Joey Logano prevails in five overtimes in Nashville

 

[July 01, 2024]  Joey Logano did not know how his No. 22 Team Penske Ford made it back to the finish line, but the effort was good enough to thrust him into the postseason.

Logano ran 110 laps on a tank of fuel to hold off Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick in a fifth overtime on Sunday to win the NASCAR Cup Series' Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn.

After nearly winning in the fourth OT, Logano restarted in first for the second time, ahead of Chase Briscoe, and beat Smith by 0.068 seconds in the fifth two-lap shootout for his first points victory this year.

"I know into (Turn) 3, my fuel light came on and it stumbled across the line. That was definitely all of it," Logano told NBC Sports. "It's been a stressful few weeks trying to get into the playoffs, and being able to win here is huge for our season. Felt great to get that. Boy, it feels good.

"I'm out of breath. We had it won off of (Turn) 4 and then the caution came out, and I was like, 'Oh, my God,' but you can't pit. You've kind of got to go for it. Boy, it was close."

Logano became the Cup Series' 11th different winner in 2024 despite leading just nine laps on Sunday.

Trackhouse Racing's Smith recorded a career-best runner-up finish but was expecting to pass Logano's Ford.

"Obviously happy with the result, but when you hear from 10 laps he's supposed to run out and you see him shaking it across the line and you're second, that hurts," said Smith, the driver of the No. 71 Chevrolet.

Polesitter Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain battled over the final laps of regulation and into overtime until Chastain's No. 1 Chevrolet hit the Turn 1 wall after making contact with Kyle Larson.

Hamlin and many other cars ran out of fuel in overtime, putting Logano up front and in position to win the 15-caution event for his 33rd career win and first since March 2023.

Reddick, Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher completed the top five, coming in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell led a race-high 131 laps before wrecking on Lap 228 and finishing 36th.

After scoring the 42nd pole of his career, Hamlin led in his No. 11 Toyota over the first 16 laps until he encountered the potentially lapped No. 51 Ford of Justin Haley, who slowed Hamlin's progress and allowed Bell to scoot by for the lead.

Bell maintained the point through alternating pit strategies and earned his eighth segment win of the season by claiming Stage 1. The Toyotas of Hamlin and Reddick followed.

With rain and the 300-lap race's halfway point approaching, most teams elected to take two tires, but Ty Gibbs struck Alex Bowman's No. 48 Chevrolet near the start/finish line for the third caution of the event's first half.

The weather front finally came for good on Lap 136 as cameramen and track workers were vacated from high areas above the grandstands. Bell led them onto pit road with Reddick and Larson behind him as a red-flag condition began before reaching the halfway mark of the race.

After a delay of about 90 minutes so that the 1.33-mile track could dry, the race ran caution-free to the Stage 2 conclusion at Lap 185, when Bell, Reddick and Larson finished first, second and third, respectively.

--Field Level Media

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