Joey Logano clinched a victory at Richmond Raceway to solidify his NASCAR Cup Series comeback, moving into ninth place in the points standings. The No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang team faced a bleak outlook at the start of summer, sitting 20th in the series with zero wins and only two top fives. However, a pair of short-track events under the lights has dramatically shifted the season trajectory for the three-time champion.
Logano secured his second win of the season by starting tenth and leading 95 laps, the second-most in the field. This breakthrough victory came three weeks ago at North Wilkesboro, marking the first time a Cup Series driver won a points race since Jeff Gordon achieved the feat in 1996. Following that win, Logano backed it up with a third-place finish at the Brickyard 400, putting him in a strong position for the playoffs.
On Saturday night, Logano faced Chase Briscoe on the final restart with 39 laps remaining. Briscoe’s crew chief, James Small, called for a pit stop immediately after Logano took the lead. Logano and his crew chief, Paul Wolfe, anticipated the move and pitted on the same lap. Logano won the race off pit road after Briscoe locked up his front brakes entering the lane. He eventually passed Christopher Bell with 22 laps to go and held on for the win.
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Logano won by a 0.392 margin, describing the race as “typical Richmond race” and praising his team’s performance. Austin Cindric climbed from the final Chase position to 15th with a third-place finish, creating a 50-point gap between him and Shane van Gisbergen. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson finished sixth as part of a Hendrick Motorsports top-ten sweep, redeeming the team from a disappointing performance the previous week.
Larson’s sixth-place finish was a top-ten sweep for Hendrick Motorsports. As soon as Larson returned to his trailer, he sprinted away to catch a private plane to Pella, Iowa. His destination was Knoxville Raceway to attempt to start on pole for the A-Main of the rain-delayed Knoxville Nationals.
