MADISON, Ill. — The stars of the NASCAR Cup Series put Charles Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest to the test at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Few drivers proved more equipped to survive the battle than the battle-tested Joey Logano.
Logano had the cleanest view at the start of a track-record 18-caution race. He led wire-to-wire in the opening stage, securing his third stage victory of the season. The No. 22 team banked nine additional points with a runner-up finish in Stage 2.
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“We did a good job with a pole, first and second in the stages, in position to win,” Logano said. “Drove to the lead multiple times to take the lead when you thought it was a pass for the win a couple of times.”
On Lap 200, three-time championship-winning crew chief Paul Wolfe opted to be the first car to take two fresh Goodyear tires. Kyle Larson, one of Logano’s closest competitors, had four fresh tires to work with. The No. 5 Chevrolet charged through the field on the ensuing restarts, taking the lead on Lap 227 after getting a shove from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.
Larson held off Logano for the final three restarts, including a pair in overtime, with Bowman passing the No. 22 Team Penske Ford on the penultimate restart. Logano led a race-high 96 laps and took the checkered flag in third position, his fifth straight top-five finish in as many starts in St. Louis.
“I’m just bitter at the moment that we didn’t win,” Logano said. “We did most things right; team did everything right, and I’m not even 100% sure how I could have played that restart any better. (Larson) just did a good job, and they beat us.”
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Logano wasn’t aware until after the race that he had been at a tire disadvantage to the No. 5 car. Wolfe believes Larson’s lack of track position made the decision to take four tires an easy one for the Cliff Daniels-led team.
“(Larson) didn’t have track position, so it was an easy call for him to do four,” Wolfe explained. “I don’t know that’s it because it depends on how the restarts go. If we clear him, then those four tires aren’t getting by us. It came down to the restart.
“If you watch the race, I felt like right sides were worth something most of the day. But just track position as well.”
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Logano tallied 54 points with his third-place finish, 19 fewer than Larson’s 73. William Byron, who overcame a final stage incident to finish fourth, was the next-highest scorer among Chase drivers with 33, tied with series leader Denny Hamlin.
The No. 22 team had its sights on scoring 60 points for the race before the green flag. Logano is tied for sixth on The Chase grid, 51 points back.
“[We] would have been really close if we would have won it,” Logano said. “We will just keep our foot on the gas. It’s still a good day, good weekend: pole, laps led and did a lot of good things. Just didn’t do the most important part.”
Wolfe stated: “I thought we needed to score 60 points, and we came up a little short of that. I felt like we did everything right; we had a good car — just a lot of cautions today, a lot of restarts. That restart didn’t go like we thought it would, and it was just hard. Then, we had no one up there helping us. You had all the Chevys up there at the end, and we didn’t have a chance.”