The Home Depot Team Finishes 20th in 52nd Running of the Daytona 500
February 14, 2009- 1. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet
- 3. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford
- 20. Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota
Daytona Beach, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2010) – The 52nd running of the Daytona 500 will go down as one of the most unique races in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history. Not only did it have a record number of lead changes, but the red flag was shown twice due to a pothole, and two green-white-checker attempts set up an exciting finish. In the end, Joey Logano and The Home Depot Team overcame several obstacles to finish 20th, up 23 positions from last year's season opener.
"My experience from the two races I had run at Daytona made a huge difference this year," said Logano. "I've said this over and over again -- last year I came here and didn't know what to expect. Now I know what I want in The Home Depot Toyota and that's the biggest thing. Zippy (Greg Zipadelli, crew chief) and I work better together, and we only have one full season under our belt. We started off a little bit free, trying to get a balance between too loose on the top side and too tight on the bottom. Over the closing laps I was swept up when Bill Elliott got loose, and there was just nothing I could do to avoid it. We came home 20th, it was not what we were looking for but it was a huge improvement from last year."
Logano started the Great American Race from the 16th position after finishing seventh in the second Duel at Daytona on Thursday evening. He immediately began feeling a loose condition in the high groove and a tight condition on the bottom. The Home Depot Team was credited with leading a lap on lap 50, just before Zipadelli called Logano down pit road during a round of green-flag pit stops. The crew adjusted on the No. 20 Toyota on several occasions throughout the first 100 laps of the 200 lap race. At the midpoint of the Daytona 500, Logano was running in the 25th position.
NASCAR waved the yellow flag on lap 118 when a pothole was discovered in the asphalt between turns one and two. The issue was bigger than originally anticipated and NASCAR waved the first of two red flags to fix the situation on lap 119 following pit stops. Racing resumed over an hour later on lap 125 with Logano running in the 19th position. Logano radioed in to Zipadelli on lap 140 to let him know the oil temperature was running high. The team removed some tape from the grill on lap 144 during a round of pit stops.
The caution flag and red flag were displayed again on laps 159 and 161 when the patch used to fix the pothole had come up. During that time, the team determined the high temperatures were due to the nose of The Home Depot Toyota being caved in from bump drafting. The crew went to work after the red flag was lifted to bolt on a new nose to help with the aerodynamics and handling. Racing resumed again on lap 168 with Logano running in the 34th spot due to the long pit stop to repair the No. 20 car. Despite his Toyota being extremely tight, Logano was able to draft his way back into the top 20 by lap 186. Things got worse for the team when the car of Bill Elliott got loose and shot up the track into The Home Depot Toyota on lap 199. The car sustained severe body damage, but the team was able to get it back onto the track to finish the Daytona 500.
It took two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish and eight additional laps before the checkered flag finally waved for the race with Logano crossing the stripe in the 20th position. Logano's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin finished 14th and 17th respectively.
Up next for Logano and the No. 20 Home Depot Team is the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. next Sunday. The race begins at 3 p.m. ET with television coverage on FOX.
