Joey Logano started sixth and finished third in the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion in Sunday afternoon’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Logano ran in the top-five for the majority of the race, though he slipped as low as eighth on the first run of the day. Logano reported the handling of the Shell-Pennzoil Ford as tight through the opening run and he also had to work to remove a piece of debris from the grill. Crew chief Todd Gordon called for air pressure adjustments and tape removal on the second pit stop of the day at lap 88, the first of two green flag stops on the afternoon. Logano worked his way back inside the top-five on the ensuing green flag run and, following the third pit stop of the day, raced his way to the third position. As the race continued the frequency of yellow flags increased, which saw Logano showcase his restart ability four times in the last 100 laps of competition. Gordon called Logano to pit lane for the final time at lap 222 where the team would add tape to the nose of the Fusion, replacing the tape removed early in the event. The adjustment would prove to be sufficient, as Logano stormed to the third position on the final restart of the afternoon. Logano held off a charging Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps while closing the gap to second place finisher Carl Edwards. The finish served as a great rebound for the Shell-Pennzoil team after suffering two tire failures at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The finish moved Logano inside the top-eight with one race remaining before the cut to eight next weekend at Talladega Super Speedway, where the Shell-Pennzoil team are the defending race winners.

“That was hard fought. I am still breathing hard. We just weren’t very good on the short runs so I had to play defense instead of offense on restarts. After 15 laps we were equal to, not way better to the point we could make up a bunch of time. We did what we had to do. I think they told me I am eighth in points so we will be close on it racing at Talladega. We did what we had to do today. We wanted to get a solid top-five and if we could win that is what we wanted. We had a good effort, we just have to get our cars a little faster right now.”