FUSION & FOCUS
Ford drivers stick together as Logano wins at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Joey Logano had a clear race track in his windshield and a pack of fellow Ford drivers on his bumper. That combination helped the Team Penske driver snap a losing streak that had stretched to almost a year.
Logano won Sunday’s NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway for his first Cup Series victory since April 30, 2017. That win at Richmond Raceway was later disqualified because his car failed inspection, so the benefits from the victory were stripped and it cost him a spot in the playoffs.
Out front is usually the worst place to be in the closing laps at Talladega, but Logano couldn’t be caught this time. The Ford drivers were committed to getting their manufacturer the win, and they waited patiently in line until the closing laps to make their attempt at snatching the victory away from Logano.
Only Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch was bold enough to make an early move, and he wrongly believed Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — the winner of last year’s spring race at Talladega — would go with him. Stenhouse didn’t get to Busch in time, SHR teammate Kevin Harvick wasn’t prepared for Busch to go so early, and Busch couldn’t garner enough steam to catch Logano.
The 27-year-old Logano, who won for the 19th time in Cup Series competition, sailed to an easy victory at a track where he should have been forced to defend several attempts at a pass on the final lap. It was Logano’s third career win at Talladega.
“I really thought (Busch and Harvick) were the cars, no matter where they went, if they got to the outside of me, I was hosed. I knew that. That would have been the end of it for me,” Logano said. “I would have gotten passed by pretty much the whole train. I would have lost so much momentum. I knew they were going to work together, as they should.
“Once they got picked apart, think that was the game changer.”
Busch finished second, his career best at the track, while Chase Elliott was third in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Harvick was fourth, Stenhouse fifth, Front Row Motorsports’ David Ragan sixth and SHR’s Aric Almirola seventh as Ford drivers took six of the top seven spots.
Elliott said the Fords had too strong and steady of a strategy for him to have any chance at making a move to catch Logano.
“I thought for sure one of them wanted to win more than they showed,” Elliott said. “If it was me, I would have wanted to do something or try. They were not interested in advancing. They were not going to help me move forward.”
Busch said his intention was to work with Stenhouse to help SHR get a victory from either him or Harvick.
“Two Stewart-Haas cars running second and third should have been able to pull this off,” Busch said. “I’m happy that a Ford won. It wasn’t the right one.
“Kevin was in good position. I was going to roll with him in any direction that I could. We just got broken up by Stenhouse. You wish you could go over and do it again. I feel like I left that one out on the table. “
Harvick thought Busch made his move too early.
“The Fords are so fast, we had five or six lined up there, and Kurt went a lap before I was ready,” Harvick said.
Sometimes simply finishing at Talladega is an accomplishment. The rules package NASCAR used Sunday made the cars difficult to drive and changed the dynamic of a race that usually is marked by multiple accidents.
“The cars weren’t handling really good, so you had to be very cautious with the runs that you had and where you had them,” said seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, whose losing streak hit 33 races when he finished 12th.
He was part of a 14-car accident late in the race when he slid in front of Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron to start the melee that knocked out two Penske cars — driven by Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski — as well as second stage winner Paul Menard.
There were six cautions in the race, which finished with 22 of the starting 40 cars on the lead lap, and drivers weren’t able to make big moves or slingshot passes.
“I think the cars are a handful to drive, and I think that is why we have seen a lot of single-file racing, just because everybody’s confidence in their cars isn’t as high as it has been in the past,” Kyle Larson said. “Less big moves and stuff, so I think it kind of gets single file because of that.”
F1: Hamilton wins
BAKU, Azerbaijan — Lewis Hamilton won an incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix to take over the Formula One season points standings.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel led for much of the race, but he was stuck in second place behind Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, when a crash brought out the safety car.
On the restart, Vettel lunged for the lead but could not keep his car on the racing line at the exit of the next corner and instead lost places. Soon afterward, Bottas’ right-rear tire picked was punctured, ending his race and elevating Hamilton to first.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took second after dropping to 14th via an early collision, and Force India’s Sergio Perez held off Vettel for third.