For a driver looking to make a statement at their “hometown” race by winning, fourth place should actually be quite disappointing. But Joe Logano doesn’t think like that, and detailed, after the New Hampshire outing, why he’s counting it as a victory.
Advertisement
The Penske star snatched the pole at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway and set the tone early by leading four times for 147 laps. The two Fords (Logano and Ryan Blaney), joined by Josh Berry, ran nose to tail in a 1-2-3 formation until Blaney powered past Logano’s No. 22 on Lap 53.
Blaney avoided Cody Ware’s spinning Ford to win the Stage 1 dash, earning his eighth stage victory of the season, with Logano, William Byron, Berry, and Carson Hocevar close behind. Logano answered in Stage 2, taking the checkered flag ahead of Kyle Larson, Byron, Blaney, and Hocevar. After testing Goodyear’s New Hampshire tires, he had hoped to beat Blaney on pit road, but a late mistake allowed Blaney to move into second behind Berry.
In the end, Logano settled for fourth, trailing teammate Blaney, Berry, and Byron. Still, his effort vaulted him to sixth in the playoff standings, 24 points clear of the cutline after starting the day below it.
The 35-year-old, thereafter, said, “At moments, the #12 was the fastest car, and the #21 was super solid with them. We were just kind of that next tier, and you did a good job getting a stage win, finished second in the first stage, getting the pole today. Like it’s hard to look at the weekend and say it was a failure.”
“It’s just when you’re home, you just want to win… But when you look at our playoff run, I think we’re plus 24 after this week. So, that’s great. Kind of makes up some of the playoff point deficit that we have going into the weekend. So, overall, you’ve got to be happy about that. Just so close to a win, but overall proud of the team,” he added.
Logano also pointed out that three straight top-fives, 52 points on the weekend, and plenty of laps led show the No. 22 crew is starting to hit its stride.
Logano praised his pit crew for flawless work, noting that everyone pulled their weight. Still, he acknowledged the need to find more speed, conceding that the No. 12 holds the upper hand most of the time. For now, he believes the focus must remain on closing that gap.
