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Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion started third and finished fourth Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway despite suffering late race damage in a multi-car incident on the track’s treacherous back straightaway. Logano, who had the dominant car on the afternoon, led the opening 13 laps of the 188-lap event before pitting under green flag conditions to setup the run to the end of the first stage. The team would elect to go with gas only on the first stop, cycling Logano back to the lead by lap 31. At the conclusion of the stage, Logano was scored second behind teammate and eventual race winner Brad Keselowski. On the second stop of the afternoon, the team went with four tires, wedge and air pressure attempting to correct the loose condition Logano was facing. With strategies varied through the midsection of the event, the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford team wouldn’t reassume the lead until lap 149, where Logano would lead until lap 170, bringing his total laps led to a race high 59. Unfortunately, while battling near the front of the field, Logano was shuffled four-wide and contact with the No. 6 Ford would set-off a multi-vehicle chain reaction incident that also collected Ford Performance teammate Ryan Blaney. The No. 22 crew would use several late race caution-flag periods to work on the damaged Fusion, preparing for the stretch run to the finish. On the final restart, Logano was able to work forward from the 11th position, linking up with Keselowski and propelling him on to a victory, which would secure a Round of Eight birth for the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford.

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“Brad and I worked well together and we were able to help him win the race today, which was good. I wish we could have won the race. I had a good enough run, but the damage and all – even though the guys did a good job fixing it – you could tell the speed wasn’t there as much at the end, but we were still able to pick up enough to keep some speed in it and get a fourth-place finish. It’s a good way to recover after a crash to finish fourth. I guess you should be proud of that, but I’m still mad I didn’t win. I wanted to win this one really bad. Anything besides winning right now hurts”

Alabama 500