Joey Logano was so close to winning his second Daytona 500. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Following a nearly dominant victory in the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel on Thursday night, Joey Logano looked prime for his second Daytona 500 victory on Sunday.
Although the 32-year-old Middletown, Connecticut native placed 18th in Stage 1, he charged back to a fourth place result in Stage 2.
While the two-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion was not totally dominant, he put the spurs to his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang into the lead on six occasions for a total of 12 laps.
Unlike past Daytona 500 efforts, Logano looked more like the patient gamesman rather than the ambitious, aggressive hunter ready to lurch at any moment.
Some patience and tact nearly paid off for the 31-time Cup race winner, particularly as he prepared for the race’s ultimate overtime restart.
As Logano led the field into Turn 1 on the final lap, madness ensued with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Larson all vying for the victory.
With Larson dropped back in the middle line and eventually getting turned into the Turn 2 wall, it appeared as if Logano and Stenhouse would be off to a drag race for the win.
Instead, the caution lights turned on as Stenhouse drew ahead of Logano for the lead and victory.
Compared to last year’s season opener, Logano placed 19 positions higher while ranking as the points leader heading into Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Nevertheless, Logano had nothing but victory on his mind and goal for Sunday’s “Great American Race.”
Logano made his presence known toward the front of the pack in Sunday’s Daytona 500. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
“Second is the worst, man,” Logano said. “You’re so close. Leading the white flag lap there, I was up front. Kyle gave me a good push and, yeah, you’re watching in the mirror and you’re three wide across there.
“I felt like the three wide was going a hurt a lane; looked like Kyle was getting pushed ahead, and then Ricky started getting pushed ahead. I knew if I went to the bottom, my car didn’t handle good enough.”
Logano was not all checkers or wreckers with his mentality as he vied for victory with a wise, calculative approach.
It nearly paid off in spite of the rash of late race accidents and his car’s averseness to the inside line.
“I already got pushed off the bottom once and I thought, ‘If I go down there, I’m probably going to get wrecked,'” he said. “I don’t know if I can get down there in time to throw the block and so I didn’t want to wreck my car either. Then you don’t expect them to wreck either.
“You think you’re racing to the checkered flag and you put yourself in the best position to try to win at the start-finish line, and just caution came out — you wish you could race to the end. Obviously, you can’t when they wreck that much.”
Ultimately, Logano tipped his cap to the newest Daytona 500 champion with class in defeat.
This photo may show Logano in the lead, but it was the scoring at the time of the caution that determined Sunday’s Daytona 500 winner. (Photo: Cornnell Chu | The Podium Finish)
“Congratulations to Ricky,” he said. “There’s nothing like winning the Daytona 500. That’s why it stings so much finishing second.
“Still proud of the team, still proud of the effort coming off the championship last year and bringing this Shell-Pennzoil Mustang back toward the front and getting a Ford close to the front. Wish it was in Victory Lane, though.”
