LOGANO SCORES IN NASCAR OVERTIME
Joey Logano watched helplessly as Kyle Busch drove away from him on a late restart Sunday, seemingly ending his hopes of delivering a muchneeded win for Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill.
Kevin Harvick’s wreck with five laps left gave Logano another chance.
He took advantage of overtime, too, winning a drag race with Busch into the first corner in overtime, then jockeying briefly for the lead, before pulling away to take the white flag and eventually Logano’s second win of the season.
“It doesn’t get much better than that, racing for the lead like that with Kyle, one of the best, crossing each other back and forth,” said Logano, who made it a banner day for Team Penske. “I knew it was coming. I did it to him. I knew he was going to do it to me.”
The victory must have felt even sweeter for Team Penske given its recent struggles. In the last five points races, Logano has the only top-10 finish for the entire team with his victory last month at Darlington.
Kurt Busch finished second Sunday with Logano’s teammate, Ryan Blaney, in fourth and Aric Almirola in fifth.
“I’m way out of breath here,” Logano said. “What a great car. Really fast.”
Ross Chastain was fast all day, too; he just couldn’t stop hitting people. He got into Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott at different points in the race, leading both of them to retaliate on the track.
“It was terrible driving,” Chastain said afterward. “It’s one thing to do it once. I kept driving into guys. At this level I have to be better than that. It’s a shame. I had all these people believing in me. They deserve better.”
Power wins Belle Isle finale
Will Power had victory within reach on Belle Isle a year ago until a late red-f lag led to an electrical malfunction that ruined his race. In his mind, the
Detroit Grand Prix owed him one.
And when Power gets his mind set on something, there’s no holding him back.
Power charged from 16th to the win to close out the Belle Isle era with a Team Penske victory that returned the Australian to the IndyCar points lead.
Power passed teammate and pole-sitter Josef Newgarden on lap 14 and never looked back, leading 55 of the 70 laps as he found himself in “the zone.”
“It’s hard to get to that place. I used to be there a lot often when I was younger,” said the 41-year-old.
Power held off Alexander Rossi in the closing laps — extending Rossi’s losing streak to nearly three years — for his first win of the season. All three Team Penske drivers have a win through seven IndyCar races this season.
Elsewhere
Funny Car points leader Matt Hagan raced to his third victory of the season, beating Robert Hight in the final round of the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway. Mike Salinas won in Top Fuel, and Erica Enders topped the Pro Stock field.