Joey Logano started from the pole and raced his way into the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Championship by winning at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday afternoon in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion for Team Penske. Logano’s win from the pole marked the second time in his career he has accomplished that feat driving for Team Penske at the two-mile Michigan oval. After leading the field to green, Logano nearly saw the day disappear in the first turn as the car got extremely loose. Fortunately the 26-year-old New England native was able to gather up the car and work back to the lead before making a green flag pit stop at lap 40. Having stretched his lead over the majority of the field, Logano was able to remain on the lead lap when the first caution flag flew at lap 44. As the field cycled through pit stops, Logano regained the lead and didn’t race outside the top-five for the remainder of the race. Crew chief Todd Gordon and the Shell-Pennzoil crew made only air pressure adjustments during two of their three flawless pit stops. Logano fine-tuned the handling of the Shell-Pennzoil Ford for the remainder of the event by utilizing the track bar adjustment inside the race car. Through several late-race restarts, Logano held off charges from teammate Brad Keselowski, as well as Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, with the final restart coming at lap 193. Logano turned in another stellar restart as he sprinted away to win the seven lap dash. The win was the 15th of Logano’s career and 13th with Team Penske. The win was also significant as it was the 100th Sprint Cup points victory for Roush Yates Engines, and the 50th victory for Team Penske with Ford. Logano is fourth on the all-time wins list for Roush Yates Engines, and his victory secured Logano a chase birth and propelled him to fifth place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers’ point standings.

“What a great race car. To win here in Roger’s backyard and Ford’s backyard, this is always a big win for us here. What a crazy race with the low downforce and with more cautions and more opportunity to screw up pretty much. What a fun race, racing with Chase (Elliott) and Kyle Larson. It is fun to see the young guys up there racing. I am not alone up there as a young guy anymore. I have guys up there younger than me racing for a win. The car was not good in traffic and not really good by myself either. The cars didn’t have much grip and there was a lot of sliding around. Catching the traffic at the right time and knowing which lanes work best for you and understanding the cars that you are racing. We had plenty of opportunity to see what others cars were good on restarts and you kind of keep that mental notebook as you go.”