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theracereview

· Joey Logano started third in Monday afternoon’s 500-lap race at Martinsville Speedway. Logano ran inside the top-five through the opening 50 laps, before a pit stop at lap 52 dropped the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion into the ninth position where Logano ultimately finished the opening stage.

· During Stage 2, Logano reported that the Shell-Pennzoil Ford was building looser over the duration of the long green-flag run. On the third pit stop of the race at the conclusion of the second stage, crew chief Todd Gordon called for another wedge adjustment, looking too give Logano the exit security he needed. Logano finished ninth in the second stage.

· After starting seventh in Stage 3, Logano drifted back to the 10th spot by lap 296. Logano would later slip to the 11th position where he’d ride until the fourth caution flag was displayed on lap 384.

· The team made another wedge adjustment, looking to provide the driver with additional corner exit speed. Quick pit work positioned Logano back inside the top-10 for the restart.

· While final adjustments on the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford would prove to be the correct ones, Logano was only able to fight his way back up to the sixth position with track position being at a premium on long green flag runs.

 

quote

“At the start of the race we may have made some bad changes over the snow break and weren’t really good compared to where we were in practice. The team made some good adjustments and got to the end there and were probably a third-place car, but it was too little, too late. I drove back up to sixth. I was catching up to fifth and wanted a top-five stat because it at least sounds a little better than sixth. I’m proud of the fight and proud of everyone that keeps building these good, solid, consistent cars. Pit road is always consistent, so that’s nice. We’ve just got to go a little faster.”


STP 500