Joey Logano ended the day right where he started in the No. 12 Snap-On Ford for Team Penske at Watkins Glen International. Logano started the Zippo 200 on the pole and finished the afternoon in victory lane. The 26-year old driver will leave the 2.45-mile road course with his 26th career victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
“It was far from easy. What a great Snap-On Ford Mustang. It was awesome for this 12 team to come together,” said Logano after the race. “It is a bunch of guys and girls we put together at the shop to have some fun and we come up here to Watkins Glen and it is a lot of fun to win at this racetrack.”
Paul Menard ended the day in the runner-up spot looking 1.517 seconds behind Logano when the checkered flag waved. Menard started third in the No. 2 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. The Wisconsin native entered the weekend with two consecutive third-place finishes in the last two XFINITY Series races. He now holds four top five and five top 10 finishes through six starts.
Kyle Larson rounded out the top three in the Zippo 200. Larson led one time for two laps as pit stops cycled around and stayed inside the top 10 all throughout the afternoon. The Sprint Cup Series driver will leave the track with his fifth top five and seventh top 10 finish through nine races in 2016.
It was an up and down day for Brad Keselowski as he raced teammate Joey Logano for the lead all afternoon long. Though a problem would strike in the closing laps as he would suffer an issue with the track bar. The problem caused a major right rear tire rub that forced the team down pit road to make repairs. Keselowski would return to the race and finish 24th and four laps down.
“Brad gave me a run for my money that is for sure,” added Logano in victory lane. “He was just as fast as me, maybe faster. I never ran so many qualifying laps inside the car. I was running as hard as I possibly could and I wasn’t sure if my car would last running that hard but she held together just long enough. I couldn’t be more proud to be here in Victory Lane. This is big for Team Penske and the XFINITY side of things. Great to get a win for them. I am proud to drive the Snap-on Mustang today and ready for tomorrow.”
“Yeah, it looked like a bad weld broke. I don’t know what to say about that. You can’t win races in the garage,” said Keselowski after the race. “Yeah, it was good. Joey and I were both really fast and if either one of us got in the lead it was obvious we were going to drive away. That is something to be really proud of,” added Keselowski when asked about having a dominant car. “We had very fast Ford Mustangs today and congrats to Joey on the win. It is good for the program to see Team Penske get in Victory Lane today. I wish it could have been us, but I am happy for Joey and all those guys.”
An interesting problem occurred on the No. 70 of Derrike Cope as the front portion of the car exploded as the car came to a stop over in the bus stop. It was first reported that he blew a tire but television replays showed all four tires to be inflated. NASCAR announced shortly after that they will take the No. 70 back to the NASCAR R&D Center for a full analysis of the problem.
Kyle Busch did not have a very good day behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota after a slow start in the Zippo 200. Busch started the day in fifth and began working his way towards the front. An issue with the front splitter would force the team to make a pit stop for repairs that put them further back in the field. Busch would then be involved in a crash on lap 19 that involved eight cars. He would not be able to rejoin the field and would finish 37th.
The next race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series will be next weekend at Mid-Ohio. Coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET. on USA Network. The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM Channel 90 will carry the live radio broadcast.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.