Logano wins at Michigan, helps make history
BROOKLYN, MICH. >> Joey Logano plopped into a seat, getting a much-needed break, when the 26-yearold driver found out he was just a part of history.
Logano pulled away from the pack to win the FireKeepers Casino 400 and was followed by 20-year-old Chase Elliott and 23-yearold Kyle Larson, the youngest top three in NASCAR Sprint Cup history.
“That’s pretty cool,” he said when informed of the feat Sunday.
The trio’s average age of 23 was younger than the 24.7 of the top three finishers at a race in 1951 and two races the previous year.
“The future of NASCAR is present,” Logano said. “It’s going to be big. It’s amazing to see.”
Logano, the pole-setter, moved past Elliott on lap 153 and stayed ahead for the 15th Sprint Cup series victory of his career in the 15th race of a year that has included 10 different winners.
Elliott finished a careerbest second, but wasn’t in the mood to celebrate because he blamed himself for poor restarts.
“I definitely messed up,” he said. “Putting it in the correct gear would be a good start.”
Larson fell one place short of matching his best performance.
Brad Keselowski was fourth and points leader Kevin Harvick finished fifth at Michigan International Speedway.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 39th out of 40, is the only winner from 2015 that is winless this year.
NASCAR’s latest aerodynamic package made its debut, part of the sport’s plan to create more competitive racing.
“We hope it works,” team owner Joe Gibbs said, leaving a venue that used to be packed and now has pockets of empty seats in the 72,000-seat racetrack. “We need more people in the stands.”
The new aero setup included, for the first time in more than a decade, a reduction in the downforce to 1,500 pounds and shortening of the spoiler to 2.5 inches.
“It’s not a whole lot different than the other package,” Earnhardt bristled from the garage after a crash knocked him out of the race. “I think we talk about packages too much.”
Drivers weren’t sure how their cars would handle due to the changes, which will also be implemented next month at Kentucky. That appeared to lead to an uncharacteristically accidentfree start on the 2-mile oval about 70 miles west of Detroit.