“It stinks when you say we led 222 laps but not the right one,” Joey Logano on his disappointing Richmond run
Follow Us
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick finished as the top Ford Mustang and the top car at the Richmond International Raceway in the 24th round of cup racing the Federated Auto Parts 400. The No:4 Stewart Hass Racing driver survived an intense final lap dual with Joe Gibbs Racing youngster Christopher Bell, who failed to capitalize on the mistakes committed by the veteran.
But the most impressive driver on the track was the No:22 driver for Team Penske Racing, Joey Logano as he led more than half of the 400 laps race in his mustang with dominance. Logano missed out on big time in the race when the race entered night-time as he failed to keep up with the pace of the rest of the pack and faded away to P6.
Joey Logano was dropped to the 6th position after he lost the lead to Kevin Harvick with just 66 laps left in the race and wasn’t able to either get the lead back or pose a strong threat to the front pack. The 2017 cup champion was also unlucky as he didn’t get the caution and restart at the end that he was hoping that might have given him good odds.
Find out what Joey Logano had to say about P6 at Richmond
Joey Logano acknowledged that he lost some turns on the track soon after the temperature went down after the light went out and pointed out that Kevin Harvick and others were far better towards the end of the race. He pointed out that the No:22 team had the advantage when the track was hot and slick which they lost when the track started cooling off.
“Yeah, I think just as the sun went down and the track cooled off and lost some turn on our car. Kevin (Harvick) and some others got a lot better the last couple of runs in the race. When it was hot and slick that was probably our strength with the Shell Pennzoil Mustang. We had a good turn and then once it cooled off, we lost the turn but still weren’t really good on the exits,” Joey Logano said.
Joey Logano went on to say that he was forced to play defense too hard which made his race downhill from then. He went on to say that he expected a late race caution, the only prayer he had towards the end. He added that though he got some playoff points with stage wins he is disappointed for not winning the race after leading 222 laps.
“Then you start playing defense and running too hard. It was a downhill slope from there. I was hoping for a late race caution, that was our only prayer at the end there. Overall, we got a stage win and playoff points and that is something to be proud of. It stinks when you say we led 222 laps but not the right one,” Joey Logano added.
Joey Logano went on to say that when the team doesn’t have a fast enough car they will be fighting to get everything right while with the fastest car, such as they had in Richmond, it’s about capitalizing on the advantage and going for the win. He reiterated that the No:22 team did everything right for playoff points but not enough for a race win.
“It means we are executing really well throughout the race and able to get something out of a race when we don’t have a fast enough car. When you have days like today when you have a fast enough car you want to capitalize. We did as far as playoff points and a stage win but not enough at the end of the race,” says Joey Logano.
Joey Logano went on to add that instead of just stage wins for the team he prefers all-important race wins and added that he feels like the team is starting to get more solid and collected. He added that he is proud of the top 5 runs they have been getting and want to it keep going.
“We need these ones to be race wins instead of just stage wins but I feel like we are starting to come into our own here and getting a little more solid and situated more in the top five than we have been. I am proud of that. We just have to keep that going,” added Joey Logano.
Can Joey Logano get into a playoff with one more win?
Also read: Why Danica Patrick divorced her Physical Therapist turned Husband Paul Hospenthal?
Stay Updated!
Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)