Wrong Place, Wrong Time for The Home Depot Team in Atlanta, Finishes 35th, Now 14th in Points
March 7, 2010- 1. Kurt Busch, No. 2 Dodge
- 2. Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Ford
- 3. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Chevrolet
- 35. Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota
Hampton, Ga. (March 7, 2010) – Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) has become a sort of nemesis for The Home Depot Team and its driver Joey Logano. Logano was running mid-pack early in the race when the No. 20 was pushed into the wall by another car and suffered extensive damage. Later in the race the right front tire blew on the orange and white Toyota, but Logano was able to finish the race in the 35th position. He slipped to 14th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings after four races.
"That was a really long race for the entire Home Depot Team," said Logano. "We were just trying to tune on the car early in the race and apparently (Brad) Keselowski got into Carl (Edwards) and sent him up the track. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was only lap 39, so that made for a long day. I really think we had a top-10 car today and it's hard looking back at days like this because there is really nothing we could have done to avoid it. We will get back at it in Bristol."
The Home Depot Team knew this was going to be a tough track to return to after finishes of 30th and 22nd last year. Unfortunately Logano was the first to go out to qualify at 6:10 p.m. on Friday and ended up 29th for the start of Sunday's race. The team made several long runs during the two practice sessions on Saturday to make sure the handling on the No. 20 Toyota Camry was set for the 500-mile race.
The green flag waved under sunny skies at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The first caution waved on lap three with Logano up six spots to 23rd. Crew chief Greg Zipadelli called him to the pits for tires and fuel in preparation for the typical long, green-flag runs at AMS. Racing resumed on lap eight with Logano in the 29th spot. He worked his way up to 24th and told Zipadelli the car was really tight in dirty air, so the team made a chassis adjustment when the caution flag waved on lap 34.
The Home Depot Team's day went south from there. On the restart on lap 39, the No. 12 car got into the No.99 car and sent him up the track and into Logano. The right side of the car had significant damage and it knocked the toe out of the car. After two quick stops to make repairs and keep Logano on the lead lap, racing resumed on lap 43 with the team now in 36th. Logano immediately told the team the car was really bad, so he pulled the car down pit road on lap 50 for additional repairs. Zipadelli and the team wanted to be sure the car was safe for Logano to drive. He returned to the track seven laps later.
Logano ran in the back of the field working on his racing lines now that he was eight laps down. He told the team the car was still really tight, so they continued to loosen up the car during routine pit stops. The team suffered another setback on lap 157 when the right-front tire blew and ripped the fender off the car. He was able to limp the car back to the pits, but after repairs was now 15 laps down to the leader.
The end of the race was exciting for race fans, as Edwards decided to retaliate against Keselowski and sent him into the wall with less than 10 laps remaining. It set up a green/white/checkered situation, but unfortunately a seven-car melee broke out before the white flag waved. The 325-schedule laps turned into 341 by the time the checkered flag finally waved. Logano went on to finish in the 35th position, while his teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch finished 21st and 25th respectively. The Home Depot Team now sits 14th in the standings, 11 points out of 12th.
The team gets a weekend off before heading to Bristol Motor Speedway in two weeks. The race begins at 1 p.m. ET with television coverage on FOX television and PRN radio.
