127; K. Harvick 128-135; J. Logano 136-141; K. Harvick 142-147; J. Logano 148; K. Harvick 149; J. Logano 150-174; D. Suarez 175; B. Keselowski 176-181; D. Hamlin 182-183; W. Byron 184-185; J. Logano 186-203.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Joey Logano, #22 Busch Pole Award : Joey Logano, #22 187.139 mph
Fastest Lap : Chase Elliott, #9 Moog Go the Extra Mile : Kurt Busch, #1 crew chief Matt McCall, 4.60457 seconds
Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Daniel Hemric, #8
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: June 23, 2019 - Sonoma Raceway
i

Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2019, Issue 6, Posted 12:00 AM, 06.11.2019