Joey Logano and Chase Elliott both had different reasons to secure a victory at New Hampshire on Sunday. For Elliott, it would’ve been a second regular season win, and for Logano, it would’ve been an even more meaningful first. However, neither of them was able to find themselves in the lead towards the end of the race and finished outside the top-10s.
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The incident that cast their days into a dark shadow came in Lap 194. They were coming off a corner fresh from a restart when Logano began experiencing issues. Unable to turn his steering wheel to match the field’s angle and speed, he slid into the front-left of Elliott’s car with his wheels locked up. Both the #22 Ford Mustang and the #9 Chevrolet Camaro sustained heavy damage and had to be worked on.
TROUBLE FOR JOEY LOGANO AND CHASE ELLIOTT.
: USA Network | #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/sYbkWNT1aS
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 23, 2024
Logano’s car took the heavier hit with his right front wheel not spinning under acceleration. His team also had to repair a toe link after which he was left four laps down. He came in 32nd place at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, Elliott was able to carry on with his race and keep his act together. He finished in 18th place and kept his streak of top-20 finishes going. Also, he now shares the stage with his teammate Kyle Larson as points leader.
The exact reason as to why Logano couldn’t make the turn coming off the restart is not yet known. It could be the fact that he couldn’t judge the speed of the pace car at the moment.
It is quite tricky for a driver to figure it out on restarts when he is not in the lead. Braking and controlling his turn in the final moments before the crash would’ve meant that he drove into the back of his teammate, Austin Cindric.
Repercussions of the incident that Logano caused in New Hampshire
The incident hurt Logano more than it did Elliott. Interestingly, he had an edge over his contenders going into the weekend. His crew chief Paul Wolfe was an ace in the short track as a driver and added some much-needed veteran experience to the challenge. Unfortunately, it ended up going to the bin. Logano is now 14th on the points table and six points below the cutoff line for the playoffs.
With only eight more regular season races, time is running out for the 2X Cup Series champion to secure his berth in the postseason. Meanwhile, Elliott is more than comfortable at the top.
