BRISTOL, Tenn. — Joey Logano’s future may be unsettled, but he’s sure made a home in Victory Lane this season.
Logano led 82 of 250 laps on the way to a victory in Friday night’s Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway – his sixth win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season but first at the highly banked half-mile track.
“I think we’ve led the most laps in this race about three or four times and we’ve never been here in Victory Lane,” Logano said after the race. “This is one of the coolest tracks you can win at.
“I knew my car was good on the long runs, but it wasn’t the best on the short runs. I didn’t like seeing all those cautions at the end.”
Twice in the final 25 laps, cautions bunched the field with Logano in the lead. Both times he was able to put distance on himself and second-place runner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Logano has yet to re-sign with Joe Gibbs Racing for next season and his name has been linked to Penske Racing’s No. 22 ride in the Sprint Cup Series.
Now, he and crew chief Adam Stevens are dominating the Nationwide series.
“It’s been a good time. Adam has been doing a great job and we have great communication,” Logano said. “The cars are better than they were last year and the results are there.”
Kyle Busch finished third, Austin Dillon was fourth and series points leader Elliott Sadler was fifth.
Whether it was the changes to the track, which reduced the racing groove, there were several more cautions and flared tempers after the race than there were in the spring.
Stenhouse ran into Sadler on the final lap, which left Sadler vowing to race Stenhouse differently the rest of the season as both battle for the championship.
Pole-winner Trevor Bayne and Dillon made contact on the track, which led to a confrontation after.
The two appeared to be engaged in a heated discussion, both grabbed each other and Dillon’s grandfather and team owner, Richard Childress, entered the discussion before all walked away.
“I thought we were going to get at least a top-five and then (Dillon) just drove over his head and took us out,” Bayne said. “That’s all there is to it.”
