Right when the playoffs are approaching and points come at a premium, the No. 22 team found away to let the NASCAR Cup Series garage that they are still fighting for a top-16 spot.
Joey Logano led 323-laps of the 450-lap event and had an average position of 2.23 throughout the race. The goal for the No. 22 team was to find points at North Wilkesboro, a track that Logano ran at so well in year’s prior while it was an all-star event.
Logano started in 11th-place and fought his was up to a third place result in stage 1, at this point it was known that the No. 22 was the car to beat. He proceeded to double-down in stage 2 by winning the stage, earning many more valuable points.
Logano entered the race 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, one spot below the cutline to make the chase. With six races remaining before the playoffs begin, it’s time to hammer down and execute on points whenever they are available. After his win, he jumped two spots in the standings in 15th.
Stage 1 was the most chaotic segment in the Window World 450, beginning with a wreck between John Hunter Nemechek and Zane Smith. The No. 42 came down into the No. 38 and spun out, Nemechek could never make a full recovery from this incident and finished in 31st.
Kyle Larson and Connor Zilisch collided on pit road, leaving both cars with damage. Ultimately, this hurt Zilisch’s race more as he was unable to find much speed after this, finishing in 32nd. Larson was able to salvage a 15th-place result.
Shane van Gisbergen shocked many as he brought his No. 97 to the front of the field and held off the leaders for a while in stage one, van Gisbergen was surprised himself as he said, “I’m leading, what the f*ck do I do now?”
Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman wrecked in stage two, Bowman attempted to cut through a spot that wasn’t there to enter pit road, his No. 48 ended up in the inside wall while collecting Reddick as well. Both drivers were unable to make a full recovery from this, Reddick finished in 30th, Bowman in 26th.
Logano dominated stage 3, finding himself accumulating the lead after a pit stop cycle. Denny Hamlin tried catching the No. 22 through lapped-traffic, however, could never fill the gap between himself and Logano.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Sunday. Tune into TNT Sports at 2:00pm to catch the Brickyard 400.