Joey Logano Wins at Pocono
Joey Logano celebrates his Pocono win with Vanilla Ice (also holding trophy) and others. Copyright 2012 Autostock Images
Who knew that Sliced Bread and Vanilla Ice would be a recipe for a big win?
Joey Logano, whose nickname is “Sliced Bread,” led Team Interstate by winning the Pocono 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in his No. 20 Toyota Camry. The victory broke a a 104-race winless streak. As for Vanilla Ice? He was the race’s Grand Marshall, driving the pace car at the beginning of the race and appearing in Victory Lane with Logano afterward.
Once again, we made Joey Logano hold a battery after racing for 400 miles. And once again, we don't apologize. Good job, Joey. Copyright 2012 Autostock Images
Logano’s last victory came June 28, 2009, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. His Pocono win marked the second Sprint Cup victory of his career and his first at Pocono.
Logano’s Team Interstate companions, Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota Camry and Kyle Busch in the No. 18 M&Ms/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, finished fifth and 30th, respectively. Busch was relegated to the disappointing finish when engine issues forced him out after completing only 76 laps of the 160-lap race.
Mark Martin, who Logano regards as a mentor, finished .997 of a second behind Logano in the runner-up spot, while Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Hamlin rounded out the top-five.
With round 14 of 36 complete, Hamlin leads the Team Interstate trio in the championship point standings. He is fourth with 504 points, 19 behind new series leader Kenseth. Busch dropped two spots to 12th with 420 points, 103 out of first. Logano gained one spot to 15th with 398 points, 125 away from the top spot. Logano has the same number of points as 14th-place Ryan Newman but edges him in a tiebreaker. Both have one win apiece in 2012, but Newman’s fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway breaks a tie with Logano, whose next-best finish this season was eighth last week at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
| DRIVER STANDINGS AFTER 14 OF 36 RACES | ||||||||
RANK |
+/- |
DRIVER |
POINTS |
BEHIND |
POLES |
WINS |
TOP 5 |
TOP 10 |
| 1 | +1 | Matt Kenseth | 523 | Leader | 0 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| 2 | +1 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 513 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| 3 | -2 | Greg Biffle | 507 | -16 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| 4 | – | Denny Hamlin | 504 | -19 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
| 5 | – | Jimmie Johnson | 493 | -30 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 6 | +1 | Kevin Harvick | 470 | -53 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | -1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 465 | -58 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 8 | – | Tony Stewart | 448 | -75 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| 9 | +1 | Clint Bowyer | 443 | -80 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 10 | +1 | Brad Keselowski | 426 | -97 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 11 | +1 | Carl Edwards | 423 | -100 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 12 | -3 | Kyle Busch | 420 | -103 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| 13 | +2 | Paul Menard | 399 | -124 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | -1 | Ryan Newman | 398 | -125 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | +1 | Joey Logano | 398 | -125 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
The next event on the Team Interstate Sprint Cup schedule is the Quicken Loans 400 Sunday, June 17, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn where Kyle won the fall race last year. The race starts at Noon CST, with live coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at 1:00 p.m.
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Posted in Racing
Tags: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, racing, Sprint Cup Series
