Joey Logano (@JoeyLogano), driver of the No. 19 Reese Towpower Carbon Forged Ford F-Series, made his inaugural start for Brad Keselowski Racing (@TeamBKR) in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) during the North Carolina Lottery 200 at Rockingham Speedway on Sunday. Logano qualified in the 7th position. Logano’s close friend, Coleman Pressley, practiced the Truck Saturday while Logano raced his Penske Racing No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion to a 5th place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.
Logano got off to a decent start, hanging around the top 10 when the caution flag fell on lap 62 for debris in between turns one and two. Crew Chief Chad Kendrick brought the Reese Towpower Ford F-Series down pit road, changing all four tires, making a track bar adjustment and topping it off with fuel.
The yellow flag waved again on lap 93. Kendrick elected to bring Logano back down pit road for four new tires and fuel. The crew had a stellar stop, positioning Logano 8th before the restart on lap 102.
Kendrick and Logano continued to build chemistry as they communicated back and forth on their radios, with Kendrick soaking in the Penske Racing driver’s feedback and putting it use throughout the afternoon on the No. 19 Reese Towpower F-Series.
A spin in turns one and two brought out the caution flag on lap 142. Logano came to pit road and left with four scuff Goodyear tires and fuel, a strategy move that Kendrick felt would position the No. 19 very well for a thrilling finish and a shot at a BKR victory.
A long overdue caution flag for the No. 19 BKR team waved on lap 172 for a spin in the frontstretch. Kendrick brought the F-Series back to pit road for a final stop, stocking it full of fuel and four fresh tires, making it the only Truck left on the lead lap with new tires — an advantage Logano would try to capitalize on for the win.
When the green waved on lap 178, Logano moved all the way from the 18th position to 2nd, before the final caution waved, making for a green-white-checker finish between Kyle Larson and Logano, where Larson squeezed Logano for a close win at Rockingham Speedway’s second NCWTS in the past two seasons.
The No. 19 Brad Keselowski Racing entry currently sits 9th in NCWTS Owner’s points, 39 points behind the leader.
“I was passing a ton of cars on the newer tires, that’s Rockingham for you. That’s what makes this race track so cool, because you can play a strategy like that. When we got the last caution, I thought it was playing out perfect for us. I just got beat (on the restart). I spun my tires, so it was all my fault. I was so mad at myself. I felt like we should have won this race. We might not have had the truck to win, but we had the strategy to win. I want to thank Brad (Keselowski) for the opportunity, looking forward to Kansas next weekend.”– Joey Logano
BKR PR
