2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Joey Logano
In June, Joey Logano scored his first pole of the season at the tricky Pocono Raceway. By weekend’s end, he was still atop the leaderboard, having won his first Cup Series race since 2009.
In June, Joey Logano scored his first pole of the season at the tricky Pocono Raceway. By weekend’s end, he was still atop the leaderboard, having won his first Cup Series race since 2009.
For possibly the first time ever, Dale Earnhardt Jr. snuck up for a good finish. Usually, it’s impossible for Earnhardt to fly under the radar in a race. But this week, with the spotlight on his teammate and his former employee running for the Cup, Earnhardt did just that, finishing 10th after running mid-pack for most of the day.
The Chase is on… and for 12 drivers that means the chance at standing at the pinnacle of NASCAR in November. For everyone else, unfortunately, it means toiling in relative anonymity for the next two months, especially when seven of the top-10 finishers in the race are in the Chase as was the case in Chicago. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was not among them; but both of his teammates were. Kyle Busch and Joey Logano finished fourth and seventh, respectively, though neither received much recognition during a television broadcast that was clearly more concerned with the Chase contenders.
On lap 313, Clint Bowyer managed to pass Ryan Newman and he never yielded that position the rest of the night.
If not for a badly-timed tire problem for Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr. wouldn’t be getting my shoutout — because he’d have won the race. Instead, Truex had to settle for fourth after a wild restart. Adding insult to injury, Truex, who has flown under the media’s radar all year long despite being a fixture in the top 10 in points, garnered relatively little television attention compared with the night’s other race leaders.
Was Tony Stewart’s victory-lane vitriol worth a few first-place votes? Or did Matt Kenseth’s dominant run impress our writers? Keep reading to find out.
Not much has affected the No. 48 team in 2012, but even Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were powerless against superspeedway racing.
Tony Stewart virtually guaranteed himself a spot in NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship Saturday night at Daytona (July 7).
Kurt Busch was able to go from zero to hero on Friday night at Daytona.
TWO: Call for Mandatory Cautions Show Just How Bad Things Are