Even a late race caution couldn’t stop Joey Logano from winning the rain delayed Sprint Cup race in Texas.
The Penske driver dominated the second half of the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and was cruising to a victory when a final caution flag flew with a lap and a half remaining to set up a green-white-chequered finish.
Logano took four tyres and emerged in third place behind Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers; both of whom took right-side rubber only. After the re-start he swept past Gordon entering the first turn of the last lap and became the seventh different winner of the seven races so far contested this season.
“It feels good to be back in victory lane,” said Logano. “I felt very confident coming into this race. I (said) we were going to win this week.”
Gordon finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Vickers, Kyle Larson, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard and Tony Stewart.
Keselowski, Logano’s Team Penske teammate, finished 15th after being penalised for speeding off pit road during the final yellow. Penske had been on track for a 1-2 finish until then.
There was some big name casualties in the race with Dale Earnhardt Jr. classified last after he cut too low and hit the grass on the front stretch and then fired off into the outside wall. Jimmie Johnson, who was sitting-in behind, sustained front-end and windscreen damage from the debris from his team-mate’s incident. The other big name who failed to finish was Kevin Harvick who lost an engine.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose finished back in 20th place after fighting balance issues which included the front of his car lacking front grip.
VIDEO: Race Finish
VIDEO: Victory Lane
VIDEO: Earnhardt Jr.’s dramatic exit
RESULTS: DUCK COMMANDER 500 – Texas Motor Speedway
POSÂ |
Car #Â |
Driver |
Make |
Start Pos. |
Laps |
Laps Led |
Final Status |
Points |
Bonus Points |
1 |
22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 10 | 340 | 108 | Running | 48 | 5 |
2 |
24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 12 | 340 | 40 | Running | 43 | 1 |
3 |
18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 29 | 340 | 10 | Running | 42 | 1 |
4 |
55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 23 | 340 | 0 | Running | 40 | 0 |
5 |
42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 14 | 340 | 0 | Running | 39 | 0 |
6 |
16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 4 | 340 | 0 | Running | 38 | 0 |
7 |
20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 26 | 340 | 0 | Running | 37 | 0 |
8 |
15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 25 | 340 | 1 | Running | 37 | 1 |
9 |
27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 13 | 340 | 0 | Running | 35 | 0 |
10 |
14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 1 | 340 | 74 | Running | 35 | 1 |
11 |
5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 32 | 340 | 0 | Running | 33 | 0 |
12 |
43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 17 | 340 | 0 | Running | 32 | 0 |
13 |
11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 6 | 340 | 20 | Running | 32 | 1 |
14 |
99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 5 | 340 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
15 |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 2 | 340 | 85 | Running | 30 | 1 |
16 |
31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 8 | 340 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
17 |
1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 15 | 340 | 0 | Running | 27 | 0 |
18 |
78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 18 | 340 | 0 | Running | 26 | 0 |
19 |
21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 7 | 339 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
20 |
9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 9 | 339 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
21 |
3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 20 | 339 | 0 | Running | 23 | 0 |
22 |
38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 39 | 339 | 0 | Running | 22 | 0 |
23 |
47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 33 | 339 | 0 | Running | 21 | 0 |
24 |
51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 22 | 339 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
25 |
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 16 | 338 | 0 | Running | 19 | 0 |
26 |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 31 | 338 | 0 | Running | 18 | 0 |
27 |
10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 24 | 338 | 0 | Running | 17 | 0 |
28 |
13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 21 | 338 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
29 |
7 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 27 | 337 | 0 | Running | 15 | 0 |
30 |
95 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 28 | 335 | 0 | Running | 14 | 0 |
31 |
26 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | 42 | 335 | 0 | Running | 13 | 0 |
32 |
23 | Alex Bowman | Toyota | 30 | 335 | 0 | Running | 12 | 0 |
33 |
36 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 38 | 334 | 1 | Running | 12 | 1 |
34 |
40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 40 | 334 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
35 |
34 | David Ragan | Ford | 43 | 334 | 0 | Running | 9 | 0 |
36 |
98 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | 41 | 333 | 0 | Running | 8 | 0 |
37 |
32 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | 37 | 332 | 0 | Running | 7 | 0 |
38 |
35 | David Reutimann | Ford | 34 | 332 | 0 | Running | 6 | 0 |
39 |
41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 11 | 327 | 0 | Accident | 5 | 0 |
40 |
30 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | 36 | 313 | 0 | Overheating | 4 | 0 |
41 |
77 | Dave Blaney | Ford | 35 | 272 | 0 | Steering | 3 | 0 |
42 |
4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 3 | 28 | 1 | Engine | 3 | 1 |
43 |
88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 19 | 12 | 0 | Accident | 1 | 0 |
Standings
Position |
Driver |
Points |
Behind |
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5Â |
Top 10Â |
DNF |
1 |
Jeff Gordon | 259 | Leader | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
2 |
Matt Kenseth | 255 | -4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
3 |
Carl Edwards | 247 | -12 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
4 |
Joey Logano | 235 | -24 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
5 |
Kyle Busch | 231 | -28 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
6 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr | 228 | -31 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
7 |
Jimmie Johnson | 228 | -31 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
8 |
Brad Keselowski | 218 | -41 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
9 |
Brian Vickers | 205 | -54 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
10 |
Paul Menard | 203 | -56 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
11 |
Ryan Newman | 202 | -57 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
12 |
Austin Dillon | 202 | -57 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
13 |
Denny Hamlin | 197 | -62 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
14 |
Tony Stewart | 189 | -70 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
15 |
Kyle Larson | 187 | -72 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
16 |
Greg Biffle | 187 | -72 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
17 |
Clint Bowyer | 187 | -72 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
18 |
Marcos Ambrose | 186 | -73 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
19 |
Kasey Kahne | 178 | -81 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
20 |
AJ Allmendinger | 173 | -86 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
21 |
Jamie McMurray | 167 | -92 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
22 |
Aric Almirola | 164 | -95 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
23 |
Casey Mears | 162 | -97 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
24 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 154 | -105 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
25 |
Kurt Busch | 151 | -108 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
26 |
Kevin Harvick | 138 | -121 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
27 |
Martin Truex Jr | 131 | -128 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
28 |
Justin Allgaier | 129 | -130 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
29 |
Danica Patrick | 121 | -138 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
30 |
Reed Sorenson | 113 | -146 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
31 |
David Gilliland | 107 | -152 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
32 |
Michael Annett | 103 | -156 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
33 |
Cole Whitt | 99 | -160 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
34 |
David Ragan | 94 | -165 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
35 |
Alex Bowman | 85 | -174 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
36 |
Josh Wise | 67 | -192 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
37 |
Travis Kvapil | 52 | -207 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
38 |
Ryan Truex | 47 | -212 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
39 |
Parker Kligerman | 40 | -219 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
40 |
Michael McDowell | 40 | -219 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
41 |
Bobby Labonte | 29 | -230 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
42 |
Jeff Burton | 27 | -232 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
43 |
Terry Labonte | 24 | -235 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
44 |
David Reutimann | 22 | -237 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
45 |
Timmy Hill | 7 | -252 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
46 |
David Stremme | 5 | -254 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
47 |
Michael Waltrip | 4 | -255 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
48 |
Dave Blaney | 3 | -256 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
49 |
Landon Cassill | 0 | -259 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
50 |
Sam Hornish Jr | 0 | -259 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
51 |
Trevor Bayne | 0 | -259 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
52 |
Brian Scott | 0 | -259 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
53 |
Joe Nemechek | 0 | -259 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
54 |
Blake Koch | 0 | -259 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
55 |
Morgan Shepherd | 0 | -259 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
56 |
J.J. Yeley | 0 | -259 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
57 |
Eric McClure | 0 | -259 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |