Logano takes maiden Sprint Cup win
Joey Logano has become the youngest winner in the history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series after taking victory in a rain-shortened Lennox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway


The 19-year-old was in the lead of the race when the caution flag waved with 36 laps remaining due to a slight drizzle. Logano had still to make his last pitstop after recovering from being a lap down following a punctured tyre from contact with Ryan Newman on lap 184.
Logano was less than five laps away from his final stop of the day when he inherited the lead, and as he circulated behind the pace car trying to save as much fuel as he could, the rain intensified forcing officials to stop the race.
For a while the jet dryers were put on the track in an attempt to get it race-ready once again, but eventually the rain did not let off and officials decided to call it a day.
So, a year after making his debut in NASCAR's top series at the same track, and only 20 races into his Sprint Cup apprenticeship, Logano beat his team-mate Kyle Busch to the record of the youngest winner in the series history at 19 years, one month and four days.
"Holy cow, this is really cool," said an excited Logano in an improvised Victory Lane at what he calls his home track. "I thought I would never be lucky enough to win one due to rain.
"I really don't know what to say right now. Especially after my debut here last year I didn't think I'd be this good. My team did a great job and we overcame a lot today. This is the first gamble we've taken since I started over here. We were lucky but a win is a win."
Jeff Gordon, who was expecting the last stops to cycle out so that he would retake the lead of the race, finished in a strong second after leading 65 laps and looking a strong contender for victory. The four times champion just missed out on his second win of the season but was still happy to be in contention for a win once again.
"Looks like it's a Cinderella story for sort of a local guy Joey Logano and you've got to give him credit for the calls they made." said Gordon. "I wasn't very good on the restarts and those guys there, the #2 [Busch] and the #14 [Stewart] and the #48 [Johnson] got me but I could ride right there with him.
"Then my pit crew, they did the job in the pits and they were phenomenal and got us out front."
Kurt Busch, who had won the race a year ago in similar fashion to Logano, looked competitive all the way through and finished third in the end. He struggled however on most of the restarts and was left hoping for a long green-flag run in then end, which would have boosted his chances of fighting for victory.
David Reutimann gambled on strategy and luck was on his side once again to allow him a fourth place finish which puts him closer to getting back in contention for a Chase spot.
He was one of at least ten cars involved in a multi-car wreck on lap 175, when Kyle Busch tapped the rear of Martin Truex Jr as Dale Earnhardt Jr was slow off the line ahead of both on a restart.
The Earnhardt Ganassi driver almost got into his team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya, but instead turned left and got collected by Jeff Burton. RCR team-mates Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears were also involved as were at least another six cars.
Tony Stewart struggled in the first part of the race after starting from pole but following an early first stop he was able to recover and even jump back in the lead following the final restart of the race on lap 196. However he lost the top spot on his last pitstop when a lug nut fell off from the mechanic changing the right front wheel.
Brad Keselowski also lucked into a strategy gamble to finish in sixth place finish ahead of Kyle Busch and Sam Hornish Jr, the latter running solidly in the top-five for most of the second half of the race.
Jimmie Johnson led the most laps but could not recover after side-by-side contact with Kurt Busch while fighting up front, while Kasey Kahne rounded out the top ten despite losing ground while avoiding contact in the big wreck of the day.
Mears also recovered from being involved in the incident to finish 11th ahead of Montoya, who ran in the top ten for most of the day but slid back on his last set of tyres.
The Colombian led the race for six laps and the bonus points allowed him to remain in Chase zone by one point over Kasey Kahne who finished the race in 10th.
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Joey Logano Toyota 273 2. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 273 3. Kurt Busch Dodge 273 4. David Reutimann Toyota 273 5. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 273 6. Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 273 7. Kyle Busch Toyota 273 8. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 273 9. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 273 10. Kasey Kahne Dodge 273 11. Casey Mears Chevrolet 273 12. Juan Montoya Chevrolet 273 13. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 273 14. Mark Martin Chevrolet 273 15. Denny Hamlin Toyota 273 16. John Andretti Chevrolet 273 17. Reed Sorenson Dodge 273 18. Greg Biffle Ford 273 19. Carl Edwards Ford 273 20. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 273 21. Bobby Labonte Ford 273 22. Matt Kenseth Ford 273 23. Marcos Ambrose Toyota 273 24. Michael Waltrip Toyota 273 25. Robby Gordon Toyota 272 26. Elliott Sadler Dodge 272 27. Regan Smith Chevrolet 272 28. David Stremme Dodge 272 29. Ryan Newman Chevrolet 270 30. Paul Menard Ford 267 31. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 251 32. AJ Allmendinger Dodge 238 33. Jamie McMurray Ford 237 34. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 231 35. Brian Vickers Toyota 190 36. Scott Speed Toyota 189 37. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 174 38. David Ragan Ford 174 39. Joe Nemechek Toyota 67 40. David Gilliland Chevrolet 48 41. Tony Raines Dodge 30 42. Dave Blaney Toyota 29 43. Patrick Carpentier Toyota 14
Latest news
Daytona 24, Hour 21: MSR Acura back in front with three hours left
The Meyer Shank Racing Acura was back in front with three hours remaining in the Daytona 24 Hours that opens the IMSA SportsCar season.
Ekstrom defeats Schumacher for fourth Race of Champions victory
Two-time DTM champion Mattias Ekstrom took his fourth Race of Champions title at Pite Havsbad in Sweden after defeating Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher in the final.
Ogier eyes WRC Monte Carlo rematch with Loeb
Sebastien Ogier is keen for a Rally Monte Carlo rematch against Sebastien Loeb in next year's World Rally Championship after becoming the most successful driver in event history.
Webber: Red Bull will remain "dangerous" threat in F1 2023 title fight
Mark Webber believes Red Bull will remain the “most dangerous team” in Formula 1 in 2023 despite facing penalties for its cost cap breach.
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his team-mate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of its Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson’s journey to the 2021 NASCAR Cup title comes straight from the Hollywood blockbuster scripts. While Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines for both the right and the wrong reasons
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup Series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.