Joey Logano won the inaugural spring dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway. For the first time in more than 50 years, NASCAR Cup Series raced on dirt and Logano adapted to the new surface to become the seventh different Cup winner this season and record his 27th career Cup series win.
“Congratulations to Joey, Paul, Roger, and the No. 22 crew,” said Doug Yates, president and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “It’s great to see another Ford Mustang in Victory Lane this year. Joey and the No. 22 crew did a great job adapting to the track surface and conditions, finding a way to get the most out of the No. 22 to win the race. We are fortunate to have great partnerships that provide resources on and off the track to support our racing programs.”
Logano and his crew worked together, continuously making the No. 22 Ford Mustang better and better throughout the race. Logano was able to work his way around the No. 99 of Daniel Suarez to take the lead on lap 193 and win Stage 2 of the race, setting himself up to be the leader going into the final stage of the race.
In an over-time, 2-lap shootout, the No. 22 led the field back to green and was able to pull away from the field to take the checkered flag .554 seconds ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 47. Logano led the last 61 laps of the 253-lap race.
“Man, it’s incredible,” commented Logano. “How about Bristol on dirt? This is incredible, unbelievable racetrack. There were so many first-time winners and different winners than there has typically been. I said, ‘We’ve got to get a win to make sure we get in the playoffs,’ so it’s amazing to get this Shell/Pennzoil Mustang into Victory Lane at Bristol. There’s nothing like winning at Bristol, but putting dirt on it and being the first to do it is really special.”
The NASCAR Series will head to Martinsville Speedway in two weeks to take on the famed “Paperclip,” the shortest track on the NASCAR schedule.
