Logano back to winning ways in Texas

Joey Logano won the Würth 400 sponsored by LIQUI MOLY this Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in an overtime finish.

The victory represents a turnaround for Logano, who had been disqualified the previous week at Talladega after finishing fifth due to a missing lug nut on a wheel spacer.

This sport changes quickly. You can go through many ups and downs. Finally we got AAA Insurance to victory lane. They've been with me since I came to Penske, about 13 or 14 years, and I'd never won with them. It was fantastic to get it done here.

With a total time of 3 hours, 28 minutes and 40 seconds, and an average speed of 116.885 mph, Logano completed 271 laps despite starting 27th. The race was interrupted by 12 caution periods covering 73 laps.

The decisive moment

The race's turning point came when Michael McDowell, who had taken the lead after a restart on lap 245, appeared headed for victory. However, with four laps remaining, Logano used the inside line on the backstretch to pass the #71 Chevrolet.

One lap later, Ryan Blaney also got by McDowell. The dirty air behind Blaney's Ford upset McDowell's car, causing him to lose control and hit the Turn 2 wall, relegating him to 26th place.

"Sorry team, I tried," McDowell radioed dejectedly to his crew.

Penske scores back-to-back wins

During the overtime restart, Logano showed his experience. The Team Penske driver pulled away from Blaney through the first two turns while Chastain moved into second. Two laps later, Logano crossed the line to give Team Penske its second consecutive win, following Austin Cindric's victory at Talladega the previous Sunday.

"We just kept working our way forward, methodically," Logano explained about his race progression. "We had a tough pit road situation. The pit crew did a great job handling that and we just kept gaining spots little by little. The car was fast, I knew that from yesterday. We just had a bad qualifying effort. We kept our heads down and kept working our way forward and got this win. It's very gratifying to get it."

Chastain: From the back to the podium

Ross Chastain, who started 31st, also didn't appear among the frontrunners until the closing laps.

"It was a very laborious day," said the Trackhouse Racing driver. "I had no confidence in the car yesterday, everyone saw that. The speed of Trackhouse cars in Saturday sessions is very poor. None of the three drivers felt comfortable."

"During a pit stop, Phil Surgen (crew chief) and the whole group - it takes a lot of people at Trackhouse, GM and Chevrolet - transformed me into a confident driver with one adjustment. They were small details that don't even seem logical, but from that moment I felt completely different behind the wheel," he added.

Larson dominated without victory

Kyle Larson led 90 laps (the most of any competitor) but finished fourth. "You can't give up the lead at a mile-and-a-half track," he said. "It's hard to get it back. Michael took advantage of his opportunity well."

Ryan Blaney completed the top three, followed by Larson and Erik Jones, who scored his best finish since last fall's race at Talladega. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top ten.

Contenders knocked out

Several potential winners saw their hopes dashed. Denny Hamlin's streak of 21 consecutive finishes in the lead lap - eighth longest in NASCAR Cup history - ended abruptly on lap 75 when his engine, being used for the third time, failed causing a fire under the #11 Toyota.

Josh Berry, winner at Las Vegas, also retired early. After leading 41 laps and being out front on lap 125, a bump in Turn 4 unsettled his Wood Brothers #21 Ford, sending it into the outside wall.

Austin Cindric, who led 60 laps, was eliminated in a multi-car crash on lap 247. Ten laps earlier, Carson Hocevar, who started from pole and led the first 22 laps, had a similar incident in a three-car collision.

William Byron, 13th at the finish, maintains the championship lead by 13 points over Larson.

Key race statistics

The race featured 20 lead changes among 13 different drivers. Besides Larson (90 laps), standout performances came from Cindric (60 laps) and Berry (41 laps). Hocevar and Byron each led 22 laps, while McDowell was out front for 19. Logano only led 7 laps, but they were the decisive ones to claim his second victory at the Texas oval and the 37th of his career.