Logano Earns Ninth Top 15 of the Season in Richmond
September 12, 2009- 1. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- 2. Kurt Busch, No. 2 Dodge
- 3. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 14. Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota
RICHMOND, Va. (September 12, 2009) – The Home Depot Team earned its ninth top-15 finish of the 2009 season when rookie Joey Logano took the checkered flag in the 14th position at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night. In the final race before the Chase to the Sprint Cup begins, Logano and the team worked together to get a handling on The Home Depot Toyota after starting from the 27th position to earn the top 15 and maintain their 19th-place position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings.
"It was a great night for The Home Depot team," said Logano. "I was pretty upset after qualifying, but knew this was going to be a long race. I struggled with the car for the first 100 laps, but Zippy and the team did a heck of a job adjusting on the car. I think it shows how far our communication has come from the start of the season. It was fun a night."
While the racing world was focused on who would make The Chase, The Home Depot Team focused on continued improvement and teamwork - and they did just that in the Rock & Roll 400. Despite a disappointing 27th-place starting spot, the team worked on the No. 20 Toyota Camry throughout the evening to improve its handling while Logano continued to be a quick study on the track.
Shortly after the green flag waved, Logano told crew chief Greg Zipadelli the car was tight in the center and loose off. The Home Depot Team made a chassis adjustment to the car on lap 46 and sent Logano onto the track in the 21st position. Logano would race as high as 17th through the first 100 laps, but the longer he remained on a set of tires the looser the car became off the corner. When the caution waved on lap 203, Logano told the team the car was now better than it had been all race and he had learned a couple things following some of the veteran drivers. After a few additional adjustments during the next two cautions, Logano reported that the car was "really good off the corner now" on lap 278.
Logano broke into the top 15 for the first time after a quick stop by The Home Depot crew on lap 281. The team continued to make small adjustments on the No. 20 car as its 19-year-old driver provided feedback over the radio. During the closing laps while drivers were jockeying for positions into The Chase, Logano kept his nose clean and raced hard to pick on one last spot in the final five laps to finish 14th.
Logano sits 19th in the point standings but is consistently gaining on the 18th position. He is now 33 points behind Jeff Burton, gaining 12 points during the 400-lap race. Logano also earned rookie of the race honors for the 19h time in 26 races this season and maintains the lead in the Raybestos Rookie standings. Logano's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and Virginia native Denny Hamlin visited victory lane Saturday night at his home track and will begin to race for the championship next weekend at Loudon. Teammate Kyle Busch finished fifth and missed the cutoff for The Chase by just eight points.
Next up for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is a return-trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway where Logano became the youngest driver to ever win a Cup race in June. The race is scheduled for a 2 p.m. EDT start on Sunday on ABC with live coverage beginning at 1 p.m. The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will provide the live radio broadcast of the event.
