By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
Executing a decisive bash-and-run on the next-to-last-lap of Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Joey Logano wrested the lead from William Byron and ended a NASCAR Cup Series 40-race winless streak dating to March of 2021 at the Bristol Dirt Track.
After Logano gave Byron’s Chevrolet a jolt entering Turn 3 on the white-flag lap, Byron shot up the track into the outside wall and fell back to 13th at the finish.
Driving a No. 22 Ford sporting the throwback paint scheme of his first quarter-midget racer, Logano beat runner-up Tyler Reddick to the finish line by .775 seconds to earn his first victory at Darlington and the 28th of his career.
Logano now has won at least one race in 11 consecutive Cup Series seasons.
“Yeah, you’re not going to put me in the wall and not get anything back,” Logano said, apparently referring to earlier contact from Byron’s car. “That’s how that works. Man, super proud of the Shell-Pennzoil team, getting a victory here in Darlington. You know what it’s like—I’ve never won here in a Cup race before.
“So proud of this race team. Great execution all day long. I’ll tell you what, the coolest thing is getting this car into Victory Lane. This is the car where it all started for me back in ’95 in a quarter midget. Really, honestly, all the young kids racing out there right now—this could be you.”
An incensed Byron clearly thought Logano crossed the line with his aggressive maneuver.
“We were really close off of (Turn) 2, and I think it spooked him and got him tight, and he was right against the wall, and I got the lead,” Byron said of a restart on Lap 268. “He’s just an idiot. He does this stuff all the time. I’ve seen it with other guys.
“He drove in there 10 miles an hour too fast, and with these Next-Gen cars, he slammed me so hard it knocked the whole right side off the car, and no way to make the corner.
“Yeah, he’s just a moron. He can’t win a race, so he does it that way. I don’t know, we’ll… yeah, it was close racing on the restart. We were faster than him. Obviously, at the end the right rear (of Byron’s car) started to go away, and, yeah, he didn’t even make it a contest.”
Justin Haley ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick, who posted his 13th straight top-10 result at the Lady in Black—a track record. Chase Elliott started at the rear of the field in a backup car and finished fifth.
A massive wreck off Turn 2 on Lap 261 of 293 took out more than a handful of frontrunning cars and set up the final restart. Martin Truex Jr., who had restarted on the inside of Row 2, lost momentum in the corner and slid back between the Chevrolet of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the Ford of Kevin Harvick.
Truex’s Toyota made slight contact with Stenhouse’s Camaro in the outside—but enough to start Truex spinning sideways. The wreck collected the cars of Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, Cole Custer, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Elliott, which suffered damage ranging from minimal to terminal.
Ill fortune led to the demise of three of the strongest cars before the race reached the halfway point. On Lap 114 second-place starter Kyle Larson brought his No. 5 Chevrolet to pit road and retired with engine failure.
Lap 167 brought the downfall of Kyle Busch, who had led 19 laps. The No. 6 Ford of Brad Keselowski pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 and collected the Toyota of Busch, eliminating both cars from the race.
Ross Chastain collected the second stage win of his career in Stage 2, but his elation was short-lived. Moments after the subsequent restart on Lap 196, Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet spun to the inside of Hamlin’s Toyota near the exit of Turn 2 and nosed into the inside wall, ending his race.
“We were fighting the balance all day,” Chastain said. “We were racing with those guys for the lead. I just thought I could run the bottom there off of Turn 2 at the exit of the patch (of new asphalt). I just got loose on the transition and spun out.”
By the time the race ended, 13 of the 36 cars already were in the garage, equaling the number of DNFs last month at Talladega.
Logano’s victory in a Ford kept Chevrolet winless at Darlington since Harvick’s victory there in 2014.
NASCAR Cup Series Race – 3rd Annual Goodyear 400
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Sunday, May 8, 2022
1. (1) Joey Logano, Ford, 293.
2. (10) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 293.
3. (29) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 293.
4. (35) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 293.
5. (34) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 293.
6. (3) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 293.
7. (16) Michael McDowell, Ford, 293.
8. (26) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 293.
9. (14) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 293.
10. (20) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 293.
11. (12) Aric Almirola, Ford, 293.
12. (21) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 293.
13. (9) William Byron, Chevrolet, 293.
14. (25) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 293.
15. (27) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 293.
16. (18) Chris Buescher, Ford, 293.
17. (7) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 293.
18. (19) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 293.
19. (31) Cody Ware, Ford, 293.
20. (13) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 293.
21. (22) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 292.
22. (33) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 292.
23. (32) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 288.
24. (4) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Accident, 263.
25. (11) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, Accident, 262.
26. (28) Cole Custer, Ford, Accident, 260.
27. (17) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 260.
28. (6) Kurt Busch, Toyota, Accident, 260.
29. (15) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 255.
30. (8) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 194.
31. (24) Daniel Hemric(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 188.
32. (36) BJ McLeod, Ford, Brakes, 184.
33. (5) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 167.
34. (23) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 166.
35. (30) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, Accident, 152.
36. (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Engine, 112.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 119.158 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 21 Mins, 32 Secs. Margin of Victory: .775 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps.
Lead Changes: 24 among 13 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Larson 1-6;J. Logano 7;K. Larson 8-31;J. Logano 32;J. Yeley(i) 33;J. Logano 34-61;K. Busch 62-79;J. Logano 80-93;C. Ware 94;J. Logano 95-135;K. Busch 136;E. Jones 137;K. Harvick 138;M. Truex Jr. 139-165;R. Chastain 166-191;D. Hamlin 192-199;J. Logano 200-208;D. Hamlin 209-242;M. Truex Jr. 243;C. Bell 244-246;T. Reddick 247-256;J. Logano 257-267;W. Byron 268-291;J. Logano 292-293.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Joey Logano 8 times for 107 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 42 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 30 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 2 times for 28 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 26 laps; William Byron 1 time for 24 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 19 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 10 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 3 laps; Cody Ware 1 time for 1 lap; JJ Yeley(i) 1 time for 1 lap; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 1 lap; Erik Jones 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,1,20,18,19,24,11,43,8,23
Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,19,22,11,24,43,20,9,10,99
Byron got off the gas as evidenced by the exhaust flames… might as well brake checked.
He slowed hard and got himself rammed.
If Kyle Busch did it, people would be cheering.
When Dale Earnhardt did it, people loved it and cheered!!!!!
Byron got off the gas and effectively brake checked Logano. The proof is in the flames 🔥 coming from Byron’s headers, and the closing rate between the cars. Logano was better, did not have to slow on entry, apparently did not expect Byron to slow, and the rest is history.
Wrong. Logano made it very clear he did it intentionally. Prior to his admission, I might have agreed with you.
This was a low-rent move if ever there was one. Logano should be fined and/or suspended, and it’s another black eye for NASCAR for not giving him a DQ.
Someone should send him a link to the Spring Sizzler,open modified or sk.
Speedy,
I think people can argue about what Logano did at the end, but I don’t think it even comes close to a move that would even deem thinking about a suspension or fine. That would be ludicrous. It was a bump and run. And let’s not forget that old saying, you race people the way they race you. Byron had put Logano in the wall when Logano was outside of him. Why would you try to pass a guy clean inside or outside if he had already hit you once when you were on his outside? I think Byron unfortunately made his own bed. If a guy thinks he’s going to get wrecked by trying to pass outside or inside then the next best choice to make a move is the bump and run.
Old Man Racer,
Not saying what Logano did should become an every race tactic, but I think you’re comparing apples to oranges here. Yes, were there clean races for the lead in both of the events you mentioned? Absolutely. And that’s the point, and even Logano said that in his postrace interview. He basically said, if Byron didn’t do him dirty taking the lead by putting him in the wall, then he would have never done the bump and run at the end. How many times in the history of racing have you heard someone say they’re going to race you the way you race them? Byron used Logano up to take the lead and that that point he set himself up for retaliation.
Disagree, Shawn. It is never ok to drive through the leader instead of trying to pass him cleanly regardless of previous on-track events. You even called this move a “bash-and-run.” Some of us consider racing to be an art form, not a demolition derby. Personally, I would rather finish second than to win a race this way, and yes, I have been in this situation.
The bump-and-run is the norm now, and has been for decades. That Byron slowed immensely was a gift for Logano.
How about when Kyle Busch announced he was going to destroy Larson, and did so? Nothing happened to Cryle Busch.
The list of these things goes on and on.
When it comes to going for the win in the closing laps, anything goes. That’s been said over and over bazillions of times in VL.
Do unto others what they did to you. Then just STFU about it. A bunch of crybabies overplaying a worn out victim card.
It’s pure tribalism… like living “Lord of the Flies” over and over.
Speedy,
I’m perplexed, nowhere did I refer to what happened as a “bash-and-run” so I’m not sure why you’ve put that in quotes and refer to me saying that when I never said that. I called it a bump and run, which is pretty commmonplace in racing. And calling it a demolition derby is going a little bit crazy. He hit him from behind, Byron wiggled and got up into the wall and kept going and finished the race on the lead lap. Where’s the “demolition” part of that? I’ll continue to stand by the fact that Byron got aggressive to take the lead and at that moment he set himself up for retaliation. You knock a guy into the wall to pass him you should probably expect he might just knock you in the wall a few laps later.
Joey is a hack. He can’t win with his skills or speed. He has to resort to old style dirt racing tactics. I think he should have a target on him and anyone that puts him out given a reward. No call for what he did again.
Did Byron intend to put Logano in the wall? Come on, no way. It’s Darlington, they race near the wall with very little room for error. Byron made a racing error that happens all the time. Was Logano all emotional and looking for payback….don’t think so. He’s smart, knew Byron gave him a chit to use at a later date and lucky for him he got to play it for the win at the end of the race.
Was that a bump and run? I’d agree in many ways racing by the best is an art form when executed property. The classic bump a run a carefully nuanced tap as the lead car is starting to unload in the corner just barely getting them out of shape then the pass low for the position depriving the victim ideally of only one spot. What Logano did was a hammer job. Crude, completely without nuance or skill.
Frankly I think Logano hit Byron way harder then he intended. Being less the nuanced wheel man and more the artful dodger he pulled out that chit Byron gave him in the post race interview and played it to the hilt. I was wronged says Logano. Byron made a cold calculating attempt to wall me out of the race and what I did was completely justified.
Sure Joey, if you say so.
If that’s Martin Treux Jr.I think he just drives underneath the 24 even if he got fenced like that. Different styles of racing. Old school or the new way of doing things which seems to happen more often down south. Logano has only driven full sized cars down south. Anyway you slice it. That’s why I like stock car racing with or without fenders. I was entertained!!!
Logano grinned with glee and admitted he did it on purpose ! you heard Logano`s team confirm he was closing the gap quickly and Byrons car was done .Of course Byron backed out ! no brake check he couldnt turn the car without wrecking. Plenty of room on the bottom to make that pass clean. he CHOSE not to .. a bum plain and simple. as for Byron allegedly running Logano into the wall THAT was hard racing and no damage done to Loganos car . If you watch the replay its too bad Byron coming off the wall didnt hit Logano`s right rear with his left front! LOL..it was so close ! Logano then confirmed in the press conference what he did . Even wonderboy knows paybacks coming. Karma! Karma! Karma! lets go racing boys