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From nearly missing the Cup race in Texas to nearly winning the Truck race in Rockingham, Logano has been busy

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — How did you spend your last 24 hours?

Whatever the answer to that question may be, it likely doesn’t match up to the flurry of events that Joey Logano experienced. All in the span of less than a day, the Penske Racing driver went from nearly missing the start of the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night — his car had to go through the inspection line three times — to running two of the best races of his career and cementing himself as one of the most talked-about drivers of the young 2013 season.

With his team frantically making adjustments under the careful watch of camera crews and NASCAR officials and the impending start of the race tapping on their shoulders, the chances of passing inspection looked grimmer by the second for Logano and teammate Brad Keselowski.

Logano was forced to start at the back of the pack on Saturday night because his car was not on pit road when command to start engines was given, but swiftly moved through the field and managed a fifth-place finish that had NASCAR Nation buzzing.

“I think for the most part, we’re pretty happy about where we finished last night,” Logano said. “Finishing fifth there at the end and I think we almost had a third-place finish there if the caution didn’t come out. So, I’m proud of my guys rallying back, working really hard, almost not getting out on the race track, getting the car better throughout the race and then coming home with a top-five. If you’d told me I’d finish fifth in that race before the race started, I’d have been very surprised. I would have told you (that) you were crazy.”

Keselowski’s race was just as admirable, as he worked his way to a ninth-place finish but was the subject of scrutiny after some fiery post-race comments on the inspection process. Logano refrained from making the same degree of remarks, but it’s still a subject that came up between the two drivers on the plane ride to North Carolina — they got in around 3:30 a.m. — and will be a topic of discussion moving forward.

“I’ll tell you, I don’t let stuff bother me,” he said. “Whatever is on my mind at that moment is going to be what my 100 percent focus is, so I’m not getting sidetracked in anything. Yeah, the plane ride home obviously we’re going to talk about it and come up with a game plan and I know we’re going to have a few more meetings before we figure out what we’re going to have to do about anything there, so, we’ll take that. There’s nothing to hang our heads down (about); it does nothing but build our team stronger all together.”

"Maybe we didn’t have the truck to win, but we had the strategy to win."

—Joey Logano

Vague, for sure, but the point remains that he’s sticking by his teammate and owner of the Brad Keselowski Racing truck he raced in on Sunday at Rockingham.

Despite running on minimal sleep and not getting any practice time in at a track he had only run one time in his career — an ARCA race in May of 2008 that he won after leading 257 of 312 laps — Logano qualified seventh, then put on a racing display at The Rock that will be looked back on as the closing mark on a cornerstone weekend for the 22-year-old.

In just his second career Truck Series race — he placed 26th at Talladega in 2008 — Logano struggled with his truck at first and was a non-factor through the first half of the race. Following some adjustments during a caution and a rather assertive tire strategy at the midway point, he gained four spots off pit road and his assault began with Keselowski watching from the pit box.

“I had to make some adjustments at the beginning of the race to get it to what I like, mostly, and I felt like once we got that close we were about the fifth-place truck,” said Logano. “And then that caution came out and we were trying to decide if we wanted to put our 30 lap scuffs on, put our last set of stickers on — and we were all discussing. Brad’s on the radio; it was kind of funny actually, and so we decided to go for it, you know, we’ve got nothing to lose. We’re not racing for points or anything, so we’ll do the ‘checkers or wreckers’ move.”

The choice worked and his No. 19 truck started inching itself toward the front of the crowd before running into some trouble with a left rear wheel that got loose. It resulted in Logano dropping to 17th and falling off the pace lap. Decidedly, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

“We had a left rear wheel loose (and) went down a lap, got the (beneficiary), put our four tires on, got a quick caution, which got us in front of the lap cars, and then it was on.”

With the fresh set, Logano sliced through the field at an aggressive pace — much like he did at the beginning of Saturday night’s Cup race — and positioned himself for yet another top-five finish.

“Just passing a ton of cars, just newer tires, and that’s Rockingham for you, that’s what makes this race track so cool, it’s having strategy like that.”

By Lap 190, Logano had moved into third place and he passed Johnny Sauter for second shortly afterward. It appeared as if he’d run out of time before he’d be able to catch up to leader Kyle Larson. A caution on Lap 197 set up the green-white-checkered finish and for all intents and purposes the race was Logano’s to win, as Larson himself has admitted restarts aren’t his strong suit.

“For the last restart, I’m like ‘man, this is perfect’. It played right into my hands. I felt like the caution was going to be a gift, that we could go out there and beat him.” 

After leading all but one lap since overtaking James Buescher shortly after the race began, the 20-year-old rookie wasn’t about to give up his precious position and threw a block down low on the restart — which looked eerily similar to the controversial one Logano used on Tony Stewart at Auto Club Speedway in March. Larson took the checkered, but Logano was a big part of the story.

“I felt like we should have won this race,” Logano said. “Maybe we didn’t have the truck to win, but we had the strategy to win. So, we’ll take this. I’m running Kansas next weekend (with the) same team, and I feel like we’ve learned a lot … Being in the practice car next week will help and we’ll try to get a win there.”

Victory or not, it was a heck of a 24 hours for Logano.

And it’s only just the beginning.

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Rookie earns second consecutive pole

Read more: Lineup and practice speeds

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Rookie Jeb Burton won the pole for Sunday afternoon’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200, leading morning qualifying at Rockingham Speedway with a fast lap of 146.909.

Burton, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet for Turner Scott Motorsports, will start on the pole position for the second straight week in the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series. The son of former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton, who notched his first Sprint Cup win at Rockingham, scored his first career pole in the series last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

Defending series champion James Buescher will start on the outside of the front row in Sunday’s 200-miler (2 p.m. ET, SPEED) after logging the second-fastest qualifying lap at 146.580. Rookies Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will start third and fourth. Veteran Matt Crafton, scheduled to break Terry Cook’s series record with his 297th consecutive start, will start fifth.

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Joey Logano, fresh from a fifth-place finish in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway, arrived in Rockingham to claim the seventh starting spot. Series points leader Johnny Sauter, winner of the first two truck races to start the season, will start 11th. 

Clay Greenfield, TJ Bell, Spencer Gallagher and Andy Seuss failed to make the 36-truck field. Seuss crashed in Turn 2 on his first qualifying lap; he was uninjured.


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Posted on by Zack Albert

Back-and-forth leads to Hornaday turning Wallace into the wall during a caution

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — The whole incident made for a very interesting tale of the tape. In one corner, one of the youngest drivers in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series; in the other, one of the oldest.

An unexpected battle of the ages between heralded rookie Darrell Wallace Jr., 19, and decorated veteran Ron Hornaday Jr., 55, erupted in the late stages of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at The Rock presented by Cheerwine on Sunday at Rockingham Speedway. Their on-track shunt spilled over into a tense exchange on pit road with hints of a potential carryover next weekend at Kansas and the pedigree of the series’ winningest driver being called into question.

"It’s unfortunate. … I seem like the veteran out of the rookie on that situation," said Wallace, who now has three career truck series starts to Hornaday’s 325. "It’s OK. They knew we were here."

"He said he’s going to wreck me at Kansas … whatever that means."

—Ron Hornaday Jr., on Darrell Wallace Jr.

The squabble began just before the last of seven caution periods, which extended the event past its scheduled distance of 200 laps. Both drivers had run parallel races, each working his way into the top 10 before fading onto its fringes in the closing stages.

Hornaday and Wallace scraped alongside each other as they fought for position. When the caution flew for Timothy Peters‘ crash with Ryan Sieg in the 198th lap, Hornaday decided to nudge Wallace’s truck and rub his tire.

What happened instead was Hornaday’s left-front fender snaring Wallace’s right-rear, turning the No. 54 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry hard into the outside wall. The incident was eerily similar to one involving Busch and Hornaday at Texas Motor Speedway in fall 2011, when Busch hooked Hornaday’s truck in a similar but more violent fashion, resulting in NASCAR officials parking Busch for the rest of the weekend.

Wallace’s day was done with a 27th-place finish. Hornaday was penalized for aggressive driving and placed at the rear of the field, where he soldiered on to finish 15th. But as race winner Kyle Larson celebrated with burnouts on the frontstretch, Wallace was emerging from the infield care center, unhurt physically but scarred emotionally.

"Just flat-out wrecks us. Just turned us …," Wallace said as he watched a replay of the incident on a TV monitor. "I had to take his line away. I didn’t put him in the fence or anything and he just pulls that bonehead move. I will go have a word with him — I’m all happy, I’m not going to throw a punch or anything."

Before he made the stroll from the care center to his rival’s No. 9 truck, Wallace had already been informed that Hornaday was apologetic and calling himself an idiot for the move. Once they were face to face, the "all happy" vibe quickly disappeared for Wallace, who saw Hornaday’s idiot and raised him an expletive when they met.

"What was that?!" Wallace said.

"Idiot," Hornaday said, gesturing at himself. "I meant to rub your tire, dude. I did not mean to take you out."

"You want to run me like a (expletive) at the beginning of the race," Wallace said. After trying to sort out who nudged whom afterward, Wallace closed the matter with the warning, "Just be ready for Kansas."

Hornaday was left to lament being on the wrong side of accidents with a rookie driver for the second straight week. The previous weekend at Martinsville Speedway, he was nudged out of the lead by 20-year-old Jeb Burton.

"It’s just hard racing," Hornaday said. "I don’t know if it’s just lack of respect or whatever, but we were tight all day and I had to run the top. Thirty other guys passed me on the bottom, so I don’t know what to say."

Shortly after the confrontation, Hornaday was summoned to the NASCAR hauler to discuss the matter further with series officials. The altercation will be reviewed and any penalties would be announced near the early part of the week, NASCAR officials said.

While the review stage of the incident will continue, it’s up for debate whether hard feelings between the two drivers at opposite ends of the age spectrum will linger into the series’ next race.

"He just said he’s going to wreck me at Kansas," Hornaday said, "whatever that means."

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Last-minute scramble sends Logano to back as he fails to get to grid on time

Post-race reaction: Keselowski, Penske

FORT WORTH, Texas — As driver introductions wound down at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday evening, two cars remained in the garage area because NASCAR had confiscated some of their parts.

The Penske Racing teams of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano face potential penalties in the coming week after parts of the vehicles’ rear-end housings were taken in pre-race inspection. The late inspection hang-up prompted a rush to get the cars through inspection before the race started, and Logano had to move to the rear of the field because NASCAR ruled his vehicle didn’t get to the starting grid on time.

Keselowski was able to keep his 16th-place starting spot. But both teams might be in for penalties due to parts that Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president for competition, told reporters were “not in the spirit of the rule.”

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“In pre-race inspection they felt like there was something that was a questionable item that they wanted replaced,” said Travis Geisler, Penske’s director of competition. “We replaced all the parts in question. They have them all. We’re working through the process here as it goes to get through inspection. Unfortunately a little tighter timeline here than we’d like to be on, but I certainly understand their position and don’t disagree with where they are.”

A rear-end housing is a casing that contains the gears and axels in the back of the vehicle. Teams began to get creative in that area last season, with the yawed setups sometimes employed on the previous generation of Sprint Cup car. Saturday, Geisler said the Penske teams weren’t trying anything particularly unorthodox in that area of the vehicles.

“There isn’t anything in there that’s groundbreaking as far as new pieces and parts,” he said. “But it’s a sport that moves all the time. (NASCAR is) doing what they need to do to ensure an even playing field, which I certainly agree with and expect them to do week in and week out. If there’s a question in their mind, we’d much rather put it out of their mind by changing the parts and making sure that they’re comfortable that we’re all on an even playing field. And I feel confident that we are all here tonight.”

Getting there, though, was a scramble. The Penske vehicles were the last two vehicles in the garage area, and Keselowski’s car successfully cleared the laser inspection platform as driver introductions wound down. Crewmen continued to scramble under the rear of the No. 22 car, which needed three passes to get though the laser platform, and passed the final stages of inspection just as the command to start engines was given.

“That’s what these guys do for a living, so it’s not really a crisis,” Geisler said of the 11th-hour changeover. “We do those kinds of things during practice at times. Everybody’s set up for it. It’s obviously not expected at this point in the day, but that’s racing. You have to expect the unexpected, and that’s the way it goes.”

Having gotten the cars on track in time for the start of the race, the Penske team now faces the prospect of penalties from NASCAR. “We always have a good, open dialogue with them. They’ll keep us in the loop about how they feel about what’s going on there,” Geisler said. “I’m sure well all discuss that in the upcoming days.”


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Driver touches on dilemma between testing at strong, weak tracks

FORT WORTH, Tex. — With each NASCAR Sprint Cup organization getting four private tests throughout the course of the season, Carl Edwards believes it’s important to maximize the choices of venues the teams choose to visit.

But do you test at tracks that play to your strengths, or do you pick tests designed to improve your weaknesses?

The Roush Fenway Racing teams tested at Kansas recently because they thought a test there would have applications that could apply to other tracks.

"We went through the whole decision-making process earlier in the year… and we had a voting process," Edwards told the NASCAR Wire Service. "They said, ‘Hey, where do you want to test, and why do you want to test there?’ So everybody had input. We want to make the most of our tests, so that it benefits you more than just at that track.

"…you also have to weigh your weaknesses and strengths."

— Carl Edwards

"That’s why we picked the tracks that we picked, and I think everybody in the sport did that. And you also have to weigh your weaknesses and strengths. That’s one of the questions I think everyone battles with. Do you work really hard on your strengths because you know you can achieve there? Or do you work hard on your weaknesses and try to raise them — but it was a big decision-making process at RFR for us."

 

Striking a balance

Substituting for another driver may be more difficult than driving your own car, simply because of the variables involved.

Take Brian Vickers, whose first stint in Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota is this weekend at Texas. Vickers will drive the car until Hamlin returns from a compression fracture in his first lumbar vertebra, and the relief driver has other things to consider beyond winning races.

Yes, Vickers wants to showcase his talents, in hopes of landing a full-time Sprint Cup ride next year, but he also has to be mindful of the No. 11’s position in owner points. The car can qualify for the owners’ Chase, even if Hamlin doesn’t make the cut for the drivers’ championship.

So does Vickers have to temper his desire to charge to the front with thoughts of keeping the fenders on the car? 

"I really feel like that’s always the balance we strive for in this series," Vickers told the NASCAR Wire Service. "Even though I might not be racing for the championship in this car, this car is still racing for a championship. They’re still in the hunt for an owner’s championship and we have to treat it as such.

 "Granted you get the most points by winning and I think nothing would make me happier and this team happier than to win, nothing would help in the points more than to win and nothing would help March of Dimes more than a win for the FedEx team. Does that mean we’re going to take unnecessary risk — probably not. I think a good solid day would be good for us and good for everyone." 



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Busch wins for first time as Sprint Cup Series driver at Texas

Results | Video: Post-race reactions | Victory Lane

FORT WORTH, Tex. — The record book will say that Kyle Busch won the NRA 500 on Saturday night.

If truth be known, Busch started the process on Friday afternoon and applied the coup de grace with 20 laps left on Saturday evening.

Yes, Busch capped a perfect weekend when he took the checkered flag .508 seconds ahead of runner-up Martin Truex Jr. But Busch’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at Texas, his second of the season and the 26th of his career started with a pole-winning run on Friday that afforded him the luxury of picking the No. 1 pit stall.

At the race’s crucial juncture, under the final caution for debris in Turn 4, Busch used a lightning-fast pit stop and the pit stall position closest to the exit from pit road to grab the top spot for the final restart. Truex restarted on the outside and struggled to maintain contact with the race winner.

Though he gained ground in the closing laps, Truex ran out of time.

During post-race inspection, Truex’s No. 56 Toyota failed the height-stick test and was deemed too low in the front. The car will be taken to NASCAR’s research-and-development center in Concord, N.C. for further examination.

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Carl Edwards was third, followed by Greg Biffle and Joey Logano, who barely made the starting grid and rallied for an unexpected top five.

Busch, who won Friday night’s Nationwide Series race after claiming the pole, finished off the seventh Nationwide/Cup sweep of his career, a NASCAR record — and all because of the final pit stop.

"It feels good — oh, man," Busch exulted after climbing from his car. "(Crew chief) Dave Rogers and these guys gave me a great piece today. We ran up front all day long. But if it wasn’t for my pit crew, the most awesome group ever — since 2008 we’ve been together, haven’t had any changeover — man, those guys are just awesome. 

"They pulled out one heck of a stop right there at the end to put us up front, to give us that lead, and we were able to bring it home."

Busch led a race-high 171 laps to 142 for Truex, who was beyond disappointed with the second-place result.

"We started near the front and had a decent car at the beginning, but not great," Truex said. "We worked on it all night and got it to where it was the best car out there. The last caution came out, and we got beat out of the pits, and that was the race. It was pretty frustrating to run second again. I feel like we’ve been in this boat and this position a bunch of times.

"Nothing about it is much fun. At the same time, it was a good run for us. We had a great weekend. Had a good race car all weekend long, and we learned a lot about things we can use in the future. Just running second sucks, especially when you’re that fast. So (I’m) a little bit frustrated right now."

Nor would Truex use Busch’s No. 1 pit stall as an excuse.

"We came in with the lead," Truex said. "I still feel like we should have been able to beat him out. I don’t know what happened there, but it wasn’t even close. I was three (car-lengths) behind, so it wasn’t all pit position, it was other things on our end…

"It’s so hard to get in position to win these races. It is so hard to make your car good enough to beat Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch and all these guys; and we had that tonight. We’ve got to get better at taking advantage of that. That’s where we’re missing, and that’s what we need to work on. So that’s why I’m upset. Second is a great accomplishment, but it’s not what we’re here for."

Truex streaked away from the field after a restart on Lap 229 and opened a lead of more than 2.5 seconds over Busch. That advantage grew to more than four seconds before a worn-out right front tire threatened Truex’s winning chances. 

As Truex brought his No. 56 Toyota to pit road under green on Lap 280, however, David Gilliland turned Marcos Ambrose’s Ford on the backstretch to cause the sixth caution of the night. As the yellow flew, Jeff Burton ran into the back of Mark Martin’s Toyota and spun into the inside wall.

Since both Truex and Busch were already on pit road when NASCAR called the caution, they remained in the lead for a restart on Lap 291. Truex opened a lead once again before a Lap 314 caution for debris in Turn 4 slowed the field again and allowed the lead-lap cars to pit for four tires.

Busch won the race off pit road, and that proved decisive, as he sped away after a restart on Lap 319 and made a bridesmaid of Truex for the sixth time since his only Sprint Cup victory on June 4, 2007.

Trouble started early for the Penske Racing Fords of reigning series champion Brad Keselowski and Logano. NASCAR confiscated the rear-end housings of the cars, forcing the teams to make a change before the race.

Keselowski made it to the grid in time for the start, but Logano’s car was late presenting itself on pit road and had to start from the rear.

"It is just something that is not in the spirit of the rules," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton told the Sporting News in explaining the violation. If penalties are forthcoming, they will be announced next week. 

Nevertheless, both drivers rallied from a lap to down to post top-10 finishes. Keselowski came home ninth and remained second in the Cup standings, nine points behind Johnson, who ran sixth on Saturday.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – NRA 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas

               1. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 334, $550858.

               2. (5) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 334, $346555.

               3. (9) Carl Edwards, Ford, 334, $268605.

               4. (35) Greg Biffle, Ford, 334, $214855.

               5. (18) Joey Logano, Ford, 334, $204713.

               6. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 334, $203341.

               7. (3) Aric Almirola, Ford, 334, $182841.

               8. (15) Brian Vickers(i), Toyota, 334, $153305.

               9. (16) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 334, $183746.

               10. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 334, $167288.

               11. (14) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 334, $144395.

               12. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 334, $165006.

               13. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 334, $170701.

               14. (23) Mark Martin, Toyota, 334, $134315.

               15. (26) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 334, $164648.

               16. (11) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 334, $149455.

               17. (19) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 334, $151751.

               18. (22) Trevor Bayne(i), Ford, 334, $119810.

               19. (4) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 333, $145424.

               20. (10) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 333, $145024.

               21. (13) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 333, $158435.

               22. (32) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 332, $139668.

               23. (21) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 332, $119910.

               24. (38) David Reutimann, Toyota, 332, $126468.

               25. (28) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 332, $123418.

               26. (25) David Ragan, Ford, 331, $126768.

               27. (33) David Stremme, Toyota, 331, $115132.

               28. (42) Danica Patrick #, Chevrolet, 331, $102585.

               29. (6) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 330, $117985.

               30. (40) Josh Wise(i), Ford, 330, $102835.

               31. (24) Casey Mears, Ford, 330, $104910.

               32. (27) David Gilliland, Ford, 329, $95810.

               33. (12) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 326, $102710.

               34. (39) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 326, $93610.

               35. (41) Joe Nemechek(i), Toyota, 324, $92485.

               36. (43) Timmy Hill #, Ford, 322, $91360.

               37. (2) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 316, $117603.

               38. (8) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, Front Suspension, 306, $130196.

               39. (36) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Rear Axle, 293, $79260.

               40. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #, Ford, 290, $123596.

               41. (34) Mike Bliss(i), Toyota, Brakes, 140, $71260.

               42. (30) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, Engine, 138, $75260.

               43. (37) Michael McDowell, Ford, Overheating, 44, $63760.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  144.751 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 27 Mins, 40 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .508 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 36 laps.

Lead Changes:  18 among 7 drivers.

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Cars of Keselowski, Logano both failed pre-race inspection

Race results | Video: Logano late to start | Standings

FORT WORTH, Texas — Judging by the grin on Joey Logano’s face after he climbed out of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford following Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 500-miler at Texas Motor Speedway, you would have thought the 22-year-old had just won the race.

He actually finished fifth, but considering he wasn’t even inside his race car when the rest of the 43-car field rolled off the starting grid, it was quite an impressive comeback.

“If you would have told me I would finish fifth today, I would have given you a hug,’’ Logano said smiling.

"I don’t even know what happened, I was focused in on driving my race car."

— Joey Logano

Both Logano’s car and Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford failed pre-race inspection, and while the drivers were participating in driver introductions in front of a large Texas crowd, their teams were furiously switching rear-end housings on the cars.

NASCAR confiscated parts, and penalties may be forthcoming. NASCAR Vice President for Competition Robin Pemberton cautioned before the race that the parts were “not in the spirit of the rule.”

Even with the last-minute changes to the cars, Keselowski was able to keep the 16th-place starting spot he earned in qualifying. Logano’s car, however, still did not meet weight requirements during the final inspection, and the extra delay sent him to the rear of the starting field for not making it to the grid in a timely manner.

While Keselowski also put on a highly motivated driving display and rallied for a ninth-place finish after going down a lap early in the event, he was much angrier than Logano following the race and told reporters he felt the team had been highly scrutinized, even “targeted” over the last week by NASCAR officials.

“I have one good thing to say and that’s about my team and the effort they put in today,’’ Keselowski said, speaking to reporters briefly. “ … I can tell you there’s no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team and the way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolutely shameful. But my guys keep their heads on straight and showcased why they are a championship team. ‘’

Their team owner, the legendary Roger Penske, solidly defended his organization following the race.

“Our guys are innovative, we’re looking at the rules, looking at areas where maybe we can get an edge on like everybody else is,’’ Penske said. “I don’t think we did anything wrong, obviously it’s a judgment and we’ll deal with it with NASCAR. But we’re going to move on to the next race.’’

Logano, however, may still be thinking about Saturday. Not only did he overcome unforeseen obstacles for a top-five finish, it was even his best showing in the last five trips to an intermediate track. He was running third before a pit stop during the race’s final caution with 19 laps remaining.

“It was one of the toughest races we’ve ever been dealt with and to come home with a top-five out of something like that we couldn’t be more excited about that — almost a third-place finish if the last caution hadn’t come out,’’ Logano said. “These guys worked so hard on this Shell/Pennzoil Ford getting us out at least and we dug our way up there a little bit, then had a bad stop and went down a lap … and slowly, methodically worked our way up.’’

In fact, Logano insisted that he was never particularly worried despite the harried start to his race day.

“I go minute by minute, so for me it’s not a big deal,’’ Logano said of the pre-race problems. “I strap in and I go. Having to go to the rear was a little bit of a bummer especially not knowing what your car’s going to be like. But I tell you what, these guys knew exactly what to do to get us out on time — barely on time, but out there — get some laps, make adjustments, keep up with the race track as the sun went down.

“At first I wasn’t (worried) but then we got to the scales and happened to be 10 pounds light and had to put weight in the car too, and at that point I got a little nervous.

“They’re running back to the truck to put some weight in the thing, man, it was hectic there for a little bit. I don’t want to ever cut it that close again.’’

As for the potential penalties his team is facing, Logano said he wasn’t worried about that.

“I don’t even know what happened, I was focused in on driving my race car and what was going on out there, trying to take care of my own thing and trying to drive my race car fast,’’ Logano said.

“At one point, I was thinking maybe we can get a top-10, maybe. Then it kind of cycled out and we were fourth, and I was like, ‘Cool,’ maybe we can get third.

“Never quit, never die. We’ll definitely take this.’’

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Heading into an off-week, Hornish’s point lead shrinks to two

MORE: RESULTS

FORT WORTH, Texas — For all intents and purposes, Sam Hornish Jr.’s rather comfy lead in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship went up in sparks in the Turn 4 wall of Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night.

A collision with Jeremy Clements with 57 laps remaining sent Hornish’s dinged up No. 12 Ford down pit road for repairs four times and then ultimately for the garage for a lengthy lookover. Hornish’s Penske Racing team still managed to return him to competition in time to salvage a two-point advantage over seventh-place finisher Regan Smith as the circuit heads into an off-week.

But it was a tough lesson and a championship equalizer.

“I guess I could have given the 51 (Clements) more room, but I figured he knew I was out there, that his spotter would tell him,’’ Hornish said on pit road watching the replay during an ESPN post-race interview. “It was one of those deals where we had fresher tires and a lot of those guys were out there sliding around. I just hate it for our whole Alliance Truck team. I’d like to play it over again but I can’t.

“It was frustrating for sure, but at the end of the day, the guys worked hard to get the car back out there.

“The car was good, we just didn’t have the right strategy and it kind of put us in the back and things happen.

“We’re up by two (points) and it’s better than being behind by 28, so we’ll just keep our heads up and move forward.’’

"I’d like to play it over again but I can’t."

— Sam Hornish Jr. on his wreck with Jeremy Clements

His 34th place showing marked the first time this season the three-time IndyCar champion finished worse than seventh place. He scored his second career Nationwide Series win at Las Vegas in March and has a pair of runner-up efforts and a season best four top-fives in what is widely considered his best opportunity to add a stock car title to his decorated open-wheel career.

He has led the championship since the opening week of the season — holding a 28-point edge on Smith coming into Texas. And only Friday’s winner Kyle Busch has led more laps.

Understandably with a start like that, Hornish would rather there not be any off-weeks. The Texas race came after an off-week and instead of taking a break next week, Hornish and his full Nationwide team will be attempting to run the Sprint Cup race at Kansas.

“We didn’t want to take a couple weeks off there, we were pretty happy with how we were running,’’ Hornish said with a smile.

“I like that we’ll still all be working together (at Kansas) and all the guys that work on this car will be at that race so it will give us an opportunity to work on our communication in a longer race where some of these other guys are going to be off for a weekend. We’ll look at it like a big practice event.

“The good thing is there won’t be any cooling off, we’ll actually be out there working together so I’m looking forward to that then on to Richmond which is one of my favorite tracks.

“It was a frustrating night and we wished we would have done better but we had a good car and things just didn’t work out our way. As long as we keep putting together cars like this we’re going to have more wins, more top-three finishes.

“We’ve just got to try to build the points back up.’’

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Posted on by Staff Report

Kennedy grabs first career K&N Pro Series East win in home state of Florida

Ben Kennedy captured his first career win in dominant fashion — leading the NAPA Auto Parts 150 wire-to-wire as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East made its inaugural visit to Five Flags Speedway on Saturday.

"It’s so cool to come here to Pensacola and win. This is a track with so much prestige."

—Ben Kennedy

Earlier in the day, Kennedy established himself as the one to beat at the half-mile track in his home state — topping the speed chart in practice and winning the Coors Light Pole Award in qualifying.

The 21-year-old from Daytona Beach held off multiple challenges throughout the 150-lap event and maintained command even after his sizeable lead was erased by a late-race caution.

"It’s so cool to come here to Pensacola and win," said Kennedy. "This is a track with so much prestige, and this is phenomenal."

Fifteen-year-old series rookie Gray Gaulding had to settle for second, with John Van Doorn third. Brett Moffitt came home fourth, followed by Kenzie Ruston. Bryon Ortiz, Dylan Kwasniewski, Sergio Pena, Ryan Gifford and Brandon Gdovic completed the top 10.

Kennedy, the great grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., got his first NASCAR win last year in the Euro-Racecar Series in Tours, France. This was his first win in the U.S. and came in his 30th NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start. His previous best finish was third (twice).

Kennedy was one of five drivers in the field with previous experience at the Pensacola track. He has twice competed in Super Late Models at Five Flags.

The NAPA Auto Parts 150 will be televised on SPEED on May 2 at 3 p.m. ET.

The next event on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule is the Blue Ox 100 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway on April 25.

For more results, audio, photos and information, go to hometracks.nascar.com.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Larson takes fastest speed earlier practice

Full practice results

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Rookie Chase Elliott shot to the top of the speed charts in final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice Saturday afternoon at Rockingham Speedway.

Elliott — driving the No. 94 Chevrolet owned by his father, NASCAR legend Bill Elliott — turned a lap at 142.813 mph around the mile-long oval ahead of Sunday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (2 p.m. ET on SPEED). The 17-year-old driver finished sixth last weekend in his Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway.

Veteran David Starr was second-fastest at 141.282, more than a quarter of a second off Elliott’s time in Bobby Dotter’s Toyota. Series points leader Johnny Sauter, who will vie for his third straight win to open the season in Sunday’s 200-miler, was third-fastest at 140.961 in a ThorSport Racing Toyota.

Rookie Ryan Blaney, second-fastest in the opening session, was fourth-best in final practice. Matt Crafton, Sauter’s ThorSport teammate, completed the top five.

Kyle Larson, another rookie, led the first practice, but tailed off to ninth-fastest in the final 60-minute session. Coleman Pressley, subbing for Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano while he drives a Sprint Cup car at Texas Motor Speedway, was 18th-best on the practice chart.

The session was slowed once by a piece of debris with 15 minutes remaining.

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Rookie Kyle Larson proved to be a quick study on a track more that twice as old as he is, setting the fastest lap in opening practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Rockingham Speedway.

Larson, 20, registered a speed of 144.341 mph on his second lap around the 48-year-old track in a Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet. He was just ahead of 19-year-old Ryan Blaney, who was second-fastest at 144.127 mph in a Ford owned by reigning Sprint Cup champ Brad Keselowski.

Ty Dillon, driving for grandfather Richard Childress, was third-best at 142.540 mph. Timothy Peters and Ron Hornaday Jr. completed the top five.

Series points leader Johnny Sauter, bidding for a third straight victory to open the season in Sunday’s 200-mile race, was ninth-fastest of the 36 trucks to record a lap in the opening 90-minute session.

Coleman Pressley drove in relief of Joey Logano, who is scheduled to participate in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway. Pressley, who will help set up the truck for Logano, set the 12th-fastest time.

Opening practice was slowed once for debris 15 minutes into the session.

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